My take is this - if you HAVE to visit Disney during that week, it is still a wonderful time. That being said - I wouldn’t pick that week again unless I had no other option. (This is the boat we were in this year with scheduling so I’m glad we did it).
Going during the busiest time requires lots of organization, prep work, and lots of knowledge about the parks. The crowds are insane, so if you don’t know what you are doing, I imagine it would equal lots of frustration and might even seem like a big waste of time and money. You have to have a plan and need to know what you are doing.
I feel like I’m fairly well versed in the parks and where certain things are. I also heavily relied on the Disney app to know where things are and for schedules/wait times. If you either don’t know a whole lot or don’t want to deal with the stress of managing it all - then Christmas week is probably not a great option.
Some specific things we experienced related to crowds:
Reservations and FastPasses are key. We pretty much only did the things that we had reservations for, which worked out fine for us. We had some extras in there like the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Droid building, so our time was filled with fun - but I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to wait in standby lines. Even getting additional FastPasses once we used up our three regular ones was difficult and sometimes not possible. The parks just weren’t available for booking new passes.
We did lots of reserved dining, which again is more convenient but also more expensive. Having the reservations helped us avoid waiting in the crowds with hungry kids. We had 2 reservations most days and used mobile ordering when possible outside of that. The mobile ordering worked great and was very fast.
Traveling to and from Disney Springs from our resort via bus was virtually impossible. The lines were very long and the buses were so behind that some waits were more than 45 minutes. We used Lyft instead. If your party is more than 5 or 6 people, that will require 2 Lyfts to both get there and get back. Lyft is way more convenient, but of course adds expense.
I wouldn’t advise staying anywhere that relies solely on bus transportation. We had the monorail and walking (for Magic Kingdom) so we didn’t have much trouble. But we avoided the buses as much as possible, so I wouldn’t want to stay somewhere that relies on only buses for getting where you want to go.
Disney Springs was so full, we could barely walk around when we were there. We went for dinner both times and had reservations so it worked out ok, but traveling there when it is busy really isn’t worth the hassle. I wouldn’t go back there again during the busy times.
We often ate breakfast in a park, did our FastPasses, went back to the resort to nap and then went back out after the afternoon crowds had subsided. Trying to fight those crowds was just not worth it to us. I’m including a picture just for fun - that crowd was not moving.
Our concierge advised us upon check in to skip Magic Kingdom on New Year’s Eve. He said they do the same show on the 30th and that we should go then. We took his advice and the show was incredible. (We actually saw the show at 6:30 pm from our resort on the 30th, and in person at midnight on the 30th.) We already had breakfast, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and dinner reservations in the Magic Kingdom on the 31st so we did go to the park that day. It was eventually closed for new guests around the early afternoon. IT WAS INSANELY BUSY. We ate dinner in Cinderella’s Castle at 8:30 pm that night and came out to a packed park. We were escorted out via the park bypass by the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Chief. This was a super fun experience and definitely a good memory. He was incredibly friendly and helpful and seeing “behind the scenes” a little at Magic Kingdom was also really cool - BUT, that is how packed it was. We couldn’t just leave the castle and walk out. We literally had to walk around and anyone that wasn’t already in the viewing area by the time we came out around 9:30 pm was not allowed to view from the front of the castle as that part had closed already for the 11:50 pm show. I wouldn’t try to enter Magic Kingdom at all on New Year’s Eve in the future. Honestly, I’d make that day a rest/pool day and eat at a resort restaurant.
So those are a few details. Yes, it was crazy busy, but we had a wonderful time - even while moving through the park with 5 kids all on foot! So if you are ready to be organized and really informed on the park and also ready to spend some extra money - then it’s a great time of year to visit. I’m so glad we went and wouldn’t change this most recent trip. Next time though… we are planning for mid January. :)
To start planning your next trip, contact your On The Road Travel agent. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Merry Christmas in July!
Comments
Post a Comment