What would be the best strategy to see the highlights at DHS and AK on Christmas Eve while also sneaking in an afternoon break AND seeing HEA that evening? Can it be done or is this a bad idea?
My family of 4 will have be in WDW for about a week at this point, but a family member is joining the last 2 days of our trip and wants to do the highlights in 2 days.
At best, I would say that’s asking for trouble.
More likely, you’re toast before you begin.
For me, the highlights would be FoP, KS, EE, and Dinosaur, then over to HS for ToT, RnRC, SDD, TSM, and ST (and possibly IJSS). Somehow after that you want to take an afternoon break and still make it for Fireworks at MK?
MK will almost certainly hit phased closures on Christmas Eve - so if you want a spot that’s at all decent for fireworks you’ll want to be staking it out 1.5-2 hours in advance (because of the crowd level in the park). Aside from that, I suspect that they will be showing HolidayWishes, or some new show especially for the holidays, but not “regular” HEA.
Personally, I think I would try to scale back your AK and HS strategies (that’s still a lot to tackle, and big crowds anyway), take an extended dinner break (get a TS ADR), and then head to EPCOT for Christmas Eve fireworks. There’s a much better chance to see fireworks at EPCOT on a high crowd-level, short notice day.
Christmas is not a good time for Park hopping. IIRC, last Christmas Day all parks except Epcot were already at capacity by 10am, and didn’t change their status until much later in the day. There was another day, but I can’t remember if it was the one before or after that much the same thing happened.
Hmm… noted, I snagged a latish ADR at Skipper Canteen 7:45ish but the only other priority in MK is the fireworks… Disney’s site is saying its HEA at 10, but we would settle for Holiday wishes or the like, Im wondering if it might be better to eat dinner at one of the monorail resorts and then let our courageous family member have the option of battling the crowds alone while we watch outside the park.
Shoulda been more specific, the young adult wants basically all the major rides in DHS (ToT, SDD, ST, RnR, and TSMM) and EE, Tricera Spin, FoP, Safari, and Lion King Show in AK… Im trying to get a sense of how quickly the crowds will build…
I feel like if we hit the first park early and tour efficiently we might be able to get out with just standby but if at the 2nd Park we can only do the 3FP plus one crazy wait I will make her cut down her list at DHS.
Are Christmas Eve Crowds pretty similar to Christmas Day? I definitely want to give our guest a reality check on what to expect (we have been on the 21st, but I expect it will be worse)
Here’s the closure information. That said, all of that week will likely be a 10 on the Crowd Calendar.
https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/capacity-closures
It is crazy crowded all week. The were times we just say and waited for crowds to disappear rather than fight or way through.
Digging up an old post because I’m considering park hoping on Christmas Eve and I want to know how it went? 
We’ll be Annual Pass holders & Staying at a WDW Resort, so unless it’s absolutely insanity Phase 4 closure, we can still get in. But I still want to know how it went for you!
Oh man! My wife actually got a stomach bug on the 23rd and we had to cut our trip short. However we did execute our plan to perfection for the first half of the 23rd, We knocked out about 12 attractions plus the christmas parade at Magic Kingdom she got sick around lunch. It turned out being a 1-2day virus but we drove home on the 24th just to be safe. Luckily, we upgraded to AP’s the first day of the trip, so we got many more opportunities to enjoy plenty Disney Magic.
Sorry to hear that - but hope you’ve enjoyed your APs!