December Crowds

[GoofysGirl]

I just booked Pop for December 15-21. We were originally going in January 2008, but we received a discount mailer from Disney offering 40% off rooms and couldn't turn it down!! Anyway, how crowded will it be during this week? We've been the 1st week of December before, but that was in 1994. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

[faline]

Crowds should be low to moderate for the start of your trip but will increase as you get closer to the date you're leaving. By the 21st, the parks should be starting to get pretty crowded.

[Jasper]

You are going at a very good time, the crowds are decent, the Christmas decorations are all operating, the weather is normally decent, what more can you ask for!

Just remember, crowd sizes at Disney World are a relative thing. Even though this is a good time to go, you will still encounter a lot of people.

[angedeaile]

I just booked Pop for December 15-21. We were originally going in January 2008, but we received a discount mailer from Disney offering 40% off rooms and couldn't turn it down!! Anyway, how crowded will it be during this week? We've been the 1st week of December before, but that was in 1994. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

What?! I want a mailer! I am going the 14th-19th, so man I am bummed. Great deal!
(edit: I was browsing through my junk mail for a different reason and saw I got the same deal sent to me in Jan. I missed the deadline though. )

I heard the crowds aren't that different than the couple of days after New Years, but the second week is horrible due to the marathon.

I also heard the later in January, the better...so depending on when you were originally planning to go...I think you made the better decision. You not only get a better deal, but get to enjoy the decorations and Christmas spirit!

Maybe we will run into each other at WDW!

[mmr42]

I would definately go in December. We went Dec 10 - 20th in 2004 and loved it. THe Xmas decorations were nice, crowds were low and weather a little cool for us on some days but best time ever!

With 40% off yes do it.

What we did is do the parks not on EMH days or on saturdays or sundays. We would then do a water park, look at the differnet resorts, walk around the boardwalk, shop at downtown disney, etc... We never waited in line more than 15 minutes and that was for test track and mission space.

Good luck!

[MsMin]

I've gone both times and found the later week a little heavier but still very nice. We have stayed until the 22nd the past 2 yrs and while the crowd does build during the week the lines for the rides were very managable.
Sundays have always been busier esp @ MK. Mornings are very quiet.

[Top_Scarer]

Hi there!
We are going the same week...with the same 40% off deal!
We have been only in the spring months, so we can not wait to see all the Chrismas Decorations this time, not to mention the cooler temps!
Have a great trip!!

[Wolf]

Wow we are planning on going the week before, how did yall get such awesome discounts??

[faline]

Not long ago, Disney sent out a mailer to a number of people with a 40% discount offer on rooms. If you got a mailer, it included a pin number you were able to use to get the discount.

[GoofysGirl]

Thanks for the info! We received a mailer called "What's your hat say?" offering 40% certain weeks through the end of the year. We were able to book 2 rooms at Pop for 6 nights for $650 - averaging about $50 per night!!!!!!!!!! We couldn't turn that down!!! Also, the kids will only miss 2.5 days of school due to Christmas break. Can't Wait!!

[JoshGrobanfan]

So do you think that Dec. 1st - the 8th will be really busy? I know about the parade taping on that Saturday- but what about the rest of the week? I thought this would be a great week to go, but I'm getting a little nervous about the crowds.

[faline]

I've generally found early December to be a great time to visit Disney and not very crowded at all. It is, however, becoming a more popular time to visit so you won't have the parks entirely to yourself!

[SurferStitch]

DH and I went 12/7-12/18 last year, and the crowds were great, as well as the weather.

Our second night was cold (which was cool because we were watching the CP at Epcot...really put you in the Christmas spirit), but the temps rose steadily throughout the trip, and by day 3 or 4 shorts and tees were standard wear. Days were warm, and evenings were comfortable.

The only big crowds we saw were our last weekend (12/16-17), but that's to be expected, even during any other time of the year - weekends can be very busy. And I mean crowds were big.....ride waits at MGM and Epcot were 60-100 minutes for popular rides like ToT, RnRC, Soarin', TT, etc. FP alleviated any problems, and we still had an awesome time.

December is a wonderful time to visit.

[angedeaile]

DH and I went 12/7-12/18 last year, and the crowds were great, as well as the weather....

The only big crowds we saw were our last weekend (12/16-17), but that's to be expected, even during any other time of the year - weekends can be very busy....

I noticed you left on the 18th. Did you happen to go to the parks on that day and did you notice if it was just as busy as the weekend?

I plan on going this year on Friday-14th and leave on Wednesday-19th. If I have to avoid the parks on Sat & Sun, that is fine with me, I just want to know if that will be necessary.

If odds are that it will remain equally busy for the rest of that time frame, aka mon17th-wed19th, then I will just deal with the spike in crowds and go on the weekend too.

If I can come up with a game plan to avoid those possible busy days, I think that would help save time and money versus finding out the hard way. I just need to figure out what those possible busy days are