The week after Christmas....do we dare????

[escriven75]

We've been during all sorts of times of the year but never have we been to WDW the week of New Year's (after Christmas). If we go, we'd be there for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day as well as a couple days in Jan. Are we nuts? Should we try it? We won't be trying to do all the things in each park, we know it will be busy. It just happens that this might be our only chance to go before next spring or summer....and we NEED our fix. So, do we dare?
If your answer is YES, DO IT....do you have any advice on which park to pick for the days we're there? Where to be on New Year's Eve? New Year's Day? We are not planning to purchase any separate holiday event tickets. Just regular NON park hopper, one park per day tickets.

 

[escriven75]

Additional question: I know the park hours are not available yet for Dec/Jan.....does anyone have a link to LAST holiday season's hour just as reference? TIA

 

[Searc]

I am very risk averse, so driving through the middle of the country in the middle of winter is not for me. The parks will be JAMMED and I wouldn't be willing to drive for four days for 4 park days. As always, YMMV. If I were you and felt like you HAD to go, I'd price out flights. Depending on where you are in IL, you have either Chicago, MKE, Indy or St. Louis to fly out of. I'd think you could find semi-reasonable fares this far out, keeping in mind it is a huge travel week.

 

[FastPasser.]

Also keep in mind that GE will be open.

 

[sponica]

I did it once. That was enough for me. If you go in with the mindset that yeah it's bonkers crowded and you may not achieve much quantitatively, you'll do fine.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We went that week in 2015. It wasn't ideal, but, if it's the only time I could go, I would go again. My advice, stay as close to the park (or parks) you will be visiting the most as you can. If budget allows, stay at a MK resort if visiting MK the most or an EP resort if you will be in EP/DHS most. We stayed at BWV the year we went and it really saved our trip. I can't emphasize enough how crowded all Disney transportation and the roads will be that week. Being able to walk back and forth to EP and DHS was priceless. As silly as this may sound, I wouldn't step foot in MK that week. We went on 12/26 that week and the park was packed by 10 am. EP was fine, DHS was fine (that year. Star Wars is a whole other animal). AK was a bit crowded. I would never go to DS again that week. It was as packed as MK. If you go to EP and do not want to see Candlelight Processional, avoid walking through WS during CP times (you could barely walk between Italy and Japan during CP showtimes with all of the people lined up to get in). CP showtime was the perfect time to tour FW. Find alternative things to do. If the weather is nice, go swimming. Play mini-golf as soon as the course opens at 10 am. Rent a boat. Go to HDDR and do a sleigh ride afterward. Go to the Boardwalk at night and tour the resorts. I would reconsider buying PH's and, if you want to see any of the nighttime shows, reconsider doing dining packages and dessert parties. We also did Wild Africa Trek that week which, while expensive, was the perfect way to see AK without crowds. If you want any TS meals, make ADR's as soon as your window opens. Expect to not find seats at QS restaurants. Use mobile ordering if you venture into a QS. Consider taking breaks from the parks by eating at nearby resort restaurants. Get to the parks as early as you possibly can. Be prepared to leave if it gets too much for you.

 

[Liljo22]

If you understand its going to be jammed and not to let that bother you then I would say go. That is usually the only time we can go since we are in Florida visiting family already. Wall to wall people but to me a Disney day is better than any other day.

For New Year's eve, Epcot is going to be packed but its an experience. There is going to be a different dance party all over the World Showcase. Just don't expect to ride much. You are looking at 2-3 hour waits for most rides. You are there for the party not for the rides.

 

[hes122]

This might help with park hours (https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours/december18.cfm).

Only you can decide if it's worth it. If you go into it with the right mindset (as in I know we won't see everything we want to and will likely have some longer wait times), then I think you'll be ok.

 

[flea1267]

Thank you hes122!!! I'll look at this! Just hung up with my husband and with the release of the movie on Dec 20th and with an article I read today where they anticipate crowds being up 20-30% we kind of think we may wait until next Christmas Season and do it about 2 weeks before Christmas and like a Thursday-Monday before schools are out. Thanks again, I am anxious to read what you shared! Have a great weekend!

 

[flea1267]

I am not seeing Candlelight Processionals listed? OMG

Ok panic over, I found on the MOMS Board they are having them, it's just not on this calendar yet..whew! Thanks again!

 

[hes122]

I am not seeing Candlelight Processionals listed? OMG

If you click back to November, it isn't listed there, but we all know it happened. I saw a link somewhere (I'll hunt around for it) with the dates for CP.

 

[hes122]

CP info is at the bottom.
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...3fXw6IFjxx68Sf2YUBEiIRvnGR3nX19SVY-VmYgHp289g

 

[Spunky946]

We did it once and no way do I want to do it again, especially with galaxy’s edge being open.

 

[2boysmommy]

It's all about managing expectations. If you are ok with crowds, enjoying the parks at a leisurely pace, not riding every ride, etc. then you will be fine. We spent a NYE at Epcot and rode 2 rides total throughout the day. We saw all the shows in the countries, ate lots of snacks, did the Behind the Seeds tour...and just enjoyed the madness. And it was madness!
The entire week is crowded and crazy. If it's not a once-in-a-lifetime trip and you are ok with it being a totally different experience, I personally wouldn't let the crowds scare you away.

 

[icc2515]

We did it last year and the whole family had a blast. We had already told the kids that we would only be doing 3 rides per day and they would be the fast pass rides. We actually were able to do more, but had the expectation of only dong 3. They were crowded and I mean more crowded than you could imagine. Know this going in and you will be fine. We did the Magic Kingdom on the 29th and watched the "New Years" fireworks there that night. I say that in quotes, because the real New Years fireworks are better than the one they do the night before. They say they are the same, but they are not. We did New Years at Epcot and it was a blast. There were tons of dance parties for the kids and the fireworks were great. When it was all over we walked back to our hotel at the BWV. Some advice is don't drive, eat before you get there, limit your expectation, sit down for the fireworks about 9pm, bring towel to use on the ground we learned this from some wonderful people that we sat by. The towel acts as lava and nobody will touch the towel. If you don't have the towel some idiot will come up about 5 mins before the fireworks and shove their way right in front of you. Also the MK will close to capacity on NY's, but Epcot will not. We were told by many many people at WDW, including cast members that Epcot would close due to capacity. We got some good advise from the DIS and they said that Epcot did not close last year or the year before and that they would not close this year and they did not. They have not closed since 1999, but the MK will close, so if you want to be at the MK for NY's get there early like before 11. Have fun.

 

[xlsm]

We've done it the past two years in a row. I have TRs in my signature if you're interested. We learned a lot the first year and now I feel like NYE is no problem - you just have to have appropriate expectations.

Definitely doable, and a lot of fun!

 

[ninafeliz]

We've been during all sorts of times of the year but never have we been to WDW the week of New Year's (after Christmas). If we go, we'd be there for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day as well as a couple days in Jan. Are we nuts? Should we try it? We won't be trying to do all the things in each park, we know it will be busy. It just happens that this might be our only chance to go before next spring or summer....and we NEED our fix. So, do we dare?
If your answer is YES, DO IT....do you have any advice on which park to pick for the days we're there? Where to be on New Year's Eve? New Year's Day? We are not planning to purchase any separate holiday event tickets. Just regular NON park hopper, one park per day tickets.

I didn't read the replies since I'm in a hurry, but wanted to say we did it and had a great trip - honestly I didn't feel like it was much different from any other time of year that's not a traditionally less busy time. We didn't do a park on NYE because we were at a moderate with no non-roadway dependent method to get to a park and I didn't want to deal with the traffic, POR had their own NYE party that was pretty fun and a nice low key way to bring in the NY. We went to AK on NY day simply because that fit into our plans, and it was a very fun day there. We were able to get additional FPs for dinosaur, ITTBAB, and Primeval Whirl for 7 people without splitting the group up on the first check multiple times (didn't try for anything harder as we had the FPs we wanted for the most part, except I did try for Navi so I know I never saw that or FOP. However I never split the group up and didn't spend that much time refreshing). I say go for it, particularly since you've been to Disney a lot. The only people I might caution on going this time of year are first timers or near first timers, since they might have more pressure or interest in seeing/doing everything instead of figuring there's always a next time and doing a few things and just enjoying being there.

 

[hawkeyesparks]

We did it once. I don't regret doing it, but I don't want to do it again. The decoration is beautiful, the parades are awesome. Mickey's Very Merry...is a lot of fun. There's just so much happening that's unique to that time of year. With that said, if you don't have a plan, you will be totally overwhelmed. So this is a great thread. Here are a few of my thoughts.

The days leading up to Dec.31st are busy, like summer busy, but not unbearable.

December 31st is totally crazy. Throw out the touring plans. This is what we did. We were there for rope drop at MK, and were able to ride everything we wanted to ride very easily. By Lunch though it was full, like capacity full. We ate lunch, and then got out of there. Went to the resort, napped, then went a dinner, then ended the evening at Epcot.

I would encourage you to stay away from MK after about 1pm.
Epcot is a great park to ring in the new year. It was full, but not as fellas MK
Eat at one of your favorite restaurants, but do it later.

You'll have fun

 

[beccasmom]

I totally agree that it’s not a good time for first-timers or those who hope to catch up on the attractions they may still have on their bucket list. It’s just not an efficient use of their time. Done with the right attitude, it can be a lot of fun. The parks and resorts are gorgeous. I’d rather put up with more people for better (cooler than summer) weather, though that’s never a given. But the holiday crowds can be crushing and overwhelming for some people.

 

[soniam]

Loved the year that we did that week. It was great, crowded, but great! The decorations and special events were nice. I would love to go again that time of year. We are bit crazy though and tend to go when it's busy. I recommend staying within easy transport, preferably walking, to the park that you will spend NYE. We stayed at Beach Club for that night, and it was amazing to just walk from Epcot back. Otherwise, the waits to get back to hotels were nuts.