Xmas Crowds

[bob6572]

Just curious how the crowds were this past week??

[Melanie]

VERY crowded with insane wait times. Many days the parks were closed to capacity, and New Years eve saw wait times for Soarin' at 4.5 hours.

[BigThunderFan]

I saw even Maelstrom had a wait of 83 minutes on NYE... Who in their right mind would wait more than 5 minutes for this ride, I don't know...

I prefer the January crowds... :mickey:

[Melanie]

I prefer the January crowds... :mickey:

Me too! January and September are my favorite months. :thumbsup:

[bob6572]

Usually go late Jan, going first week of Feb this year. Just wanted to hear how bad it was!

[Sunshine1010]

I was there in December, ....and my last day there was the first day of the week during Christmas week. I - will - never - do - that - again.

Now, keep in mind that this is the Monday before Christmas (Christmas was Saturday). The wait times were astronomical. THANK GOODNESS it was our last day there from a 10 day vacation.

It took us over an hour to get off the bus, to the check in line for dinner at the castle. ONE HOUR. That is how crowded it was. You couldn't even walk!!!!!

[Kenny1113]

VERY crowded with insane wait times. Many days the parks were closed to capacity, and New Years eve saw wait times for Soarin' at 4.5 hours.


I saw even Maelstrom had a wait of 83 minutes on NYE... Who in their right mind would wait more than 5 minutes for this ride, I don't know...

I prefer the January crowds... :mickey:

:jaw:

[plutosnana]

I was there in
It took us over an hour to get off the bus, to the check in line for dinner at the castle. ONE HOUR. That is how crowded it was. You couldn't even walk!!!!!

To get off the bus?! Now that's insane!

:goofy:

[Tinkerfreak]

My husbands hairdresser just went that week despite my warning her about the crowds. It was their first trip ever and I did my best to make sure she had adr's and stuff but I am worried that they were overwhelmed by the crowds. I made sure that she knew that going at a different time would be a totally different experience and much cheaper but she had seen a commercial on tv and told her kids they could go that week. They arrived Christmas day and came home New Years day. I have not talked to her yet but an waiting to see how it went. I am kind of expecting her to say she will never go again yada yada yada.

[Buttercup]

What a nightmare!
A 4.5 hour wait for Soarin? Really? I can't believe it. That would have to be a lonnnng line way out into the middle of the Land pavilion. I can't imagine getting in line at 9am and not being on the ride until 1:30pm. Who would wait that long?!?!

Crazy. Christmas is awesome and everything, and I'd love to see the decorations at WDW during this time, but not at the cost of the crowds.

[Darbylew]

I have been in December but it was the first
week and it was not bad at all. I think the
closer to Christmas then you will have big
crowds. Sounds like it was very crowded. :(

[Mogie]

Wow...it sounds like it just ends up being a waste of money. If youre waiting hours and hours for a ride and only get to go on 2 maybe 3 rides in a day? I get impatient during 25 minute waits during slow seasons!!

[fcanal]

We were there Dec 25-Jan 1. I was so dreading being there at the busiest time of the year, but in the end I was very pleased. We got to the parks early, and were exiting about about 1:00 each day. The crowds that were arriving as we were exiting were NUTS!!! The first few days the temperatures was really really cold, and I think that kept the early morning crowds low. We did MK EMH in the morning, and were able to walk on to every ride. Also, one evening we went back to EPCOT, and also were able to basically walk onto the rides we missed in the morning.
I have to say, I would not hesitate to go back during this week again, as long as I have a plan of attack and get out of Dodge by 1pm every day.

[Sunshine1010]

Plutosnana ---

I looked at my watched when we stepped off the bus. From that moment to the moment that we got in line just to sign/check in for our ADR at the Royal Table......yes, 1 hour exactly.

It was insane. I got a picture of the crowds, but I don't know how to post them on here.

[AllDisney]

For the 3rd year in a row we went to WDW. We were there from 12/2 - 12/9 & stayed at Music. The crowds were manageable & took advantage of fastpass for sure.

Heard horror stories from friends who had been right around Christmas (Dec 27 to January 3 in 2008 & 2009) keeps us away. The crowds are more manageable after the 1st of the year, so they said. We'll stick to early December if we go to WDW to take in all the magic:thumbsup:

[Tinkerfreak]

My husbands hairdresser just went that week despite my warning her about the crowds. It was their first trip ever and I did my best to make sure she had adr's and stuff but I am worried that they were overwhelmed by the crowds. I made sure that she knew that going at a different time would be a totally different experience and much cheaper but she had seen a commercial on tv and told her kids they could go that week. They arrived Christmas day and came home New Years day. I have not talked to her yet but an waiting to see how it went. I am kind of expecting her to say she will never go again yada yada yada.



Well all my worries were for nothing. They had such a great time they actually bought 300 points in the DVC. Her teenage daughter wants to go back for her graduation in June and they can't wait to try Hawaii. She was not impressed with Pop Century at all and wished they had stayed at a moderate because she said the rooms were way too small for them but like she said the more she goes the more she will learn. She loved Chef Mickeys and has definately caught the Disney bug.
I am so happy that she had a good time. I figure if she handled the crowds during Christmas and New Years then she can go any other week and feel like the crowds are low.:D

[Scrappy2]

We were at Disney from 12/30 - 1/3. We wanted to be at the Magic Kingdom for New Years Eve. We had heard that the park reached capacity so we went early. Morning was really not that bad but by afternoon and evening the crowds were more than I have ever seen. The day did get long. We were in MK for over 16 hours so that made for a long day. You could not walk down Main Street. disney did a good job trying to keep a walkway open. We were very smart. We rode the train from Toon Town about 11:30 to the front of the park. Got off and made our way so we could see the castle and fireworks. As soon as they were over we left. Buses we were waiting and we were at out hotel by 12:30. The next day we went to Animal Kingdom and had no lines at all. That night went to HS and those lines were really not bad either. On Sunday we were at Epcot and those lines were very manageable. That night we did go back to the MK and it was still very crowded. All in all a wonderful trip.

[Toodle]

We were at Disney 12/30 to 1/2 and found the crowds to be manageable. The parks never closed to resort guests so we did not have a problem getting into Magic Kingdom late in the afternoon on New Year's Eve. We were glad we were on property because we would not have enjoyed ourselves had we had to stay in a park all day long and then long into the evening. We went to the front of the castle about 11:15 - stood around Casey's. The fireworks were fabulous - the best we have ever seen! We left about 10 minutes after the fireworks ended and were back in our hotel within half and hour. Disney did a great job getting people out of the parks.

[finaldynasty]

What are crowds like the week before x-mas? We will be there Dec.18-24. I received a great rate with a pin code.