How crazy is MK the week of Christmas and week after? Unbearable?

[Bookgirlinchicago]

We may have to change our date from oct to the week around christmas (if we can even find a hotel). I checked dads crowd calendar though and wow. Is it worth it because it's extra magical because it's christmas? does the christmas party run the week after christmas or just until?

 

[AngiTN]

As crazy as it gets. I think it crosses from Magical to not fun at all when the crowds reach that level
No parties then, they stop about 10 days before Christmas (give or take a few days)

 

[malarky]

so crowded. I would only go then if u like people watching and being part of a crowd. Because it won't be a regular wdw vacation

 

[Bookgirlinchicago]

Ok you two swayed me. thanks!

 

[mom2rtk]

As crazy as it gets. I think it crosses from Magical to not fun at all when the crowds reach that level
No parties then, they stop about 10 days before Christmas (give or take a few days)

Just as an FYI, the last party is December 22 this year.

 

[mom2rtk]

Ok you two swayed me. thanks!

I wouldn't want to go then either. Things ease up after most schools are back in session (which can be a number of days after New Years) but stay kind of busy until the marathon is over.

 

[deedubb]

This will be our first Christmas there. Despite the fact that I have visions of wall to wall people with nowhere to move (especially at MK on Christmas day which is what we're doing, even though I've heard the last place you want to be that day is at MK), I still think it is still something you have to do at least once. If you go in with expectations of it being crazy and expecting to go on very few rides except the ones you can FP, anything above and beyond that will just be icing on the cake.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

We usually go in October, but this last year we went the week after Christmas to celebrate my 40th birthday. We had a party of 9 it was manageable, but it took a lot of planning on my part. I did our fp right when the window opened and got everything we needed. Planned some of our dining and we planned some of it the day of while we were there. We used the express transportation and managed to do two parks each day (one one we did 3 because MK was opened until 3am) and see everything the first timers wanted to see. We did take a day off between each day of parks and I think that helped a lot, but overall we had a really great trip. I also used touring plans to give us a rough plan, but we did not stick to it 100%.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We did it once and won't do it again. We adjusted our dates last year so we were out of WDW by Dec. 21 and it made a world of difference.

This will be our first Christmas there. Despite the fact that I have visions of wall to wall people with nowhere to move (especially at MK on Christmas day which is what we're doing, even though I've heard the last place you want to be that day is at MK), I still think it is still something you have to do at least once. If you go in with expectations of it being crazy and expecting to go on very few rides except the ones you can FP, anything above and beyond that will just be icing on the cake.

Your visions will be reality soon. We were there on Dec. 29, 2015, a few days after Christmas, and it was absolute wall-to-wall people. We finally called it quits at 1 pm and could barely get out of the park because we couldn't move.

 

[mom2rtk]

The only way I would consider being there over Christmas would be if I was staying onsite and had access to EMH every day. I would be there at park open for EMH, do rides standby for the first few hours, then ride my 3 FP rides and get the heck out of Dodge.

 

[mum2four]

We were there last year, December 21-30 and it was amazing - our best trip ever!

7am EMH at MK are your best friend! We hit those a few times and got so much done. The park was pretty empty for the first couple hours. By 10-11am we were headed out as the masses filed in. We had park hoppers, so spent evenings in a different park.

We did venture over to MK one evening to see it all lit up and have dinner at BOG. The crowd was pretty thick and not a lot of fun to maneuver around. We had dinner, did our fast passes and left. So, I can understand if people always arrive later in the day to MK, they might find it miserable.

We did not find crowds in the other parks to be an issue at all. We were able to score same day FP's, rearrange dining last minute, and had no issues with WDW transportation.

It took planning, but our experience was certainly not the nightmare I have read about on these boards. I think it helped that we had 10 days to get things done. If you're trying to do a 4-5 day trip over Christmas, it's going to be harder.

Spending Christmas Eve and day in WDW was so magical. The only thing keeping me from doing it every year is that hotel prices are so high.

 

[Janet McDonald]

We are going the week before Christmas and from what I've read its more manageable than the week after Christmas. I hope this is true!

 

[Gehrig1B]

We visit for NYE and the week after. We find it easily manageable. We always get hoppers, rope drop or EMH most every morning, head on over to a 2nd park without EMH for our fast passes, return to our resort around mid-afternoon and then return to one of the parks or a resort for dinner and fireworks...

We stay at a deluxe to make getting to the parks easier and used express transportation to hop last year and will do so again this year.

Christmas decorations are still up throughout much of our stay.

 

[LauraLap]

We had a great two weeks at Christmas a few years ago. We arrive early for EMH and stay afterwards and spend afternoons at hotel. Then head back for fireworks, etc. One of my favourite trips ever was over Christmas.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We go every year either over thanksgiving or Christmas. The important thing is to have expectations that you can't see and do everything. There are other things going on that help with the crowds. I enjoy walking around the WS at a leisurely pace and take in the holidays around the world.

 

[clm10308]

What I like best about MK at Christmas time is the late night hours. It is amazing how much can be done between 11pm and 3 am. It is now my favorite time to visit.