December or January

[SpoonOfSugar]

Hey everyone! I'm new here but I have been looking around this site for awhile and I'm hoping you all can help me.

So we normally visit to world in May or April but because my oldest DD is in College now, Our schedules don't all work out. So we began thinking about the summer months and voted that out because of the crowds and heat. So we have been stumped on when to go.

Then A few weeks ago, my middle DD(13) said she wanted to go to Disney for her birthday instead of having a party and getting gifts. We did this for my oldest DD when she turned 16 and I promised my other two I would do it for them for at least one of their birthdays. I told her it's too close to her birthday to go this year but maybe next year for her 15th birthday. The problem is she is born on December 29th, right between Christmas and New Years. We really don't want to be in the world for either one of these holidays.

For December 2011 my oldest DD gets out of school on the 14th and the other two get out the 16th. So I was thinking we could just leave the afternoon on the 14th and go until the 20th. This would be great because we have never seen the Christmas decorations before. My question is how packed will the parks be this close to christmas and is this considered peak season??

Our other option would be to go January 2012. We would Leave around the 6th and come back the 12th. This would be no problem for my oldest since she will still be out of school. but DD13 and DD10 will both have to miss school and when we go, they will be in 9th and 6th grade. They are both really good in school so I don't see a huge problem with this but is it worth it? Are the crowds really that good? Is everything going to be down? How cold is? I can't see myself walking around Disney with a Winter Coat.:lol:

So guys which would you go with? my family is pretty split about which month to go.

 

[WDW_Emily]

I have never been at either of those times but January would be better for your wallet. You will probably save around $500 at a moderate going in January rather than December. Lots of things are down this year but i don't know about next year. If you go in January, you will also be there for the 40th

 

[Mukta]

It sounds like you need a pro/con list
December Pros: Holiday decorations, kids won't miss school
December Cons: Bigger crowds, more expensive (not the value season)
January Pros: Less money (value season), smaller crowds
January Cons: Kids miss school, some rides down for refurb
The weather is really variable for both of those times. No guarantees for warmer weather in December.
Here is an idea of rates for December of 2011
http://www.mousesavers.com/roomrates2011.html

 

[SpoonOfSugar]

It sounds like you need a pro/con list
December Pros: Holiday decorations, kids won't miss school
December Cons: Bigger crowds, more expensive (not the value season)
January Pros: Less money (value season), smaller crowds
January Cons: Kids miss school, some rides down for refurb
The weather is really variable for both of those times. No guarantees for warmer weather in December.
Here is an idea of rates for December of 2011
http://www.mousesavers.com/roomrates2011.html

Thank you!! Thats just what I was looking for.
Does the marathon bring in big crowds??

 

[danpam1024]

My DS misses school all of the time to go to Disney:lol:...family time is more important than school sometimes, but not everyone sees it that way. All of the make up work is a bummer though. If you have never been in Dec, why not try the first couple of weeks...if your school children will be missing anyway:shrug:. Take in all the holidays @ WDW has to offer:xmas: it is truly magical

 

[SpoonOfSugar]

My DS misses school all of the time to go to Disney:lol:...family time is more important than school sometimes, but not everyone sees it that way. All of the make up work is a bummer though. If you have never been in Dec, why not try the first couple of weeks...if your school children will be missing anyway:shrug:. Take in all the holidays @ WDW has to offer:xmas: it is truly magical

I would gladly take my two younger DD out of school and travel around the first week in December. My oldest though is in College and has finals around that time. I couldn't imagine going without her though. But the beginning of December was talked about because the rates also don't seem as high.