What is "Disney World" like at Xmas?

[Glen_J]

Who's been to "DisneyWorld" at Xmas time.

We are planning on going for the dates Dec 19 to 27th this year and would really like to hear from people that have been there at this time and whether it was a "magical"xmas for you?

Glen J

[Fflewduur]

Omg--don't do it! If you love Disney World and want to keep it that way, avoid going over Christmas at all costs. The decorations & created holiday environment are great, yes, but it's THE most crowded the Vacation Kingdom will be all year long. The crowds are so massive we found it hard to walk, even at Downtown Disney. You will wait for at least an hour for everything. It's the kind of atmosphere that turns good kids bad, makes well-adjusted families dysfunctional. Seriously, most of the folks I know who have been during the week between Christmas & New Year's have sworn they'll never go again. It's miserable.

On the other hand, if you can manage to go earlier in December (particularly the first two weeks, although the third week leading up to Xmas is pretty okay too) you will be blessed by small crowds, short lines, and still get to revel in the holiday spirit.

My family & I just returned from a mid-January trip. Granted, the holiday decorations were gone, but the ease of park touring was incredible. Our first morning we hit the Magic Kingdom and managed to go through Pirates, the Magic Carpets of Agrabah, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Winnie the Pooh before lunch. We walked onto most attractions the entire trip; the longest wait we had was about 15 minutes. We had to time our arrival carefully for newer attractions like Soarin' at Epcot--waits became 40-50 minutes as the day wore on--but mostly the trip was a breeze.

If you can make it fit your schedule, the best times to go are...well, when most people can't: September, October, November (apart from Thanksgiving), early December, and January. Christmas week you're looking at around 70,000 visitors daily; most of the fall they number around 25,000 instead, dropping to about half that in early December and climbing to around 30,000 in January and very early February.

Hope this helps!

[Glen_J]

Thanks Fflewduur, I really appreciate you taking the time to warn me.

As myself and the family will be flying in from Sydney Australia I'm trying to plan ahead and make sure the trip is as good as can be.

So, based on your feedback if we adjusted the dates to say the 4th to 12th of Dec then we'd still get the whole Xmas vibe, but miss the crowds?

Will the Xmas decorations be up around that time?

Glen J

[Fflewduur]

It's been ten years or so since I was at WDW in that early December time frame, so this can't be taken as gospel...but--

I'm pretty certain the holiday decorations are all up by Thanksgiving (pretty much like everywhere else in the US, seems like). I'm not sure when the Christmas-themed parades & shows start; something makes me think it may be solidly mid-December before those begin. Also there are other little touches like the Christmas re-dress of the Country Bear Jamboree attraction--I'm fairly certain that runs the whole month of December, but not positive.

Then there's Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a separate ticketed event that gets you into the Magic Kingdom (for an additional nominal fee) for a few hours after official closing. Most of the best attractions stay open late, there are holiday parades & performances, special fireworks--it costs extra, but it starts immediately after Thanksgiving on select nights leading up to Christmas.

Anyway: the holiday thang will be absolutely swinging over the 4th-12th, but for "the whole Christmas vibe" (emphasis my own), something like the 10th-18th might serve even better.

I believe some cast members frequent this board...perhaps someone will jump in with some hard & fast information?

[Fidget1234]

Disney world xmas week is the WORST week to visit. Its crazy busy & all the parks reach capacity so they have to stop letting people in at like 10AM & if u arent in the park u want to be in-chances are u wont get in that day...thats ridiculous. & its the same for New Years too. That whole week from Dec 21-Jan 3 is like the absolute worst time to visit.
If you want to enjoy the xmas festivities- they start in mid november. I'd reccomend going down the week before thanksgiving, or first 2 weeks of december...but not during holiday weeks like thanksgiving, xmas/new year, & 4th of july.

[jwa1107]

2004 we went to Magic Kingdom on the 16th/17th.
all the Christmas decorations were up
many of the Christmas shows and parades were in full swing
and the crowds weren't that bad

my 8 month old loved the Country Bears Christmas Jamboree; thank heavens her grandparents came along too so we could have "big kid" fun

I'd suggest trying to get to WDW a week or two before Christmas.

2005 friends of ours went to Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day.
The park gates were closed to additional visitors at 11am because they had reached capacity. From their account it was not good with such a large crowd. They hopped over to Animal Kingdom which was not nearly as bad.
Lucky for them they had been at Magic Kingdom 2 days prior too.

[yankees]

I think ot depends if you want to do...like I went there a week before Christmas...and it was crowded (Space Mountain was a 2hr wait)...so Its very busy...but its very good to get into the other parks

EPCOT,MGM, and Animal Kingdom arent as croweded because more people are in Magic Kingdom

I went over 4th of July Week Once and I found it less crowed than the Christmas season
________
Love stories forums

[chapnearwdw]

Who's been to "DisneyWorld" at Xmas time.

We are planning on going for the dates Dec 19 to 27th this year and would really like to hear from people that have been there at this time and whether it was a "magical"xmas for you?

Glen J

Well, since I don't work for Disney anymore, you may or may not want my advice here, but I did work in guest services at Disney World for 7 years up until early 2005 so perhaps my advice may be beneficial after all...

I strongly urge you to visit before that week because once the local kids are out of school for winter break, the lines for all of the attractions (even the shows and smaller rides) are INSANE until at least the second week in January!

Personally, I would recommend that you visit in the first part of December. You'll still see all of the holiday elements, but you'll also be avoiding the majority of the holiday crowd as well. Also, please keep in mind that Disney World is the #1 family destination on the planet, so it's never slow but as long as the local kids are in school, it's not too bad...

Hope this helps.

[tarheelblue23]

My wife and I went for our honeymoon the week of Dec 15th. 2 weeks before XMAS is always their slowest week of the year(according to their information). Disney World during Xmas is just awesome. There is nothing like it. We purchased a package that allowed us to attend every event. We did everything from the candle light vigil to to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. There was hardly any wait at the rides. The wait for a ride like Space Mountain was only about 5 min. Definitely an awesome time to go. We are planning on going the same time next year. I also recommend the meal pass. It was great being able to eat anywhere we wanted and all we had to do was show the meal card.

[TurdBizzler]

Hey guys,

I went down to Disney World from Dec. 17 - 22, so basically the week before Christmas. I really wasn't sure how the trip was going to turn out. There was eight of us going down from college (including the famous Aaron Wallace, yes i have had the opportunity to go to WDW with him...twice), anyways, and the trip was amazing. I never expected Disney to be so amazing during Christmas. Yeah, it was pretty crowded, but the weather was amazing and the atmosphere in the parks was truly spectaular. What stood out to me the most was the Magic Kingdom. The decorations were just phenominal. My fondest memory was staying late one night (i guess it was e-ride night or something like that) and leaving the park real late with all the fake snow falling on Main St. USA. Also, the part of MGM with all the Christmas Lights, i forget the name, is just breathtaking. I strongly recommend going down, it is very very worth it.

[crunkcourt]

Hey I agree with turd, because I actually accompained him to Disney World that time and it was amazing! I can't describe how wonderful it was. I will always remember that trip as one of the best weeks of my life. The parks are decorated in that special disney way that no other company can compete with bringing the feeling of Christmas alive.

[Fidget1234]

they do have alot going on for xmas- & its all worth seeing/doing....but xmas/new years week is literally the busiest time/week and most expensive time of year to go.
The festivities start about a week or two before thanksgiving when its not so crazy & it really does feel like Xmas time -even though its not for another month.
They keep the xmas magic going til Jan 7 or 9.

[tarheelblue23]

2 weeks before Christams is their slowest time of the year. Its a great week to go, no crowd and all the xmas activities in full swing. There is nothing like visiting Disney during xmas. If you are able to stay the entire week that gives you the opportunity to take in all the events. I dont think we missed anything: Very Merry Christmas Party, MGM lighs, candle light show with the mass choir.