December Trip, need help!

C

ColoradoDWFan

Member
I will be going to WDW from November 29-December 5. Traveling with me will be my wife, baby son who will be 9 months old at the time and my parents both in their 50s. We have booked every night at AS Sports and have 4 days worth of park passes. This will be my son and parents first trip. With all of the Holiday stuff going on, what should I plan on doing? I have gone with my wife in September and January in the past, but never with a baby. What will the weather be like? What are the crowds typically like. What activities on property should I not miss. How do you deal with nap times with a baby while at the parks? Any and all help I could recieve would be greatly appreciated. If you have gone during the Holidays with a baby, I would greatly appreciate how you went about your days. I need help from all of the Disney experts on these blogs. Thanks!
 
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TurboCaroline

TurboCaroline

Is it 5:00 yet?
Well I have no experience with going with a baby...yet anyways...but I would not miss Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. You see a special parade, fireworks and shows not to mention free cookies and hot chocolate.
As far as the weather it could be either hot or cold. One year we went it got to 30 deg at night and other years it was so hot that we had to wear summer clothes. You have to be prepared for both...
We have never been the weeks you are going since we usually go the 2nd-3rd week in December but from what I have heard the crowds aren't too bad except for around Thanksgiving week and Pop Warner week...
 
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pcarathers

pcarathers

Active Member
We went the week before Christmas in 2006, and some nights were very cool, but nothing like BIG COAT cool. If the wind is blowing it can be very cool. Plan on a jacket or sweater for sure. Definitely do Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party/parade. and be sure to take in all of the Christmas decorations in ALL THE PARKS. In Epcot, we loved the different Santa Claus for each country. This is my favorite time to go to WDW, but this year I leave in 15 days!!!!!!!!

Osborne Lights in Disney Hollywood Studios is a must see as well.
 
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njDizFan

njDizFan

Well-Known Member
well I went with my family this last december/january and I was expecting it to be chilly. I dont know if this was usual but it was HOT. everyday was shorts and t-shirts, at night the occasional sweatshirt. But with a baby expect to be prepared. crowds are generally very good that week and as stated before do not miss the Osborne spectacle of lights. Millions of light all throughout DHS with snow effects and everything... a must do.
 
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disneygirl1

disneygirl1

Well-Known Member
Hey there ColoradoDWFan, I think you are picking an excellent time of year to bring first timers! Was in Disney the first and second weeks of Dec last year an have to say it is my new favorite time of the year there.

As far as weather goes, it's beautiful. Not to hot and not to cold. I will say that the temps vary by day. Some days the temps were in the mid 60's and other days it was in the 80's. So basically you need to pack for every season! Oh, and night it can get pretty chilly so make sure you have a jacket handy. One night my son actually wore gloves.

Crowds should be light to average. Last year we did not have any more then a 10-15 minute wait for any of the major attractions and we rarely had to get a fastpass

Here are the list of the things that are a must for me now when I travel to Disney around the Holidays:

See the Osbourne Spectacle of lights at DHS
See Candlelight Processional at Epcot. If you can do the candlelight dinner pacakge so you get your tixs ahead of time at dinner, thus avoidong having to wait in line
Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Visit all the Deluxe Hotels to see the Christmas decorations

Hope this helps! I am sure you and the family will not be disappointed!
 
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Tommye1078

Tommye1078

Well-Known Member
Hey Coloradodwfan

I am going to DW nov.30 - dec.9 and will be taking a first timer. My son who will be 14 months when we are down there. My wife and I are very excited to take him. I have found great info on this site to help us plan our trip. It surprised me how many things there are for a baby to do at DW.

What part of colorado are you in. I went to college at CSU man that's a fun school.
 
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jjbuster2

jjbuster2

Well-Known Member
Your son will set the napping procedure. If he has developed a routine by then, you'll know when it's coming (midday napper, late or early afternoon, etc.) so you can anticipate when you'll need to leave the park for this. Quick power-naps are no reason to leave the park (if he gets what he needs) and you can stroller him about, but if he's used to a 2-3 hour thing at a certain time of day then you will probably want to head back to the room. Then when he's back up you all can re-group and continue on.

When our DD was smaller she would conk out in the stroller and be undisturbed by anything...World Showcase in EPCOT was a pretty good place to be when this happened...

All the Christmas stuff is good...last year (our 1st dis xmas) we didn't get to as many of the resorts as we would have liked to visit to see decorations...but you just gotta do what you can.

Have a great trip :wave:
 
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ClemsonTigger

ClemsonTigger

Naturally Grumpy
Great time to visit. I will probably be down some of those dates as well.

You've gotten some good suggestions here already listing some of the main points. As far as advanced planning, I do suggest for your group to do the Candlelight Processional dinner package (will be available later this summer). Epcot provides a lot of casual visit time with storytellers in World Showcase. For some additional information, check out the following links:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/Events/Holidays-Around-the-World-at-Epcot.htm
http://www.wdwmagic.com/Events/Holidays-at-Disneys-Hollywood-Studios.htm
http://www.wdwmagic.com/Events/Holidays-at-the-Magic-Kingdom.htm
http://www.wdwmagic.com/Events/Mickeys-Very-Merry-Christmas-Party.htm
http://allears.net/tp/holiday.htm

It is a great time to visit the various deluxe hotels as was mentioned to see their decorations.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
 
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C

ColoradoDWFan

Member
Original Poster
Tommye1078 said:
Hey Coloradodwfan

I am going to DW nov.30 - dec.9 and will be taking a first timer. My son who will be 14 months when we are down there. My wife and I are very excited to take him. I have found great info on this site to help us plan our trip. It surprised me how many things there are for a baby to do at DW.

What part of colorado are you in. I went to college at CSU man that's a fun school.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info everyone! I live just outside of Denver and went to CU!
 
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C

CatsMeow

New Member
The parks will be gorgeously decorated and so will the resorts, so try to visit as many of them as you can. Mickey's Christmas Party will be held and you might want to get tickets for that early....(tickets go on sale 5/1); it is lots of fun and requires a separate admission ticket. DHS will have the Osborne Lights, which is so cool; high on the do-not-miss list, but get there early because it gets quite crowded.

The park hours will dictate when/how you take a long break with the baby. Adults need breaks too! :animwink: You can head back to your hotel for a little rest or think about heading to a restaurant for a relaxing meal; that helps to recharge the batteries as well. You can stay in the park or head to a nearby resort. One of the water parks is another thought if the weather is temperate. The weather is quite changeable, but the evenings will be cool. If you plan on trying any of the WDW restaurants, remember to make ADRs as early as you can to avoid disappointment. There are wonderful character meals. Attached is a link that may be helpful --- Enjoy!

http://allears.net/pl/events.htm#nov
 
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lighteningqueen

lighteningqueen

Well-Known Member
We went last year for the second year in a row for Christmas. Last year was packed. I mean so packed that you could not even walk aroun d the hub to get in or out of the park around the time the castle firworks and Tink flys. Never again will we go during that time. Meaning tht time of night. The lines were longer for leaving the parks and going back to the resorts this time, and lots of wheel chair scooter abuse. Meaning they rounded up 20 people to become family memebers ato go on the bus before anyone else and it took at least 20 mintues to load the scooters each time. We had already stood for 30-40 minutes. Seems they need some CM's there to control the abuse. We all had stood there all that time and then minutes before the bus came up here they came, no wait at all for them. We would have to wait for another bus and another 40 minutes. Maybe a fluke but in 2007 it was not that way. But that time is the most perfect time to visit to see all the Christmas lights. You should be in a fairly slower week. Parks close early all week at that time of year so you really do not have much down time unless you don't care if you get to do much in the parks everyday. Most likely the baby can nap in the stroller and you find a nice spot to sit down and let them nap while you take a breather. It will take about 2 hours of your day plus nap time to go back to the resort. Animal Kingdom closes at 5 every day and the others by 7 at latest unless it's their late night, then only till 10 if there is not a Christmas party going on. Most nights there are.
 
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M

majorrfb

Member
Almost totally agree

disneygirl1 said:
Hey there ColoradoDWFan, I think you are picking an excellent time of year to bring first timers! Was in Disney the first and second weeks of Dec last year an have to say it is my new favorite time of the year there.

As far as weather goes, it's beautiful. Not to hot and not to cold. I will say that the temps vary by day. Some days the temps were in the mid 60's and other days it was in the 80's. So basically you need to pack for every season! Oh, and night it can get pretty chilly so make sure you have a jacket handy. One night my son actually wore gloves.

Crowds should be light to average. Last year we did not have any more then a 10-15 minute wait for any of the major attractions and we rarely had to get a fastpass

Here are the list of the things that are a must for me now when I travel to Disney around the Holidays:

See the Osbourne Spectacle of lights at DHS
See Candlelight Processional at Epcot. If you can do the candlelight dinner pacakge so you get your tixs ahead of time at dinner, thus avoidong having to wait in line
Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
Visit all the Deluxe Hotels to see the Christmas decorations

Hope this helps! I am sure you and the family will not be disappointed!
Click to expand...

My wife and I attended the World last Nov. 29 through Dec. 6. The events the writer are a must with the exception of MVMCP. Dec. 2, 2008 was ABSOLUTELY PACKED with long lines for everything. This took much of the fun of the party away. The candlelight Processional was filled but we had no problems getting in, the theater holds thousands of people. Hope you have a blast. It is our favorite time of the year to visit WDW.:sohappy:
 
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flydisco

flydisco

Member
We too will be there from Nov 29th to Dec 6th. This is with out a doubt our favorite time of year to visit. When I was young my parents would always take us out of school for the 2 weeks after Thanksgiving and we would go to Disney for a week. I am now starting the same tradition with our kids as long as their grades stay up.
I agree with most of the advise already given. Just remember as one post said earlier that the parks do close early that time of year so it may be best to find a quite spot to take naps instead of leaving the park if possible. We have found that El Parita SP? In frontier land is a nice place to let the little ones stroller nap in the afternoons if they are open. It is rarely crowded and they have ceiling fans going so catch a nice breeze. At AK Rafiki Planet watch is a nice quite napping place as well.
 
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