Returning to Disney World after 5 year hiatus... what to expect?

B

BAD311

Member
Original Poster
5 years since we last went to Disney World. WoW! Had no clue!

Anyways, my wife and I are going Dec 1st to Dec 9th.

We're hoping crowd levels will be low as it's been recommended that's one of the best times of the year to go + we want to experience Christmas @ Disney.

My wife has a 7 day pass, I *think* it has ParkHopper option (bought it 3-4 years ago)... I'm hoping she can use it at Disney when we go and I'll need to buy a pass+park hopper.

Do we also need the MagicBand? If so, what benefit will it lend us in December? I imagine with low crowd levels we can get on everything we want in a day without much waiting. Advise?

We also plan to go to Universal Studios for a day or two... are crowd levels similar to Disney parks in December?
 
King Panda 77

King Panda 77

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
Premium Member
What to expect ?
According to some,
19ay0d.jpg
 
King Panda 77

King Panda 77

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
Premium Member
The whole magic band thing is a personal issue. I found having one great but some prefer using card media.
I can't comment on the rest but hope you have a great trip.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
BAD311 said:
Anyways, my wife and I are going Dec 1st to Dec 9th. I imagine with low crowd levels we can get on everything we want in a day without much waiting. Advise?
Click to expand...
Crowds have increased exponentially in the last 5 years. What used to be "low crowds" is now "moderate +". Even if you see crowd predictions of 2/10 or 3/10, keep in mind that the 10 is much bigger now than days of yore, so while crowd levels of 2 and 3 sound great, the parks WILL be busy.

Be patient, take advantage of FP and enjoy the holiday decorations. :)
 
Sonconato

Sonconato

Well-Known Member
BAD311 said:
5 years since we last went to Disney World. WoW! Had no clue!

Anyways, my wife and I are going Dec 1st to Dec 9th.

We're hoping crowd levels will be low as it's been recommended that's one of the best times of the year to go + we want to experience Christmas @ Disney.

My wife has a 7 day pass, I *think* it has ParkHopper option (bought it 3-4 years ago)... I'm hoping she can use it at Disney when we go and I'll need to buy a pass+park hopper.

Do we also need the MagicBand? If so, what benefit will it lend us in December? I imagine with low crowd levels we can get on everything we want in a day without much waiting. Advise?

We also plan to go to Universal Studios for a day or two... are crowd levels similar to Disney parks in December?
Click to expand...
I would love to offer you feedback on crowd levels but after last night, I give up. We have annual passes and frequently go to AK on Sunday evening to see Festival of the Lion King. We show up at parking around 4:30pm so not many people are coming in at that point. Usually when we leave at around 8:00pm, they may have completed parking our row or perhaps started the next row. We also make FP for Kilimanjaro Safaris for around 7:30 and usually we walk on or there are just a few people in front of us. However, last night proved to be an entirely different story. The FP line to KS was back to the touch points which made it about a 20 minute wait or more. We thought the reason was perhaps there was a back-up due to animals getting in the way of the trucks. But that soon proved to be wrong too. When we went back to the parking lot, the entire lot behind us was packed. That is about 1/4 to 1/3 of the parking available. We just couldn't understand what the heck was going on…we had never experienced this before. Because of this, we left about an hour after we planned on leaving. So, we totally give up on trying to figure out the crowds.
 
TheOrangeBird01

TheOrangeBird01

Well-Known Member
If you're staying on site, then you'll get a magic band automatically. You should use it to your advantage, because December is a busy time usually. Crowds have changed a lot in the past five years, so you really need to prioritize what rides are must dos, and go on them first to avoid disappointment.
 
ShoalFox

ShoalFox

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
The old paper FastPass system is no more at WDW. Instead, there's the electronic Fastpass+ which you can reserve electronically. You can pick 3 attractions at a time from any of the parks, and then when you go through your initial three selections, you can pick one more at a time until the end of the day.
 
Stryker

Stryker

Member
You should expect to have a great time. For me a trip to WDW has always required planning (or maybe I just love to plan and get all geeked out over spreadsheets). Dining reservations and fastpass scheduling ahead of time really works well for us. Do your'homework' on what has changed at WDW in the last 5 years and there have been many changes. This site is a great source of information. I would also recommend Touring Plans for information on crowd levels and attraction/show wait times. A little planning and a relaxed attitude and you should be all set. It works for us. October will be our 5th trip in six years (without the kids) and we certainly plan on having a great time, again!
 
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Like others have mentioned, the crowds have increased. You will need more patience dealing with the waits for transportation, lines at attractions, seating at restaurants, and more unruly guests around you. It will take longer getting from one area of a park to another. The new FP+ system takes a while to get used to, there are good & bad points to the change. Competition to get ADR's & FP+ is brutal, so make sure your DW has been working on getting what you want. I think Uni crowds are still not as bad as Disney's but have increased as well because of Harry Potter drawing guests in to experience attractions in both parks. There have been a lot of changes in just 5 years to the parks, the menus, the attractions, so familiarize yourself with your new options by scanning through all the resources here and other sites. Disney still for the most part remains a great place to experience despite what some say, so have a great time enjoying all it has to offer.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
BAD311 said:
Do we also need the MagicBand? If so, what benefit will it lend us in December? I imagine with low crowd levels we can get on everything we want in a day without much waiting. Advise?
Click to expand...

Magic Bands and paper tickets function the same, the bands are just a different format. They offer no specific benefits. Staying in a Disney resort is what would provide extra benefits (earlier access to Fastpass+ and dining reservations).

Even if you anticipate low crowds, still book Fastpasses ahead of time. It costs you nothing to do so. Certain attractions, such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Frozen will likely have long waits no matter how quiet the parks are. Booking Fastpass for at least one headliner attraction per park is going to save several hours of waiting in line.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom