We really want to plan a trip to Disneyworld around one of those holiday breaks. These are the pros and cons I have so far on each.
Christmas/NEw Years: great decorations, but busiest time for Disney
Thanksgiving: decorations aren't up, not as crowded
We have never been at Christmas, and want to take the whole family this year. Are we crazy to fight the crowds the week between Christmas and New Years? Kids are preteens and older.
We won't be staying on the grounds no matter which week we go.
Last edited by momteachsis; 03-18-2013 at 07:32 PM..
Reason: Spelling
If you were staying in the park I would say Christmas because than you would be guaranteed admittance no matter what and it is beautiful. But since the parks could reach capacity I would hesitate about going than, and choose Thanksgiving.
My favorite time to go was a week or two after Thanksgiving; decorations are up and the Christmas Party is going on; but there are no crowds.
They put the Christmas decorations up either right before or right after Thanksgiving - I would call and ask. I love it with all the decorations!
As for when to go, if you don't have to go right on the holiday, between the two is usually a great time to go. Otherwise it's going to be very crowded (like, close the park crowded). I've heard that New Year's Day isn't bad, but I've never actually been.
We were there the Wed before Thanksgiving week until Thanksgiving day. The crowds TH/Fri were amazing. It became a bit more crowded on the weekend and by Wed they were major. The apps we used said the first days were 2/5-3 out of 10, the second 2 were closer to 5 out of 10 and as we got closer to Thanksgiving they went to 9+ out of 10.
It was definitely crowded but the decorations were most definitely up, Mickey's Christmas party was going and they lit the castle every night!
We were happy with our trip, but we made sure our first day was Magic Kingdom, then we went for 4 straight days before taking a break....we then had 2 days to wander Magic Kingdom while it was crowded but since we had already hit the big rides we got to see everything else! FWIW, we were able to walk on and off rides the first few days....by the Wed. before Thanksgiving the same rides had hour plus waits.
I can give you more info on our Thanksgiving trip if you would like....we had SO many pluses, I'm happy to share! Just PM me!
Not sure if ur talking world or land, but I went to DL around Dec 17 and it was the worst trip ever because it was the most crowded I've ever seen in my whole entire life! It was a traffic jam to get there, long line for a ticket and only went on 3 rides in 5 hrs! We left out of frustration early.I would say go around thanksgiving as its less crowded and worth it for the low lines.
We have been at Thanksgiving and Christmas before though years apart. You cannot go though thinking that anything special will happen Christmas day. DH planned the Christmas trip first thinking that what you see on TV would be there. We later found out that all the "stars" and celebs, etc. seen on TV are actually there weeks earlier between mid November and early December.
I mean, they will have the Parade of Lights with a Christmas theme--which is awesome--but it is the same one they have every other night of the season....except for Taping day-no one special, no MC, etc.
It is crowded but we found everyone to be exceptionally nice and even more pleasant than usual.
From experience (went Christmas Day to January 6)...the week between is totally CRAZY! Most parks were at a stage n where only resort guests were allowed and some parks were at one-in-one out stage with resort quests priority for entrance. BUT WE HAD THE TIME OF OUR LIVES...if you are going to do this I suggest having a great touring plan (used easywdw and touring plans to pick park of day and then ridemax to give us a touring plan for that park). If you are early risers and get there at rope drop and use a plan, then it was completely manageable...this is not a sleep in vacation, nor is it a sleep at all vacation. We were out of the resort by 8 am each morning and not back until after 9 pm each night! About January 2 the crowds died down quite a bit...
I understand Thanksgiving week is just as bad...as a teacher I know you are trying to plan around your vacations from school.
The week between Christmas and New Years is the worst possible time to go (well, along with mid June-early August). We live an hour away and many times, many, many times, the park has been shut down by like noon because they are at capacity. We have friends who were here this past holiday season who said the shortest line in which they waited was 2 hours! If you can get here the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving that would probably be best. Most school districts here do not release for break until either the Wednesday before or Thanksgiving Day, so its a lot less crowded with locals on Saturday through Tuesday before TD.
We've been there both times. Once over Thanksgiving and once right after Christmas. It was much more crowded right after Christmas than it was through the Thanksgiving week. We planned our days carefully and knew what rides we wanted to hit early, etc.
Our first trip as a family was at Thanksgiving. It was fabulous. The decorations were up and the days prior to Thanksgiving were not crowded at all. The Friday and Saturday after the holiday were more crowded.
We went the Monday after Thanksgiving and left the following Monday (Dec 4th). It was wonderful!! I think we went in 2006. The only day it was packed was when they were filming the Disney Christmas Show. Just avoided going to the Magic Kingdom that day.
The first week of December is an AWESOME time to go! Rates and crowds are lower...you can stay at one of the value resorts for like $70/night. All of the Christmas decorations are up, and they have Mickey's Christmas party...Osborne's Lights...and SNOW
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03-18-2013, 07:31 PM
