PlutoTheDog89
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2011
Hey there,
I meant to reply to this post much sooner but haven't had the chance.
My family has gone every year since 2009, except 2011. We absolutely love it, and while we plan on taking a break after this trip, we wouldn't trade in our Christmas trip for anything in the world. It's become a tradition that we truly love.
Okay, so in short, it's crowded. It's very, very crowded. Honestly, though? We went to Disney World back in January for Pro Bowl weekend and it was very, very crowded. There's no truly "low-crowd" time at Disney anymore. But yes, Disney is VERY crowded during Christmastime—probably a bit more crowded than Thanksgiving.
But here's the thing: yes it's crowded, but 1) with the right planning and strategies, you can avoid the bad crowds; and 2) there's so much to see and do during Christmastime that you don't have to spend every waking moment in the parks—and don't need to "hang by the pool" all afternoon, either.
Alright, so here goes...
12/21-12/23 it'll be crowded, but nothing like Christmas week.
12/24: Your hotel lobby will become noticeably more crowded. People are checking in; some are checking out before the holiday
12/25: Very crowded at the parks
12/26-12/27: Crowded. Some days may surprisingly be more crowded than Christmas (or seem that way)
12/28-12/29: Crowds die down a bit (comparatively speaking). Most stay for Christmas OR NYE, not both
12/30: Crowds file in again; You'll start noticing a lot of runners taking over your resort
12/31: IMO, the most crowded day of the year at the park.
1/1: Crowds die down. It's actually funny going to Epcot. It's dead compared to, like, 12 hours ago.
Planning:
- MK will have morning EMH from 7am-8am almost every morning.
- It normally gets very crowded from 10 or 11am on. That means you have about 3 hours to get in as much as possible
Sample Christmas Day at MK:
- 7am: Rope Drop EMH. We'll go to Space Mountain, followed by Buzz Lightyear, then PeopleMover. We're finished by 7:50am-ish.
- 7:50am-8am: Photos in front of the castle, then head to Pirates
- 8am-8:20am: Pirates
- 8:30am-9:00am: Breakfast
- 9:30am-10:30am: Thunder Mountain FP+
- 10:30am-11:30am: 76DMT FP+
- 11:15am: line up for parade in Frontierland
- 12:30pm-1:30pm: Jungle Cruise FP+
- 1:30pm: Leave Park
- 2:30pm-5pm: Hang by pool/afternoon break
5pm: Get ready for dinner
6pm: Head to Contemporary
7:30pm: Dinner at Cali Grill
9pm: Watch HEA from Cali Grill
There are so many things you can do outside the parks, too:
- We love to eat at Disney. This is our break from our diets and, hey, it's the holidays.
- Disney Springs is an outside mall, but it can be fun to window shop or hop around. They had the Christmas tree trail last year.
- Go resort hopping. All the Deluxe Resorts have amazing decorations:
- Go to MK area: Stop at the Contemporary and see the display, then grab a holiday-themed cupcake at Contempo; Go to Poly and grab a drink at Trader Sam's; Go to GF and see the gingerbread display then meet Santa
- Epcot area: Go to Swan and Dolphin, then Yacht Club, Beach Club, grab ice cream at Ample Hills or Beaches and Cream, then finish at Boardwalk
- Go see ICE at the Gaylord Palms
- Or.. Hang by the pool, especially if it's nice outside and warmer than at home.
I meant to reply to this post much sooner but haven't had the chance.
My family has gone every year since 2009, except 2011. We absolutely love it, and while we plan on taking a break after this trip, we wouldn't trade in our Christmas trip for anything in the world. It's become a tradition that we truly love.
Okay, so in short, it's crowded. It's very, very crowded. Honestly, though? We went to Disney World back in January for Pro Bowl weekend and it was very, very crowded. There's no truly "low-crowd" time at Disney anymore. But yes, Disney is VERY crowded during Christmastime—probably a bit more crowded than Thanksgiving.
But here's the thing: yes it's crowded, but 1) with the right planning and strategies, you can avoid the bad crowds; and 2) there's so much to see and do during Christmastime that you don't have to spend every waking moment in the parks—and don't need to "hang by the pool" all afternoon, either.
Alright, so here goes...
12/21-12/23 it'll be crowded, but nothing like Christmas week.
12/24: Your hotel lobby will become noticeably more crowded. People are checking in; some are checking out before the holiday
12/25: Very crowded at the parks
12/26-12/27: Crowded. Some days may surprisingly be more crowded than Christmas (or seem that way)
12/28-12/29: Crowds die down a bit (comparatively speaking). Most stay for Christmas OR NYE, not both
12/30: Crowds file in again; You'll start noticing a lot of runners taking over your resort
12/31: IMO, the most crowded day of the year at the park.
1/1: Crowds die down. It's actually funny going to Epcot. It's dead compared to, like, 12 hours ago.
Planning:
- MK will have morning EMH from 7am-8am almost every morning.
- It normally gets very crowded from 10 or 11am on. That means you have about 3 hours to get in as much as possible
Sample Christmas Day at MK:
- 7am: Rope Drop EMH. We'll go to Space Mountain, followed by Buzz Lightyear, then PeopleMover. We're finished by 7:50am-ish.
- 7:50am-8am: Photos in front of the castle, then head to Pirates
- 8am-8:20am: Pirates
- 8:30am-9:00am: Breakfast
- 9:30am-10:30am: Thunder Mountain FP+
- 10:30am-11:30am: 76DMT FP+
- 11:15am: line up for parade in Frontierland
- 12:30pm-1:30pm: Jungle Cruise FP+
- 1:30pm: Leave Park
- 2:30pm-5pm: Hang by pool/afternoon break
5pm: Get ready for dinner
6pm: Head to Contemporary
7:30pm: Dinner at Cali Grill
9pm: Watch HEA from Cali Grill
There are so many things you can do outside the parks, too:
- We love to eat at Disney. This is our break from our diets and, hey, it's the holidays.
- Disney Springs is an outside mall, but it can be fun to window shop or hop around. They had the Christmas tree trail last year.
- Go resort hopping. All the Deluxe Resorts have amazing decorations:
- Go to MK area: Stop at the Contemporary and see the display, then grab a holiday-themed cupcake at Contempo; Go to Poly and grab a drink at Trader Sam's; Go to GF and see the gingerbread display then meet Santa
- Epcot area: Go to Swan and Dolphin, then Yacht Club, Beach Club, grab ice cream at Ample Hills or Beaches and Cream, then finish at Boardwalk
- Go see ICE at the Gaylord Palms
- Or.. Hang by the pool, especially if it's nice outside and warmer than at home.
