Christmas 2006?

[Gaynol]

My inlaws were looking for an option to the big, annual holiday get together they have at their home every year. I casually suggested that we might try going to Disneyland. They asked me to do some research, so I did, pointing out that not only was it the most expensive time of the year but the most crowded. I really thought that would be the end of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Disney fan (we were just there in March) But we always go when crowds and prices are low.

They went ahead and booked rooms for the three days over Christmas. Now I'm really worried . Does anyone have any tips and tricks for how to navigate the parks at this crowded time of year? Any money saving tips? How bad will it be line and crowd wise? What shouldn't we miss?

Many thanks for any help you can offer!

 

[mclopezzz]

Well we are all booked for the days after Christmas through Jan 1. A good tip and one which you should consider is to book through AAA. You get unlimited fast passes, cheaper rates, and will be able to navigate the parks much easier. You also get priority seating at 4 of the shows. We originally booked through Disney but when we found out about AAA's package they called Disney and took over the reservation. You must stay at one of the three Disney hotels to get the unlimited fast pass but it is well worth it. Hope you have a great time.

 

[momofeva]

We do DL every other Christmas. One thing is go before Christmas if possible, the crowds get larger after Christmas Day. Get there early, be there when the parking garage opens or if you are walking be there at least 30 minutes prior to the gate opening. This way you can get through security and have a decent place in line. If your tickets are at will-call, pick them up the night before your first day in the park, lines are shorter and it is one less line for kids to stand in waiting to see Mickey.

If you plan on riding Matterhorn, go there first there is no fastpass. We always have one parent take the kids to get in line at Matterhorn and the other goes to get the fastpass for Space Mountain, and then meets them at Matterhorn. Fantasyland is less crowded during the parades, we only sit through the parades once, and do FL on the other days.

This last year Frontierland, New Orleans Square, and Adventureland got really crowded in the mid-afternoon. Be prepared to leave and go to CA. We would take a late lunch around 1 or 2 pm, usually off-property, then come back and do CA. For some reason CA has smaller crowds. We also would do the "show" attractions during this time, Playhouse Disney, Bug's Life, Aladdin, and Crush's Turtle Talk(don't miss this one!), in CA and Tiki Room, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, and Innovations(sometimes too crowded though), in DL.

Hope this helps.

 

[Canadamom]

We just went this past Christmas holidays. I agree to get there early in the morning!! You can do so much in the first hour and a half if you are able to go through the gates right when they open. Familiarize yourself with the fastpass system...I think there were lots of people there when we were there that just got in the end of a long line-up and didn't realize the fast pass tickets were available near the ride entrance and they could have saved lots of "standing" time. Also, if you are a real "schedule" person, you may want to check out Ridemax ( a computer program you download for about $17 for 3 months which will give you the best order/times to ride rides, pick up fastpasses, etc based on the day of year, crowd patterns, ride load times, etc.)...we found we didn't even stick to it the whole time, but it gave us a lot of good tips and we felt very prepared to deal with the crowds and had a wonderful time. We, too, did the parades and shows in the afternoons, when ride lineups were at their longest. Have fun planning!

 

[Gaynol]

Thanks for all the great tips! I'm feeling a little bit better about going at this time of year.