Really wanting to travel in December, I share my birthday with Walt so like the idea of celebrating in the park but not sure of when to travel? Would you go before, during, or after parade taping days? We would go for about 6nights. Thanks for any help!!
I would go the week before Christmas - ask the excitement, and relatively low crowds. Taping days can be busy on and around Main street.
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We have gone twice in early December - mild weather, lower crowds, plus MVMCP.
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If I had the choice I’d go early in the month. It’s starting to get pretty crowded close to Christmas, though that can change some each year depending on when school winter break’s fall. I was in the parks 12/12 - 12/18 this year and things were much busier than when I traveled 12/18 - 12/23/2010, particularly in the Magic Kingdom. The Christmas parties were also starting to sell out in advance on some of those days last year, whereas only a couple parties sold out in other recent years. Even if you’re not planning to attend, a busy MVMCP makes the Magic Kingdom a zoo as you approach the time the park closes to the non-party guests.
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I’d definitely go for early in December. That is our favorite time to go, crowds are lower and the weather is usually great. We’ve been there as early as the 5th and as late as the 23. We walked on, or had very low waits, for every thing in the first two weeks. As we got closer to Christmas, however, it got more crowded. The year we were there on the 23rd, within an hour of rope drop the crowds were heavier than they had been in the middle of the day when we got to WDW on the 10th.
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I’d vote for first week in December… That’s what we did last year. I got a little concerned because hotels looked really full and I was worried it might be significantly busier than in previous years but it turned out great. We had awesome weather and we never waited longer than 20 mins for anything. The parks felt reasonably crowded but the lines really didn’t reflect that. The few we would have had long waits for we used our FP. The last day we were there the pop warner kids showed up and MK was a lot busier that day but still totally manageable.
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We got the second week in December (starts on the 7th this year). Very low crowds, everything is decorated, AND we get to go to the Christmas party. Definitely my favorite time of year down there!
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@disneygeek87 That is probably my favorite time of the year. What kills be with that week is the weather. One year we went and it was high 70s, low 80s every day. So, next time we pack mostly short sleeves. Of course, then, a surprise cold front moves in and the temps at rope drop are low 40s. I did get a great hockey sweater out of the deal.
But yeah, second week of December is probably the best. Thanksgiving holdovers are gone and the Christmas break crowds are still packing. Well, most of them, anyway. @LuvMuppets has been done for 2 months and some won’t be finished until the taxi honks to take them to the airport!
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We had a great time in early December. We were there on a parade taping day, and it really did not affect us at all. In fact, we got to walk behind the shops on Main Street, which we thought was cool!
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