December 2016 Crowds

[Bill in Atlanta]

I'm looking at this crowd calendar: https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/december-2016/#calendar

I've noticed that the crowds don't reach crazy-busy levels until Dec. 22nd. Does that sound right? I am looking at booking for Dec. 16-21 and it appears not to be that busy during that time. I'm wondering if they will adjust it later on or if that's a pretty accurate forecast. Thanks everyone, love this forum!

 

[Jae99]

The crowds will pick up the days leading up to Christmas. The really drastic increase all depends on when all of the schools let out for Christmas break, with Christmas landing on a Sunday its possible that most schools will start their breaks on Dec 16. If that is the case you could see some larger crowds than normal starting the weekend before Christmas.

We were down from the 10th until the 17th of December this year and found the crowds to be very manageable. If you arrived to the parks at rope drop you could walk onto many rides for the first couple of hours. Even as the parks got busier throughout the day, the wait times never got extremely long.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

I think you are a little to far into the month for the reason like jae99 mentioned in terms of crowd due to it being very likely that School will be out by the 17th.

The other thing is Star Wars: Rogue One is currently planned to be released in the Theaters on December 16 and don't be shocked there is going to be some type of a Star Wars event at the studios at Night as a result in terms of fireworks. I am mentioning this because the Osborne Lights isn't going to be here at DHS in 2016, and don't know how decorated DHS is going to be be due to the construction in the park.

 

[Tuvalu]

We were there this year from the 17-23 and would describe the crowds as 7/10 or 8/10 during the first couple days and 9/10 on the last couple days. We frequent Disney several times a year and are familiar with different crowd levels. 2015 was a very busy year for the parks and unless the economy tanks, 2016 should be similar. With proper planning and expectations, you can still have a great time in spite of the crowds.

 

[disneylover97]

I was in Disney the 16-18th of Decemeber 2015 and it was not busy!! I even made a comment about how quiet Hollywood Studios was. I would 100% recommend going to the world during the dates you selected

 

[NonnaT]

The crowds will pick up the days leading up to Christmas. The really drastic increase all depends on when all of the schools let out for Christmas break, with Christmas landing on a Sunday its possible that most schools will start their breaks on Dec 16. If that is the case you could see some larger crowds than normal starting the weekend before Christmas.

We were down from the 10th until the 17th of December this year and found the crowds to be very manageable. If you arrived to the parks at rope drop you could walk onto many rides for the first couple of hours. Even as the parks got busier throughout the day, the wait times never got extremely long.

I work in education (CT)... Our students in CT will not be out for Christmas break in 2016 until noon on the 23rd. I think that most of the states "up north" will probably be the same due to the later possibility of lost days due to snow. We try to eek every possible day of education in. There definitely will be no vacations starting on the 16th. Way too early.
Hope this helps in your planning!

 

[DfromATX]

I work in education (CT)... Our students in CT will not be out for Christmas break in 2016 until noon on the 23rd. I think that most of the states "up north" will probably be the same due to the later possibility of lost days due to snow. We try to eek every possible day of education in. There definitely will be no vacations starting on the 16th. Way too early.
Hope this helps in your planning!

I've never heard of that... sounds terrible lol! (I'm in the south.) "You guys" start spring break late too, right? I have a friend in Wisconsin and she said they don't start until the end of April whereas we're mid March.

 

[ekutchey]

I agree Holiday breaks will be off this year compared to other years because Christmas Eve is on a Saturday. I can tell you Southeast Michigan schools do not get out until Decemeber 23rd. As will be the case for many Northern and Eastern states. So it maybe busy but it shouldn't be the complete Holiday rush yet.

 

[Bill in Atlanta]

Thanks everyone! I was just surprised that the Undercover Tourist crowd calendar had low numbers from Dec. 16-21 - I was expecting them to be all 9's and 10's starting around the 18th or so. But good to know about school being in up north for some of those days. Maybe that is part of what they're factoring in with those numbers.