Surviving Christmas at Disney questions

[Lfgw9206]

We have looked at every date possible over the next year, and Christmas time is all that works for us. We hadn’t been to Disney since pre-covid and never around the holidays. Our plan is Dec 28-Jan 4.

I know it will be insanely busy! We will do all we can with rope drop and genie. Any other tips? Also I’m debating on the dining plan, or just food in general.

Do you think it’s better to schedule sit down table service everyday to get a break from the madness? We used to enjoy scheduling meal at different resorts, to get to enjoy the other resorts. Is this a good plan? Or is it better to stay in parks all day and just deal with crowds and eat on the fly?

Open to any and all tips/ideas!

I should say we are a group of 5 with older kids. 21,17,13. So I don’t think they will care much about character dining.

Thanks

 

[hes122]

You'll probably want to make sure you include the purchase of Genie+ and ILLs in your budget as the crowds will be very heavy.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Also understand that even with Genie+ you will likely be very limited with what you can use it for because the good rides will “sell out” before you have a chance to book them. For HS (which is notoriously hard to navigate with Genie+) mentally I chalk up the cost of it to an ILL for Slinky, and if I can get 1-2 more rides/shows out of it that’s a win.

 

[Samdari]

Do you think it’s better to schedule sit down table service everyday to get a break from the madness? We used to enjoy scheduling meal at different resorts, to get to enjoy the other resorts. Is this a good plan? Or is it better to stay in parks all day and just deal with crowds and eat on the fly?

That's really a personal preference. When I went with my wife, she hated the quick service food, and enjoyed the 1.5 hour breaks for meals, so wanted table service lunch and dinner daily. I viewed that as wasting precious time paid for by the theme park ticket. I like the eat on the fly plan myself. Literally would get whatever food had the shortest line and get back to rides. Kids hungry? Give them another churro to eat while in the next line.

 

[Karalee402]

We did a very similar trip this past year and had an absolute blast. My best advice is get very comfortable with using Genie+ and use it every park, every day. On New Year's Eve, one of the busiest park days of the year, we rode every single ride at MK but Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter, and the Tea Cups. Everyone was warning us that we wouldn't ride much, and we were prepared to just enjoy the atmosphere and the decorations, but using Early Entry and Genie+, we rode everything.
I also highly recommend using Mobile Order for food as often as possible. And schedule it way in advance - like early in the morning for lunch. That really cut down our time waiting in line for food.
It's such a beautiful time to go, and I wouldn't hesitate to go again!

 

[Lfgw9206]

You'll probably want to make sure you include the purchase of Genie+ and ILLs in your budget as the crowds will be very heavy.

For sure!

 

[hes122]

I also highly recommend using Mobile Order for food as often as possible. And schedule it way in advance - like early in the morning for lunch. That really cut down our time waiting in line for food.

YES to mobile ordering! Such a game changer!

 

[Lfgw9206]

We did a very similar trip this past year and had an absolute blast. My best advice is get very comfortable with using Genie+ and use it every park, every day. On New Year's Eve, one of the busiest park days of the year, we rode every single ride at MK but Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter, and the Tea Cups. Everyone was warning us that we wouldn't ride much, and we were prepared to just enjoy the atmosphere and the decorations, but using Early Entry and Genie+, we rode everything.
I also highly recommend using Mobile Order for food as often as possible. And schedule it way in advance - like early in the morning for lunch. That really cut down our time waiting in line for food.
It's such a beautiful time to go, and I wouldn't hesitate to go again!

Thank you! That makes me feel better!!!

 

[bwr827]

Related to WDW at Christmas, when do they usually announce dates for the magic kingdom Mickey Christmas parties?

 

[DeeBee3]

Pack patience, expect the crowds, budget in Genie+ (it will add a significant amount to your spending for 5 people)
1 table service/day and use mobile order - order a bit before you want to eat so you don't worry if it takes a while to get the food

You can't do everything so just prioritize your main rides or shows. Take advantage or early entry or extended hours (if it applies).

We had a great Christmas trip and we had strollers and the whole shebang of little kid stuff.

 

[MemoryMakers]

We've been to Disney a couple of times during this time...one of our FAVORITE things to do during the middle of the day is to check out the various resorts' decorations. Besides those on the monorail loop, our other favorites are Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge. We combined the visits usually with a lunch reservation at one of the resorts to make the trip "worth it". Plus...doing this...we are able to stack Genie+ selections at whatever park we are going to go to later the day.

 

[Mango7100]

We have been that time for the last 2 years in a row and will also be doing a split stay Universal/WDW on your exact dates.

1. Yes it will be crowded. But it has never been the “I have to leave here because it’s wall to wall people and I cant move or breathe” to us. That may be somewhat of what we do on New Years to avoid that (see below). Actually Disney Springs felt 100 times worse than any of the parks—lesson learned.
2. We buy Genie Plus every day. Budget 50 a person a day before tax. It was 39 before tax last year and I assume it will be higher this year. But we easily pulled 8-9 rides at MK with it per day, 4 at HS (Slinky, TSMM, Runaway Railway, and Smugglers Run). Even though people say it’s not necessary at Epcot it still saves a bunch of time that time of year on lesser rides. Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space will all have 60+ minute waits so bypassing that makes a huge difference. And they are easy LLs to get. Even Living with the Land will be 45-60 min.
3. We did not have any issue getting Tron or Guardians VQs but park reservations were still in place, so this year may be different. We did not buy ILLs but if Rise is a must do just buy it (it will sell out likely before park opening). You can rope drop it as well but you better be at the park an hour before and hope it is running for Early Entry or else you are screwed. Same for FOP.
4. We only did 2 reserved table services the whole trip. Topolinos for New Years Eve as a late seating (like 1215) counts as our breakfast and lunch and is a tradition for us. On MK days we go to a nearby resort for lunch (Geyser Point is a favorite). We do mobile order any quick service we can. We don’t do the dining plan, mainly because our 11 year old pays adult pricing and obviously can’t drink alcohol and won’t enough food for adult pricing so it’s not as beneficial for us. And then I feel like I need to eat or drink even if I don’t want to because it’s already paid for. I would rather just have the freedom to eat as little or as much as I want.
5. Epcot and MK are the biggest NYE draws, and we purposefully don’t go to either. Those are the 2 where the crowds get too crazy for me. We like fireworks but they aren’t a must do for us. We go to HS instead. Hollywood Brown Derby takes walks ups on their patio so we can have a nice dinner. They have a DJ and laser lights and some small fireworks. It’s still festive for NYE but you can walk around! And we stay at the Swan so we can walk back to the hotel and not worry about shuttle, monorail, skyliner crazy time after midnight.
6. MK will still have their Christmas parade and fireworks before New Years. So you can still see that without going to the Christmas party. The New Years fireworks will be 12/30 and 12/31 at MK. They switch back to Happily Ever After 1/1. Epcot will have their holiday festival until 12/30 and then it’s gone for NYE. So we always make sure to do one day at Epcot before NYE and one day at MK before NYE.

 

[Lfgw9206]

We have been that time for the last 2 years in a row and will also be doing a split stay Universal/WDW on your exact dates.

1. Yes it will be crowded. But it has never been the “I have to leave here because it’s wall to wall people and I cant move or breathe” to us. That may be somewhat of what we do on New Years to avoid that (see below). Actually Disney Springs felt 100 times worse than any of the parks—lesson learned.
2. We buy Genie Plus every day. Budget 50 a person a day before tax. It was 39 before tax last year and I assume it will be higher this year. But we easily pulled 8-9 rides at MK with it per day, 4 at HS (Slinky, TSMM, Runaway Railway, and Smugglers Run). Even though people say it’s not necessary at Epcot it still saves a bunch of time that time of year on lesser rides. Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space will all have 60+ minute waits so bypassing that makes a huge difference. And they are easy LLs to get. Even Living with the Land will be 45-60 min.
3. We did not have any issue getting Tron or Guardians VQs but park reservations were still in place, so this year may be different. We did not buy ILLs but if Rise is a must do just buy it (it will sell out likely before park opening). You can rope drop it as well but you better be at the park an hour before and hope it is running for Early Entry or else you are screwed. Same for FOP.
4. We only did 2 reserved table services the whole trip. Topolinos for New Years Eve as a late seating (like 1215) counts as our breakfast and lunch and is a tradition for us. On MK days we go to a nearby resort for lunch (Geyser Point is a favorite). We do mobile order any quick service we can. We don’t do the dining plan, mainly because our 11 year old pays adult pricing and obviously can’t drink alcohol and won’t enough food for adult pricing so it’s not as beneficial for us. And then I feel like I need to eat or drink even if I don’t want to because it’s already paid for. I would rather just have the freedom to eat as little or as much as I want.
5. Epcot and MK are the biggest NYE draws, and we purposefully don’t go to either. Those are the 2 where the crowds get too crazy for me. We like fireworks but they aren’t a must do for us. We go to HS instead. Hollywood Brown Derby takes walks ups on their patio so we can have a nice dinner. They have a DJ and laser lights and some small fireworks. It’s still festive for NYE but you can walk around! And we stay at the Swan so we can walk back to the hotel and not worry about shuttle, monorail, skyliner crazy time after midnight.
6. MK will still have their Christmas parade and fireworks before New Years. So you can still see that without going to the Christmas party. The New Years fireworks will be 12/30 and 12/31 at MK. They switch back to Happily Ever After 1/1. Epcot will have their holiday festival until 12/30 and then it’s gone for NYE. So we always make sure to do one day at Epcot before NYE and one day at MK before NYE.

Great advice, thanks!

 

[Genie+]

Early seems to be the best solution as far crowds. That time of year more guests like to sleep in. Especially the mornings before and after Christmas/New Years. If you can rope drop Dec 31 and Jan 1, those might be some of the lowest crowds all trip. You can get alot done those first 3+ hours.

 

[clm10308]

The best advice I can give is to take advantage of late night hours especially with older kids. MK from midnight to 2am is my favorite time for rides. It is even better than early hours as long as your group can handle the late hours.

 

[Genie+]

The best advice I can give is to take advantage of late night hours especially with older kids. MK from midnight to 2am is my favorite time for rides. It is even better than early hours as long as your group can handle the late hours.

Unfortunately they cut MK EEH last December. Only Epcot was offered.

It’s still a good opportunity (who doesn’t LOVE an extra ride on guardians ), but Epcot isn’t a great EEH park to knock out rides. Too spread out and they close off World Showcase between Ratatouille and Frozen. MK and HS work best in those extra situations where it’s alot closer to bop from ride to ride.

 

[tgropp]

This will be our tenth Disney Christmas holiday not including the countless Early December trips. We usually get an 8 day park hopper plus ticket to make sure that we visit a water park, golf at Oak Trails and the daily afternoon pool days. We will do early entry for the rides but in all honesty we go for the shows, Festival of the Holidays and the atmosphere of the holidays. It’s supposed to be a relaxing vacation and we make sure to allow ZERO Stress