Crowds week before Christmas?

[Disney OB RN]

I have two day passes for my family to utilize on our WDW trip Dec 17-22; my dilemma is this: should our Universal days be at the front or back of our trip, with crowd levels in mind? Have never been to Universal at Christmas, have been to WDW; I know to expect crowds there. I appreciate the advice! Thanks! (Yes, I know, I was just there in September, but this time, I'm actually taking the hubby & 3 kids, our daughters choice for her Senior Trip! ):mickey:

[buzznwoodysmom]

I have no idea what to expect either. We are arriving at the Hard Rock Hotel on Dec. 18th. We are doing 2 nights at Universal and those two parks, then moving to WDW for 6 nights starting on Dec. 20th.

I can tell you this. In 2007 we were in WDW the week of Thanksgiving. We were with SIL and her family and they did the Universal parks. They said that the Universal parks were way more packed than the WDW parks. They did Universal on the Wednesday and Thursday, so Thanksgiving day, which could be why it was so packed.

I'm expecting it to be packed all around, both Universal and WDW. I am expecting the worse and hoping for the best. LOL. Honestly tho, we are just going for the experience. Have been to the parks so many times, will be back so many more. We really don't care what we can and can't do, just going to enjoy being there for Christmas.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

cool, we will be there the same time

[Disney OB RN]

That is the attitude I'm going to take also.....just to enjoy being there!!!!:cloud9:

[MizMissy]

I have no first hand knowledge of the crowds, but if everyone is saying it gets more crowded closer to Christmas and if you assume both WDW and Universal will be equally crowded, you might consider going to Universal on the most crowded days. My thought is that if you are staying on property, the unlimited express pass (except for a couple of big rides) works so much better than Disney's fast pass, you may be able to accomplish more ... or at least maybe ride your favorite ride more than once or avoid the risk of all fast passes being gone for your favorite ride.

Of course, with Universal, there are less parks to hop to if you find one is super crowded. However, I did find that Universal Studios seemed much less crowded than IOA. We went at a less busy time, but it just seemed that Studios had wider streets and could handle crowds better.

Have a great time whatever you decide! I am sure you will have a great trip with your family, especially with your attitude of just enjoying being there.

[Disney OB RN]

Thanks for the advice; luckily, my kids have been to IOA/Studios once before, so this trip is for the WWoHP....if we can just master that, then the rest is "gravy", so they say......:D

[Disney OB RN]

As the date draws closer, please keep the advice coming in!