Another Travel Question
- Thread starter dave_1974
- Start date
Yes. It is crowded. FastPass helps. Make all restaurant reservations, if dining at a sit down place in the parks (especially the ones that have characters in attendance), well in advance.
The week between Christmas and New years is pure hell in almost all of Florida. My anniversary is December 28th and my wife and I have essentially given up all hope of an overnight trip anywhere. Rates are at an absolute premium and everything is booked solid. Disney will be slammed.
Week leading up to Christmas would be better for you.
Week leading up to Christmas would be better for you.
You don't say anything about family size, ages, or whether you have been there before, but I don't think my response would change no matter what those particulars ...
Don't do it. As everyone else has said, it is beyond "crowded". I like the Paris suggestion and there is a Disney park near Paris if I remember correctly. Won't be as warm, but a much better overall experience unless your kids are very young.
It sounds like a cool idea, but I agree with this others. I went once that week and will never do it again because of the crowds. I mean..people fighting and pushing each other to get on shuttles back to their hotels in the evening. Magic Kingdom is very pretty and well decorated but the crowds ruin the trip.
If you really want to see the parks with the holiday decorations try earlier in december. Much less crowded and still the same decorations. Most of the high-end WDW resorts also have some spectacular decorations as well. We were in WDW 12/14-18 last year and the Grand Floridian had a gingerbread house in the lobby that doubled as a dessert bar, serving treats, hot chocolate. Beach/Yacht Club had a carousel made of treats (couldn't ride it, tho).
"Good morning- Has anyone ever done disney at Christmas?"
Disney at Christmas-time is magical with decorations everywhere. BUT, do not ever think that Christmas day will be a fun time for a visit. Go after Thanksgiving or after New Years Day and still see what Disney can do for the holidays.
See the characters and a visiting family arrive by train before the opening of WDW each morning, the Floridian Hotel and the gingerbread house, the evening concerts at the American Pavilion in Epcot, dinner at the French Pavilion in Epcot, the millions of lights everywhere at the Studio, and much, much more. Disney decorates for the holidays weeks in advance and normally entertains everyone with information online. You can plan your trip and see the sights, but not on Christmas day.
Disney at Christmas-time is magical with decorations everywhere. BUT, do not ever think that Christmas day will be a fun time for a visit. Go after Thanksgiving or after New Years Day and still see what Disney can do for the holidays.
See the characters and a visiting family arrive by train before the opening of WDW each morning, the Floridian Hotel and the gingerbread house, the evening concerts at the American Pavilion in Epcot, dinner at the French Pavilion in Epcot, the millions of lights everywhere at the Studio, and much, much more. Disney decorates for the holidays weeks in advance and normally entertains everyone with information online. You can plan your trip and see the sights, but not on Christmas day.
Yogi Berra comes to mind; "nobody goes there anymore because its too crowded". Seriously I went to DisneyLAND a few years ago. I went the second full week of January. My daughter was still out of school and we caught the last week of the Disney Xmas theme (parades, decorations and such). It was great as it wasn't all that crowded and we were able to extend the Xmas hangover. Was lots of fun.
I get your analogy, and I love Yogi, but he WAS specifically asking about Christmas morning and the next couple of days. The time at the parks, whether Anaheim or WDW, is light years different when comparing Xmas-New Year's vs. the 2nd week of January. It's why I suggested a few weeks before Xmas. It's almost a dead period for the parks.
I used to go to WDW in early-mid January for the same reason, but it was becoming crowded with massive South American/Brazilian tour groups on their summer vacations.
I used to go to WDW in early-mid January for the same reason, but it was becoming crowded with massive South American/Brazilian tour groups on their summer vacations.
We went a few years ago and arrived on the 19th. We hit the park hard for 3 days and it was relatively uncrowded. Beginning the 23rd there were long lines of people checking in at the on-site hotels/condos. We went and saw the parade on the 24th and it wasn't too bad. The only thing we did on Christmas Day was dinner at the Magic Castle. We made dinner reservations well in advance. It was expensive as hell but the kids loved it.
It's one of the busiest times of the year at Disney. Scheduling your fast past ahead of time (you have no other option now) helps a bit, but all the popular rides like Dwarf's mine ride and a personal favorite, meeting Anna and Elsa will have 90+ minute standby waits.
