Which week in Dec is least crowded?

[dixiepixie]

We are trying to decide if we want to go Dec. 3-11 or 10-18. Any ideas on which one will be the least crowded?

[forever a child]

We went Dec 12 - 19 last December and it wasn't bad (to us) but got more crowded the closer it got to Christmas. But I would think the earlier in December you could go, the less crowded the parks would be. So I think Dec 3 - 11 would be better of the two.

[faline]

That first week in December is getting more and more popular with folks every year. You also haee all the Pop Warner groups and the parade taping.

On the other hand, the closer you get to the actual holiday, the more folks are arriving. I've found that crowds begin to pick up quite a lot beginning about one week before the holiday itself (depending somewhat on the day of the week on which the holiday will fall).

[disneymom15]

In 2009 we went Nov 29-Dec 6 and the crowds were fairly low. Crowd level did pick up toward the end of the week. In 2010 we went Dec 5-Dec 12 and it was quite a bit more crowded. We were still able to do everything we wanted but the lines were longer.

[eeyorepoohfan]

My DH and I went 12/10-12/15 in 2009 and 2010. We thought the crowds were a lot lighter in 2009. The only really busy day we felt was the Saturday we were there. In 2010 Saturday was super crowded at MK and HS was even crowded. However, the other days didn't seem too bad. You will notice an increase in crowds as you get closer to Christmas. So if you do the later dates, you will have some busy last days for sure. My sister and her family went for 8 days at the beginning of Dec in 2009. They said the crowds were super light their entire trip.

Keep in mind that they tape the Christmas parade the first weekend in December (usually) so MK may be hard to navigate then. There is also POP Warner and Cheer competitions that first week. However, those kids are usually off doing their thing during the day, so you shouldn't see them much. They may be at your resort though if you stay at an All Star (sometimes they spill over into one of the moderates, but I can't remember which one).

When we went in Dec 2010, we did notice that more cheer families decided to stay and play at the parks after their competitions. So our first weekend there and the beginning of the week, we saw several cheer girls walking around. Now, they weren't in large groups, which is helpful. But we did notice many more in 2010 than 2009.

Sometimes it really just comes down to which park you go on which day. One park may be packed but you go to another one and it's walk-ons for everything.

I would pick which works best for your calendar and be flexible on the parks you visit each day. Be sure to get a hopper pass too!

Personally, my DH and I liked going a little closer to Christmas. For whatever reason, we were able to get a slightly cheaper flight on the later dates.

[dixiepixie]

Hmmm...our dates are very flexible. Would we be better off going Nov 25-Dec 4 maybe? We want to be there for the Christmas stuff, but want to avoid the crowds as much as possible.

[Strmchsr]

As Linda said, the whole time period after Thanksgiving has grown very popular. You're not going to hit a "low crowds" time. You'll usually find crowds are lower Monday-Wednesday during the first couple of weeks of December, but Thursday-Sunday they pick up quite a bit. The parade taping the first weekend of December makes MK a madhouse. And Pop Warner the second week doesn't impact the parks too much, but it does make life difficult at the value resorts. If crowd levels are your biggest concern, go the week before Thanksgiving week. The Candlelight Processional won't be going on yet, but most of the rest of the Christmas stuff will be up and going.

[RedSoxFan]

We were there 12/11/10---12/19/10. That first weekend was very busy; but not really busy the rest of the week and following weekend. I'm not sure if it was because it was cold; but we only used Fast Pass a couple of times for Aerosmith.

[Narawen]

We were there 12/11/10---12/19/10. That first weekend was very busy; but not really busy the rest of the week and following weekend. I'm not sure if it was because it was cold; but we only used Fast Pass a couple of times for Aerosmith.

Hoping it's the ame this year. We just booked Dec 11-16, and our park days will be Mon-Thurs, so I'm hoping it not being a weekend will mean lower crowds. We tend to go to the EHM parks because we like longer hours, but I know that affects crowd levels.