Have you ever spent Christmas Day at a vacation destination?

[quandrea]

Close. We arrived Christmas night at WDW. My dream is to spend Christmas Day at WDW. I think we will do it in a few years.

 

[mommasita]

Many cruises, I have never spotted food in the pool . On the contrary, it’s so spotless. Grills are cooking speciality foods on the deck. It has always been a marvellous time.
These past few years have been Deerfield beach, my childhood spot. We go 4-6 weeks, and we enjoy our time. We no longer celebrate Xmas, so it’s downtime for us, and I’m so completely sad about it this year.

 

[OhMari]

2010, We took our 3 college age kidsto Arizona and visited their sister who was sent their to work 45 days. It was so nice to finally not have to go to 4 different places and meet everyone’s expectations. No gift buying. We had a blast. We were at the Grand Canyon on Christmas Eve and it snowed 4 inches. We have a great picture of the canyon covered in snow. It melted by 11 am.

 

[MrsPete]

I've never been away from home on Christmas, but we used to make a habit of going out of town -- just our little family -- for Thanksgiving. We did it because Thanksgiving and Christmas can get to be awfully "obligation-full", and we decided to opt out of one. We loved it.

Several people mentioned cruises -- I'll never cruise on a major holiday again. It was the most expensive cruise we ever took, and because kids were out of school it sailed "over capacity". I didn't know that term (in relation to cruises) until that trip: the ship is considered to be "full" if two people sail in every cabin; but with kids in a BUNCH of the cabins, it was "over capacity". The ship was definitely more crowded than any other cruise we've taken, and we were assigned to a "side room" rather than the main dining room. Nope, not again.

Similarly, the idea of spending Christmas in a Disney park is very unappealing to me. I'd rather go in a less crowded season.

 

[tennisfan]

I did as a child, for 2 Christmas' we stayed in a hotel which was nice. Now i'm an adult I would love to go away for Christmas or New year, however due to my job unless i'm at the top of the leave list I can't get either of those weeks off. Plus can only have leave one or the other.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We traveled during Advent almost every year. Although we are always home by Christmas Day.

 

[DVC-Don]

Christmas 2004 & 2006 at WDW. Thanksgiving 2019 at Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark, Lake George, NY.

 

[leebee]

DH and I went to Florida last year for Christmas; we were there 12/19-12/27. We decided we'd rather spend the money on a trip than on gifts. I packed a pop-up tinsel Christmas tree for the hotel room and we set a limit of $50 on gifts to give each other (so he could buy my annual 3 Christmas-present books!). We stayed at a Disney Springs hotel. We went to see Nutcracker at the Orlando Ballet, spent a day at Universal to do the 2 Potter-Parks, visited a friend in Cocoa Beach a couple of times, and bummed around. We spent Christmas Eve at WDW: Breakfast at Ale&Compass, day at AK (DH had never seen Pandora), late afternoon beverages and snacks at Nomad Lounge. We hopped over to Epcot to stroll World Showcase and attend the Candlelight Processional. After the CP we had snacks at Tangierine Cafe and then went to DS and had wine at Wine Bar George then back to the hotel (where there was a message from DH's provost, saying he'd been awarded the ONE sabbatical leave that his university gives, for academic year 20/21- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!). On Christmas Day we slept in late, had room service for breakfast, opened presents and spent time at the pool, and had Christmas dinner at Boma. It was absolutely lovely, and exactly how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Never away for any major holidays.

 

[Dan Murphy]

DH and I went to Florida last year for Christmas; we were there 12/19-12/27. We decided we'd rather spend the money on a trip than on gifts. I packed a pop-up tinsel Christmas tree for the hotel room and we set a limit of $50 on gifts to give each other (so he could buy my annual 3 Christmas-present books!). We stayed at a Disney Springs hotel. We went to see Nutcracker at the Orlando Ballet, spent a day at Universal to do the 2 Potter-Parks, visited a friend in Cocoa Beach a couple of times, and bummed around. We spent Christmas Eve at WDW: Breakfast at Ale&Compass, day at AK (DH had never seen Pandora), late afternoon beverages and snacks at Nomad Lounge. We hopped over to Epcot to stroll World Showcase and attend the Candlelight Processional. After the CP we had snacks at Tangierine Cafe and then went to DS and had wine at Wine Bar George then back to the hotel (where there was a message from DH's provost, saying he'd been awarded the ONE sabbatical leave that his university gives, for academic year 20/21- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!). On Christmas Day we slept in late, had room service for breakfast, opened presents and spent time at the pool, and had Christmas dinner at Boma. It was absolutely lovely, and exactly how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Sounds wonderful. leebee.

we set a limit of $50 on gifts to give each other (so he could buy my annual 3 Christmas-present books!)

 

[lisaviolet]

Yes. And I have never thought I would be a person who ever would. But circumstance has taken me there. For the past ten years or so pretty well go every other year.

Walt Disney World - maybe four times. I never feel homesick. Christmas magic is everywhere. And I LOVE the crowds and the extended hours.

Williamsburg, Virginia --- lovely spot for Christmas. Still have vivid memories of a traditional tree lighting/caroling on Christmas Eve.

NYC, not day of but a combination with Williamsburg and Walt Disney World for Christmas holidays.

 

[Toolulu22]

Our families are spread out all over the East Coast and out to Colorado. We typically travel for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, we may be home alone for both, which will be strange and lonely. For trips that were just us, we’ve gone up to Vermont and out to Colorado, both to stay in the mountains and snowboard. Someone mentioned that there are no actual Hallmark towns, but Nederland, Colorado and many of the small towns of New England come pretty close. I love the sunshine for my spring breaks, but always choose snow at Christmas.

 

[JimMIA]

Depends on whether you consider the International Date Line a vacation destination.

When I was a young kid (10), we were returning from a 3-year tour of duty in Japan on a military transport ship. We approached the International Date Line on Christmas Day and had a big celebration on board. We crossed the line that night, so the following day was...CHRISTMAS! So we had another celebration.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We travelled home from WDW on Christmas Day, 2006. We woke up early and had breakfast in Florida. We changed planes in Dallas, so we had lunch in Texas. Then we opened presents and had Christmas dinner with my family in California. It was a 27-hour Christmas Day since we got our three hours back going west. We spent Thanksgiving Day, 2018 at Animal Kingdom. We had dinner at Yak and Yeti. I had the traditional Thanksgiving salmon. We had a tough year and wanted to do something completely different that year. It was different and fun!

 

[quandrea]

I've never been away from home on Christmas, but we used to make a habit of going out of town -- just our little family -- for Thanksgiving. We did it because Thanksgiving and Christmas can get to be awfully "obligation-full", and we decided to opt out of one. We loved it.

Several people mentioned cruises -- I'll never cruise on a major holiday again. It was the most expensive cruise we ever took, and because kids were out of school it sailed "over capacity". I didn't know that term (in relation to cruises) until that trip: the ship is considered to be "full" if two people sail in every cabin; but with kids in a BUNCH of the cabins, it was "over capacity". The ship was definitely more crowded than any other cruise we've taken, and we were assigned to a "side room" rather than the main dining room. Nope, not again.

Similarly, the idea of spending Christmas in a Disney park is very unappealing to me. I'd rather go in a less crowded season.

I agree with being in the park on Christmas Day. We always get a dvc villa and I’d spend Christmas Day at the resort—opening stockings, cooking Christmas dinner, watching Christmas movies—basically what we do at home but on my second favourite place (home is number one). Next day—hit the ground running for two weeks at WDW. We were there over Christmas week last year and it was great. We found the crowds to be tolerable with a good plan.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Christmas Day 1998 at Tokyo Disneyland.

 

[kanerf]

I usually spend Christmas at Colonial Willamsburg, but this year will be going to WDW. Since I lost my Spring trip, I added that to replace it. Will be going on my Oct trip for F&W as usual.

 

[Solfe]

We spent Christmas 2018 in the Magic Kingdom. The best and most expensive trip we ever took. It started off wacky and got crazier.

At about 4 am in the Buffalo Niagara Airport, my family disappeared. As I glanced around for them, a woman asked me if the seats next to me were taken. I was about to say, "yes" when I spotted my family riding on the moving walkways, going in two different directions and waving to me like loons. I modified my answer to a head nod in their direction with the words, "I don't know..." which cracked the woman up. By 10 am, we were on the Magical Express. We checked in by 11:30, had lunch at Chef Mickeys. We ran all through the Contemporary Resort because the kids wanted to see the place we had our honeymoon then hit the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

This trip to the MK was different than anything I had ever done. We had tickets enough to go to a park but were expecting the flight and exhaustion to get us. It didn't at first. We arrived with zero plans.

We went on the People Mover three times, Space Mountain twice and froze like deer every time the Castle came into view. I think we hit every store on Main Street and stopped for pictures at anything that vaguely looked "Christmas". We didn't have dinner plans and ended up at Cosmic Rays. It was about 10:30 at that point. My 12 year old daughter completely came off the rails and started crying. On that note, we ended the night there and took a very slow walk out of the park as the "snow" came down. That cheered her up, but then the other kind of tears started. We hung out until close and headed back to the resort.

And the whole thing started back up again the next day, with a very well planned trip back to the Magic Kingdom.

Our trip was Dec 25 to Jan 1st. It was best trip I've ever been on, but I would never again try to combo Christmas and New Years in one Disney Trip. New Years Eve was at Epcot. It was 10 times better than Christmas in the Magic Kingdom. Going back to work on Jan 2nd was the worst day of my life. It was really way too much emotionally.

Here is a great pano that I got on our third trip to the Magic Kingdom that week.

 

[Summer2018]

We spent Christmas 2018 in the Magic Kingdom. The best and most expensive trip we ever took. It started off wacky and got crazier.

At about 4 am in the Buffalo Niagara Airport, my family disappeared. As I glanced around for them, a woman asked me if the seats next to me were taken. I was about to say, "yes" when I spotted my family riding on the moving walkways, going in two different directions and waving to me like loons. I modified my answer to a head nod in their direction with the words, "I don't know..." which cracked the woman up. By 10 am, we were on the Magical Express. We checked in by 11:30, had lunch at Chef Mickeys. We ran all through the Contemporary Resort because the kids wanted to see the place we had our honeymoon then hit the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

This trip to the MK was different than anything I had ever done. We had tickets enough to go to a park but were expecting the flight and exhaustion to get us. It didn't at first. We arrived with zero plans.

We went on the People Mover three times, Space Mountain twice and froze like deer every time the Castle came into view. I think we hit every store on Main Street and stopped for pictures at anything that vaguely looked "Christmas". We didn't have dinner plans and ended up at Cosmic Rays. It was about 10:30 at that point. My 12 year old daughter completely came off the rails and started crying. On that note, we ended the night there and took a very slow walk out of the park as the "snow" came down. That cheered her up, but then the other kind of tears started. We hung out until close and headed back to the resort.

And the whole thing started back up again the next day, with a very well planned trip back to the Magic Kingdom.

Our trip was Dec 25 to Jan 1st. It was best trip I've ever been on, but I would never again try to combo Christmas and New Years in one Disney Trip. New Years Eve was at Epcot. It was 10 times better than Christmas in the Magic Kingdom. Going back to work on Jan 2nd was the worst day of my life. It was really way too much emotionally.

Here is a great pano that I got on our third trip to the Magic Kingdom that week.

View attachment 531679

It all sounds like a wonderful whirlwind. We did the 12/24-1/1, and the one thing we did differently was to do nothing on arrival and departure days which helped with our physical and mental health. I was fortunate that I didn't have to return to work on 1/2 since it fell on a Friday, and it was built into our school vacation (teacher here). On 1/2, we visited my in-laws in St. Augustine, Florida, then departed on the 4th. I wasn't due back at school until 1/7.

Our trip to Disneyland last year was over spring break, and we arrived home on Easter Sunday in the middle of the night. I had to be back at school the next day, and that was rough...jet lag and all.