Walt Disney World at Christmas time

[RainbowSprinkles]

Unfortunately, not this year :( But we are considering this for next year or the year after. We would like this to be our Christmas present to our children when we do go, but don't want to wait until Christmas Day to announce it. So I have a few questions..

 

1. We would like to get there a couple of days before Christmas Day. When would you tell the children about it and how? One idea I had, was to have St. Nick leave a note with the tickets in their boots on Dec. 6th.

 

2. What does it look like there at that time? Like decoration wise, etc... Will they have a parade?

 

3. Is it crowded during the week of Christmas?

[sbgrace]

I've heard it's crowded right around Christmas and just afterward. We went prior to (early December, maybe the second week, I can't remember) a couple of years ago and there was essentially no wait for rides and etc. Everything was decorated and the holiday parades were going on. I had done a lot of reading about when it begins to get crowded in planning our visit and I can't remember those time frames now. I think it would be more enjoyable when the crowds are low and the decorations and parades will be the same if you can be flexible with time. We went once on Christmas day itself (pre kids) and it was deserted. That said, it was absolutely freezing for Florida (40's if I recall) so that may well be the reason. We wore winter coats.

Edited November 18, 2010 by sbgrace

[K-FL]

1. Sounds like a plan.

 

2. Lots of decorations. It's Disney, ya know?

 

3. Usually the week between Christmas & New Year's is very busy everywhere in Florida. (It's the biggest tourist week of the year down here.)

[Dmmetler]

We have gone twice right at Christmas.

 

Disney at Christmas is beautiful, both decorations-wise and weather wise. It's a little cold to swim, though. (My daughter was very upset by this because we were in the Port Orleans, which has a sea serpent water slide).

 

Yes, it's busy. However, if you stay on-site and take advantage of magic hours, you can avoid the worst of it and go back and take advantage of the resort/hotel amenities during the busiest time. Christmas morning is actually one of the best times we've round to be in the park, because it seems that people don't go to Disney on Christmas until later in the day.

[RainbowSprinkles]

I've heard it's crowded right around Christmas and just afterward. We went prior to (early December, maybe the second week, I can't remember) a couple of years ago and there was essentially no wait for rides and etc. Everything was decorated and the holiday parades were going on. I had done a lot of reading about when it begins to get crowded in planning our visit and I can't remember those time frames now. I think it would be more enjoyable when the crowds are low and the decorations and parades will be the same if you can be flexible with time. We went once on Christmas day itself (pre kids) and it was deserted. That said, it was absolutely freezing for Florida (40's if I recall) so that may well be the reason. We wore winter coats.

 

We are in Alaska right now, so I don't think this will be a problem for us :)

 

So would it be a better idea to go the first or second week in Dec?

[Joyfullyblessed]

Hello,

 

I am not quite sure what advice to give as far as surprising the children goes, but there may be a way to have Mickey call them and announce it. Just call Disney World and ask about that possibility. Also, making a special basket loaded with Disney surprises would be a cool way to announce the big surprise too. :)

 

As far as how Disney looks at Christmas... it is BEAUTIFUL!!! My husband and I LOVE going at that time of year. Disney decorates everything. The Magic Kingdom is decorated, there is a parade, the castle is completely covered in lights, they have a special fireworks show for those who go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. You must buy separate tickets for the party, but they serve hot cocoa and cookies for free around the park and it "snows" on Main Street.

 

Epcot is decorated and has the Candlelight Processional. The countries all have different storytelling Santa's which is pretty cool too. :)

 

At Hollywood Studios, they do the Osborne Lights. They are wonderful!!! They put the lights to music and it is just amazing!!! Of course, the park is decorated as well.

 

Animal Kingdom is decorated, but I am not sure what if they do any type of special show or not.

 

All the resorts are decorated as well. In the Grand Floridian they have a life size Gingerbread house that they build and they sell Gingerbread shingles out of it. :) At the Boardwalk (I think), they have a carousel made out of chocolate. There are little Christmas displays everywhere!

 

Go to http://www.wdwinfo.com for tons of information on Disney World. Also, if you are willing to pay for a subscription, go to http://www.tourguidemike.com. He has some great tips and there is a great forum community there as well. TONS OF INFO!!! :)

 

We are going next year and can't wait!!!

 

Now, the last thing... Christmas week there is supposedly insanely crowded. We do not go at this time because of this. Now, if you go to Tour Guide Mike, you may be able to find out all kinds of information on how to tour the parks without having to wait in long lines constantly.

 

We prefer to go the first or second week of December because the crowds are better.

 

Have a GREAT time and just know that Christmas at Disney is COMPLETELY magical!!! You & your family will just love it. :)

Edited November 18, 2010 by Joyfullyblessed

[RainbowSprinkles]

We have gone twice right at Christmas.

 

Disney at Christmas is beautiful, both decorations-wise and weather wise. It's a little cold to swim, though. (My daughter was very upset by this because we were in the Port Orleans, which has a sea serpent water slide).

 

Yes, it's busy. However, if you stay on-site and take advantage of magic hours, you can avoid the worst of it and go back and take advantage of the resort/hotel amenities during the busiest time. Christmas morning is actually one of the best times we've round to be in the park, because it seems that people don't go to Disney on Christmas until later in the day.

 

Is there a hotel on site that you would recommend? We've stayed at Shades of Green (Military Hotel) and the Coronado ( I think that's what it was called..)

[kokotg]

The week between Christmas and New Year's is the most crowded week of the year at Disney. Personally, I wouldn't want to be there then, but my family's not great with crowds. IIRC, there's a thread on the Disboards where people have posted their Christmas week pictures. It makes me anxious just looking at them :lol:

[RainbowSprinkles]

Hello,

 

I am not quite sure what advice to give as far as surprising the children goes, but there may be a way to have Mickey call them and announce it. Just call Disney World and ask about that possibility. Also, making a special basket loaded with Disney surprises would be a cool way to announce the big surprise too. :)

 

As far as how Disney looks at Christmas... it is BEAUTIFUL!!! My husband and I LOVE going at that time of year. Disney decorates everything. The Magic Kingdom is decorated, there is a parade, the castle is completely covered in lights, they have a special fireworks show for those who go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. You must buy separate tickets for the party, but they serve hot cocoa and cookies for free around the park and it "snows" on Main Street.

 

Epcot is decorated and has the Candlelight Processional. The countries all have different storytelling Santa's which is pretty cool too. :)

 

At Hollywood Studios, they do the Osborne Lights. They are wonderful!!! They put the lights to music and it is just amazing!!! Of course, the park is decorated as well.

 

Animal Kingdom is decorated, but I am not sure what if they do any type of special show or not.

 

All the resorts are decorated as well. In the Grand Floridian they have a life size Gingerbread house that they build and they sell Gingerbread shingles out of it. :) At the Boardwalk (I think), they have a carousel made out of chocolate. There are little Christmas displays everywhere!

 

Go to www.wdwinfo.com for tons of information on Disney World. Also, if you are willing to pay for a subscription, go to www.tourguidemike.com. He has some great tips and there is a great forum community there as well. TONS OF INFO!!! :)

 

We are going next year and can't wait!!!

 

Now, the last thing... Christmas week there is supposedly insanely crowded. We do not go at this time because of this. Now, if you go to Tour Guide Mike, you may be able to find out all kinds of information on how to tour the parks without having to wait in long lines constantly.

 

We prefer to go the first or second week of Christmas because the crowds are better.

 

Have a GREAT time and just know that Christmas at Disney is COMPLETELY magical!!! You & your family will just love it. :)

 

What a great idea to have Mickey call!! Thanks, I will look into that!

[ChristusG]

Make sure you attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! It's on select nights during the Christmas season. It's a seperate ticket, but it's great seeing the Christmas parade and all the festivities in the Magic Kingdom.

 

Hollywood Studios has an AWESOME light display.

 

There's lots of decor....big Christmas trees in the park. Of course, attending the Christmas Party or the Osborne lights in Hollywood Studios will make it all the more festive. It's better seeing it all at night.

 

We'll be going to the Christmas Party in mid December. I've been to it twice before, but it's a lot of fun!

[kokotg]

So would it be a better idea to go the first or second week in Dec?

 

That's definitely what I would do. All the decorations will already be up, and it's one of the least crowded times of the year. We're stuck going in September, because DH is a teacher and he has a fall break then that's the only non-incredibly crowded week we can go, but I'd love to do early December some time and see all the decorations (and have the cooler weather!)

[RainbowSprinkles]

That's definitely what I would do. All the decorations will already be up, and it's one of the least crowded times of the year. We're stuck going in September, because DH is a teacher and he has a fall break then that's the only non-incredibly crowded week we can go, but I'd love to do early December some time and see all the decorations (and have the cooler weather!)

 

 

Thanks! I think that will better if it's not super crowded. Gotta love homeschooling...being able to take a vacation when everyone else is still in school :)

[sbgrace]

We are in Alaska right now, so I don't think this will be a problem for us :)

 

So would it be a better idea to go the first or second week in Dec?

 

I guess it might seem balmy! We get nasty winters here (not Alaska cold of course) but I expected warm in Florida!

 

Yes, I think it would be better to do early December if you think that would work for your family. It is so much more fun when you aren't spending all your time in lines and bumping into people imo. We loved that time of year and if we go again will likely do the same I think. The only downside for us was we drove down in two days and we hit a lot of ice and weather issues (closing interstates kind of accident scenes) on our drive. You won't have that as a factor. You'll have so much fun!! It's exciting.

[Joyfullyblessed]

Hello Again...

 

You asked about resort recommendations. If you are looking into Moderates, then Port Orleans French Quarters is nice. It is a smaller resort on a river. You can actually take a river boat to Downtown Disney if you like. Very nice!

 

We have dreams to stay in the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge too. They are pretty expensive, but ABSOLUTELY beautiful!

 

We have stayed at the Contemporary resort because of a business conference one time and even though I am not crazy about the outwardly appearance, the rooms were WONDERFUL!! We had a balcony that overlooked the lagoon side which was soooo pretty. You could get a room facing Magic Kingdom too if you wished. What was cool about staying there was that it is a monorail resort, you could hop right on and head to the parks, etc..... Also, from that resort, you can even walk to Magic Kingdom. :)

 

One thing you might want to consider is driving your car to the parks, etc... instead of taking the Disney buses. While riding the bus can be a cool thing, they can also be VERY slow. If you drive your own car or a rented car, I guarantee you will get where you want to go much faster. Just something to think about.

 

Of course, you have to be staying on site to ride the buses, so I don't know if that would apply or not. We LOVE staying on-site too.... it just makes everything seem more special.

 

Again, have fun planning and have a great time. Oh, and once you announce the big surprise to your children, you might want to create a countdown calendar. You can get poster board, draw the calendar squares, and get the paint chips with Mickey heads from Home Depot and make a great countdown calendar. Fun!!!

 

Can you tell I LOVE Disney??? :)

[NanceXToo]

1. We would like to get there a couple of days before Christmas Day. When would you tell the children about it and how? One idea I had, was to have St. Nick leave a note with the tickets in their boots on Dec. 6th.

 

Very cute idea :)

 

2. What does it look like there at that time? Like decoration wise, etc... Will they have a parade?

 

Beautiful, lots of decorations, and yes they have parades.

 

3. Is it crowded during the week of Christmas?

 

Ridiculously so. Sorry. lol.

 

And FYI...I don't know where you live now or if you've ever been to Florida that time of year but it can be COLD there, especially at night, but sometimes even during the day that time of year. So don't just pack summer clothes! :D

[Joyfullyblessed]

One final thing... the first week is December right after Thanksgiving is an AWESOME week to go to Disney. Everyone has just headed out from the crazy Thanksgiving week and so things are much less crowded and enjoyable. :)

[journeytolily]

We'll be arriving on Sunday, Nov 28th - Yippee!! Not only are the 2 weeks after Thanksgiving the least crowded weeks, they are also the least expensive. This is important if you are planning on staying at a WDW resort. Most years lately, they include the free Disney Dining in your package (but not during Christmas week), which saves you a ton of money, too.

 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Disney at Christmas! The weather is wonderful - not usually raining, and nice moderate temperatures. Again, not crowded on certain weeks, and the decorations and special events are spectacular!

 

One of my favorite resorts is the Port Orleans/Riverside. You can stay in a regular room (so no suite or additional room is needed) if your youngest is small (I believe that 8 or 9 yrs is the limit, as the spare bed is a trundle and not full size).

 

Have fun planning!

Veronica

[journeytolily]

Very cute idea :)

 

 

 

And FYI...I don't know where you live now or if you've ever been to Florida that time of year but it can be COLD there, especially at night, but sometimes even during the day that time of year. So don't just pack summer clothes! :D

 

You'll definitely want to take clothing for both warm and cold weather. Layering works well, as many times the mornings and evenings are cool/cold and it warms up during the day, but sometimes it's cold even in the daytime!

 

I grew up in Florida, and lived 12 yrs in the Orlando area, so I went to Disney almost every weekend!

 

WDW is the only thing I miss about Florida :-(

 

Veronica

[journeytolily]

Okay, me again! I wanted to add that you can have 5 in a room at the All-Star Resorts, if one of them is under 3. Our littlest just turned 2, so her vacation is basically free - she can eat free off the buffets, or share a plate with us, or we can buy her a meal if she needs one. But no extra costs for a larger room/pricier hotel or for tickets.

 

Veronica

[patchfire]

We went the week between Christmas and New Year's two years ago.

 

Never. Again.

 

I love Disney. I adore it. I can have fun in the summer heat and crowds if necessary. This was... honestly, it was awful. It was just pure crowds. We barely rode any rides. We were sick of Christmas music by the time we'd been there two days.

 

If you want to experience Christmas @ Disney, go in early December. Otherwise, wait until January 2 or 3.

[Mom2J112903]

We'll be arriving on Sunday, Nov 28th - Yippee!! Not only are the 2 weeks after Thanksgiving the least crowded weeks, they are also the least expensive. This is important if you are planning on staying at a WDW resort. Most years lately, they include the free Disney Dining in your package (but not during Christmas week), which saves you a ton of money, too.

 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Disney at Christmas! The weather is wonderful - not usually raining, and nice moderate temperatures. Again, not crowded on certain weeks, and the decorations and special events are spectacular!

 

Have fun planning!

Veronica

 

We will be arriving on the same day! We are staying at ASMovies and can NOT wait! Our TA checked us in today and added some more pixie dust to our vacation. Our son turns 7 on the 29th, so it will be a very magical vacation for us.

 

This is our 2nd trip to Disney, we LOVE it. Last time we went, we were there a week later-there were *no* crowds!

 

We will be doing the MVMCP Thursday night while we are there. We didn't do this last time and *really* wanted to do it this time.

 

Ah 10 days until 8 days in Disney!!!!!

[journeytolily]

We will be arriving on the same day! We are staying at ASMovies and can NOT wait! Our TA checked us in today and added some more pixie dust to our vacation. Our son turns 7 on the 29th, so it will be a very magical vacation for us.

 

 

What kind of pixie dust?? We did our reservations online. Do you think if I call Disney to check in, we can get some more pixie dust??

 

BTW, our older daughter turns 9 on the 26th, so I keep telling her she is having the BEST bday party EVER! We head home on Dec 5th :-(

 

Veronica

[Sugarfoot]

We're here right now and we met a family from Alaska in the hot tub a couple of nights ago! The decorations are beautiful, although they're " reduced" from what they've been in years past. Still, they're gorgeous.

 

The days have been warm since we got here (last Wed.) and the nights have been cool. We've been able to enjoy the hotel water slide and pool. It's only misted a little bit one e evening.

 

We've been here in early Feb, early Oct, mid Oct, mid Nov ( not near Thanksgiving), 1st week of Dec, & 2nd week of Dec. All of those are good times to go. There are NO crowds here now!

 

Get tickets to the Christmas party early, and go during the week, not on a weekend. The parade during the party is my absolute favorite!

 

Have fun!

[Mom2J112903]

Our TA is just amazing, she has done things for us-like get a fridge at no cost because of J's health issues right now (they are ever changing) or get us a first floor room-no extra cost because of the same reasons. She has made certain that we will be taken care of "very well" while we are there.

 

What kind of pixie dust?? We did our reservations online. Do you think if I call Disney to check in, we can get some more pixie dust??

 

Veronica

[Jeannie in NJ]

2 weeks ago, dh came home and said "Lets go to Disney for Christmas and lets stay at a deluxe Disney hotel". it has been 5 years since we last went to Disney and def was not at a deluxe. The last few years have been rough for us, expecially for my dd, age 15, and having chronic and constant knee pain. So dh thought a trip to Disney is just what we need. Well I wanted to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge but dd just fell in love with the pictures of the Grand Floridian on the website and because of all the pain that she has been having, we decided on the Grand Floridian. I called the reservation line for Disney and everything was booked at pretty much all the deluxes for when we wanted to go which was anytime in the first 2 weeks of Dec as this is considered a value time. So we had to do part value and part regular rates, well regular rates for the cheapest rroom at the G.F. is almost $700.00 a night. Finally we were able to only have to pay that for one night and got the rest at the value rate. Also got the free dining plan so that helps.

 

I was actually able to get reservations at most of the restuarants that we want to go to but for later at night but that is okay since we are late night people. We could not get any character meal reservations but my dc are older so not so much a big deal.

 

also we will be rentting a wheelchair for all the parks, my dd and my ds, who has asthma and can't walk very much will be taking turns in it. When we went 5 years ago, my son who was 9 at the time (is special needs, has had 17 surgeries for various birth defects adn also has asthma) was in a wheelchair and I can't begin to tell you how wonderful all the Disney employees were to him and just did everything possible for us. Love, love Disney.

 

IWe have nevr been there at the holidays but everyone has been telling us how great it is then.

[cmarango]

Don't do Disney Christmas through New Years unless you love being part of huge crowds. The lines will be so long and you will do much much less than you could during a less crowded time. Definitely, go about 2-3 weeks before Christmas.