DisneyWorld at Christmas - will I survive?

[BigB0882]

I am going to Disney for the first time since I was very young (hardly remember much of it) and of all times we are going during Christmas. We are both in education so our choices for when to go are always going to be crowded. We will be there from the 22-29. I am trying to manage my expectations on the crowds. I am fine with large crowds. My worry is that we are going to pay all this money and end up only able to do 3 attractions in a day. I am using touringplans to create an "optimized" schedule but the wait times seem wildly inaccurate at the moment, I can't imagine they are going to be as short as they are saying right now. I have my fingers crossed that we can do the big things we want to do and then some but I am wondering what others experienced during this time? Hopefully the 3 days before Christmas will be a little less crowded and give us a shot to get a head start. Any good advice? Should I expect to only do a few things in each park?

 

[Klayfish]

Will you survive? No, you will die a horrible, flaming death!!!

Yes, you'll be fine. It's busy, make no mistake. But read up as much as you can here, especially on things like the FP+ system, and use it to your advantage. You can still get on plenty of attractions that way. Use it for the more popular ones and do standby for the less popular ones. The only park that, at least IMO, is truly nuts is MK on Christmas Day...after about 1pm it's insanely crowded (they usually reach capacity). But the other parks on the other days, and the other parks on Xmas Day, aren't unmanageable.

Bring some patience, some holiday cheer, understand and use the FP+ system and you'll have a blast!!! We'll be there for Xmas this year and I can't wait!

 

[BigB0882]

Thanks! We are doing AK on Christmas Day since it is least crowded.

 

[hakepb]

You can still do a lot, especially if you rope drop (7am MK EMH is typical all week)

But I think it's best to concentrate on having a great Christmas time with your family instead of some "do all rides" goal.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We went, we survived, but I would never do it again. We went Dec. 25 - 30, 2015. My advice would be to focus on MK prior to Dec. 25 and don't step into that park again after that. We scheduled our MK day for Dec. 29 that year and it was SO crowded. We had planned to get there at RD (we were staying at BWI), but the buses were so delayed and then the overwhelming amount of traffic made the bus ride even longer than usual. It took us a good 90 minutes just to get to MK. We rode our 3 FP+ rides and promptly got out (it was very difficult to walk through the parks as the crowd built through the morning).

The other parks really didn't seem as crowded (AK, maybe a little and with Pandora now opening, I think you could expect bigger crowds this year). DHS, surprisingly was not all that crowded (and this was the last year of Osborne Lights) and EP was doable. With EP, we found WS to get quite crowded (particularly in the middle of WS) during CP showtimes, so (since we weren't planning on going to CP), we avoided WS during the performances (did it earlier in the day) and went to FW at night which worked REALLY well. If you want to see CP that week, book a dining package.

Rule of thumb, as most people will say, go at RD (get on that bus early if you are busing there!) and book your FP+ (if you can get there at RD, I would probably start booking FP+ starting around 10 - 11 am each day).

 

[BigB0882]

So you are saying we should try to get there for RD and book it to a ride we want to do and save our fast passes for more mid morning, that way we by-pass crazy lines? And after that we can take a lunch break and then do some other, not so popular, attractions to end out the day? We are doing MK on the 29th but will also be there on the 22nd for the Christmas Party (we will have from 4-7 to get in some attractions before the party begins) and again on the 24th. So hopefully having that day and a half before Christmas will allow us to do the "must-dos" for us and that last day we can just see how it goes. I was going to move the last day to another park but after Christmas Day almost all parks are projected to be a 10 out of 10 so I figured there really was no point, it will be crowded no matter where we go and at least we have multiple days in MK.

 

[BigB0882]

And is there anywhere to get a quick lesson on how to book FP? I don't want to waste too much time on the morning mine open by learning how to use the system and then miss out on the attractions/times we want. I would love if I could go on and "practice" but I was reading that wasn't possible before the 60 days (I am staying on site). I have a friend who is going in October, maybe she can show me on her app without changing any of her plans? Perhaps I can find a youtube video.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

We flew down a few years back on Christmas Day, staying till the 2nd. Just prepare yourself and don't go with the expectation of having to do everything. Accept that the crowds will be massive, and as other posted, use FP and EMH's to your advantage. The later meant some mornings we were at the bus pickup in line at 6:30, but we had a GREAT trip. And surprisingly, using the tools available to you, you will get to do more than you may imagine.

Just have a list of your favorite or must-do's attractions/shows and consider anything additional to be the angel on top of the tree!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

So you are saying we should try to get there for RD and book it to a ride we want to do and save our fast passes for more mid morning, that way we by-pass crazy lines? And after that we can take a lunch break and then do some other, not so popular, attractions to end out the day? We are doing MK on the 29th but will also be there on the 22nd for the Christmas Party (we will have from 4-7 to get in some attractions before the party begins) and again on the 24th. So hopefully having that day and a half before Christmas will allow us to do the "must-dos" for us and that last day we can just see how it goes. I was going to move the last day to another park but after Christmas Day almost all parks are projected to be a 10 out of 10 so I figured there really was no point, it will be crowded no matter where we go and at least we have multiple days in MK.

If you have two days plus a Christmas party at MK, I'm fairly confident you will get to do everything you would like to. When we went on Dec. 29, we had our FP+ for around 10, 11 and 12 pm. They were for the "mountains" (Space, 7DMT and BTMRR) which, along with Splash (if the weather is nice) and PP will most likely have the longest lines (we saw BTMRR build to a 3-hour long standby wait). Just know, even the less popular attractions will have long lines. The line for People Mover stretched pretty far out in Tomorrowland. Everything will have long lines.

 

[BigB0882]

If I can't get a FP for Flight of Passage (it is Day 5 for us) then we want to attempt Rope Drop that morning. That is Christmas morning and I heard that even getting to the parks on the buses can be crazy because of how busy MK is and it affects all the buses. Anyone think we should head out extra early that morning if we want to try Rope Drop or will an hour and a half to an hour work?

 

[Klayfish]

Keep in mind that it's all a matter of perspective. We were there the very same week that DisneyWishes14 was, and I completely disagree about never doing it again and not stepping into MK after the 25th. On the 25th itself, yes, it was packed. But we survived just fine and actually had a wonderful time. Everyone was in a very festive spirit. We stay off property and don't use WDW buses (ugh, never). I don't remember exactly what time we arrived, but it wasn't before park open. I think the park opened at 8am and we showed up around 8:15 or 8:30 expecting the worst. The TTC was more crowded than I've ever seen it, but to WDW credit, they did a great job getting people in. We were quickly escorted to a bus by a CM and were on our way. Took just a matter of minutes. We stayed in MK until about 2pm, maybe 1:30pm and got on at least 7 rides. The rest of the parks were busy on the other days, including MK, but definitely manageable. I couldn't tell you exactly how long the standby wait was for some of the rides, we rarely used standby for popular rides. The key is FP+. Even on a busy holiday week, you can get them and avoid giant lines.

I'm not sure if there is a tutorial about how to use the FP+ system, I guess you can check YouTube. Do you already have your tickets? If so, you should be able to book a FP+ for less than 30 days out, so you can "practice" that way. Book one and then cancel it...or don't actually "take" it...just get to the point where you would book it and then stop. It's pretty user friendly, you'll find it easy. But to me, that's a really big key for the holidays...if getting on attractions is a priority. Use FP+, don't rely on standby. Have some holiday spirit and you'll be fine. Like I said, we're beyond excited to be back this year for both Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years!!!

 

[Steve11874]

Out of curiosity, when do you expect it to start to get really crowded for the holidays? We are staying Dec. 14-23 and wondering when we should really notice an increase in crowd level.

 

[BigB0882]

Thanks. I found a good tutorial on Youtube and feel confident with booking online. I don't think I will use the app since the tutorial showed how to use the website and it looks very simple. Flight of Passage is really our biggest "must-do" at the moment. We go to MK and Epcot so late in our trip that I am not worried about getting FP+ for the main attractions there.

I am no longer worried about the major crowds. I know it will be busy but I also know it will be magical. We will go with the flow and with a little luck we will get the FoP FP and everything else will fall into place.

 

[BigB0882]

Out of curiosity, when do you expect it to start to get really crowded for the holidays? We are staying Dec. 14-23 and wondering when we should really notice an increase in crowd level.

According to the crowd calendars it begins to really pick up on Christmas Day and the entire week after that leading to New Years. You should be ok with crowds although I am sure it is still busier than many times.

By the way, I got an email today about a special going on where you get a free Dining Plan (Quickservice Plan) with a stay at a WDW resort (certain exceptions) during the days you will be there. You should look into that!

 

[Klayfish]

Out of curiosity, when do you expect it to start to get really crowded for the holidays? We are staying Dec. 14-23 and wondering when we should really notice an increase in crowd level.

Around Nov 1st. Really. Once the holiday decorations go up, it starts to get busy. The "worst" of it would likely start the Friday before Xmas.

 

[Wennifer78]

We've been during Christmas week starting Christmas day through New Years Day. Crowds are the heaviest during Christmas week. However, if you have a plan and try to stick to it, you'll be just fine. Just expect big crowds. It's a great time to be at Disney. It's so festive and everyone is happy. No place I'd rather be even when it's crazy crowds.

 

[cgattis]

but the buses were so delayed and then the overwhelming amount of traffic made the bus ride even longer than usual

This brings up a very interesting question.....in situations where traffic can get really bad on property (high crowds, special events, races, etc.), which is usually faster--Disney buses or your own car? We usually drive down, but take Disney transportation while we're there. (I drive 100+ miles a day, plus the 700 down there, so I like NOT driving!!) I know generally a car is faster (except to MK); just wondering if anything changes during high crowds?