I was there over Thanksgiving. It wasn't awful but it was CROWDED. The afternoon we spent at MK was wall to wall people. MK was crowded all the way until 2am (the line for the new snow white ride was over an hour at 1:30am)

It was all doable (we had a 2 year old and 5 year old with us - not at 1:30am obviously) but it was wasn't as enjoyable as other visits.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Very helpful feedback. I think we will reconsider. It is too bad, though, because we won't have the time to drive later in January and that will make the whole expensive visit even more expensive.

So where else can we drive and do something fun for our late elementary school kids? I'm not feeling the weather involved with going north.

Not necessarily. The rack rates for hotels in Orlando during the week between Christmas and New Years are 3-4 times as high as they are in late January. You might be able to do it for the same price or a little cheaper.

We did a last minute visit to Disney over christmas a few years back. We were in another part of Florida, so we took our child over. I would never go between Christmas and New Years again. That said, we did still have a good time, but we had done a ton of research. Get the Unofficial Guide to Disney. It'll help you maximize your time in the park. It's got a section on Universal as well. I have not been there but we are going this summer.

My one bit of advice is get to the parks early. I had no idea how crowded a park could get. Every day we were there, the closed the gates at some point and wouldn't let anyone else in. Guest staying on property get priority even before they close the parks if they are getting crowded. You don't want to get all the way there and not be able to get in.

Thanks, 7:35. Yes, we have no interest in character visits or dinners. It is just so tempting to do it because of the drive option.

We know a family who just decided to do this. They found a good rate at a hotel off site, and they are driving down. I think it's fine to head down when you know it will be crowded as long as you keep your expectations low. They aren't planning on character meets or sit down dinners at the parks. I'm sure they'll still have fun.

OP here. Very helpful feedback. I think we will reconsider. It is too bad, though, because we won't have the time to drive later in January and that will make the whole expensive visit even more expensive.

So where else can we drive and do something fun for our late elementary school kids? I'm not feeling the weather involved with going north.

Anonymous wrote:I've been once. Universal wasn't too bad (pre-harry potter though) but Disney was crazy (on 12/27). We were the first car in the lot for EPCOT, and followed a touring plan. We wrapped up Epcot by 1 or so, went to AK for a few hours, and then did the Magic Kingdom from 6-1am or so since the park was open until 2.

This worked for us because:
-no kids (youngest was 16).
-hadnt been in 5 or 10 years.
-was a one day trip
-stated goal was to see as much as we could
-the group was willing to follow a touring plan.

That was 7 years ago and we haven't done that again. I just went to the Christmas party on Tueqday when I was down there and that was enough for me.

And we slept the whole next day.

I've been once. Universal wasn't too bad (pre-harry potter though) but Disney was crazy (on 12/27). We were the first car in the lot for EPCOT, and followed a touring plan. We wrapped up Epcot by 1 or so, went to AK for a few hours, and then did the Magic Kingdom from 6-1am or so since the park was open until 2.

This worked for us because:
-no kids (youngest was 16).
-hadnt been in 5 or 10 years.
-was a one day trip
-stated goal was to see as much as we could
-the group was willing to follow a touring plan.

That was 7 years ago and we haven't done that again. I just went to the Christmas party on Tueqday when I was down there and that was enough for me.

Had a friend who went bet Xmas and New Years and park entrances were shut down twice bc they were full to capacity. If you go the week of jan 20 or so it will be so much better all around.

I'm sure you can find a hotel and get the tix...there's a ton of hotel rooms/condos in Orlando - hotels on Disney property might be well booked, but even there I suspect there's some availability.

whether you SHOULD do it, well, I think that's a crazy time to go but obviously plenty of people do and presumably most still have fun.

I went to Disney one year around January 10 for a conference, and I remember our driver telling us about traffic between Christmas and NY's. He said that it was bumper to bumper and cars everywhere. Yikes.

The week between XMAS and New Years? No way in hell would I do that. That is when they have the highest attendance rates of the year. Go in January after New Years.

This would be the week after Christmas. Thought it might be better. No?

Look at other recent Disney at Christmas posts. It's not something I would do.

Thinking of driving to Orlando the week of New Year's. Is it remotely possible to swing this with this short notice? We'd need a hotel and tickets to the parks. Any suggestions on hotels to try? We stayed on a Disney property last time.