Standby lines during Christmas week?

[Courtney6682]

Hello friends!

I'm in the midst of planning my first ever Christmas trip. I know it will be like nothing I've ever experienced before as far as crowds and we are prepared for that. My question is...Will riding ANYTHING standby be feasible? Like 20-30 min wait? Or will we only be able to ride with whatever fastpasses we have?

TIA!!!

 

[Jess G]

Oh my goodness I didn't know you were planning a Christmas trip!!? That's sooo exciting

 

[Courtney6682]

Oh my goodness I didn't know you were planning a Christmas trip!!? That's sooo exciting

I'm hoping to book in the next few days, my daughter turns 18 six weeks after Christmas, so this is my last chance to take her as a ''kid''. LOL. It's been a dream of mine to wake up at WDW on Christmas and to have a little tree set up in the room!

I'm just waiting for my husband to decide if he wants to come or not, but right now the plan is to fly down early morning Dec 24th and stay til the 29th or 30th. I booked our Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners months ago lol...so we're making some progress!!!

 

[Master Yoda]

20-30 minute waits will most likely be the shortest times you see all week and those times will be for attractions like the tiki Birds at 10 in the morning. For everything else expect to see wait times in rage of around 60 minutes or more.

Going during Christmas can be fun, but you seriously have to temper your expectations. The only way you can do "everything" would be to throw down the 5 figures it would cost for a VIP tour guide for the week. If you are not swimming in that kind of cash, the best thing you can do it use fastpass as much as possible and just deal with the lines.

All things being equal, an hour in the POTC queue is much better than an hour at work.

 

[Jess G]

I'm hoping to book in the next few days, my daughter turns 18 six weeks after Christmas, so this is my last chance to take her as a ''kid''. LOL. It's been a dream of mine to wake up at WDW on Christmas and to have a little tree set up in the room!

I'm just waiting for my husband to decide if he wants to come or not, but right now the plan is to fly down early morning Dec 24th and stay til the 29th or 30th. I booked our Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners months ago lol...so we're making some progress!!!

I've always wanted to do that as well. It seems like a once in a lifetime kind of trip! Where are you guys staying? I'm super excited for you!! Did you start a PTR yet? I gotta get back on forums more. My last trip was not so great / family things going on so I've been a little distant.

 

[Courtney6682]

20-30 minute waits will most likely be the shortest times you see all week and those times will be for attractions like the tiki Birds at 10 in the morning. For everything else expect to see wait times in rage of around 60 minutes or more.

Going during Christmas can be fun, but you seriously have to temper your expectations. The only way you can do "everything" would be to throw down the 5 figures it would cost for a VIP tour guide for the week. If you are not swimming in that kind of cash, the best thing you can do it use fastpass as much as possible and just deal with the lines.

All things being equal, an hour in the POTC queue is much better than an hour at work.

Thank you! We actually did the Ultimate Day of Thrills in August and I hadn't even thought of doing again until you mentioned the tours! Maybe I will do that for one of our days.

And you are right, JUST being at WDW is a win!

 

[Dory71]

We have been at Christmas before and found it crowded but we love Disney so we can deal with it. We decided to go to AK on Christmas Day after looking at the crowds at MK. Once we got to AK we noticed signs already posted for Phase closings at MK.

 

[Courtney6682]

I've always wanted to do that as well. It seems like a once in a lifetime kind of trip! Where are you guys staying? I'm super excited for you!! Did you start a PTR yet? I gotta get back on forums more. My last trip was not so great / family things going on so I've been a little distant.

I still haven't finished my Aug TR lol...

If it's just my daughter and I, I'm leaning towards Pop...if my husband comes either CS or CBR cuz we can't fit in a double bed lol.

I'm sorry to hear things didn't go as planned on ur last trip

 

[Courtney6682]

Thanks @Dory71 !! We have ADR's at LTT on Christmas Eve for dinner and at Mama Melrose for Christmas dinner, so I was planning to do HS one of those days with the thought that it will be the least crowded park..idk tho!

 

[Weather_Lady]

You couldn't pay me to go to WDW at Christmas, but I admire your pluck and your enthusiasm! Have a wonderful time, and use rope drop and FP+ to the maximum extent possible!

 

[Courtney6682]

You couldn't pay me to go to WDW at Christmas, but I admire your pluck and your enthusiasm! Have a wonderful time, and use rope drop and FP+ to the maximum extent possible!

Thank you! I'm very excited and feel like I have a good grasp on things. I've heard all the horror stories and seen the pictures LOL, so I feel like I know what to expect. Wall to wall people, lines, waits and other fun things!

 

[nickys]

Thank you! I'm very excited and feel like I have a good grasp on things. I've heard all the horror stories and seen the pictures LOL, so I feel like I know what to expect. Wall to wall people, lines, waits and other fun things!

We went last year. Yes it was busy, but you can still have fun. I'm trying to think back to a few days ...

Christmas Eve - we had BOG breakfast @ 9:30, entered park about 9 maybe. Diid small world before, then Mermaid at about 10:30, Dumbo, PP (fp), Philarmagic, HM (fp), watched Muppets all before noon parade. In the evening we went back for CP dinner, did Buzz, POTC, JC (fp), treehouse in an hour + quarter before Wishes.

Christmas Day - Epcot. FPS were SE, Soarin and MS. Got 4th fp for Nemo within 10 minutes (stand-by was posted at 20). Figment (10 mins) Pixar (no wait), Mexico ride (15). We were there from about 11 until 4:30 and headed to WS at about 2:30 and had a snack there.

AK day (28th) - had fps for Safari, Kali and something else!! Not Dinosaur 'cos we waited 30 minutes maybe for it. People were riding EE and getting back in line with maybe a 30 minute wait.

However, I do remember looking at MDE and seeing wait times of 2-3 hrs for some rides on Christmas Day. So glad we decided against MK that day. And we weren't trying to cram stuff in, I'd warned the family how busy it was going to be. As a result of tempering expectations we all enjoyed ourselves and never felt uncomfortably crushed.

 

[Courtney6682]

We went last year. Yes it was busy, but you can still have fun. I'm trying to think back to a few days ...

Christmas Eve - we had BOG breakfast @ 9:30, entered park about 9 maybe. Diid small world before, then Mermaid at about 10:30, Dumbo, PP (fp), Philarmagic, HM (fp), watched Muppets all before noon parade. In the evening we went back for CP dinner, did Buzz, POTC, JC (fp), treehouse in an hour + quarter before Wishes.

Christmas Day - Epcot. FPS were SE, Soarin and MS. Got 4th fp for Nemo within 10 minutes (stand-by was posted at 20). Figment (10 mins) Pixar (no wait), Mexico ride (15). We were there from about 11 until 4:30 and headed to WS at about 2:30 and had a snack there.

AK day (28th) - had fps for Safari, Kali and something else!! Not Dinosaur 'cos we waited 30 minutes maybe for it. People were riding EE and getting back in line with maybe a 30 minute wait.

However, I do remember looking at MDE and seeing wait times of 2-3 hrs for some rides on Christmas Day. So glad we decided against MK that day. And we weren't trying to cram stuff in, I'd warned the family how busy it was going to be. As a result of tempering expectations we all enjoyed ourselves and never felt uncomfortably crushed.

Wow!! That doesn't sound bad at all! Thank you so much for your input!!!!!

 

[nickys]

Wow!! That doesn't sound bad at all! Thank you so much for your input!!!!!

You did see the bit about seeing 2 to 3 hour waits at MK though on Christmas Day? I would definitely plan to be in another park that day!! And you'll probably also notice we weren't trying to do the really popular rides on Christmas Eve either, we saved them for later days - with fps. We're lucky to have that option as we come for longer stays.

 

[Courtney6682]

You did see the bit about seeing 2 to 3 hour waits at MK though on Christmas Day? I would definitely plan to be in another park that day!! And you'll probably also notice we weren't trying to do the really popular rides on Christmas Eve either, we saved them for later days - with fps. We're lucky to have that option as we come for longer stays.

Yes lol...we have a 6pm ADR on Christmas Eve at LTT, which is the day I plan to arrive. Hopefully we can get some FP's and just take things slow before dinner and then maybe head out early. Had Pandora not opened, I would have hit up HS and AK on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day..maybe AK would be wise if we stayed away from Pandora, which would be ok since we got to ride both new rides in August. Ughhh...I just don't know!!!

 

[Leo!]

if you're driving, the day starts normally with a 7-mile line from the i4 to MK entrance . The park normally closes in phases during the day so staying in the resort will be a plus.

I'd choose Epcot, HS and maybe AK. AK was manageable in previous decembers, but now with Avatar who knows.

Good luck and see you there!

 

[Courtney6682]

if you're driving, the day starts normally with a 7-mile line from the i4 to MK entrance . The park normally closes in phases during the day so staying in the resort will be a plus.

I'd choose Epcot, HS and maybe AK. AK was manageable in previous decembers, but now with Avatar who knows.

Good luck and see you there!

Thank you lol...those were my thoughts exactly park wise. I won't be driving...but will be staying on prop as passholders with ADR'S at 2 parks

 

[lostpro9het]

Hello friends!

I'm in the midst of planning my first ever Christmas trip. I know it will be like nothing I've ever experienced before as far as crowds and we are prepared for that. My question is...Will riding ANYTHING standby be feasible? Like 20-30 min wait? Or will we only be able to ride with whatever fastpasses we have?

TIA!!!

Our Christmas week recipe has been pretty successful for us and we will use it again this year. Rope drop the parks, ride standby until around 11, go back to the resort for lunch, nap, and pool time, then head back to the parks in the early evening time to burn through our FPs.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

We went at Christmas a few years ago, and it was busy but very doable. We would just go first thing in the morning and knock out quite a few rides right off the bat. We lucked out, on Christmas Day it was pouring rain so the park was dead till early afternoon!

 

[Bullseye1967]

If you can stay the night of the 30th, the New Years Eve fireworks at MK run on both the 30th and the 31st. I would not advise MK on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. It is beyond crazy. Do another park on those days.