The week before Christmas week

[Shellbells]

We're currently booked for Dec 15th to the 20th. On a scale of 1-10 how bad will the crowds be?

It's my hubbys first time and he hates crazy crowds. I really want him to love it as much as I do.

 

[fla4fun]

There’s no way to predict for sure, but typically those dates are pretty good. You’re going after Pop Warner and before the big holiday crowds would be coming in.

One thing I have noticed visiting during that time is that the crowds seem to be better tempered, whether due to the holiday season,or nice weather, I don’t know. But everyone seems kinder and more patient than on my late summer/early fall trips.

 

[Ashley Marie]

We're currently booked for Dec 15th to the 20th. On a scale of 1-10 how bad will the crowds be?

It's my hubbys first time and he hates crazy crowds. I really want him to love it as much as I do.

We went Dec. 15-25 last year. It was manageable and plenty of fun, but as expected it did feel fairly crowded -- even the resort felt crowded since we were at the Grand Floridian, which is a tourist attraction in its own with the holiday decor in December. Since we had a longer trip and little kids, we weren't doing open to close in the parks.

This post on easywdw is really interesting. Even though we left on Christmas and avoided the supposedly much crazier crowds between Christmas and New Year's, it looks like the week we were there had the 6th highest average wait time of 2017; average wait time was 48 minutes vs. 56 minutes during the actual holiday week. Christmas week has no parties, longer hours and I'm sure way more staffing, which all helps to disperse the crowds more.

Anyway, I didn't feel like the crowds during the week you're looking at ruined the experience. It didn't feel that bad. With planning, being willing to do early mornings, avoiding the parks (or doing a sit-down lunch and shows, etc.) at the peak of the day and refreshing for more FPs throughout the day, it's fine.

But if you're worried, switching your dates to earlier in December would mean less crowds.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We're currently booked for Dec 15th to the 20th. On a scale of 1-10 how bad will the crowds be?

It's my hubbys first time and he hates crazy crowds. I really want him to love it as much as I do.

We've gone that week for the past two years and, while it isn't the lowest crowd time (by far!), it's definitely manageable. I will say, though, we are not park-commandos and we never spend entire days in the parks. We typically do half-days with other activities scheduled to fill in the other half. Last year, in addition to the parks we did The Void at DS followed by touring the holiday offerings there plus dinner at Cali Grill, a pool/spa day followed by HDDR and a private sleigh ride through Ft. W. We also did MVMCP (MK will be significantly less crowded on party days) and the Star Wars fireworks dessert party. We also made sure to book the more hard-to-get FP+ at our 60 day mark. My biggest advice would be to avoid MK on a non-party day, however, if you want to see HEA, you'll need to at least go in the evening. If you do, consider an HEA dessert party. Crowds got significantly bigger as the week went on. We left the Saturday morning before Christmas last year and our resort (WL) was packed with people arriving the Friday evening before.

My DH is not a big WDW fan, but, I've found, if I mix park touring in with things I know he will like - good meals, some pool time, upcharge events in the parks to avoid crowds - it becomes a great vacation for everyone.

 

[NH-to-FL]

We're currently booked for Dec 15th to the 20th. On a scale of 1-10 how bad will the crowds be?

It's my hubbys first time and he hates crazy crowds. I really want him to love it as much as I do.

If I had to guess, I would say 7 rising to 9 through your visit. I say this because the Gold Annual Pass blackout starts on the 20th. Obviously Disney thinks it will be busy by the 20th.

If it fits with your schedule, plan to be there at or before rope drop and take an afternoon break away from the crowds. Yes, there will be a crowd at rope drop but it will quickly disperse through the park. The crowds really build around 10:30 to 11. That's when it might make sense to start visiting less popular attractions. Perhaps an early lunch, another attraction or two and then the afternoon break back at your resort to decompress from the crowds.

You will be right on the cusp of the busiest time of the year but with planning I am sure you will be able to make it work. At least the December crowds don't have the added stress of heat and humidity.
Wishing you a visit!

 

[Hope Soda]

We went last year Dec 10th - Dec 20th. We experienced uncomfortably heavy crowds twice, both at MK. The first was on the 18th, when we stupidly attempted to catch the Happily Ever After fireworks. The fireworks crowds on non-party days are no joke! The next time we watched HEA, we watched from behind the castle - MUCH better, especially since we couldn't see the projections anyway (I'm short). The other day crowds were too heavy for us was the 20th. We went to MK after brunch, did our FPs and some shopping, and then bolted. Fortunately, that's what we planned anyway. That was also on a non-party day.

In conclusion, go to MK on party days and you'll probably be fine, especially in the rope drop hours. The crowds in Animal Kingdom can seem really heavy along the path from Asia to Africa, but we were never stuck in a crowd for too long. Hollywood Studios was pre-TSL then, so I can't say how that will be this holiday season, but, aside from the rope drop crowd, crowds weren't too terrible. We picked great days to go to Epcot, apparently, as crowds were quite spread out (as usual), and with pretty low wait times.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

We're currently booked for Dec 15th to the 20th. On a scale of 1-10 how bad will the crowds be?

It's my hubbys first time and he hates crazy crowds. I really want him to love it as much as I do.

Thanks for asking this question. I am there for just 3 days at the end of that week and following the answers you are receiving with interest. Please forgive me if I throw in a few questions of my own.

My DH hates crowds and long waits also (and so do I for that matter), but I really want to experience WDW in all it’s Xmas splendor at least once in my life. I’m trying to view this trip differently to our last trip - more about atmosphere and Xmas experiences than ticking off as many rides as possible.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

We went Dec. 15-25 last year. It was manageable and plenty of fun, but as expected it did feel fairly crowded -- even the resort felt crowded since we were at the Grand Floridian, which is a tourist attraction in its own with the holiday decor in December. Since we had a longer trip and little kids, we weren't doing open to close in the parks.

This post on easywdw is really interesting. Even though we left on Christmas and avoided the supposedly much crazier crowds between Christmas and New Year's, it looks like the week we were there had the 6th highest average wait time of 2017; average wait time was 48 minutes vs. 56 minutes during the actual holiday week. Christmas week has no parties, longer hours and I'm sure way more staffing, which all helps to disperse the crowds more.

Thank you for sharing that EasyWDW post - it was really interesting. Particularly interesting was that first MK graphic which shows the wait times for each day. Working out what were party days and which weren’t, it’s an absolute no brainer for me to go to MK on party days despite the shortened hours and no fireworks.

I don’t suppose you know if they created a similar graphic for the other parks? I can only find the ones they created for January wait times, but would love to know how the different days in December compared.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

We've gone that week for the past two years and, while it isn't the lowest crowd time (by far!), it's definitely manageable. I will say, though, we are not park-commandos and we never spend entire days in the parks. We typically do half-days with other activities scheduled to fill in the other half. Last year, in addition to the parks we did The Void at DS followed by touring the holiday offerings there plus dinner at Cali Grill, a pool/spa day followed by HDDR and a private sleigh ride through Ft. W. We also did MVMCP (MK will be significantly less crowded on party days) and the Star Wars fireworks dessert party. We also made sure to book the more hard-to-get FP+ at our 60 day mark. My biggest advice would be to avoid MK on a non-party day, however, if you want to see HEA, you'll need to at least go in the evening. If you do, consider an HEA dessert party. Crowds got significantly bigger as the week went on. We left the Saturday morning before Christmas last year and our resort (WL) was packed with people arriving the Friday evening before.

My DH is not a big WDW fan, but, I've found, if I mix park touring in with things I know he will like - good meals, some pool time, upcharge events in the parks to avoid crowds - it becomes a great vacation for everyone.

The way you only spend part days in the parks and then do other Xmas things in the evening sounds similar to our plan for this year.

When you mentioned pool time, it got me wondering about the weather. I know it’s a lottery at that time of the year, and living in a ski resort town, I’m not worried about the cold. But I was wondering how much the temperature can change in one day. If the day starts warm, will it still be warm in the evening, or should we schedule time to go back to our resort (WL) and put on warmer clothes before heading out to explore the likes of DS and Fort Wilderness.
Similarly, did they provide blankets for the sleigh ride?
Thanks

 

[Nancyg56]

I like that week, in fact this year our trip is the 14th to the 22nd. I think that the crowds are relative in that it seems staffing matches the projected crowds, so wait times are kind of the same. The MK has parties 4 of the 7 nights of the week, so the 3 non party nights are shoulder to shoulder. We generally plan to use get there later in the day, like for a late lunch (booked our ADR) book FP for the attractions we like the most (I always book the Jingle Cruise, it is fun) book our ADR for dinner, adn anything else is a bonus. The Party days are nice, so get there for RD and you can get a lot done.

The last time we were there when the weekend approached CHristmas like this year by Friday the crowds were building and the resorts were busy. Saturday night the MK was horrible, and by Sunday we were glad to head home. Prior to friday night though, the crowds were manageable and the trip was awesome.

Weather is crazy. SOme years we have had really warm weather, other years cold! It changes day to day. I would plan for cold this year: my husband is joining us and he seems to bring Winter with him! LOL!!! I would suggest to plan to dress in layers, and to remember that the breeze of the lakes can get cold. Even for us Northerners.

PLease try to resort hop a bit. The resorts are pretty , and so much fin to visit. Teh Grand in particular is nice, especailly after 3 PM. The Grand Pianist entertains in the lobby, followed by the Grand Orchestra. Just lovely!!

Fort Wilderness can be worth a visit at night if you have time. There is a wagon ride you can join for about $8 a person.

In EPcot the Holiday storytellers are wonderful, as is the Candlelight Processional. I also think the decorations and flowers are among the most underappreciated in the parks. They are beautiful or whimsical, depending where you are.

 

[picktails]

We will be there December 17 - 22, and I have invested in touring plans for crowd info. At first the estimates were really high (10 some days!) but recently were adjusted down. For the dates we share, crowd estimates (1-10) are 12/17 - 7, 12/18 - 5, 12/19 - 7, 12/20 - 7. There are individual park crowd estimates on the site if you want to look them up. I have planned our days at each park based on these estimates.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I would plan for cold this year: my husband is joining us and he seems to bring Winter with him! LOL!!!

I loved your whole post. I makes me even more excited to be travelling at that time. Love the tip about getting to the GF after 3.

Out of interest, where did you find the late morning/early afternoon crowds to be more manageable: MK on a party day or Epcot around the World Showcase?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The way you only spend part days in the parks and then do other Xmas things in the evening sounds similar to our plan for this year.

When you mentioned pool time, it got me wondering about the weather. I know it’s a lottery at that time of the year, and living in a ski resort town, I’m not worried about the cold. But I was wondering how much the temperature can change in one day. If the day starts warm, will it still be warm in the evening, or should we schedule time to go back to our resort (WL) and put on warmer clothes before heading out to explore the likes of DS and Fort Wilderness.
Similarly, did they provide blankets for the sleigh ride?
Thanks

There is really no way to predict weather, but, I will say, we had perfect weather the past two years - mid-70's, low 80's, zero rain. We swam a few days (mostly mornings and afternoons) and I packed some cardigan sweaters and sweatshirts but never needed them in the evening, which was too bad because I had some super cute ugly Star Wars Christmas sweaters for our DHS evening and it was too warm to wear them, LOL! Layers are key for that time of year, but you may not need them.

I loved your whole post. I makes me even more excited to be travelling at that time. Love the tip about getting to the GF after 3.

Out of interest, where did you find the late morning/early afternoon crowds to be more manageable: MK on a party day or Epcot around the World Showcase?

I'll take a stab at answering this. MK crowds are low until about 4 pm on party days when the party guests start coming in. If you can avoid WS during Candlelight Processional shows (and about an hour before the first one, when people start lining up), at least in the middle section of WS (around the American theater and the pavilions directly next to it), you will avoid most crowds in WS.

 

[Nancyg56]

I loved your whole post. I makes me even more excited to be travelling at that time. Love the tip about getting to the GF after 3.

Out of interest, where did you find the late morning/early afternoon crowds to be more manageable: MK on a party day or Epcot around the World Showcase?

Go to the MK for RD on a party day. The crowds pick up by 4 or so. Hit Epcot on a non party day, and then go to MK for evening entertainment on a non pary night.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

There is really no way to predict weather, but, I will say, we had perfect weather the past two years - mid-70's, low 80's, zero rain. We swam a few days (mostly mornings and afternoons) and I packed some cardigan sweaters and sweatshirts but never needed them in the evening, which was too bad because I had some super cute ugly Star Wars Christmas sweaters for our DHS evening and it was too warm to wear them, LOL! Layers are key for that time of year, but you may not need them.

Thank you! Great to hear it didn’t get too much colder in the evening.
Those Christmas sweaters sound fantastic.

Go to the MK for RD on a party day. The crowds pick up by 4 or so. Hit Epcot on a non party day, and then go to MK for evening entertainment on a non pary night.

I'll take a stab at answering this. MK crowds are low until about 4 pm on party days when the party guests start coming in. If you can avoid WS during Candlelight Processional shows (and about an hour before the first one, when people start lining up), at least in the middle section of WS (around the American theater and the pavilions directly next to it), you will avoid most crowds in WS.

Thank you both. Essentially we have only 3 days and with such limited time, I keep changing my mind on how to spend them. On our last day (the Friday before Xmas) I can’t decide whether to go to MK for a second day or Epcot.
Either way, we’d leave no later than 4 and spend the evening in DS and/or resort hopping.
It sounds like both might be good options.

 

[Shellbells]

But if you're worried, switching your dates to earlier in December would mean less crowds.

Thank you for the link to that article. We do plan on rope dropping and taking a break in the afternoon and returning later most days.
I wish we could go the week before our trip but I get my bonus on the 15th and we're using that for our spending money.

 

[Shellbells]

My DH is not a big WDW fan, but, I've found, if I mix park touring in with things I know he will like - good meals, some pool time, upcharge events in the parks to avoid crowds - it becomes a great vacation for everyone.

We're going to do pretty much what you guys do. My hubby is a big eater so we're going to do a lot of sit down meals and break up our days with afternoon breaks. I have the parade meal booked for our MK day so we don't have to worry about getting a spot and being packed in with other people. Although, I'm not super excited about eating at Tonys. I'm thinking of doing at least on dessert party too.

 

[Shellbells]

In conclusion, go to MK on party days and you'll probably be fine, especially in the rope drop hours.

We are doing exactly this. We're doing MK on the 16th so hopefully, the crowds and lines won't be too bad.

 

[Shellbells]

We will be there December 17 - 22, and I have invested in touring plans for crowd info. At first the estimates were really high (10 some days!) but recently were adjusted down. For the dates we share, crowd estimates (1-10) are 12/17 - 7, 12/18 - 5, 12/19 - 7, 12/20 - 7. There are individual park crowd estimates on the site if you want to look them up. I have planned our days at each park based on these estimates.

Thank you for posting the crowd numbers! I'm still debating buying touring plans since most of the ADRs are already booked but there are a few I'd rather have so I might do it.

 

[Nancyg56]

Thank you for posting the crowd numbers! I'm still debating buying touring plans since most of the ADRs are already booked but there are a few I'd rather have so I might do it.

I like TP and buy every year. The crowd calendar is nice, and I use it as a guide, but it is useful to help plan in general.You do not need it, but it is not a bad little tool to have.