We have done it 3 out of last five years. It's very busy but here are my rules that make it manageable.

1) plan your stay to be able to go to park on Saturday AM. Fly Friday night and return next Saturday evening. You will do more from 8 am to noon on Saturday than any other comparable block of time. This is bc everyone else is traveling on a Saturday. Preferably Magic Kingdom on Saturdays.
2) get the app and fast pass the main attractions as soon as you can. 60 days if staying on property or 30 days if off.
3) you are at parks 30 minutes before open. Period.
4) leave the park by 2:30 pm at the latest and go back to hotel. Recharge and rest.
5) Pick a different park for the evening.

I went that exact week last year. Sat and Sun were bad, Mon-Thurs were fantastic, Friday was bad again.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read all the responses, but wanted to weigh in because we went in December three years ago.. We went from Dec. 15 - 18th, and it was fantastic. Very low crowds. It did start to pick up a bit on our last day though, and I think the closer to Christmas, the busier it will be.

OP here. This is more in line with what I am hearing on the Disney boards. I've been checking wait times off and on today and nothing seems out of the ordinary. I'm guessing it will get worse by Thu/Fri.

I haven't read all the responses, but wanted to weigh in because we went in December three years ago.. We went from Dec. 15 - 18th, and it was fantastic. Very low crowds. It did start to pick up a bit on our last day though, and I think the closer to Christmas, the busier it will be.

My cousin is there now. MK stopped letting people in at 4pm on Sunday, yesterday was just as bad.

Anonymous wrote:We went the week before Xmas break started years ago. It was wonderful. Everything was ready for Xmas but the crowds weren't there.

OP here. Unfortunately I am talking about the first week of break at least for some schools (Loudoun and Fairfax for sure.) We pull the kids a day or two early but it won't be a whole week early. Does that change the answer? We were going to fly home 12/23 but maybe we should come home sooner?

Anonymous wrote:Serious question: is DW ever not completely crazy busy? We've been 6 times at "off peak" times and it was completely nuts every time, except one day when it rained.

We went during that fcps January break a few years ago and it was empty.

Like very empty.

We hit every exhibit at Epcot on the first day except for the outer space simulation ride, and a couple of rides twice. My younger kids and I went on multiple rounds of Buzz Lightyear (just walking right up) while my husband and older kids did the rock n roll rollercoaster. The only attraction we had difficulty getting into was the jedi academy, and that was because we did not realize you had to reserve your space in the morning instead of showing up for a time slot and waiting in line.

It was the perfect time to go.

We went the week before Xmas break started years ago. It was wonderful. Everything was ready for Xmas but the crowds weren't there.