First Week in December?

[Maggio]

Greetings from NJ!

DH and I have typically visited WDW in the summer and early January, when the academic schedule has permitted. By some sort of miracle, we were able to get some time to travel December 2-7 this year.

Typically, we have seen that the week after Thanksgiving is considered among the slowest times of the year. But now I'm getting nervous because I've seen some posts where people say it's busy. I was wondering if anyone here would be able to quantify "busy"? That is, how long are the typical wait times?

I think we're overlapping the Pop Warner conference, but does that really have an impact on the parks? And if they're taping the parade over the weekend, does that impact the earlier days of the week? If we're interested in seeing the Christmas processional at Epcot, should we book a dinner package, or will be able to wait and get seats?

Thanks so much in advance! :mickey:
Best,
EOG

[Strmchsr]

"Busy" is really impossible to qualify. Ian said it best...those who are used to going in June or spring probably won't find December too busy. Those who are used to going in September or May will find it pretty busy. Those who have previously gone during the first couple of weeks of December now find it MUCH busier than it was 3-4 years ago and further back. So, expect crowds and lines, but it's not shoulder to shoulder crowds. During that week I've seen rides like test track with 60-90 min waits, and same for many Fantasyland favorites, but I've also seen rides like HM, POTC and BTMRR at only about 10-20 min so it depends.

As for the CP...folks start lining up 2-3 hours before showtime in the standbye line. You could literally wait 3 hours and not get a seat so I always recommend the dinner package.

Pop Warner impacts the resorts a lot, but not too bad on the parks.

The parade taping makes MK almost unbearable on that Saturday (not as bad on Friday, but still crowded) but it doesn't impact the rest of the week as it's mostly locals who come in for that.

[thumperbug]

I've traveled to the world during the same time frame you are looking at and never thought it was insanely crowded. It is fuller then it has been in the past but I don't find it any worse then any of the other times I have been including 2 years in a row during presidents week.

Use fast pass, bring your patience and you will be able to enjoy everything.