Just got home!

[THEJOEL]

Well we got back home last night and it seems the tried and true methods work even with high crowds. Get there early, be smart about about FP selections as allowed, take a break, know you aren't going to see it all and slow down.
It was our first experience with predicted 10 level crowds and we rode everything we wanted and then some.
It started off well. Friday the 18th at MK was awesome between the early opening and the rain it was DEAD until we left at 2:30 to go check in. We practically walked onto everything. Even A&E had a less than 20 minute wait when we saw them at 10:30.
Starting Saturday you could see in the increase in crowd level. It was our first EPCOT day so we approached the morning like we usually do. We had FP for Soarin so we rope dropped TT. It worked liked it always did with almost no wait and our morning went like it did on any other day we had been. We toured hard and left after our Disney Visa meet. When we came back that night for our LE Cellier dinner there were a large number of people leaving. WS was very manageable and dinner was good but I will rank the steak at MM in HS as a better choice.
Day 3 was HS we decided to not take our midday break due to the horror stories about parking and took the boat to EPCOT for lunch as a substitute. We rode the headliners including TT 3 times, saw the Osborne lights but we didn't make it to the fireworks. We did catch all of the shows which we thought was a better idea due to the crowds. We really enjoyed all of the shows especially the Frozen Sing Along.
EPCOT day 2 was a success. Rode everything, saw illuminations, took a break and explored the WS. We really enjoyed watching the British Revolution as we ate our Fish and chips.
Yes it got crowded, especially yesterday the 22nd, but frankly it didn't really impact what our plans were that day. We rode all of the headliners (BTMR, Splash, 7DMT, SM, A&E) and MK was insane when we left at 2 to go home but we were good cause we were out of there.
Yes there were some negative things that went down mainly from other guests but stick to the methods preached on DIS daily, do some research, be prepared and you will come out alive with some good memories.
Can't wait to get back to see the mouse in April!!

 

[larryz]

Good of you to share your observations! Thanks for posting.

 

[3princesshome]

We are here now and echo your sentiments exactly. In fact, we were in MK on Friday too - EMH, XMas party in the evening, and the rain made it a dream come true for crowd levels! We had booked our FP for the afternoon which was perfect because all morning we basically walked on to everything. The weekend definitely saw the crowds increase and we were at MK again on Monday Dec 21st and it was insane. Shoulder to shoulder people everywhere. We arrived for EMH at 7am, which was the best decision we ever made (even though it's really hard to get up that early, my teenagers all agreed it was worth the short term pain). We at least had low crowds until about 10am - then it was just crazy. So definitely getting early and getting FP made it manageable. Luckily, we have been here since the 13th so we had a week of lower crowds already. We packed our patience and just accepted that we wouldn't do everything on the busy days - but enjoyed the shows, parades, fireworks instead. My kids are in awe now - last week when a 25 min wait time seemed way too long for them to want to wait in a line, they are seeing 210 min wait times for Soarin, 180 min wait times for Toy Story Mania and being grateful that they rode everything many times last week!

 

[epcotty]

We were at HS on Sunday too. We were at the Osborne lights for about an hour and saw the fireworks later on, impressive display. We did all the shows we wanted to (Indy, Lights Motors, Mermaid, Fantasmic) and all the other attractions we wanted to including some twice (Great Movie Ride, Muppetvision). 16 attractions in all. Crowds didn't seem too bad, definitely not like I was expecting. Maybe it was the relative calm before the storm. It was a wonderful day

 

[thptrek]

Were you able to move in Mk? We are heading next week. How were the lines to get into the parks?

 

[ABCastillo]

Wonderful notes and tips. Thank you!!

 

[quinnc19]

I also just returned. Rope drop is definitely a must do (MK beautiful at 7am at with sun coming up and lights still on) and night wasn't bad if you had fastpasses. No problems with security/bag check. My DD threw a penny in a fountain and I asked her what she wished for. She said to go to Disney every year at Christmas!

 

[princesskimberella]

We just got back today and the crowds were not as bad as I expected. We noticed that the wait times dropped significantly after 10 pm most nights in MK. We planned our fast passes, went in early till around 4 or 5 in the evening came back around 9pm and stayed until close, except yesterday we went in later around 2:30 and stayed until close since we left Wishes for our last night.
No problems going though bag check either.

 

[lustergirl]

Thanks.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for your thoughts, sounds like a great trip!! Helpful.