I have never been worried before planning our 15+ trips to WDW but I have to admit this trip planning is making me nervous. For the 1st time ever we will be in WDW for Christmas (23rd to the 28th - 4 adults) and I was looking for some good tips on what to see inside and out of the parks, the special Christmas shows and activities, and how to manage the crowds. We have been there for 4th of July twice and it was crowded then but I hear that Christmas time is even worse. We will be staying at AS Movies and have AP's so we can park hop. We missed out on getting ADR's for the 23rd, 24th and 25th as there are none available for what we are looking for. We did manage to get a Candlelight Processional Dinner Package on the 26th. I have a month to figure things out so that we can attempt to choose FP's on 10/23.
Just a word on the FP+. Definitely make them, but don't be disappointed because there will be unavailable attractions.
I am taking a short trip on Nov 15-19. I stayed up late and logged on right at the moment of availability to book FP+ and I was surprised that many options were completely booked. For MK, I noticed the FP+ for parades and fireworks viewing and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train were gone for sure.
Carrie
CBR: 2/21-2/25/17
POR: 6/4-6/11/16
POFQ: 11/15-11/19/15
8/28-9/1/14 -DL-Dumbo 19.3 C2C
POR: 1/7-1/14/14 -Dopey 48.6
POR: 6/11-6/17/13
ASMu: 1/11-1/15/13 -1st Full 26.2
ASMu: 9/22-9/28/11
ASMu: 6/7-6/13/11
Pop: 1/30-2/6/10
Pop: 2/1-2/7/09
Pop: 1/08
ASMu: 05/06
Off-site: 12/93
I have been at Disney for Christmas twice, a couple suggestions:
Do not go to MK on Christmas Eve, it gets inundated with locals. Epcot has a beautiful holiday tag to Illuminations, I highly recommend that on Christmas Eve to get you in the holiday spirit.
Both trips we spent the day of Christmas Day visiting the resorts rather than the parks: we took the monorail loop and visited the Poly, the Contemporary, and GF. It was very enjoyable and relaxing. GF and the Poly have really good counter service spots for better than average fast-food.
Depending on your arrival time, consider seeing the Osborne Lights on the 23rd--that will probably be the least crowded of the days you're there.
DVC Member
Boston, MA and Celebration, FL
Try WDWtools or Disney dining buddy for those ADR's, for the FP+'s, go to your last day 1st to get the harder to get ones. I do have a crystal palace ADR for the night of the 23rd if you're interested. (party of 5). I have it posted on another site but you can pm me and I'll let you know if I still have it.
16 trips to "The World"
Last trip - April 2018 - Polynesian
Next trip to WDW - December 2018 - Beach club
"Disneyworld will never be complete. It will continue to grow as long as there's imagination left in the world."
I used to take Ali almost every Christmas when you could check in on the 18th of December at Value rates and keep that rate the whole time you were checked in (we would leave on New Years Day)... yep, I long for those hidden tricks again....
Take a small tree and lights and decorate your room/window/balcony - its fun to make it your "Christmas retreat"...
See if you can enlist a cast member/outside source to help you play Santa -- I had arranged it to have "Santa" deliver Ali's gifts one year while we we out late to EPCOT (we were staying at one of the hotels close to EPCOT)...
Try to visit every resort and just enjoy how they decorate for Christmas. The Poly usually has a Christmas Morning Service - see if they still have that (I usually would call the Poly direct to find out).... Its usually a non-denominational service, and has a good attendance (at least it did)...
Make all dining reservations as soon as you can. You can always cancel them, but it get very hard to "reserve" them as the days get closer to Christmas.
Take lots of breaks - and be prepared for super hot weather and super cold weather all in the same week - I remember one year having to put Ali in a double stroller (they were bigger back then) , putting a blanket around her to keep her somewhat warm, having a hat and gloves on myself, and later that week having shorts on!!
Above else - enjoy - its a special time of year!!
Ali's Mom
Senior Imagineer
Former Cast Member
