Christmas at Disney

[Pilsy]

We're considering visiting Disney over Christmas, because my kids will finally be vaccinated, and close family bought a house in that general area (between 15 and 30 minutes from WDW) over a year ago and we haven't visited yet. It would be fun to stay in a Disney hotel, and maybe we'll do that for a night or two someday, but the fact that we can stay somewhere for free is just too enticing, so that's the plan. 

My girls, 7.5 and 4.5 in December, have never been on a plane, let alone to Disney. My H and I wandered around Epcot about 8 years ago, and we both went when we were kids. We do love amusement parks for the rides, but we're not Disney devotees, so I can't picture myself investing a ton of time in planning. 

What are some can't-miss highlights for my girls, especially at that time of year? 

Thanks for any advice you can give! 

[mainelyfoolish]

The week between Christmas and New Years is the absolute busiest time of the year. Many people go and enjoy themselves, but many other people go that week and are frustrated and annoyed by the large crowds and long wait times and amount of stuff accomplished vs. the expense of going, especially if you’re not into planning in advance. I love Disney and have been several times and would not recommend going that week as a first visit with young kids.

[lacey]

Christmas at Disney is one of the busiest times. I, personally, would want a plan. I’d start with how many days you are going to Disney and which park you will go to on each day. I don’t think fast passes are currently in play which helps simplify the planning but you should still look at a park map and read some ride descriptions to understand how you may want to move through the parks. At 4.5 and 7.5 there won’t be a ton that they can’t do - only the biggest roller coasters. You should have an idea of what rides are must do for your family. Dining reservations open up 60 days in advance and if you want sit down meals you should book them at 60 days out. If you are OK with counter service meals there’s no need to plan that.

The decorations in the parks are great and you’ll see those just by wandering around. Many of the hotels also have great decorations but you would need to obviously go to the hotels to see those, which may or may not be worth your time. Some easy ones to do would be the monorail resorts.

[Pilsy]

Eek! This isn't what I was expecting, so thank you for setting me straight!

I will be back with more questions, I'm sure. Thank you!

[TamiTaylor]

We go very frequently at Christmas week. We have never had any issues doing everything we want to do.

[zarapipe]

I was just going to post this haha. We are thinking the same thing. TamiTaylor is there a noticeable difference going a few days before Christmas versus the day or and the few days after?

[TamiTaylor]

Jun 4, 2021 14:50:13 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

I was just going to post this haha. We are thinking the same thing. TamiTaylor is there a noticeable difference going a few days before Christmas versus the day or and the few days after?

It gets busier the closer you get to New Years. We also always do Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day.

[TamiTaylor]

Jun 3, 2021 22:39:37 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

We're considering visiting Disney over Christmas, because my kids will finally be vaccinated, and close family bought a house in that general area (between 15 and 30 minutes from WDW) over a year ago and we haven't visited yet. It would be fun to stay in a Disney hotel, and maybe we'll do that for a night or two someday, but the fact that we can stay somewhere for free is just too enticing, so that's the plan. 

My girls, 7.5 and 4.5 in December, have never been on a plane, let alone to Disney. My H and I wandered around Epcot about 8 years ago, and we both went when we were kids. We do love amusement parks for the rides, but we're not Disney devotees, so I can't picture myself investing a ton of time in planning. 

What are some can't-miss highlights for my girls, especially at that time of year? 

Thanks for any advice you can give! 

If you need any help planning send me a PM. I am an authorized Disney TA.

[sent]

At those ages, I'd go with low expectations knowing it's the busiest time of the year. It's possible to still have fun. My kids could only do like 3 rides per morning or afternoon block. And that's if we were hustling. Sometimes it was just 2 rides and the rest of the time was spent finding characters or eating or just admiring or experiencing interactive stuff like water fountains etc.

[Pilsy]

Jun 4, 2021 19:01:34 GMT -5 TamiTaylor said:

If you need any help planning send me a PM. I am an authorized Disney TA.

I will definitely be in touch! We've decided to go for it.  We will have reasonable (low) expectations and will just enjoy it for what it is. Fortunately, with a place to stay nearby, we will be able to go again, and we can be sure to try a different time of year at that point. 

Thank you! 

[Pilsy]

I will add, we are trying to coordinate among a child-free aunt with limited vacation opportunities, grandparents, and our family of four. Lots of moving pieces, so even though I wouldn't choose to go at Christmas if it were only the four of us, I'm trying to go with the flow. It will ensure my sister isn't excluded and my parents can maximize their snowbird season.

[katb]

2018 experience here so your mileage may vary - we stayed offsite fro 10 days with a large family group. We stayed at Bonnet Creek - highly recommend. My SIL who stayed at fort wilderness would take longer to get to the park then we did.

We went the first week of December and left around the 14/15th- by our last days the amount of people increased significantly.

Hands down,the Christmas party was worth the $$. EVerything was walk on as the evening went on, the snacks were so plentiful we were handed bags of goodies to take with us as we left. Kids had a fabulous time, the magic was real that night.

I think I spend less than $1500 for a 3 br/3ba at bonnet creek that had pools, socials, and restauratnst (again pre covid). To take Uber it was $9 to Magic Kingom and $7/8 to epcot. We mostly took our own car so all could fit in the car.

I doubt I would do Disney again as a big trip (kids getting older, hate people lol, etc) BUT I would without a doubt go to the Christmas party again. book a 2/3 day trip at bonnet creek fly down just for the party and then go home.

I would not go after the 15th or so in December - way tooo crowded. (and I have done Disney July 4th many years ago).

[sent]

Jun 7, 2021 21:14:58 GMT -5 katb said:

We went the first week of December and left around the 14/15th- by our last days the amount of people increased significantly.

Hands down,the Christmas party was worth the $$. EVerything was walk on as the evening went on, the snacks were so plentiful we were handed bags of goodies to take with us as we left. Kids had a fabulous time, the magic was real that night.

We were there at the same exact time in 2018! DD had just turned 5 and still talks about the Christmas party. 

[Pilsy]

Jun 7, 2021 21:14:58 GMT -5 katb said:

2018 experience here so your mileage may vary - we stayed offsite fro 10 days with a large family group. We stayed at Bonnet Creek - highly recommend. My SIL who stayed at fort wilderness would take longer to get to the park then we did.

Thanks for the rec! Could you see the fireworks from there? I will also Google but curious about your experience. 

Unfortunately, we are looking at Christmas week, not early in December. No flexibility, but I appreciate the crowd warnings!  

[katb]

Jun 7, 2021 23:33:10 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

Jun 7, 2021 21:14:58 GMT -5 katb said:

2018 experience here so your mileage may vary - we stayed offsite fro 10 days with a large family group. We stayed at Bonnet Creek - highly recommend. My SIL who stayed at fort wilderness would take longer to get to the park then we did.

Thanks for the rec! Could you see the fireworks from there? I will also Google but curious about your experience. 

Unfortunately, we are looking at Christmas week, not early in December. No flexibility, but I appreciate the crowd warnings!  

We could see fireworks from our patio.  We were in the front building.  If you in a unit elsewhere, you could easily walk aroud and watch.  It won't be anything like in the part but you do get a nice show.

[huskymom]

Which Bonnet Creek? We stayed at the Wyndham one in a presidential suite and only happened to see fireworks that were a special occasion at Typhoon Lagoon.

If they are doing the MK ones I think you should be in the park to see them!

[Pilsy]

Jun 8, 2021 15:25:39 GMT -5 huskymom said:

Which Bonnet Creek? We stayed at the Wyndham one in a presidential suite and only happened to see fireworks that were a special occasion at Typhoon Lagoon.

If they are doing the MK ones I think you should be in the park to see them!

Looks like it's this one: www.hiltonbonnetcreek.com/


I would love to be in the park, but in case the little one can't last that long, we need a backup plan.  Fortunately, we plan for this to be the first of a few trips, so we will be in the park for them at some point! 

[huskymom]

Jun 8, 2021 15:50:18 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

Jun 8, 2021 15:25:39 GMT -5 huskymom said:

Which Bonnet Creek? We stayed at the Wyndham one in a presidential suite and only happened to see fireworks that were a special occasion at Typhoon Lagoon.

If they are doing the MK ones I think you should be in the park to see them!

Looks like it's this one: www.hiltonbonnetcreek.com/


I would love to be in the park, but in case the little one can't last that long, we need a backup plan.  Fortunately, we plan for this to be the first of a few trips, so we will be in the park for them at some point! 

We stayed at the other one then- easy to get to parks but the on-site food was terrible. Room was HUGE!

[lishie]

Jun 4, 2021 19:22:34 GMT -5 sent said:

At those ages, I'd go with low expectations knowing it's the busiest time of the year. It's possible to still have fun. My kids could only do like 3 rides per morning or afternoon block. And that's if we were hustling. Sometimes it was just 2 rides and the rest of the time was spent finding characters or eating or just admiring or experiencing interactive stuff like water fountains etc.

When my boys were that age, one time we spent an hour on Tom Sawyer Island watching squirrels.  

[curbsideprophet]

I would definitely try to do some research and figure out what your top priorities are.

I would try to get tickets so you can make park reservations sooner rather than later.


We have not been for Christmas but have been for Easter/Spring Break and Thanksgiving. Take advantage of rope drop. Crowds will build throughout the day. If the kids (or you) need a break, don’t be afraid to take one!

Disney Tourist Blog has already put out their Christmas guide. Some of it is speculation at this point due to Covid.


www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-christmas-ultimate-guide/

[sent]

Jun 9, 2021 15:14:46 GMT -5 lishie said:

Jun 4, 2021 19:22:34 GMT -5 sent said:

At those ages, I'd go with low expectations knowing it's the busiest time of the year. It's possible to still have fun. My kids could only do like 3 rides per morning or afternoon block. And that's if we were hustling. Sometimes it was just 2 rides and the rest of the time was spent finding characters or eating or just admiring or experiencing interactive stuff like water fountains etc.

When my boys were that age, one time we spent an hour on Tom Sawyer Island watching squirrels.  

My oldest is currently 7, has been to Disney 3 times, and we have yet to even go to Tom Sawyer Island! We even spent 3 days solely at Magic Kingdom on the last trip. So much to see and do!

We also still enjoy character meals a lot, feeding and entertaining kids in an air conditioned setting is a good combination for me.

[lishie]

Jun 9, 2021 21:37:35 GMT -5 sent said:

Jun 9, 2021 15:14:46 GMT -5 lishie said:

When my boys were that age, one time we spent an hour on Tom Sawyer Island watching squirrels.  

My oldest is currently 7, has been to Disney 3 times, and we have yet to even go to Tom Sawyer Island! We even spent 3 days solely at Magic Kingdom on the last trip. So much to see and do!

We also still enjoy character meals a lot, feeding and entertaining kids in an air conditioned setting is a good combination for me.

Fun! We've been DVC and AP since my boys were 3 and 5 (that's also when my MIL moved to Orlando) so lots of Disney trips for us. We still love it. The boys are now 10 & 12 and we're going with my sister and nephews in July. I can't wait! 

I had a heck of a time even getting a "distanced" character meal for us this coming trip, but eventually I found a hollywood & vine lunch.