We are taking the kids with WDW for Christmas this year-- SO excited! We are going to do the whole surprise on Christmas morning and say (basically), "We're going to Disney World, lets get in the car." I wanted to know if anyone has done this before, the surprise or the Xmas trip? We are going to be there the week between Xmas and New years. Is is insanely busy? How is the weather? Where are the best places to eat? Fun things to check out (other than rides). We have a 5 year old girl and a 3 year old boy, and this will be our first large trip as a family-- both DH and I went in HS so we've been before but doing it with our kids is something new. Also the surprise is partially for our won sanity-- we were supposed to take a Disneyland trip this summer, told the kids all about it, got them all excited and then had to cancel because of an unexpected cross country move (job transfer). Needless to say I had two unhappy kids. So we're excited to do this, but want to keep it quiet incase it falls through. So-- any advice?? Thanks!
WOW. that is so cool!!! This will be a Christmas they will never forget. I just wanna know if I CAN COME TOO???
Yes, it IS insanely busy! I love WDW, but after some crowded spring break trips, I'm not I sure I would be brave enough to plan for Christmas-New Years. I've heard it is even busier than Spring Break/Easter. I've also heard it is amazing and magical at Christmas, all the special decorations and lights. You can still have a wonderful time with some thoughful planning. Buy the unofficial guide to WDW and make a touring plan. It will be near impossible during peak season to do and see it all, so pick a few top priorities, and whatever else you happen to get to will be a bonus. Go to the WDW web site and make your advance dining reservations asap if you want to have any sit down meals at the parks or resorts. Plan to get to the parks as early as possible. The first hour is the best ever before the crowds get thick. One thing we talked to with our kids about when they were little was that we were going to spend our time doing rides and attractions and waiting in line for those things vs. waiting in long lines for character autographs. They were totally fine with that. If your kids want to meet the characters, schedule a character breakfast or other meal to save time. I'm envious, have a great time!!!
We went December 17 - 23 a couple of years ago. The weather is awesome, though you can expect some rainy times of the day. (My husband says you can practically set your watch by the 3pm rain showers.) Bring your own ponchos. The ones in the park are ridiculously overpriced and not a great keepsake. The Christmas-specific stuff will be jam packed, but worth it if you can swing the time (and added expense for the Christmas Party.) The Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is absolutely fantastic! Dress in layers because when the sun is out, you will get warm walking around, but at night it can be quite chilly, especially with the breeze.
Also, you will want to work your schedule so you can catch all of the nighttime fireworks and spectacles as the different parks. They are not all offered every night so get a calendar, do some research and decide what days you want to do which parks.
One more bit of important advice for everyone.... pack at least two pairs of comfortable walking shoes and alternate them. Don't allow anyone to wear the same shoes two days in a row. Also carry extra socks if you can. (If it rains, your feet may get wet and you don't want to walk around the rest of the day in wet socks.) It will mean the difference between blisters and happy days later in the vacation.
Have fun, relax, and enjoy The Magic!
How exciting! We are headed to Orlando the first week in December. Supposed to be the least crowded but you can still experience all the Christmas events. We are also surprising our daughter, we figure we will spring it on her at the airport :) She is 4.5 and the icing on the cake is that my parents are meeting us there too! Very excited. Couple suggestions
1. Try to get tickets to Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party, if they are not already sold out. Its just simply awesome.
2. Get online and try to make reservations for the restaurants that you would like to eat at. I made ours online, its free, for a restaurant with character dining in Magic Kingdom. A few like cinderella castle or larger more popular restaurants you will have to pay at the same time you make your reservation. But this could save you from waiting for hours.
We were there last year in October and were very disappointed that we were buying hoodies and pants because it was COLD! We didnt get to use the pool at all. I expect that jeans and hoodie are enough for Dec/Jan.But weather in Florida is unpredictable you will just have to pack for whatever that week brings :) I dont really think heavy coats are necessary but seeing that we are leaving from O'Hare we will have one on anyway!
Its going to be Magical. I am very excited! Hope you and your family have a wonderful trip!!!
Also, print out your park maps before you go. Nothing worse than standing at a park directory for 20 mins trying to make a plan. Disney online offers free customized maps for each park they will mail to your home.
Two years ago we were scheduled to go to Disney for Christmas.Our flight was cancelled due to snow. We had to cancel the trip. So please keep this in mind that your trip may be shortened due to weather. I pray it doesn't happen to you. I watched the weather for weeks and the forcast kept changing. Pack like you are going to San Francisco , layers.You will be ready for anything. We love 1900 Park fare at the Grand Floridian . It is dinner with Cinderella,Prince Charming , the stpmother and stepsisters. It is funny and the food is great.Others we like are Princess breakfast at epcot Akershus, Chef Mickey's at the contemporary,Crystal palace with Pooh and friends,and Cape may cafe for dinner at the Beach Club. Make sure to take your son to see Buzz and Woody across from the Toy Story mania ride and get you fast passes for that ride the minute you walk in the door to Hollywood Studios. When you enter the Magic Kingdom go to the Town Hall on your left and ask for first time pins(free).When you go on the car ride (can't remember the name ) where you drive the car , ask for a drivers liscense(free).We also like to get "smush coins" pressed pennies . There are machines when you get out of rides etc . Bring a roll of pennies and quarters. At Epcot there are character spots with Belle and the beast, Marie, Tinkerbelle etc. There is a place called the Cool Spot to get free soda from around the world (Future world) . At animal kingdom there is a ride called Triceratops spin . It's like dumbo without the wait. Your son will love it. Get your fast pass for the Safari first . The animals are most active inthe morning:)There is a website called allears that has a ton of info.Don't forget to bring princess dresses for your daughter . It will probably cool enough for your son to wear his favorite Disney costume too.Have a Magical Trip!
You are much braver than I - after reports from my brother who's in-laws live nearby so they've been nearly every month - lines insanely long w/ kids getting cranking just standing around. I prefer spring break. I've been three spring breaks over the last 8 years + each has been just fine. If reservations are still available in the restaurants you'd like (Chef Mickey, Cinderella's castle), make them NOW!
I did this with my daughter when she was 8. I put the park passes and plane tickets in a card and wrapped that in a box and that in another box and so on. I think I used about 8 boxes. I expected squeals of delight, and I got them, not when she realized what the gift was, but when she found out she was going to get to miss a week of school. Too funny. Anyhow, we went the week after Christmas from Jan 1st to 8th. The weather was perfect. Like 80-85 all week. And because everyone was done with vacations it wasn't very busy at all. The longest line was probably 15 minutes or so. It's probably going to be MUCH busier during Christmas break. The best advice I can offer is to go to the bookstore and get a book on traveling to Disney. There are many to choose from. I'm sorry I don't remember the name of the one I had, but it gave me information that I didn't know I needed that made our experience nearly flawless. It is worth spending the money on for the advice. Have a great trip!
Honestly, INSANELY BUSY x ONE Billion. We went for the first time around Dec. 28h last year, stayed about two hours and left because it was too crowded and not enjoyable at all. Almost $1000 thrown away because the lines were sooooooo long for everything. We would have waited almost two hours for every ride or greet. Moving around was difficult. Crowds made it practically impossible to even catch a glimpse of the parade. I ended up taking my son back for his birthday mid January (week day) and it was FANTASTIC! I will only ever go back during a week, non-holiday again after our experience last year. If crowds/waits don't bother you, go for it. I wanted to share our experience though so you are going in with eyes open. Perhaps you will have a better experience. Good luck.
Honestly, I think the kids are a little to young esp. during that time of the year. We took our kids when they were 7 and 9 and I felt that was a perfect age. They no longer needed strollers, naps, could take the walking around all day without whining. We stayed at the Saratoga Springs resort (great resort) and had to walk about 15 min. to catch the bus or water taxi. Nothing was more annoying than all of those rented strollers all over the park and the younger kids crying and upset due to missing naps, etc. I know your intentions are good but you really need to consider the fact that this is probably one of the busiest times of the year there. We went Thanksgiving week (our kids were off school the entire week so we got a bit of a head start) the parks weren't bad at the beginning of the trip but got much worse by the end of the week. Just my thoughts...
We went to Disneyland at Christmas two years ago. We went the 23, 24 and 25. Christmas day was insanely busy but they had extra stuff going on and singing and dancing EVERYWHERE! The other days were totally fine though! The Christmas stuff is neat! I'm not sure how different WDW is than Disneyland but I'm sure it's kind of similar. I know what you mean about keeping it secret for your sanity. LOL I do that a lot with a lot of things. =) Have a great time!!
We went last year with teens. It was fun, but there are things you need to know. It is crowded... very very crowded. If I were you, I'd wait until everyone goes back to school in January -- the rates go down and the place empties out. It can also get cold - as in 25 degrees cold. Bring your mittens and hats.
Get the free Disney Dining package if you can. It will save you a ton of $$.
We did Breakfast with Pooh - awesome! We ate at our hotel, the Yacht Club -- for Christmas dinner - awesome! We got up early and were at the gate when it opened to get on the best rides. We really enjoyed ourselves... but it was cold, crowded, and crazy!
LBC
We surprised our kids with a trip to DIsneylandone Xmas. We actually wrapped up a big box in Mickey paper and had a bunch of stuffed Disney characters from their bedroom in the box. At the very bottom was another box , wrapped, with the tickets. We filmed them opening it. We then left on our trip two days later. It will be very busy but it was one of the best things we ever did as a family. I still cherish the memories...especially just walking around seeing the decorations and all of the happy people. I have never been to WDW so I cannot help with those details....sorry about that. You are going to have a wonderful time.
