2nd week Dec ?

[tianna88]

We were planning a vacation for the 2nd week of Dec because I was reading the crowds are a bit lower but I just called disney and they told me Dec 5,6,8,9,11th are all booked?
What is happening at this time? Is this not a good time to go now?
How is the 12 -22? We are taking a 3 yr old for the first time and don't really want large crowds. :)
Thanks for the help :thumbsup:

[jillluvsdisney]

What resort were you trying to book? Did you want a specific type of room at that reosrt?Were you using some type of discount like AAA, AP or a Disney pin code? Depending on what you were looking for, Disney it is possible WDW does not have any rooms that meet your criteria.

The whole place can't be booked. I know it's value season but generally right before Christmas is slow.

Have Magical Journeys help you. I have used them for the last two trips and they did a great job with rates and room locations at the resorts.

[Strmchsr]

December in general has become much more popular with larger crowds due to the fact that most guidebooks haven't updated their stats in ages and still say the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the least crowded time of the year. 10 years ago, yes, but no longer. So, expect moderate crowds, but nothing too bad. Also, Pop Warner (pee-wee football super bowl, so little league football teams and cheerleaders from all over the country arrive and stay at the value resorts) and Mousefest are going on during that time.

Also, WDW only opens the number of rooms they think they can fill so trying to judge crowd size based on room availability is not very good. If WDW does their homework they'll always be totally booked, though what that means in one month is very different from another.

No time in December (or any month, now) is crowd free. Just go, don't push things too much, use fastpass, and you'll be fine. Now, as for the 12-22, 12-17 or so will be pretty good. 18-22 expect crowds to grow pretty quickly as people arrive for Christmas (the most crowded week of the year).

[brianlw71]

There really is not a slow season at WDW any more. Since the slip of the dollar Disney World fans from overseas have been flooding to the parks. I was there with my wife that time last year and it seemed there were more foreigners than U.S. residents. The crowds were definitely more more manageable than if you were to go in July. Wait time for most rides were only 10-15 minutes. A little more for the newer more popular attractions.

[droopy d.]

We are going Dec. 3-10th and staying at Animal kingdom I was thinking about changing to a Mod. resort but they are all full but they did have rooms at the All-star resorts.

[tianna88]

All I know is the lady on the phone at Disney said all the discounted rooms are taken and she couldn't even give me a full price room. I asked her for any value, POR and wilderness cabins. She told me everything was totally booked not just those. So I am not sure what that means. She seemed to be having an off day so I am not sure how hard she looked. She told me to come later in Dec. :confused:
I tried MJ and a lady there told me nothing was available during that time but maybe something would come up later. Oh well I will keep trying :mickey: I am going and that is that :blush: even if I have to beat the crowds with at stick hee hee. :crowd:
:santa3::rocks:

[bkfree]

We are also going Dec 3-10 and staying at AKL.

I do second the suggestion to go thru a Disney Travel agency. We do, and they have always been able to get us the room we want and when we want it.

I had no trouble making ADR's for the week at all the places, days and times that we wanted, which I believe is a good sign as far as crowds.

WDW will never be vacant, but this time of year is definitely lower crowd and much nicer weather than many other times.

It took only one trip in June for us to make all other times of the year much more favorable, such as Jan and Dec.

[TammiMcMan]

We were planning a vacation for the 2nd week of Dec because I was reading the crowds are a bit lower but I just called disney and they told me Dec 5,6,8,9,11th are all booked?It's all about the timing. I just checked an online travel site and a standard view room at Coronado Springs is showing up at $149/night for the 5th - 12th of December. This may be because of a cancellation, or because they're a travel site, they have a block of rooms reserved.

The key is patience and maybe a little flexibility.

[bmj721]

I just checked POP Century on-line for 1-11 and it is available for 82/night.
Go figure. I made our reservations for ASMu suites for Dec 5-15 in June.
:mickey:

[LisaP]

Two things are happening in December, although I am not certain of the exact dates:

Pop Warner Football (super bowl?)
Mousefest

I had difficulty booking for the dates I wanted, so I changed my dates. Then I had no luck making ADRs for almost my entire stay.

Not stopping me -- I'll keep trying :thumbsup:

[Marilyn Michetti]

We're going from the 6th - 15th, but we made our ressies in March for SOG. Every Dec., it's the same story - "it's going to be mobbed". It never has been (so far), but I realize that this could be the year.

Let's keep our fingers crossed. It will still be better than a hot, muggy day in June.:sun: