Going "Home" for first time this Christmas.

[lovedisneysincewas10]

Well I just got my member number and called MS to make our first trip "home". We are staying in a 2bdrm at SSR from the 26th-31st of December. I hope we are not making the biggest mistake because of crowds. But I think as long as we are realistic about how many people will be there we can still stay upbeat. I am so excited, December cannot come fast enough, even though I am not sure where January went already

 

[byoung]

Congrats! Welcome Home! Have a great vacation on your first trip home, it will be crowded so expect lines.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

That is a great week to go if you prepare far in advance. The aprks are crowded but they open very early and stay open very late. Just manage your day properly and plan in a lot of down time.

HBC

 

[CinderellaPug]

That is a great week to go if you prepare far in advance. The aprks are crowded but they open very early and stay open very late. Just manage your day properly and plan in a lot of down time.

HBC

HBC raises some good points. Christmas time is a beautiful time of year to be in Disney. Planning ahead makes a big difference. We always tried to get to parks at opening and be out by noon so we could nap/relax by the pool.

 

[SaratogaShan]

Yep,

You will be fine if you get there at park open each day. People stay out late for extended park hours and can't get up early in the morning. In fact, the mornings were much LESS crowded than usual. My family (with two small children in tow) went for the Christmas Holidays for the first time last year. I thought it would be chaos....but I would not hesitate to do it again!

Oh....I should mention that we used Tourguide Mike for the least crowded parks charts.....they were right on the money!

 

[castleri]

Well I just got my member number and called MS to make our first trip "home". We are staying in a 2bdrm at SSR from the 26th-31st of December. I hope we are not making the biggest mistake because of crowds. But I think as long as we are realistic about how many people will be there we can still stay upbeat. I am so excited, December cannot come fast enough, even though I am not sure where January went already

You don't say what the ages you will be traveling with are. That can make a difference in your plans. As you said be realistic and plan ahead for the things you really want to see and do. Once you get those done anything else is icing on the cake. Some days this year we only did a couple of rides but they were the ones we really wanted and by using fastpassed we actually got quite a bit done. Christmas morning was the best- we rode EE three times with no wait - later in the day the line was huge. The rest of the week we were using fast passes as much as possilbe and waiting the hour or more for rides where we didn't have them. Do your planning and still try to be flexible. If you want to eat at certain restaurants be sure to make reservations well in advance for that week. We only had one ADR as we did not care about TS places and just ate CS most of the time. We did do one or two meals in the room.
The crowds were the biggest I have seen and this was our third Christmas week stay so if you keep your upbeat theme you will love it. On Jan 3 my DGD and I did all four parks riding just one ride in each with time out for a meal at DTD at WGP express and a trip to the Grosvenor Resort to rent a car- got there 15 minutes after they closed so had to go back the next morning. OUr first ride of the trip on 12/25 was EE (with no wait) and it was our last ride on 1/3 (waited over an hour) AK was the EMH park for that evening and it was really so different to ride it in the dark. For some reason the crowds did not lessen after Jan 1 this year. Maybe because of the marathon the following weekend.
Have a wonderful trip and a fun 11 months of planning.

 

[Knotty]

Do they have longer park hours during this extra busy time?

I read somewhere they have more then one park with extended hours during this time of year?

When/where will disney post the hours the parks will be open during the Christmas week?

thank you

 

[castleri]

Yes they had longer hours furing the Christmas week plus the ones with EMH had even longer hours. One night the MK was open until 3am I think, AK was open to 8 and then had extra hours until 11 if I remember correctly. Usually they close around 5 and when they have EMH are open until 8. Right now the Walt Disney World website has the hours listed through the end of August. That would conincide with when you can make ADRs also. Our next family trip is September and I know we will have greatly shortened hours then so will be watching for the extra ones to make out plans.

 

[tomandrobin]

We've gone the past couple years at that time and are going again this year. Its great that time of year. The parks are packed, but go early, take a break during the day. Love the decorations and the special fireworks and shows.

 

[lovedisneysincewas10]

Yep,

You will be fine if you get there at park open each day. People stay out late for extended park hours and can't get up early in the morning. In fact, the mornings were much LESS crowded than usual. My family (with two small children in tow) went for the Christmas Holidays for the first time last year. I thought it would be chaos....but I would not hesitate to do it again!

Oh....I should mention that we used Tourguide Mike for the least crowded parks charts.....they were right on the money!

Where can I get this chart you mention?

 

[tomandrobin]

Where can I get this chart you mention?

tips and other helful links

 

[alldiz]

Have a great time....

Make all adr's in advance...including any kids clubs if you
will be using any....

Definately buy tgm..He is a sponsor on these boards and
follow his best parks on which day advice..

Get there early and leave...Plan on enjoying your new "home"...

Hopefully it will be warm enough to swim....

OH i wish Disney had indoor pools...I assume they dont
want anything extra to keep you outta the parks

Have a great time....
I'm waiting to close....I hope I can go "home" this
holiday season also....Please...WLV...hold a 1 br for me...
Kerri

 

[TenThousandVolts]

A tip I have never tried- but people swear by is: go 1st thing in the morning to the park that had evening emh the night before- it shouldn't be too crowded. We arrive on Dec. 30 and I am really nervous about crowds, too.

Good luck!

 

[AKVCRVDVC]

Congrats and Welcome Home! I would absolutely love to be going to WDW at that time, even though it would be really crowded! I am sure you are going to have a great time. Once again, congrats and Welcome Home!

 

[loribell]

Well I just got my member number and called MS to make our first trip "home". We are staying in a 2bdrm at SSR from the 26th-31st of December. I hope we are not making the biggest mistake because of crowds. But I think as long as we are realistic about how many people will be there we can still stay upbeat. I am so excited, December cannot come fast enough, even though I am not sure where January went already

First Congratulations & Welcome Home!

We went over Christmas in '06 and although we had a great time & I would love to do it again sometime it won't be anytime soon. I loved being at Disney for Christmas, plus it was my DD's birthday. The decorations & atmosphere are even better than any other day! But I could not get my family to get out of bed so that we could enjoy the parks before the crowds hit. The 26th was fine but the 27th & 28th were a nightmare. On the 27th all parks except EPCOT closed. The crowds were the worst I have ever seen. We changed our plans and didn't even go to a park on the 28th. We went and had lunch at Beaches & Cream and then to play mini golf at Fantasia Gardens where we had a 50 minute wait for a tee time!

Just make sure you plan your days wisely and be there for opening. Get in & out before the crowds get there. I would also suggest using Tour Guide Mike and following his advice. I subscribed and had all his advice but the family wanted to deviate to much. If we ever go back at that time again I will make sure we stick with the plan. I would love to be there for New Years eve in '09. That way I can go ahead and see the Christmas things I didn't get to see this past trip.

One thing I would say is a must do is to book the CP package. We had dinner at Le Cellier (for our first time ever) and then did the second showing and it was unbelievable! What a great meal & great show.