Holidays 2019

[arich35]

Hello everyone! First post here.
My wife and I are planning a trip for next year and she is set on going when all the holiday festivities are happening. My question is when would the best time to go to experience everything Disneyworld has to offer and price? We are looking to spend 4 full days so we can visit every park. Example would be arrive on a Tuesday and leave on a Sunday.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[arich35]

I visited WDW this December 3, 4, & 5, staying at the Caribbean Beach resort. Despite staying on property, and the ability to arrange FastPasses 60 days in advance, there were NO FastPasses available for Flight of Passage.

By next year, the new gondola service will be operational. There will be a gondola station at Caribbean Beach (not at Coronado Springs).

By early December, all of the parks are in their Christmas holiday finery. I recommend doing the dining package at one of the Epcot restaurants in order to assure your seating at the Candlelight Processional (3 shows nightly).

With the opening of the new Star Wars land at Hollywood Studios, expect that park to be jammed during your visit. You did not mention whether this would be your first visit to WDW or how familiar you are with the parks. The best advice I can give you is to familiarize yourself with the parks. You don't want to arrange a 9 a.m. FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain, then a 10 a.m. one for Space Mountain, only to be going back to Pirates of the Caribbean at 11 a.m. There's enough ground to cover without making it harder on yourself.

This will be our first time so we really know nothing about this parks! I will really have to read up on the fast passes to assure we do it correctly!
I also don't know about any of the holiday events so I am not sure what we will want to try and attend and what we won't. We aren't big eaters so we won't be doing a dining package (We won't spend $150 a day).

 

[OvertheHorizon]

Walt Disney World is quite large, covering 43 square miles - about the size of San Francisco. Within "the world" there are four theme parks, two water parks, Disney Springs (shopping, movie theaters, restaurants), and there are numerous hotels. These boards will give you lots of advice for your trip. I'll repeat what I wrote earlier. The more you can familiarize yourself with what is available in advance, the better time you'll have.

 

[JohnD]

I visited WDW this December 3, 4, & 5, staying at the Caribbean Beach resort. Despite staying on property, and the ability to arrange FastPasses 60 days in advance, there were NO FastPasses available for Flight of Passage.

By next year, the new gondola service will be operational. There will be a gondola station at Caribbean Beach (not at Coronado Springs).

By early December, all of the parks are in their Christmas holiday finery. I recommend doing the dining package at one of the Epcot restaurants in order to assure your seating at the Candlelight Processional (3 shows nightly).

With the opening of the new Star Wars land at Hollywood Studios, expect that park to be jammed during your visit. You did not mention whether this would be your first visit to WDW or how familiar you are with the parks. The best advice I can give you is to familiarize yourself with the parks. You don't want to arrange a 9 a.m. FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain, then a 10 a.m. one for Space Mountain, only to be going back to Pirates of the Caribbean at 11 a.m. There's enough ground to cover without making it harder on yourself.

I was at WDW 12/9-13. I had the same issue with SDD. I think it's a matter of what is your first priority at 7am. 60 days out I made my FP+ for FOP. Then went straight to SDD next. It was already gone.

 

[yensid67]

Arich... I would get guide maps from the Christmas Party and all four parks NOW while they are still available and familiarize yourself what is offered for the party compared to a full day in the Magic Kingdom. You could save some $ by skipping the MK during the day and going to the party instead! Don't forget that you can save even more at a Good Neighbor Hotel...Clarion Lake Buena Vista(clarionlbv.com) At least look to see how much you could save before making any reservations! If you want to make reservations for the Clarion LBV try using these sites...amoma.com or otel.com I used them before and got really good deals that are not on the hotel website! Also I used booking.com and got a room for 5 nights for $323.10(Mid Pointe Orlando-sister property to the ClarionLBV) Just do your research...if you need help just ask on these boards...most will offer advice! PM me if you want anymore advice!

 

[JohnD]

Arich... I would get guide maps from the Christmas Party and all four parks NOW while they are still available and familiarize yourself what is offered for the party compared to a full day in the Magic Kingdom. You could save some $ by skipping the MK during the day and going to the party instead! Don't forget that you can save even more at a Good Neighbor Hotel...Clarion Lake Buena Vista(clarionlbv.com) At least look to see how much you could save before making any reservations! If you want to make reservations for the Clarion LBV try using these sites...amoma.com or otel.com I used them before and got really good deals that are not on the hotel website! Also I used booking.com and got a room for 5 nights for $323.10(Mid Pointe Orlando-sister property to the ClarionLBV) Just do your research...if you need help just ask on these boards...most will offer advice! PM me if you want anymore advice!

Not sure how you would save money going to the party as it costs almost the same as a day ticket. Also, it is very different from an After Hours event. It’s purpose is not for going park commando because of the fireworks, M&Gs, two parades, castle show, treats handed out, etc., although you can certainly do some attractions with little to no wait. If you opt for a party over a day ticket, it’s a matter of what your priorities are.

 

[yensid67]

John D, I know we will be saving 'SOME' money by attending the MNSSHP instead of going to the Magic Kingdom during the day! If we would purchase a 2 DAY ticket, it would cost $234.69(including tax) compared to 'roughly' $208.41...that's saving $26.28 So you are saving but its not too much! Every little bit helps when it comes to a Disney vacation!!!! Yes, your priorities have to be in order! We only want to do rides that we have not done on our 2013 trip(7DMT, SM, PoC) As long as those attractions are available, we are opting to go to the party instead and as something we never did before! I WANT to see the Boo to You! Parade in person and I want CANDY!(which I MAY give away to a kiddo)

 

[JohnD]

John D, I know we will be saving 'SOME' money by attending the MNSSHP instead of going to the Magic Kingdom during the day! If we would purchase a 2 DAY ticket, it would cost $234.69(including tax) compared to 'roughly' $208.41...that's saving $26.28 So you are saving but its not too much! Every little bit helps when it comes to a Disney vacation!!!! Yes, your priorities have to be in order! We only want to do rides that we have not done on our 2013 trip(7DMT, SM, PoC) As long as those attractions are available, we are opting to go to the party instead and as something we never did before! I WANT to see the Boo to You! Parade in person and I want CANDY!(which I MAY give away to a kiddo)

Okay. Time flies before you know it. If you want to focus on attractions then you should skip many of the other activities. That was my point. But even seeing Boo To You involves more time finding a spot, sticking to it, and watching the parade. So plan your time wisely.

 

[yensid67]

Thanks for the input! We have a FEW days to plan our attack...270 days to be exact! LOL!

 

[ThatDisneyGuy]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I think we are leaning towards the first week of December to go. Now just trying to decide which moderate resort to stay at between Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach

That's when we are going. The first week of. It's our anniversary. We went in '08 and the MK was so dead they were playing ring toss and jump rope in the middle of Main Street.

We had the Land & Sea package at the time so we did 4 days in the parks and stayed at River Side. Was supposed to be FQ but they had us between two rooms of cheerleaders and they didn't know what quiet was.

 

[Leo!]

Came back from the world today. Been there from 14th to 25th. My first impression was the crowds were a lot less than previous years (it was my 6th december in a row). Had no problems going to MK in peak days, even with car and parks wasnt closed for capacity.
Don't know if Disney is doing a good job increasing capacity for the complex (there's new bridges, hubs, parkings, etc operational) or it was really a low crowd season due to cost, weather (had 2 or 3 full rainy days) or something else.

Hope this will be usual for next year. HS anyway will be crazy.