How crazy are the parks during Christmas break?

[FrancisK7]

Before being a DVC owner I would never have considered going to WDW during the Christmas break. Way too expensive to pay hotel rack rates, inflated flight prices, parks 110% capacity, it just felt as such poor value my mind could not even fathom it.

In 2018 we travelled Dec 9-15 just my wife and I so we could experience Christmas decorations without all the crowds, as our Disney agent had told us this was considered low season. We had stayed at Kidani and absolutely loved it.

Now that we are brand new owners at AKL and BRV, which I know are often cited as the best Xmas resorts, I'd really love to experience a Christmas break vacation with the kids there at some point.

Assuming Jedi-level planning was involved, with proper ADR and LL reservations in place, can you still manage to have enjoyable experience?

I remember seeing 4-5 hours wait times for Flight of Passage of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train on my app back home around Jan 30 2018 and immediately thought "who would put themselves through this?"

Yet here I am, with all the rest of the addicts. Cheers!

 

[intamin]

The parks are extremely busy during Christmas break. There's 5 reasons DVC members book early December instead and are some of the most coveted times to go.

1. Low crowds
2. Holiday decorations
3. Good weather
4. Cheap point charts
5. The sorcerer pass is still good through the second week of December.

Going during Christmas week the crowds are significantly worse, point charts are at their worst and the sorcerer pass is not valid during that time.

 

[CarolynFH]

We went to WDW over Christmas and NYE one year, and we’ll never do it again, especially NYE at Epcot! That said, yes, you should do it once - it’s a very special time at WDW.

Assuming Jedi-level planning was involved, with proper ADR and LL reservations in place, can you still manage to have enjoyable experience?

This is the way!

 

[intamin]

We went to WDW over Christmas and NYE one year, and we’ll never do it again, especially NYE at Epcot! That said, yes, you should do it once - it’s a very special time at WDW.

This is the way!

We stayed at BLT/AKV this past Christmas BUT we decided not to pay extra to go into the park since we have sorcerer passes and at first I was kind of sad I wasn't going into the Disney parks especially being across the street from MK but after seeing the crowds I had no regrets about not going in.

We ended up using our Universal passes since even the preferred passes are valid during the week of Christmas and the crowds really were not bad at all there. We only went there one day and the rest of the time we spent monorail hopping and spent the money on food and merch that we otherwise would've burned on park tickets and had a great time.

 

[robinb]

We visited Christmas/NYE week from 1999 to 2018. It is CRAZY nuts, but we loved it. The keys are:

1. Expect it to be unbelievably busy.
2. Take advantage of early theme park entry or deluxe hours if they are available. The extra 30 minutes for EMH is still worth it.
3. Take a mid-day break. It's way too crazy busy to be in a park all day. Especially when the MK is open from 7:30 am - 1:00 am.
4. OTOH, try not to burn the candles at both ends. Follow up a really late night with a later start.
5. Arrive the Wed or Thurs before Christmas if you can. Those first couple of days will seem blissfully quiet later on.
6. Make ADRs for Christmas day and/or NYE
7. Make an ADR for the dessert party at the MK if you can to have a safe place to watch the fireworks outside of the mass of humanity.
8. Take full advantage of the new Plan Ahead LL Entry (MultiPass or whatever they are calling it) and ILL$. By the time you go all the VLoggers and fellow DISers will have it figured out for you.
9. If you're planning to go to a Christmas party, get those tickets ASAP.
10. Don't spend all your time in lines. Enjoy the entertainment and holiday charm.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

Is it crowded - Yes
Can you still have a good time - Yes
We went 12/26 - 12/30 and enjoyed the decorations and the candlelight processional. Yes there are crowds but you can get on the rides. It just takes planning and patience

 

[Tatebeck]

If I went during a high peak Christmas season I would just do everything to avoid normal hours standby waits possible. Buy the lightning lanes, both multi and single pass, use those, maybe get more if available after using some. Use early entry or extended evening hours to wait standby for anything else you really want to ride. I would probably skip a bunch of stuff since with DVC you know you are coming back. Use all the other time to enjoy the atmosphere in the parks or the resorts instead of hopping in a 5 hour line

 

[FrancisK7]

We visited Christmas/NYE week from 1999 to 2018. It is CRAZY nuts, but we loved it. The keys are:

1. Make an ADR for the dessert party at the MK if you can to have a safe place to watch the fireworks outside of the mass of humanity.

I love this hack, didn't know this was a thing! MK fireworks crowds (during and especially AFTER) have me scared.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Its legit wall to wall people and its hard to get from one thing to the next and CM's are politely yelling at guests to keep moving.

Of course it can still be enjoyable because its Disney.

 

[FrancisK7]

Its legit wall to wall people and its hard to get from one thing to the next and CM's are politely yelling at guests to keep moving.

Nightmare fuel.

Reminds me of those videos of train stations workers in China just ram-pushing people into trains.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Crazy busy! You could always just do a resort stay. The way you get the ambiance but stay sane!

 

[intamin]

Crazy busy! You could always just do a resort stay. The way you get the ambiance but stay sane!

That’s what I’d do, still got to see the fireworks from the comfort of our room as well but easily could’ve just gone up to TOTW or the sky way bridge to watch

 

[disney castle days]

We went last Christmas, from the 22nd to the 26th. I will say we found the crowds from the 22nd to the 24th to be comparable to our July 2023 trip. We usually go somewhere between Dec 18th and 22nd and find the crowds are much more tolerable.

We did not go on Christmas Day, but the 25th & 26th were crowded. The problem also tends to be (at least from what my cm friends tell me), is that a lot of first-timers go on Christmas, making everything so much longer than it needs to be. A lot of the time there are long lines for checking into restaurants, and it was because 2-3 parties did not have reservations and were freaking out at cast members because they didn't know ADRs were a thing, or people would be screaming at the cast members in front of the attractions because they don't understand G+.

 

[FrancisK7]

I love this hack, didn't know this was a thing! MK fireworks crowds (during and especially AFTER) have me scared.

Holy **** I just checked it's $120 per person for 2h

How good are these desserts?

 

[intamin]

Holy **** I just checked it's $120 per person for 2h

How good are these desserts?

You're not paying for the food, you're paying for the separate viewing area. But also at that point I would probably just book California Grill and watch the fireworks from up there instead.

 

[CarolynFH]

Holy **** I just checked it's $120 per person for 2h

How good are these desserts?

Not that good, but having access to the reserved area to watch the fireworks, especially on major holidays, not to mention somewhere to sit while you wait, is priceless.

 

[CastAStone]

Holy **** I just checked it's $120 per person for 2h

How good are these desserts?

For a big group the fireworks cruises from bay lake are less expensive than the desserts. You’re further away and won’t be able to see the projections but it’s a ferry solid experience.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Maybe stating the obvious, but I’d also add that if you do end up at a park for NYE, Disney transportation after midnight is a mess (can’t speak to the boats to CCV or BRV). Definitely need to pack your patience

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Is your family made up of thrill ride junkies who hate waiting and feeling packed in (bad idea) or people who enjoy Christmas merriment, crowded festivals, and don’t mind a slow pace and crowds (good idea)?

Most people fall somewhere in between…and then there’s a question of how much you can/will spend to avoid misery. We are far to the “bad idea” end of the spectrum but also my kids LOVE the holidays and NYE at Epcot, so we’ve pay up to make it less claustrophobic and easier on my decrepit body. Most of the strategy plus upsell have already been mentioned above. We did the NYE fireworks cruise into Epcot this year and it was way less stressful, but I also felt like we didn’t get as much of the NYE energy we did the year before in (faux) Paris. That year we made sure we had ADRs around 10pm at Le Creperie to get inside from the cold and away from the crowds—but it took over 45m to be seated and there were a LOT of irate people fighting with French CMs while we waited to be seated—Quel Dommage!

This upcoming year, with the new FP+/G+ hybrid, you’re going to want to try to book one very long stay on a single membership at a single resort unless/until you hear that they let you link reservations together (ask me how thrilled I am that we learned about this long after the 7mo window ) so you can book the special experience upsells and good LL times, if you want them.

 

[man-from-nantucket]

Frequent WDW visitor, DVC, did Christmas once. Decorations were beautiful, but, crowds were wicked bad (that’s for my Boston bros). I mean, shoulder to shoulder uncomfortable crowded where your going wherever the mob momentum is taking you. Nevva, evva again.