Help with planning around X-Mas

[spagofreep]

My wife and I want to go to WDW for our anniversary (Dec 28) However Im afaid to go then (too darn busy) is it worth going around that time or should we do it earler??? I want to experiance some of the holiday stuff around the world. So let me know all you vets, what would you do??

 

[pocahontas79]

Going right around that time, it is going to be busy no doubt, but it isn't packed by any means either. If you want to enjoy the holiday happenings and deal with less crowds, I recommend going about the week before Christmas (sometime around the 15th). The crowds are light and you still enjoy the holiday happenings. The only negative aspect is the parks close earlier than they would around the 28th.
The reason why I recommend this is because in 2001 I was there around Dec 14-15, and had a great time, the parks were nearly empty...however I think that was just the post-9/11 times also. I was just there this new years and what a difference. The crowds were massive, and it was such a big difference from the year before.
Just my opinion:wave:

 

[jaw62901]

I am staying during x-mas my self

Hi,

I have all ready made resort reservations for Dec 26 to Jan 3. Here is a link to see what my final reservations look like.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21704

 

[conntom]

Hi spagofreep for me the best time to go is the second week
in Dec the Hotels are a little cheaper and the crowds are not
as bad and the weather is good most of the time.:xmas:

 

[Yellow Shoes]

We went Jan 1 - 6, 2002 and the crowds were light, even with the marathon on the 6th.

The longest lines we saw were for Living with the Land (who knew??)--about 45 minutes. I attributed it to the fact that it was about 12:30 and figured those people had just come from the food court.

All the Christmas decorations were still up. The Osborne light show ended while we were there--perhaps the 3rd or 4th, but we were able to see it.

However, I had the feeling that they were going to take down the decorations on Monday 7th.

Christmas music is still playing--some people were complaining. Didn't bother me.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Originally posted by spagofreep
My wife and I want to go to WDW for our anniversary (Dec 28) However Im afaid to go then (too darn busy) is it worth going around that time or should we do it earler??? I want to experiance some of the holiday stuff around the world. So let me know all you vets, what would you do??

If you want to go on your anniversary then you should expect crowds.
You don't say how long you're going for - I would suggest going a bit earlier and say making the last day of your trip the anniversay (that way you get to do both) OR go a couple of weeks earlier and spend your anniversay watching your videos or looking at the photos.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Another thing to consider about Christmas week is $$.

Before Dec 19 and after Jan 1 rack rates:

All-Stars -- $77
Moderates -- $133
AKL, WL -- $199
other Deluxes -- $239 - $339


Christmas week (Dec 20 - Dec 31)

All- Stars -- $114
Moderates -- $184
AKL, WL -- $324
other Deluxes -- $344 - $514

That is a huge price difference.

With the money you save, you can go to a nice dinner on the 28th at home. What the heck--you would save enough $ to do a B&B near home.

 

[wdwforus]

I just talked with a woman I work with today about this and she has been there numerous times around Xmas and said it was always quite busy....busier than a school vacation week she said but isnt Disney just about always busy? I dont think I would really notice the difference of another 20,000 people spread out over all the parks anyways. It is somewhat chaos but thats why we go isnt it?

 

[spagofreep]

Thank you all so much your opinions have been very helpful. It looks like we go earlier and save some moola.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

I would definately suggest that you go either the first or second week of Dec. You can save quite a bit of money and beat the crowds. If you need any help with your reservations or help in making it special for your anniversary, contact me. I am the forum sponsor on the boards and a Disney Specialist/TravelAgent/Consultant.

Pam