Christmas Vacation

[TIGGER17179]

Okay I need to know everything you know about Christmas at Disney . I've been all times of the year but never toward the holidays, but my mother wants to see all the decorations and the rest of us would as well. We've been in sept and they were putting up the decorations but when do they actually start doing all the celebrations?
When is it the least crowded? My mother is in her 70's and gets tired easy.
What do I not miss?

[MarkC]

Here's the big thing to consider-- avoid going from about December 23-January 2 if at all possible. The first couple of weeks of December are probably best, but the first couple of weeks of January are good as well.

All the decorations are very nice. The highlight for most people would be the Osborne lights at Disney studios. The other would be the Candlelight Processional at Epcot when they read the Christmas story, which is my favorite.

You can do Mickeys' Christmas but those tickets are not cheap. A lot of people love it and some think its overpriced. But just being in the parks with all the decorations is a must do for every Disney fan.

[TIGGER17179]

Do you know when they start doing the christmas lights? Is it before thanksgiving or after?

[floridamom]

We love the holidays at Disney! You can find tons of info here at Intercot.

[momofdisneyprincess]

We went Dec 2 - 10th this year. Definitely dress/pack for any kind of weather. Being from New England, I thought I could handle the Florida cold without coat/hat/gloves. Guess, what? 32 degrees in Florida is still FREEZING! That is what it was every night when the sun went down. No swimming for us. The Osborne Lights were the highlight of our trip. Absolutely spectacular!

[Strmchsr]

The lights begin to go up after Nov 1, but the Osborne Lights aren't on until Mid-November and that's when the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party starts, too.

It's a catch-22. The "least" crowded time is the couple of weeks before Thanksgiving week. All of the weeks of December have become significantly more crowded than they used to be. However, if you want to see everything, the holiday storytellers, candlelight processional, etc doesn't start until Thanksgiving. So, you really have to pick lower crowds or see everything. If you go after Thanksgiving the crowds aren't horrible, but they aren't low either. Make absolutely sure you avoid Magic Kingdom on the weekend if you go the first week of December as that is when they film the Christmas morning parade and MK is a zoo during that time.

[Jasper]

You will be safe starting on Thanksgiving day, that is when everything is officially fully open and operational. As for crowds , try the week after Thanksgiving but avoid Thanksgiving week and the week between Christmas and New Year.

[TIGGER17179]

Awesome info-- thanks.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I believe the decorations start going up sometime in November not sure when but you should be okay anytime in December. We have been Jan1-7, Dec. 25-Jan.1 and Dec. 20-30th...the decorations were up all of these times but some of the special programs (holidays around the world and Candlelight processional) were not running during the January trip. However this was the best week as far as crowds go after the 1st everything was short wait time...we have decided we will never go back Christmas week or the week after again due to crowds and long lines...we are trying the week before Christmas for our next trip

[disneymom15]

I recommend the week after Thanksgiving. We did that week 2 years ago and crowds were not bad. Of course, towards the end of the week it did get busier. Last year we went one week later (Dec 5-12) and the crowds were quite a bit heavier. We're going back this year the week after Thanksgiving (Nov 27-Dec 4).

[Mousemates]

I know I'm going against the flow here...but we love WDW during the peak of the Christmas holidays....very festive, very fun...we actually often head down on the 26th or 27th and kind of have another Christmas. We do all our riding early in the am or very late at night (lots of late hours that timeof year especially at MK) and take the time to do all the other stuff disney offers...including simply touring the deluxe resorts and enjoying the Christmas decorations of the grand lobbies ( AKl, WL, and GF are not to be missed).

[Narawen]

The lights begin to go up after Nov 1, but the Osborne Lights aren't on until Mid-November and that's when the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party starts, too.

It's a catch-22. The "least" crowded time is the couple of weeks before Thanksgiving week. All of the weeks of December have become significantly more crowded than they used to be. However, if you want to see everything, the holiday storytellers, candlelight processional, etc doesn't start until Thanksgiving. So, you really have to pick lower crowds or see everything. If you go after Thanksgiving the crowds aren't horrible, but they aren't low either. Make absolutely sure you avoid Magic Kingdom on the weekend if you go the first week of December as that is when they film the Christmas morning parade and MK is a zoo during that time.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but what are the crowd levels if they're significantly higher than they used to be, but not "crowded"? We're planning on going this year Dec 11-16 because of a PIN code. We gave up on summer crowds awhile ago. We went for 1 day last Oct and MK had people but wasn't what I'd call crowded. Most waits were 10-20 mins, near the end of the day more people showed up for Spectro Magic and the big rides had 60+ min wait times but we were able to FP pretty easily. Would crowds be similar at this time in Dec? More/less?

[big blue and hairy]

I know I'm going against the flow here...but we love WDW during the peak of the Christmas holidays....very festive, very fun...we actually often head down on the 26th or 27th and kind of have another Christmas. We do all our riding early in the am or very late at night (lots of late hours that timeof year especially at MK) and take the time to do all the other stuff disney offers...including simply touring the deluxe resorts and enjoying the Christmas decorations of the grand lobbies ( AKl, WL, and GF are not to be missed).

Having been to WDW at this time, I say to you with the greatest respect....yer nuts.
My suggestion to the OP is the second or third week of December, with second probably being the best.

[Strmchsr]

Would crowds be similar at this time in Dec? More/less?

The week after Thanksgiving used to be almost empty in the parks. Lines less than 10 min, and most walk-ons, even the popular stuff. Now you'll find crowds slightly heavier than what you referenced during October.

[ransam]

There is good and bad about going during the holidays. Let's assume it's the first couple weeks of December...when not so crowded.
the good is it's like you're in teh middle of a postcard. it's so beautiful.
so many exciting things to do. the christmas party, candle light processional, all the countries are decked out in christmas lights, the osborne lights, the santas of the world....snow on main street. it really is very cool.
the only negative is you can get so wrapped up in christmas you kind of forget you're at Disneyworld. They play christmas music nonstop. I kind of miss hearing the disney music. I miss just enjoying Disney. I am going back in september and looking forward to just getting back to the magic.

[brownie]

Right after Thanksgiving is a great time to go. It's less crowded and the Christmas celebrations are in full swing.

You definitely need to see the Osborne lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios. There's also a holiday ending at the end of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth at Epcot.

[HoosierDisneyFan]

I have been twice during the first week of December with my 60+ year old mother. We had a great time. The Osborne Lights at DHS and the Candlelight Processional at Epcot are great. Also if you can visit the GF and WL resorts they are both beautiful during Christmas.

[forever a child]

We went for Christmas for the first time last December. We LOVED it!

Since you are taking your mother who is in her 70's I would suggest you have her help you decide what is important for you to do to experience Disney at Christmas. If it is just seeing the parks with their decorations but low crowds are important than I would perhaps go before Thanksgiving when decorations are up but plan on leaving before the Thanksgiving crowds arrive.

My preference would be to go the second or 3rd week of December. As others have mentioned...it gets busier the closer to Christmas Eve and Christmas day you get. Our trip dates were Dec 12 - 19th and we saw tons of people on the 19th checking into our resort as we were leaving (the most people we saw at our resort during our entire trip!)

I would stay at a Moderate or Deluxe resort as I think the Values would be way more crowded.

First time "Not to Miss" suggestions for your mother:
*Any of the Deluxe resort decorations. The trees are beautiful. We visited the Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge. All three had Photopass Photographers set up there to take your portraits in front of the tree, so it would be a great time for a family portrait! The GF had the Gingerbread House too!

*The Candlelight Processional at Epcot. You will want to set up a dinner package. We didn't but we still waited about an hour in line and got a great seat. It probably helped though that we were there one of the evenings when it was record cold with frost advisory's...so I think that kept the lines down a bit lower and our chances of getting in good. We did see late comers who did not get seated though which is why I suggest you get the dinner package. We were there during the evening of Steven Curtis Chapman during the narration. If you are a Christian...then he is the best narrator, IMHO. He does a beautiful job and firmly believes in the story of the birth of Jesus (as do I). He has been presenting the story at Disney's Candlelight Processional for 9 years!

*Any of the Epcot Christmas Stories and visiting the Santa's Around the World! My DD will wait in line for Mickey but has a thing against Santa. But I made her agree to get our photos with Santa in the American Land. He and Mrs. Santa were great...so sweet and I love the photos!

*Osbourne Lights in Hollywood Studios was beautiful! Crowded but worth checking out and watching.

Starting on the 20th of Dec, MK was doing the same parades as they offer for MVMCP. So you can visit MK without going to the hard ticket event and still see the parades and fireworks. If you have young children and your mother is up for it...you could plan on the Christmas party and make sure you see all of those things. We opted to skip the Christmas party because since it was our first visit..we felt we would have enough to fill our time and try new things. We were right...it was a full week and we didn't get to experience hardly any of the stories from the Lands and Epcot and that is on my list for our next Christmas visit. It was cold and that slowed us down a bit too. We were definitely exhausted each night when we got back to our resort and my DD fell asleep as soon as her head would hit the pillow! LOL

If you have any questions...feel free to ask me. Have fun planning!

[CaptainSad]

Since I have been twice in December. First time 12/15 to 12/23 in 2007 and 12/4 to 12/this past year. I found the week before Christmas in 07 to be less busy then last year when I did the first/second week.

Things to do:
Visit the WDW Resorts. They are all decked out. The GF has the big Ginger Bread House. At night go to Fort Wilderness Campground and see all the campers and their decorations. Some can go a little overboard.

At EPCOT: you must see all the Christmas stories at each country. The Candlelight Processional and Illuminations-Reflections of Earth with the Let There Be Peace On Earth tag.

At Disney Hollywood Studios you must see the Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

At Magic Kingdom during the Christmas season is a site just by itself. Decorations all over the place. The Castle lighting is a must see. Of course they do that every night. Decide for yourself if you want to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade. Yes it might cost extra, but if you don't plan on going the week of Christmas it is worth the money. You will have Christmas/Wishes and you will have Mickey's Christmas Parade. You don't see those any other time other then the week of. Stay away from the MK the first weekend of December. That is when they tape the Christmas parade for later on. Very crowded...

At AK they have the Mickeys Jamming Christmas Parade.

All parks have there signature tree. Each are different. See what you can find on each.

[Mousemates]

Having been to WDW at this time, I say to you with the greatest respect....yer nuts.

Hey, I resemble that remark.