Disney in December

[disneygirl87]

My family is going on our 12th trip to Disney World in December. We'll be there 12/12-1/1 & have never been there in December before, so any tips you have would be great! Also, where is the best place to celebrate the new year in Disney? :mickey:

[Pirate Granny]

DECEMBER...my very favorite time to go...we've gone before Christmas and a couple of times the week between Xmas and Jan 2nd...expect crowds...and decide which park...MK, EPCOT or Studios...and get a ADR QUICKLY...we actually ate at CRT for NYE...although my adult girls were not pleased that there was no alcohol...I found EPCOT way too crowded......even though it was a big park. The line was two hours long to get a beer from the outside venue at Germany. They started putting blankets around the walk-way at 6pm and leaving one person to save the space...(so if you have more than a few persons, that strategy could work for you) by 10pm you couldn't walk around the WS...what a nightmare...we ended up going to Future World and about 30 minutes before the fireworks found a spot on the grass (yes, people had blankets on the grass too) over by Innovations...we booked it out of there as the fireworks ended and caught the second bus back to Pop...now the next day we spoke to people in the food court...who waited three hours for a bus back to POP from EPCOT...groan...now, if it was up to me, I would try to stay even if it's one night in the hotel closest to the park you want to be in...We didn't have any trouble when we went to MK (we staked out a table around 10pm by the speedway and Space Mountain)...we had a car, and parked it at the Contemporary as we had friends staying there and they didn't need their parking pass...we left after the fireworks, with my dad in a wheelchair and got to the car and were back at FQ by 1:00am...took the back roads. If I ever can convince hubby to go again (he's gone twice, once with my dad and our adult daughters, and just us alone; I've gone again with a Disney friend -- as hubby refused to deal with those crowds)...we'll be staying in a walking hotel (Contemporary)...even if I have to pay BIG BUCKS and have to book it 2 years in advance (just kidding)...but the fireworks in MK are not to be missed...just a thought...they do the exact same fireworks at MK on Dec 30th...so that year we did MK on the 30th and EPCOT on the 31st.
:pirate:

[faline]

Since you plan to arrive on the 12th, you'll find the parks won't be overly crowded yet. I'd suggest trying to get all the rides you want to accomplish in the early part of your trip - particularly the more popular ones. When the crowds begin pouring in - starting around the 17th or so and steadily increasing, you'll want to spend your time enjoying those things that don't typically have long lines.

Although I understand, Disney parks did not reach peak attendance in the last couple of years for New Year's Eve, they often do. If you want to go to a park that day, I'd suggest choosing your park, making sure you get there early and plan to stay for the duration.

Make sure you have any dining reservations in place as soon as possible. It will likely be very difficult to make last minute reservations during your time frame.