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We aren't going back to WDW until 2012, but we are trying to decide what time of year we'd like to go.
My options are (1) spring break (end of March/early April); (2) mid-October; or (3) Christmas break.
We have been at spring break before and in September.
The spring break trip was good - weather was decent, not too hot and warm enough to enjoy the water parks, lines weren't too long.
The September trip was nearly cancelled due to a hurricane, but the other days were good, but we were only there for 4 days. Though the first day was ruined, the weather was good the rest of the time and lines were short.
I had expected the Christmas trip to be the most expensive, but instead the spring break trip was.
We went to Disneyland in October and had fun at the Halloween stuff, but it isn't a necessity that we do again, though that trip is the cheapest.
The questions I really have are:
(1) Are there any special events (like the Halloween party) that happen at Christmas/New Years that we can expect to pay extra money for?
(2) Do they close early/late on any particular days?
(3) Is the park closed on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/New Year's Eve/New Year's Day?
Has anyone been at these times and can help me compare the pros/cons of going at one particular time or the other?
Sorry, I haven't been during those times, I aviod Spring Break, because everything is more expensive- flights, rooms, and crowds are higher.
If Christmas, I'd go early Dec. Less crowds, lower prices, less problems at airports with everyone traveling. I was pics posted of the lines for the monorail at MK- yikes.
We like to go in mid to late August, usually arrive around Aug 20ish, and stay 10 nights.
Also we go late Jan. Both these times have low crowds, which I like. And flights, room rates are lower.
(1) Are there any special events (like the Halloween party) that happen at Christmas/New Years that we can expect to pay extra money for?
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
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(2) Do they close early/late on any particular days?
On days the MVMCP happens, the MK is closed early to anyone who doens't have an MVMCP ticket.
Quote:
Has anyone been at these times and can help me compare the pros/cons of going at one particular time or the other?
I haven't been, but: it seems you haven't seen WDW done up in Christmas finery yet.
OTOH, Christmas can obviously be a very high-crowd time to be there, especially the week of Christmas itself, and the week leading up to New Years Eve. (I believe the first week or two of November is less crowded, but still technically "Christmas in Disney".)
Now, I have been there during the first two weeks of January. Twice, now ('01 and '09). For a New Englander, the weather was gorgeous. The crowd levels were low, the lines were extremely reaosnable, and the prices (Value Season) couldn't be beat. And if you get there for the first post-new-year weekend of January, you may get to see WDW with the Christmas decorations still up, and maybe catch one or another of the Christmas-themed parade. We did just that in '09 ... and I videotaped the one Christmas parade we managed to see.
Sorry, I haven't been during those times, I aviod Spring Break, because everything is more expensive- flights, rooms, and crowds are higher.
If Christmas, I'd go early Dec. Less crowds, lower prices, less problems at airports with everyone traveling. I was pics posted of the lines for the monorail at MK- yikes.
We like to go in mid to late August, usually arrive around Aug 20ish, and stay 10 nights.
Also we go late Jan. Both these times have low crowds, which I like. And flights, room rates are lower.
Have fun planning.
Late August might be an option, but early December and late January are both out because of my daughter's school schedule. I'll check out a late August option. I just hesitate because of the heat.
I would avoid Christmas week. The crowds are crazy and it can get a little chilly. Spring break has nice weather, but the prices are higher. I'd go with Mid-October and do the Halloween Party at MK. And maybe, if you time it right, you can also visit the food and wine festival in Epcot.
I am going Spring Break this year for the first time. Hoping for reasonable crowds but expecting it to be very busy. I have gone in September and loved it. Very little crowds and free dining. We also went the first week of Dec and loved it and MVMCP. We loved the Christmas finery. However, I am not sure we would go during Christmas week.
I've never been in the spring, but i have been for Christmas break and also mid-October/Halloween.
Personally, I like going in mid-October because it's still warm enough to swim, but not as humid. Also the crowds are so so so much less than they are during Christmas that you hardly have to wait for anything.
But...if you have never been for Christmas it's an unforgettable experience!
by mid-october do you mean surrounding columbus day weekend? because i'm pretty sure that would up the crowd levels. if not, i'd go with mid-october hands down. (i'm a teacher and my main complaint about the profession is my inability to travel during cheap/uncrowded times. paris in august was AWFUL this past summer--AWFUL! but disney mid-november was GREAT!)
We go in Sept and love it. We are taking our child out of school for the week-our school said just to let them know and we can get his work for the week and do it before we leave. We love the Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom. They have a Christmas Party in Dec that you have to pay an extra fee for to and it is cold sometimes in the winter.
My options are (1) spring break (end of March/early April); (2) mid-October; or (3) Christmas break.
(1) Are there any special events (like the Halloween party) that happen at Christmas/New Years that we can expect to pay extra money for?
(2) Do they close early/late on any particular days?
(3) Is the park closed on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/New Year's Eve/New Year's Day?
Has anyone been at these times and can help me compare the pros/cons of going at one particular time or the other?
Pros and Cons for your options:
1 Spring Break
Pro: Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot
Con: Depending on when your Spring Break falls (Easter?) it can be VERY busy
2 Mid October
Pro: Food and Wine Festival at Epcot--my favorite time of year, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Con: Still warm/hot, crowds on the weekends at Epcot
This would be my pick of the three options
3 Christmas Break
Pro: Christmas Decorations, Parade, Holiday Wishes
Con: Absolutely the busiest week of the year
Your questions:
(1) Are there any special events (like the Halloween party) that happen at Christmas/New Years that we can expect to pay extra money for?
The Last Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party typically happens several days before Christmas--after that the MVMCP parade becomes the 3pm parade and they show Holiday Wishes instead of regular Wishes at 10pm.
(2) Do they close early/late on any particular days?
Park hours are typically extended. This year the week before Christmas the parks opened at 8am and had much longer hours than the rest of the year. With EMHs MK was open until 3 or 4am one night!
(3) Is the park closed on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/New Year's Eve/New Year's Day?
This is a trick question. The answer is no, the parks are open for the holidays, but on those specific days the parks may close due to capacity. There are several stages to closing a park. First they stop selling tickets at the ticket windows, then they close the parking lots, finally the parks are just full. This usually only happens at MK, but Christmas Day and New Years Eve are good bets for the park being completely full. I learned an interesting thing last week--there is no specific number for closing the parks--it changes on a daily basis based on the number of rides/restrooms open. For example if a restroom is closed for a rehab (Including one in a restaurant) the operating capacity of the park changes! This is specific to the number of stalls in the restrooms--so the closing of the Toontown restroom will decrease the operating capacity of the park. Adding an additional restroom or two when they finish Fantasyland will increase the operating capacity of the park.
The largest park in terms of operating capacity is Epcot, but DHS and AK rarely close due to being full. (I don't remember this actually ever happening)
All of that being said . . .whew--sorry for the information overload . . . hope it helped!
I would choose mid October or if it can be done, the week BEFORE Christmas.
If you haven't been to Disney at Christmas before, then that gets my vote. It is a truly magical time of year to visit with all the decorations and our favourite time of the year for a Disney trip.
To try and answer your questions:
(1) Are there any special events (like the Halloween party) that happen at Christmas/New Years that we can expect to pay extra money for?
The main one is Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, but if you're actually looking at going for Christmas and New Year, as Heather has said, it may already have finished.
The only other thing to bear in mind is that for the Candlelight Processional, which is a wonderful re-telling of the Christmas story with celebrity narrators, choirs and orchestra, you would probably be best getting a Dining Package to see it, as the lines otherwise to get in are insane. That means you're paying for a nice meal at Epcot (Ok, with a bit added on), but that works for us.
(2) Do they close early/late on any particular days?
Usually, the hours are exceptionally long, because it's so busy. It's not unusual for the Magic Kingdom to open at 7am (Extra Magic Hours in the morning for an hour) and then close at 2am at the busiest times.
(3) Is the park closed on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/New Year's Eve/New Year's Day?
The parks never close on any day of the year - they're always open, but they may fill to capacity. That's most likely to happen on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, both of which are insanely busy.
I learned an interesting thing last week--there is no specific number for closing the parks--it changes on a daily basis based on the number of rides/restrooms open. For example if a restroom is closed for a rehab (Including one in a restaurant) the operating capacity of the park changes! This is specific to the number of stalls in the restrooms--so the closing of the Toontown restroom will decrease the operating capacity of the park. Adding an additional restroom or two when they finish Fantasyland will increase the operating capacity of the park.
.
A friend of mine just got home from Orlando during Christmas break. They go to WDw often and this was their first time during Christmas break and said it was so packed, you couldn't walk. She said the week after Thanksgiving was awesome, attendance wise and it is decorated then for Christmas. We love going in October. We take the kids out of school for a bit and work it out with their teachers well in advance. Good luck with your decision!
A friend of mine just got home from Orlando during Christmas break. They go to WDw often and this was their first time during Christmas break and said it was so packed, you couldn't walk. She said the week after Thanksgiving was awesome, attendance wise and it is decorated then for Christmas. We love going in October. We take the kids out of school for a bit and work it out with their teachers well in advance. Good luck with your decision!
Yikes! Those are some serious crowds.
I think we'll do the October trip - that way we can afford to stay at a moderate resort and we'll have low crowds!
by mid-october do you mean surrounding columbus day weekend? because i'm pretty sure that would up the crowd levels. if not, i'd go with mid-october hands down. (i'm a teacher and my main complaint about the profession is my inability to travel during cheap/uncrowded times. paris in august was AWFUL this past summer--AWFUL! but disney mid-november was GREAT!)
My daughter's school has 2 days off mid-October and we would just take the rest of that week - even if it is Columbus Day weekend one of those weekends.
Mid-November might be another option, but I figured the week of Thanksgiving would be crowded and pricey.
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It is a truly magical time of year to visit with all the decorations and our favourite time of the year for a Disney trip. 
That means you're paying for a nice meal at Epcot (Ok, with a bit added on), but that works for us. 
Those are some serious crowds.
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