Which of these dates are best?

[bobsemper]

Hello everyone!

First post here! :mickey: I'm going to WDW for the second time. First time was in 2009 and I'm looking forward to going this December.

I'm going with my best friend, and we're both HUGE Disney fans.

My friend and I want to book our vacation right away. We are still undecided which dates to choose and I'd like your help.


Saturday Nov. 29 - Sunday Dec. 7
Saturday Dec. 6 - Sunday Dec. 14
Saturday Dec. 13 - Sunday Dec. 21


Which dates would you recommend?

Thanks!
Bob

[Strmchsr]

:welcome: to Intercot!!

Probably the last date. With the first choice you'll hit the end of Thanksgiving weekend and then the next weekend (Dec 5-7) is when they tape the Christmas morning parade at Magic Kingdom, which turns the place into a zoo. The week of Dec 6 is Pop Warner, the little league football and cheerleading championships. Not such a big impact on park crowds, but big impact on value and some moderate resorts. That leaves the last week. Crowds will be bigger that last weekend, but should still be manageable, except maybe on Saturday. Your best bet would be to contact Magical Journeys over on the Intercot Sponsor tab. They don't cost anything for you to use and they can help you navigate booking as there are several blackout days for the discounts during December.

[VacationDisney]

We have been this time of year for the last 5 years. If we were to go this year, depending on when Thanksgiving is (we are headed down to WDW this August) we'd go on December 6th.

Pop Warner NEVER had an impact on us. From time to time we'd see a small group at the parks. They were small groups and well behaved. We always avoided MK while they tape the Christmas parade.

Have a great time:mickey:

[bobsemper]

Thanks so much!
You guys are really knowledgeable.

Is there a way to know what day(s) they will be taping the parade? Does MK go crazy or the rest of the parks as well?

[Strmchsr]

Is there a way to know what day(s) they will be taping the parade? Does MK go crazy or the rest of the parks as well?

Usually they do the musical acts in front of the castle on Friday (Dec 5 this year), the parade on Main St on Saturday (which is the absolute worst day) and make-up shots on Sunday so it's a grab-bag what you get. It's just MK that gets messed up. Epcot is another place to avoid during weekends,especially Friday night and Saturday, as a ton of locals come in for those events.

[bobsemper]

Suddenly Saturday Dec. 6 - Sunday Dec. 14 doesn't sound so appealing.

We don't like crowds. But at the end of the day, who does?

[Strmchsr]

Suddenly Saturday Dec. 6 - Sunday Dec. 14 doesn't sound so appealing.

Crowds are just a fact of life at WDW now. There's really not a time to avoid them. You'll notice a big uptick since 2009. The Dec 6 week is also not good because those dates are blacked out for discounts due to the Pop Warner event. So you'll definitely want to go the week before or after. As I mentioned previously, Magical Journeys will be the best to help you navigate through all of this.

[bobsemper]

Thanks so much. You guys are awesome!

[bobsemper]

How about the week after Thanksgiving?

I'm assuming that Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving will be kind of crazy -- but how about the week after that?

[Strmchsr]

Yes, the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving are fairly crazy then things calm down. That week is not bad. It's no worse than the other option for you. It used to be the least crowded week of the year. That's definitely not the case any longer, but the crowds aren't bad, either.

[ruffles]

We go every year the week after Thanksgiving. The crowds are not that bad and the stand-by lines are not bad at all. The Sunday after Thanksgiving can be a good time. Most people are checking out to go home and the new crowd does not arrive until later in day. Personally I would choose that week.

[kohlby]

We've been the week after t'giving, first week of Dec, and second week of Dec before. The week after t-giving is quite manageable. One year, we drove down on t-giving, visited relatives, and did Sunday as our first day in the parks. It was moderate crowds and quite manageable. It was low to moderate from there on out. The first week in Dec is low-to-moderate. The second week really depends on the dates and school calendars. We've left the Dolphin hotel after a super quiet stay with few people to hoards of people coming in to start their Dec breaks, to the point where someone even told us they were booked solids starting then. Your last option might run that risk.

As for the taping, it was not an issue. We simply didn't plan for MK the day the bulk of the taping was done. There's three other parks so not a big deal.