Why the differences for December crowds?

[CoastalX]

I have a trip planned for Dec 5-11th and Understand about Pop Warner being there that week and eveything, but Ive also read and posted about the crowds that time of year and some people say the crowds were really low and others said that it was very crowded at the same time or year. Im just curious why there are so many differences good and bad about the same time of year? i know its unpredictable about crowds but overall is it that crowded or not ?

 

[CatsMeow]

It is a great time to visit, IMHO. When we were checking into OKW on our last early December trip, the lobby was mobbed (indeed, it was the first time we had been wait-listed at our home resort). However, the parks were not overwhelmingly crowded with the exception of DHS, which we just avoided. :lookarounWe tend not to make a lot of ADRs anyway and are happy with counter service, so that did not really come into play for us.

I think a lot of the school/sports groups tend to stay at the values and/or moderates. Circumstances could be considerably different there due to that (more folks on buses, at food court, etc.).

 

[KeithVH]

Personally, I think it's a relative thing anymore. The general consensus, based on other threads about crowds, is that there are busy and slightly less busy times at this point. Slow times may occur but are no longer a consistent guarantee for set time periods.

For a while on this board, everybody just raved how slow it is in December. And in other communities. And yes, late 90's thru 02-03, it was pretty darn slow. Even during Pop W. I thought it was one of those best kept secrets but no more. Early November might still qualify tho.

We only go in December and learned about Pop the hard way. We always stay Poly so resort wasn't an problem with them; but the typical park issues - yeah, weve seen that. And last December was an outlier as it was the first time they did free dining for that time period - that really did have an impact.

I think you'll get some old-timers who know have seen changes over time and say yes, it's crowded in December now. And the rose-colored glass group who say the parks are empty (try doing MK on a parade filming day). The answer is probably somewhere in between. Yes, definitely less than spring, summer, and fall but your comfort level with crowds any of size will determine your personal view.

All this being said, Christmas is one of the greatest times to go (we'll ignore any Epcot comments here) with the decorations and general festive attitude of most CMs and guests. Cooler weather is a good benefit here also.

 

[wolf359]

My last December trip was more crowded than previous trips around the same time, but still significantly less crowded than peak times.

There are so many variables in people's vacation habits and now that Disney is somewhat less predictable about when they'll offer discounts I think the old notions of slow times vs. busy times need revising. There are a lot fewer solid, predictable slow times now.

 

[CoastalX]

Thank you for all of the insights, I have been in the middle of summer and other various times of the year and even in September for 3 years in a row for free dining and each of those years got a little busier but still not insane crowded like in July or Aug. I feel when we go in Dec that we will be pleased with the crowd levels as well as weather. I feel the weather also plays a huge role in ones view on crowds too. When its 98 degrees and you are waiting in line for 45 min to an hr it can seem unbareable, but yet if it is 73 degress, that same wait time would not seem quite as bad, so each persons view on crowds and wait times is going to be different, so we will just go with a higher insight in mind and enjoy our trip regardless! :xmas: