We will be hitting up our 4th Christmas week in 6 years this year. We are far from vets but have an idea. I remember our first year we were all gung-ho rope drop or die Touring plan toting zealots. By last year's Christmas trip we felt we had it figured out. Like you described above, we try to avoid the parks between 12:30-4:00. You can get a lot of riding in between rope drop and 11:30 then chillax at the resort or pool for a few hours to get your second wind and hit the parks again in the evening. Additionally, you can get a lot of riding done between and hour before regular closing and EMH closing. There is a 2-3 hour window where, even on Chritsmas Eve, you can just do laps on POC, BTM, HM and so on. If you never done any tours we've found that 12:30-4:00 window a good time to take some in. We did the Epcot Seas Tour last year and loved it so much we are doing it again this year. Not sure I've ever seen my DD smile so much after an experience. IMO, you can still have a laid back approach to Christmas week so long as you have patience. Oh, and yeah we avoid MK on Chirstmas day like the plague!