Okay, well ive never been to WDW and have frequented the Cali parks throughout my whole life. Im going to be planning our first trip ever (my wife and i) and have always been debating on which time of year to go. I want to go around christmas time because from the pictures ive seen, the place looks amazing! Also with the Osborne dancing light show and deco throughout the part....it just looks like a good time to go. I just dont know about florida weather or what its like in the winter.

Is this a good time to go or is it overrated in your opinion? What time of year do you think is best to go? When would i get the most benefit to go??

Thanks for all your help!!

Christmas time is my favorite time to go. It's not too hot and you get all the decorations, like you said. However, don't go during Christmas. The best time is after Thanksgiving and before Christmas week. Usually the first two weeks in December are the best times.

Osborne lights are amazing!

steve wrote:

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Christmas time is my favorite time to go. It's not too hot and you get all the decorations, like you said. However, don't go during Christmas. The best time is after Thanksgiving and before Christmas week. Usually the first two weeks in December are the best times.

Osborne lights are amazing!

Thats exactly what i was thinking about the time frame. The first 2 weeks of Dec. would be cool. Yea, ive seen video of the lights and i know that it doesnt do it justice just by the size of the show. I cant wait!!!

Like Stevo said, the first 2 weeks in December are PERFECT! As long as you don't hit a "cold spell" (one year we were there it went down in the 40s! Brrr!) you'll be okay. It'll be in the 60s and a nice retreat for us up in the northeastern us.

But in reality, for me, anytime NOT in the heat of the summer and away from Holiday's is a good time to go.

Where are you thinking of staying?

I would love to stay at the Animal Kingdom lodge or the wilderness lodge, but as far as cost effectiveness goes it will most likely be port orleans or something like that. Im sure the resorts decorate too, right?

billville wrote:

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Im sure the resorts decorate too, right?

You bet! They also have Christmas music playing around the resorts. It's so awesome.

When I went on my honeymoon we went around the first week of December and it was really nice not to mention slow. The last trip was last year at the last week of October and it was much better then the trip in December. We decided that we will go over that last week of October from now on the weather was perfect and a great time.

dc1309 wrote:

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When I went on my honeymoon we went around the first week of December and it was really nice not to mention slow. The last trip was last year at the last week of October and it was much better then the trip in December. We decided that we will go over that last week of October from now on the weather was perfect and a great time.

Although less crowds sounds really tempting, i think seeing all the decorations for christmas would make my first trip there that much more exciting. It is my favorite time of year and ive alwyas dreamed of being there for that season. Maybe I can make my second trip there in october like you did for the least amount of crowds. This will definitely be my our second honeymoon as our first one wasnt as magical as we thought it would be.

billville wrote:

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dc1309 wrote:

QUOTE:
When I went on my honeymoon we went around the first week of December and it was really nice not to mention slow. The last trip was last year at the last week of October and it was much better then the trip in December. We decided that we will go over that last week of October from now on the weather was perfect and a great time.

Although less crowds sounds really tempting, i think seeing all the decorations for christmas would make my first trip there that much more exciting. It is my favorite time of year and ive alwyas dreamed of being there for that season. Maybe I can make my second trip there in october like you did for the least amount of crowds. This will definitely be my our second honeymoon as our first one wasnt as magical as we thought it would be.

We went 3rd week in Dec last year and it was quiet. Not many crowds at all, short lines, a great time to go.

Hi Everyone....

As you can see I'm new to the site...great idea Steve and love the concept.

To the original poster, I went last December. Being at WDW is exciting...let alone during Christmas Season. It's truly breath taking. One thing I thought of you may want to consider is that Pop Warner (cheerleaders and football teams) compete that time of year there. They usually are in all the value resorts and some do overflow to the moderates. Personally we never had any issues in the parks with the kids in the parks. I have had heard some horror stories with cheerleaders practicing early in the morning at the resorts, etc. My suggestion is if a value resort or moderate is what you want you may want to make sure it's not the same week. If you can stay somewhere else one of the other moderates or deluxes then I wouldn't hesitate to go back when they were there.

Hope that little advice helped you with your planning.

Happy Planning....

Kim

Kim wrote:

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My suggestion is if a value resort or moderate is what you want you may want to make sure it's not the same week. If you can stay somewhere else one of the other moderates or deluxes then I wouldn't hesitate to go back when they were there.

Awesome tidbit. Thanks Kim!

December 4-17 is the Pop Warner SuperBowl and the National Cheer and Dance Championships at Wide World of Sports Complex.
Kim is right they all stay in the Value resorts and maybe some overflow into the moderates.
I think the competitions last year were a little earlier because we went from the 12-19 and on the weekdays it was awesome but there was a noticable increase of people on the weekend.
Weather was very nice overall but we did have one really cool day near the end. Turtlenecks and sweatshirts were a must (and we are from New England) Always be prepared in December, I've heard many people say they take winter apparel just in case.
It is worth seeing all the decorations and I could have people watched at the Osborne Lights all evening long!
This year we are doing early October and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

The when to go question, for my family has never been a major issue. Mainly because due to some things beyond my control in my family some of the times like first of December are out of the question. So we go when we can.

Most of the trips we have taken have been in the summer. We fly in on July 5, and stay several days. The crowds are not as bad as you hear about, and it's a lot of fun.

This past Christmas we were at WDW, and it was truly amazing. The decorations, the parades, everything was awesome! HEre's the catch, the CROWDS! Man, were there crowds! On new years eve I had never seen so many people in my life in one place. Not fun at all that day, but it was a lot of fun that week. I've done it, won't do it again until I can go in early Dec.

If you aren't able to visit during the holidays, late April is a great time as well. It's not too hot, it doesn't rain very much and the crowds are low.