Originally Posted By muffin12 To say it nicely I do not like crowds. But a friend is convincing me to go with them the week before christmas. How bad are the crowds? We will arrive on the 17 and leave on the 23. Is it going to be unbearable? Is it going to be wall to wall people? Will I have to wait in line all day for PotC?
Originally Posted By muffin12 sorry for posting twice my computer froze up on me and I guess I hit it twice.
Originally Posted By mamacita The week before Christmas is very bearable up until the 24th. Christmas Day through New Year's Eve is extremely crowded.
Originally Posted By mamacita muffin12, if you haven't been during the holidays, you are in for such a treat. So magical and awesome. Have fun! Where are you staying?
Originally Posted By Duffy Im sorry to say but its busy everyday... thats why they extended the hours longer for everyday.
Originally Posted By mamacita We have been two different times the week before Christmas and the crowds were nothing compared to summer. After Christmas is a nightmare to me but I know people who love going the week in between Christmas and NYE.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer ^Excuse me, as a park regular... The week before Christmas is just as busy as peak summer. Disney has scheduled Maximum hours and Peak entertainment to start on Friday, December 15th. Expect every day to be busy, and have long lines as most kids and families have the time off. Now Disney does block out AP holders. Just like most of the summer, Disney is blocking out all Southern California AP holders starting the 15th for the rest of the year. The Deluxe AP holders, which are only blocked out on Saturdays during the summer (along with the July 4th weekend), have the last week of December blocked out. So Disney is showing with its actions that from the 15th thru the 24th that it will be about the same as peak summer (though I have seen it busier just before Christmas than in summer), and very packed between the 25th and the 31st.
Originally Posted By mamacita ^^^ Didn't mean to step on any toes. : ( I should state that TO ME it does not seem as busy the week before Christmas as it does during the summer. Maybe the lack of heat makes it seem less crowded.
Originally Posted By Momtoo2 We are going the week before Christmas! Yay. We have gone in the beginning of August before...crazy and we have done mid December before and we too thought Summer was worse in terms of crowds with the exception of maybe the fireworks and snow on Main Street on a Saturday night I think for us part of the reason summer felt worse is because there is the heat to contend with. I know in the 3 times we have done Disneyland in Dec. one of those was cold and rainy and the park was empty! I have no doubt the week before Christmas will be busy but I know from all my research (I so need a life) that many school districts do not let out for Winter break till Dec. 20 or so and with the So. Ca. AP's and Deluxe AP's blocked out maybe it won't be so bad as when they close the park to newcomers at 11 am (also all the specials are allowed up to the date of 12/20/06 so that is a good sign right... it will probably be crazy with all of us tourists on the 4 for 3 special ) As a side question the Disneyland website does have hours up but nothing else in terms of entertainment, parades or shows so my guess is they could easily change the hours or shows if the crowds are not what they expect (whether larger or smaller). I mean the Nov. hours were posted and then they just changed them right? SO when will the correct hours with entertainment be posted for December?
Originally Posted By TinksBestFriend Don't bet on the parks hours being always correct. On Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 the Disneyland hours were extended by one hour each day and also an extra showing of Fantasmic! at 10:30 "due to overwhelming Response". That means the park was busier than expected. As for entertainment, look for the Christmas Fantasy Parade (probably at 3:30 and 7:00) and fireworks at 9:25 unless Disneyland closes before then. Then the fireworks will be earler. And it will be busy. Just enjoy the dreams!
Originally Posted By mamacita I hope the correct hours for December and the entertainment schedules are posted soon. Getting into full planning mode is difficult without parade/show/Fantasmic/firework times.
Originally Posted By 2much2do Crowds are not as scary as people make them sound. We miscalculated the crowds for our trip at the end of April - thinking most spring breaks would be over. Unfortunately, annual passholders had been blocked for several weeks and that was the first week they could come back. They stormed the park in droves. The place was apparently very crowded because DCA closed one afternoon and both parks closed the next afternoon because they were full. Even so, I was surprised how pleasant our trip was. Yes, we waited a little bit longer in lines, but not as long as I would have expected. I wouldn't have known it was overly crowded had they not closed the park. (When I say that, I mean they stopped letting people in). In fact, in some ways it was better to be there with the crowds because there was so much more to see. There were more characters, more shows, more capacity on some rides, and just a much more alive environment. Using Fastpass, we still got to ride everything we wanted. We have usually gone in October, which is wonderful, but going when it's crowded just wasn't anywhere near the nightmare I would have imagined.
Originally Posted By Momtoo2 I agree with you mamacita on wishing they would just post the stuff for goodness sakes....but then they would probably change it anyway Really I guess there is no fool proof time to go because if you want "everything" available to you then it will be busy and if you want low crowds you will not have "everything...ie fireworks/Fantasmic/entertainment" available. Are you going the week before Christmas mamacita? We are going the 16 to the 20 on the 3 for 4 at the GCH (first time...yippeee).
Originally Posted By SDmom My guess, (Darkbeer correct me if I'm wrong), would be between Nov. 13-16. Nov. 10 is Veterns day and most SoCAl schools are closed. The week of Thanksgiving was very busy last year, (not summer busy, but many closed attractions and other operating at 1/2 capacity). In my humble opinion, there is no off season anymore.
Originally Posted By mamacita Momtoo2, the Grand is beautiful. You will love it during the holidays and lobby tree is awesome! We will be there from December 12th through December 17th if all goes as planned. I wanted to go later in December but we couldn't swing it this year due to prior obligations. One year we went right up until Christmas Day and it wasn't crowded at all.
