HELP :) Going to Disney world Christmas 2015

Hi all!

I am headed to Disney world this Christmas with my husband and two kids(6 and 3). We will be there on the Disney property from December 23rd-29th and then will stay at a house from the 29th-Jan 3rd.This past week I decided it was best to start researching and planning this trip and OH BOY am I glad I did. Just reading some of peoples comments and reviews about Christmas time made me want to cancel our trip all together. This is the only time my family can go so we will have to make it work. I have a rough schedule of our 5 days at the parks with us starting early at rope drop, leaving park by noon and having the rest of our days be relaxed and not really planned besides some late dinner reservations.

So I am looking for as many tips, advice, blogs, forums, sites, recommendations anything you can think of that can help me make my trip as great and smooth as possible.

Here are a few things I am looking for help on so far I am sure there will be more as time goes on..

-How did photopass+ work for you during the holiday rush? Any tips on where to go to get some great shots? How many photos did you end up with at the end of your trip? Will we even be able to meet many characters during our trip since it is busy? We plan to Fast pass Anna and Elsa, Ariel and will do enchanted tales with Belle.

-Where did you go for dinner Christmas eve and Christmas? Where would you recommend? I am looking into California Grill or Naroossee's for Christmas eve (if they are open and available when I try to make a reservation 180 before) Not sure about Christmas yet.

-I thought I read somewhere I may be able to make dinner reservations as early as 190 days out? Is this at all true?

-We are staying at art of animation in the little mermaid. We realize it is a walk to the bus stop. Does anyone know how smooth buses work there? We were thinking of doing taxis on any nights we have dinner reservations at another resort just to make it easier. Any ideas on taxi fair?

-This question may seem silly but looking to be some Disney shirts before we go away. I am all about character tees. I want to find a toy story shirt for my husband and daughter for when we go to toy story mania but no luck so far. Any sites anyone can recommend for Disney gear? Did check out Disney store didn't see anything I was crazy about. Also where is best place to buy Disney ears at Disney world?

Sarah K said:

Hi all!

I am headed to Disney world this Christmas with my husband and two kids(6 and 3). We will be there on the Disney property from December 23rd-29th and then will stay at a house from the 29th-Jan 3rd.This past week I decided it was best to start researching and planning this trip and OH BOY am I glad I did. Just reading some of peoples comments and reviews about Christmas time made me want to cancel our trip all together. This is the only time my family can go so we will have to make it work. I have a rough schedule of our 5 days at the parks with us starting early at rope drop, leaving park by noon and having the rest of our days be relaxed and not really planned besides some late dinner reservations.

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Christmas is crazy busy, but totally manageable if you have a good plan.

My guess is that you're going to want more time in the parks. Right now you're looking at 25 hours or so over 11 days.

Sarah K said:

So I am looking for as many tips, advice, blogs, forums, sites, recommendations anything you can think of that can help me make my trip as great and smooth as possible.

Click to expand...

My best advice is to use the crowd calendar at easywdw.com to plan your day. The rest of the site is really useful, too.

I recommend getting a good guidebook. This one is my personal favorite.

Sarah K said:

-How did photopass+ work for you during the holiday rush? Any tips on where to go to get some great shots? How many photos did you end up with at the end of your trip? Will we even be able to meet many characters during our trip since it is busy? We plan to Fast pass Anna and Elsa, Ariel and will do enchanted tales with Belle.

Click to expand...

I really love memory maker. I'm not sure if they still sell photopass+

Sarah K said:

-I thought I read somewhere I may be able to make dinner reservations as early as 190 days out? Is this at all true?

Click to expand...

Not exactly. At 180 days from your check-in date, you can make ADRs for up to 10 days of your trip, which is commonly referred to 180+10.

Sarah K said:

-We are staying at art of animation in the little mermaid. We realize it is a walk to the bus stop. Does anyone know how smooth buses work there? We were thinking of doing taxis on any nights we have dinner reservations at another resort just to make it easier. Any ideas on taxi fair?

Click to expand...

The bus service is great. You can look up cab fares at taxifarefinder.com

Sarah K said:

-This question may seem silly but looking to be some Disney shirts before we go away. I am all about character tees. I want to find a toy story shirt for my husband and daughter for when we go to toy story mania but no luck so far. Any sites anyone can recommend for Disney gear? Did check out Disney store didn't see anything I was crazy about. Also where is best place to buy Disney ears at Disney world?

Click to expand...

https://www.threadless.com/cartoon-tv-characters/toy-story/
http://www.zazzle.com/toy+story+tshirts

We were there from the 20th-30th this past year! Loved it! We ate at LTT in the MK on Christmas Day. Yum! Buses from AofA are excellent! Keep in mind that rope drop at the MK was at 7am all that week, so get to bed early if you want to hit rope drop at the MK.

We usually visit from Dec 26-Jan 2 each year and yes it is insanely crowded! Rope drop is a must each day! Our typical day is AM EMH at a park, tour as long as possible and then lunch and an afternoon break. With FP+ we found that we like to schedule our rides in the evening so when we come back we have something to ride without long waits. We also use that time for the smaller attractions that rarely have a wait even in busy times like TTA and Figment.

As far as meals, all the restaurants will be open, nothing closes for the holidays so pick something that sounds good and go for it!

We are also visiting this coming Christmas! Sounds like your plan is very well thought out in terms of doing parks and attractions given the ages of your children. There is a hat shop in MK on Main st. but you may want to consider purchasing your ears at Disney Springs due to how crowded the parks will be. If you are booking your own reservations for dining you should consider booking your meals starting from your last day and working backwards. The 180 plus 10 will allow you to do this. We always enjoy Tusker House character breakfast and are excited to try Crystal Palace breakfast for the first time. Take advantage of morning EMH as pp have mentioned and try to stay away from the parks that are offering late EMH as they tend to be the busiest. Have a magical trip and enjoy the planning

I went for the NYE holiday a few years back, and it was the craziest I've ever been at WDW. Stores, paths, cafeterias - everything was crowded. I'd say whatever you can buy ahead of time, do it; make ADRs or plan to eat during off-meal times; and if you want to have a view of any parade or fireworks show, you better double your average waiting time. We took advantage of morning EMHs and in hindsight I wish we had stayed for the late EMHs instead - we were exhausted by mid-afternoon but because of the longer wait times for rides, we felt we had to stick it out to get on all the rides we wanted rather than go back to the hotel for naps. We should have left the park for naps during midday and come back later and stayed til the end of EMH.

We were at Epcot on NYE and it was impossible to walk anywhere all day. Wall to wall crowds everywhere the entire time the park was open!