CROWDS & PRICING ???

[ShanenLuvsDsny]

My family may be planning a trip to WDW the week of Dec. 21-26. This is the only time we would be able to go. Does anyone know how the crowds are or hotel pricing? Are the hotel prices higher because of the holidays or is it still possible to find "good deals". We are SERIOUSLY on a budget also. We really would like to make this happen. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks.....

 

[Yellow Shoes]

This is absolutely THE most expensive week to go.

The All Stars room that is $77 on Jan. 1 is $114 Dec. 20-31; moderates $133 -->$184

Traditionally, winter break is the most crowded also.

Holiday season begins December 20.

While not unheard of, discounts are rare at this time of year.

You might have better luck with off-site resorts.

There are a few exceptions, but there aren't many legitimate ticket discounts, and most of them are small--10-15%.

Not to rain on your parade, but that week will present some challenges.

Good luck.

 

[ShanenLuvsDsny]

Hhhmmm...maybe we'll have to think about going somewhere else then.

 

[njchris65]

If you stay off-site you can get a cheap room. I just did a search on daysninn.com and picked the the one at 12799 Apopka Vineland Road. for one room (2 double beds). I didn't know how many are going /how many beds, etc.. but it was about $42 a night for the stay from Dec 21-Dec 26. (227 for the whole stay)

That particular Days Inn states they have a Free shuttle to Disney parks.

I've passed that one and I think it was renovated about 4-5 years ago and it does look nice. I was going to stay there one year until I switched to a Disney hotel (I had never stayed on-site before, so I splurged).

Best way, is to go to the sites and check out the prices and what the hotels offer.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

You might do a search for trip reports from Christmas time in previous years.

That might give you a good first hand perspective.

In re-reading my previous post, I sounded quite negative. There are lots of people who absolutely LOVE going at Christmas. The decorations are incredible and you've got Mickey's Christmas Party and the Candlelight Procession going on.

You will have a good time if you keep your expectations reasonable. There will be long lines for everything. Some you can alleviate with careful use of FastPass; others, like lines to check out in a shop, or in a restaurant, cannot be avoided as easily.

There are many strategies for dealing with large crowds--early entry, E-nights, FastPass, eating at non-peak times, getting PS for your "must do" restaurants, using a tour plan.

There are also ways to keep your costs low--eating major meals off-site, taking snacks into the parks, staying off-site, keeping breakfast or sandwich stuff in your room, etc.

It CAN be done.


Good luck making a decision.

 

[ShanenLuvsDsny]

Thanks alot for both of your help! I'll keep looking and hopefully will be able to find something. Maybe there's still a chance.:animwink:

 

[ShanenLuvsDsny]

By the way, does anyone know what the weather's like in December?

 

[Yellow Shoes]

whatever you want:
sometimes warm enough to swim
sometimes cool enough to need a sweatshirt
sometimes downright cold


Here are some weather sites . Check the historical information for past Decembers.

Right now in Orlando it is 81 degrees.

 

[LivefortheMouse]

Ive been to Disney World every season. Disney World is beautiful during Christmas to me theres no place quite like it. I seriously recommend u stay on site its a little more expensive but in the end you will be greatful u did it. See we did the whole staying offsite during the Christmas season, our hotel was a confort inn the hotel was good im not complaining about that , the problem is that when u get out of the park when it closes and ur not on site u have to take the monorail or the ferry to the ticket and transportation area and then from there get a bus to the hotel ur staying at and trust me u will regreat doing that it took us 3 hours just to get to the confort inn bus and then from there like 30 min to get on the bus. we got to the hotel at 4 am. we were like no way next year we stay onsite. We did and boy this time it was diffrent we didnt have the 3 hour monorail or ferry boat wait we went to our hotel bus got on it 15 min later and got tko our reasort 10 min later we were at our resort by 1 am(boy were we happy to have spent the extra dollars) the next day we were able to go to the parks with out being half asleep. And boy r disney resorts pretty during christmas even the all stars. And bout the weather it can be very hot (it is Florida) or it can be very cold see im from Miami and when we went it was 27 degrees i was wearing 6 sweeters and was still freezing. But its worth to be cold just to see disney during christmas. So in conclusion i recomend staing in a disney resort call Disney and ask for a vacation package those include tickets and resort stay for cheaper than regular cause ur booking it as a package. Hope ull enjoy ur self during Christmas well be there too All Stars Movies resort

 

[Married@WDW]

There's no place like Disney at Christmas! It's beautiful -- truly the most magical time of year there in my opinion, which is why it's usually mobbed that week.

That said, I think Disney still reserves room rates by the date you check in. So I'm not sure when the rates go up, but if it is on December 20th, as Yellow Shoes said, if you could check-in December 19th, I think the lower rate would prevail for the whole reservation. We ended up making two reservations one year -- one for New Year's Eve, and one for the rest of the trip -- because of this. Can anyone confirm that they still handle reservations this way -- we have DVC now so it's been a while since I've made a cash reservation?

Not sure if you're flying, but airfare can be pretty steep that time of year as well. We're putting off our December wedding anniversary until mid-January because the rates right now for airfare are so high!

 

[Disneyanna0521]

i have gone at Christmas time (ish) Dec. 27-jan 4 00-01....it was crowded but wonderful. the decorations are beautiful to say the least, it is absoultly magical. we stayed off site and it was like 30-ish dollars (off site) and u are lucky (for that price) to get continetal breakfast but it was fine, i liked it. if u have any questions e-mail/pm/im me anytime

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

If you are on a serious budget I would suggest that you stay off site at one of the cheaper hotels and purchase discounted tickets from Maple Leaf on my website. If you need help with your trip, you can contact me. I am a forum sponsor and travel agent.

Pam

 

[ShanenLuvsDsny]

Thanks again for everyone's help!! I would love to stay on site but even the value resorts are at least $115 that week and I found plenty of hotels with $49 & $54 rates that are offsite but still within a mile from WDW. But I know how it is - takes forever and is such a pain to have to go all the way to your hotel when it's offsite. Obviously the weather is unpredictable, so who knows about that, I guess. I was there in August (2yrs ago) and it POURED rain the whole time. We can just HOPE for sunshine. As for airfare, actually I found great rates of $310 r/t on American Airlines from LAX. The only thing is that I'd have to book it soon before good rates dissapear and we're still not sure if we're even going to be able to go or not. :brick: So, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.:veryconfu I just might contact you, Kingdom Konsultant!

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Not to add to your panic, but there is a thread that says that park admission will go up June 1st. (that's MONDAY!!)

Can you decide this weekend?

I think $50 is a great rate--I'd jump on it. Even with a rental car, it's cheaper than on-site.

psssssssst--don't tell anyone. The parks are open, and monorails/parking lot trams run until everyone is out of the park. Take your time, grab some ice cream, watch the crowds, do some shopping, and try to avoid that mad dash to the gate after the fireworks. Personally, I'd rather wait on Main Street for an hour than spend an hour in the parking lot.

 

[ucf disneyfan]

It is a bit more crowded around Christmas, but it's an amazing time to go. The decorations and all around feel of the parks is amazing. It's hard to go to Disney when it's not crowded unless you go during the school year. Even now it has been pretty busy. Yesterday we had 38,000 people in the Magic Kingdom. It was wall to wall people. As long as you don't mind waiting in some lines its not all that bad.