Large Crowds in Early December??!!!

[Cinderella1976]

Hi Everyone!! We will be in Disney December 1-9 and I booked the first week because I assumed it would be a "slower" time of the month to visit and we would be able to enjoy all the Christmas festivities without it being overly crowded, but a friend of mine tried to book a vacation for the same week and she could not get a room at any of the resorts!! I even tried to upgrade my rooom @ GF and the operator told me there are no rooms left at the GF! I spoke to Pam @ Kingdom Konsultants yesterday and she said it will definately be more busy than usual for that time of year! She also had trouble getting rooms for her clients. If any of you guys are planning on being there that week I hope you made all your dining reservations & purchased your tickets for MVMCP!:lol: Also, has anyone ever been at Disney that time of year in the past? Where the crowds manageable? I just hope it won't be as bad as July.

_______________________
December 1-9 2006 Grand Floridian :xmas: :sohappy:

 

[dvcnut39]

The secret about early December is out. I have been at WDW during the first 2 weeks of December for going on 5 years now. Up through 2004 WDW was a ghost town but in 2005 crowds were considerably larger. I expect that this year will be as busy or busier than last.

I have to agree. We were there either the 1st or 2nd week in 2001, 2002, and 2005. In 2005, the crowds were much larger. Although we went to USF last year and the crowds were very light.

 

[WishIwasThere]

We went the second week of Dec of 2005 and the crowd were light, especially after dark. For MVMCP we rode splash three times without getting off. Dumbo had a five or ten minute wait. I would say it was pretty quite with light crowds.

Three months till our next trip.:sohappy:

 

[moonfacedgirl]

We're going Dec. 10-16. We chose the second week because we saw on a website that those pesky cheerleaders will be in the parks for another competition. (We got stuck with them during our visit last February and it was...unpleasant - to say the least.) That may be why you're seeing rooms booked up. Sorry.

 

[LuvtheEars]

We booked our Nov 26 - Dec 3 AKL trip last Dec, but decided yesterday to extend our trip 2 more days and my AAA travel agent was able to find us a great deal at POR, so all of the rooms are not booked up. It will be interesting to see just how bad the crowds are with the Pop Warner folks there. I hope adding these two days was not a mistake.

 

[Cinderella1976]

Are the Pop Warner Cheerleading people that bad? It sounds like they are going to take over the parks!!:lol: I never even took them into consideration when I booked our trip. Just like some people have said in other posts, they are taping the Christmas Parade on the 1st - 3rd so alot of people might be there for that too.

 

[davewasbaloo]

I have to admit, I am worried too. We are booked in at AKL for 11 days starting the 27th November. Travelling with a Senior Citizen, a 3 year old and an 18 month old, we chose this time because it is traditionally quiet, has nice mild weather and the Christmas festivities. But the main driver was the quietness. We went the same time in 2000 and the crowds were perfect - enough for a buzz, but very manageable waits and great service.

I hope we will not be disappointed.

 

[pacochran]

As to Pop Warner cheerleaders, I am not saying they are all bad, but I have been in places twice now where there were competitions, and found many to be very rude, leaving the place a mess, pushing you out of the way without saying sorry, and that's just the parents! Last year at MK one of the cheerleaders fathers was very rude and took a chair from our table at lunch without asking and when I said something accused me of taking their chair. It may be that I have just come in contact with a couple of bad groups, but it does make an impression.

I think your more likely to see them in the parks later in the day and early evenings as there are competitions during the day.

 

[seabee1]

Hey Cinderella1976- We are going the 1st-9th too! We are going to MVMCP on the 5th though. We are celebrating my DD's birthday on the 4th so we have other things planned. After hearing all this I too am worried about the crowds. I made our ADR's on our 180th day mark, and I had trouble getting the times I wanted. I thought it was just something with the computers. Guess not. I hope it isn't crazy, we are going with my mom and step dad(who hates crowds). We thought it would be fine because it was suppose to be a dead time. Lets hope it works out. For anyone who knows or can answer this

How would you compare the crowds on the first week of Dec. with the crowds during the first week of March?

 

[Teenchy]

As to Pop Warner cheerleaders, I am not saying they are all bad, but I have been in places twice now where there were competitions, and found many to be very rude, leaving the place a mess, pushing you out of the way without saying sorry, and that's just the parents! Last year at MK one of the cheerleaders fathers was very rude and took a chair from our table at lunch without asking and when I said something accused me of taking their chair. It may be that I have just come in contact with a couple of bad groups, but it does make an impression.

Have you see those movies like "Bring it On".... those cheerleader types can have some attitude! :lol:

 

[claning]

I am going from Nov 30 - Dec 5 (also from South Jersey). We did this same time two years ago. Waits were about 10 to 15 minutes max. In fact, I found the Magic Kingdom more crowded during the MVMCP then during the actual operating day.

One event going on that week that I am suprised that no one mentioned is MouseFest. The "Land" portion of which is 12/7 - 12/11 which may cause some of the hotel room issues.

Chris

 

[davewasbaloo]

Hmmm, from the UK, the following are fully booked:

All Stars (all three)
Yacht and Beach Club
Boardwalk
Saratoga Springs
Contemporary
Grand Floridian

Limited availability in:
The Poly
Wilderness Lodge

I am worried now. Maybe Disney will extend their hours? One can only hope.

Also, when we made our dining reservations (about 160 days out) - we nearly didn't get into Le Cellier (we have a 12:00 lunch booked) and we had difficulty getting in other places. 11 reservations took 50 minutes to sort out!

 

[Cinderella1976]

Hi Seabee1, we too are also celebrating my DD birthday (and mine too)!! She will be turning 5 and I will be turning the BIG 30!! LOL That is also one of the reasons we chose that week because both of our birthdays are the first week and we are a day apart!! It just makes it even more special to celebrate at Disney and also the fact it is Christmas time at the World.:xmas: I have no idea what to expect now because of all the posts I am reading. I just hope it's not that bad especially with the cheerleaders.

Hi neighbor from South Jersey - we are really close. I am from the Turnersville area!!

 

[taylorsmommy530]

Hi!
We are going Dec 2-9, and we had a tough time getting reservations (staying at All star Music) and with the character dining. By the grace of God we were able to get lunch at the castle! My 4 year old daughter will flip!
Oh - and we are going to MVMCP on the 7th!


Michelle

 

[800Miles2Magic]

I have been dragging my feet on ADR's, but it looks like I need to get on it ASAP

Must not be but so busy, I got all of my ADR's within 15 minutes of what I wanted, with the exception of OHANA. 2 different nights they were booked up, and when I finally got a reservation it was at 8:30.

 

[Cinderella1976]

That's great!! I am glad to hear you got the reservations you wanted. Maybe people are right - just because the resorts are booked up it dosen't mean the parks and resturants are going to be completely full because of alot of people are there for other things. I hope you have a great trip!! :animwink:

 

[bears163]

plan on it being BUSY. we were there last year for the same time & it was busy. do able but busy. if you FP correctly it is no problem.

 

[kennygman]

Avoid the EMH parks and you'll have a great time and the crowds won't be all that bad. We went in Aug under free dining and anytime we followed this mantra our wait times were minimal. Anytime we didn't it was packed. Hotels were full and ADR were hard to come by for those who hadn't already made them, but the parking lots were a ghost town.

We're looking at Dec 9-13 under the Special Dreams Offer and all the hotels are wide open during that time. Even getting round trip air from DFW for $114.10. Pop Warner and Cheerleading, along with videotaping the Christmas parade are big draws, but locals only come out on weekend.

 

[davewasbaloo]

Ok I may have been panicking a little about the crowds (ok, maybe a lot) :brick: . But our ADRs are booked:

Boma
Chef Mickey's
Liberty Tree
Ohana
Whispering Canyon
50's Prime Time
Teppanyaki Mitsukoshi
Le Cellier
Biergarten
Marrakech
Nine Dragons

It should hopefully be good.

A number of you say avoid the EMH. What are the crowds like when it's the morning EMHs?

 

[Keyblade Holder]

My girlfriend and I are going down Dec 2-9. When everyone talks about a large crowd, are we talking about a large crowd by December standards? Or are we talking somewhere in the 4th of July range? I'd just hate to wait 2 hours to get on Splash Mountain. Been there, done that...

 

[Master Yoda]

My girlfriend and I are going down Dec 2-9. When everyone talks about a large crowd, are we talking about a large crowd by December standards? Or are we talking somewhere in the 4th of July range? I'd just hate to wait 2 hours to get on Splash Mountain. Been there, done that...

All the rooms are booked up property wide through 12/8/6 however most of this is due to pop Warner and cheerleading events. Many of these people will be at events outside the parks. The parks will be no doubt busy but not near as bad as the 4th of July.