First 2 weeks of December showing YELLOW already (Weekdays, NOT weekends).

[Sarahslay]

I will say the last couple of times I went early December it was not low attendance. In 2017 we showed up expecting lower crowds and it has so far been one of my busier trips. This year people want a getaway, they want to see the decorations and all that, but maybe not for the price of Christmas week for a limited experience. People still had trips booked from before Covid and I'm sure few cancelled, then you have new bookings of people just wanting to get away. Also, it may be the same amount of people as previous years just now it's more visible since you have to make those reservations.

 

[Joeboo25]

First 2 weeks of December are low DVC points.

Interesting... Maybe I'll just cling to the unlikely hope that DVC folks are going to tour more casually, and therefor won't be clogging up the parks as bad.

 

[Disneyliscious]

But why would the 3rd week of Dec randomly be open? If the first 2 weeks are because of kids not being "in" school then why not the 3rd week too? It would make sense that any week prior to Christmas would be the same "busy level" if people are trying to beat xmas crowds.

 

[Befferk]

But why would the 3rd week of Dec randomly be open?

Give it time. That week will be full too. Note that it's only HS that seems to be full almost all the days too.

 

[WDWOswald]

I literally bought our tickets for the week of November 30-December 7th and snagged two days for hollywood studios right before it became totally sold out. I was SO HAPPY we planned early because we haven't been to galaxy's edge yet or been on the runaway railway. To do an entire weeklong trip and be shutout from those park would have been devastating.

 

[nickg420]

I made the mistake of trying to change some days around and not looking at the Availability Calendar for that week and almost did not get my 2 DHS days. Luckily we are staying on property and are APs as well so we found 2 openings.

My kids would have not even wanted to go if we had not been able to hit those parks. They already are not happy about no Park Hopping, so that would have just been the straw that broke the camels back lol.

 

[lelew]

I was looking to plan a second trip December and I notice flights and hotels are much cheaper the first two weeks in December and after that things get crazy expensive. So maybe some people are taking advantage of cheaper flights and hotels, on top of that DL probably won't open so people who normally go there are probably coming to DW Instead.

 

[Nanceliz319]

It really does appear this year is very different in a lot of ways to include WDW. I wonder if also DS has a lower number of people for that "25%". Some of you probably know the answer to that.

However, I think that DS is more popular due to all the new attractions.

 

[Meriweather]

I have a trip planned for early December that I booked last year (gee, was it only a year ago?!?). I booked my park passes first thing when they became available. Other people may be in the same situation, where the trip was booked long ago. That being said, I would not be surprised if there are still a lot of cancellations the closer we get to those dates, if the numbers continue upwards. It will at least be cooler to wait in those long lines than it was for my August trip.

I won’t comment on what is happening to Disneyland, because I might use language that would get me in trouble. I feel so bad for those CM’s, and for the people who want to visit.

This is us too.....booked our Dec. trip last Jan.
Booked park reservations as soon as they came out.
I'm ready to go!
May spend a lot of time just walking around the parks and not doing anything, but it will be so nice to be back.

 

[MATTERHORN]

But why would the 3rd week of Dec randomly be open? If the first 2 weeks are because of kids not being "in" school then why not the 3rd week too? It would make sense that any week prior to Christmas would be the same "busy level" if people are trying to beat xmas crowds.

My guess is people think the same way I do! Prices go WAY up for airfare the week before and week of Christmas, so I would go when it's cheaper, which means the first two weeks it is!!!

 

[lorileahb]

I looked at the Park availability calendar this morning, and some dates that had been yellow are now green again the second week of November.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

We changed our May trip to late September-then thought about the heat and masks. Have only been to see the holiday decorations once, many years ago so changed to early December. Room rates were good and when we changed the airfare we actually got a credit back.

I keep seeing the vloggers compare the crowds at MK to a sold out MNSSHP. Having been to a sold out party, it doesn't sound great to me because the parties have several things that are of course missing right now-treat lines, dance parties, stage shows, fireworks, and 2 parades. All of those things draw the crowds away from the rides.

Still, like many others we desperately need the break from real life, so as of right now the plan is to just pack some extra patience and be thankful for whatever we get to experience. It's not our first trip, hopefully not the last.

 

[Disneyliscious]

The first 2 weeks of December hasn't been a low period in over a decade.

The crowd calendars for the past 5 years or more have said otherwise (in comparison to the other weeks in the year).

My guess is people think the same way I do! Prices go WAY up for airfare the week before and week of Christmas, so I would go when it's cheaper, which means the first two weeks it is!!!

Agreed, but this same mentality would apply on any year I would think. Not just this one. Maybe there are more kids doing virtual school than I realize. Im in Tn and honestly. COVID hasn't really changed my life at all other than I wear a mask and use hand sanitizer now.

I looked at the Park availability calendar this morning, and some dates that had been yellow are now green again the second week of November.

I noticed that too. I wonder if this means they increased capacity?

 

[briternik]

I was just now able to get DHS for the first week of December on the app.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Agreed, but this same mentality would apply on any year I would think. Not just this one. Maybe there are more kids doing virtual school than I realize. Im in Tn and honestly. COVID hasn't really changed my life at all other than I wear a mask and use hand sanitizer now.

Every single one of my close friends and family is doing virtual! For a good reference, our middle school here has about 1300 kids. 450 go face to face. Multiply that by lots of schools! LOL

 

[lelew]

Every single one of my close friends and family is doing virtual! For a good reference, our middle school here has about 1300 kids. 450 go face to face. Multiply that by lots of schools! LOL

That's true. Our county in Virginia voted not to send most of elementary and all middle and high school students back to school until late January and early February

 

[smelton521]

But why would the 3rd week of Dec randomly be open? If the first 2 weeks are because of kids not being "in" school then why not the 3rd week too? It would make sense that any week prior to Christmas would be the same "busy level" if people are trying to beat xmas crowds.

It could also be that the 3rd week is semester review and exams so the virtual schedule could be more strict and/or parents want their kids at home so they can focus on their studies.

 

[Padstack]

DL officially not opening any time soon is causing a WDW influx.

This is us. I take my kids to Disneyland at Christmas time every year. We are going to WDW since we cannot go to DL.