December 2019 at Walt Disney World
By Dave Shute
WHAT IS DECEMBER LIKE AT DISNEY WORLD?
Early December, with lower crowds, lower prices, and wonderful Christmas decorations and events, has the best weeks of the year to visit. The December 5, 2019 opening of the second ride at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios may bump crowds up a bit more than I’ve forecast–especially from locals.
Later December has the highest crowds and prices of the year.
Park closings to additional guests are possible in this later December period, as are 8a openings and more morning Extra Magic Hours than other weeks.
December also has a special party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a special evening event–with its own ticket–that has become a family tradition for many, and major New Years Eve celebrations.
DECEMBER 2019 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
On a crowd scale of 1-11, the first two weeks of December (beginning 11/30 and 12/7) see crowd levels of 4/low+. The third week, beginning 12/14, sees holiday crowds beginning towards the end of the week, and has an overall ranking of 5/moderate-. The holiday week beginning 12/21 has the highest crowds of the year, particularly after Christmas, and has a rank of highest/11.
Moreover, the first three weeks of December you will see much worse crowds if you don’t carefully pick which day to see which park. See this for guidance on picking Disney World park days, or use the comment form below to ask questions about your dates.
See this for more on 2019 crowds at Disney World.
DECEMBER 2019 TICKET PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
December 2019 Disney World ticket prices are average early in the month, but by mid-month begin to hit their highest levels of the year.
See the image–where green is good, and lots of green particularly good, and red is bad, and lots of red is particularly bad.
For more, see my Disney World 2019 ticket price calendar.
DECEMBER 2019 RESORT HOTEL PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Disney World resort hotel prices begin the month at the values 5-10% higher than the lowest of the year, at the moderates 10-18% higher, and at the deluxes 5-15% higher. Prices then increase three times–
- On 12/8, values prices go to 10-20% higher than the lowest of the year, moderate prices to 10-20% higher than the lowest of the year, and deluxe prices to 15-20% higher
- On 12/13, values prices go to 35-45% higher than the lowest of the year, moderate prices to 25 to 30% higher than the lowest of the year, and deluxe prices to 30-45% higher
- On 12/20, values prices go to 60-70% higher than the lowest of the year, moderate prices to 45-55% higher than the lowest of the year, and deluxe prices to 55-75% higher
See this for more on 2019 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.
DECEMBER 2019 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Deals for the general public are available for December 2019. Find them here.
DECEMBER 2019 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Average temperatures trend down over December, and weather becomes quite variable. Days can be perfect, or quite cool.
Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more.
DISNEY WORLD SPECIAL EVENTS IN DECEMBER 2019
December brings delightful Christmas festivities to Disney World:
- At the Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party—a special event that requires its own ticket—runs on many nights from November 8 through December 22nd. Later in December, its signature events—a special Christmas parade, and special Christmas fireworks—are available to all guests. Christmas decor is in place by the night of the first party–in 2019, November 8.
- At the Studios, in 2019 the Christmas projection and fireworks show Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! will and a projection show on Tower of Terror, Sunset Seasons Greetings, will return in November and likely run through December. These two shows, other business and the Christmas Tree at Echo Lake make Hollywood Studios the second best Christmas park at Disney World, after Magic Kingdom.
- At Epcot, the evening fireworks show Epcot Forever likely will have special Christmas additions. In addition, beginning November 29 Christmas carols are sung by massed choirs in the Candlelight Processional. Many of the countries in Epcot’s World Showcase have special Christmas events as part of Epcot’s re-named Epcot International Festival of the Holidays which will begin in 2019 on November 29.
- In 2019 for the first time in a while Disney’s Animal Kingdom will have substantial Christmas programming as well, including special shows or decorations in each of its lands, and special projection shows in Tree of Life Awakenings.
New Years Eve fireworks will happen at Magic Kingdom on 12/30 and 12/31, at Epcot on 12/31, and at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on 12/31. The Animal Kingdom will have no fireworks, but will have a special midnight show at the Tree of Life.
DECEMBER 2019 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Park operating hours can vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.
The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available about six months in advance. Major hours updates–often with later closes–can happen a month before.
These calendars can be found by clicking this link.
WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR DECEMBER 2019 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE
The week rankings that follow are from my 2019 weeks to visit, ranked in order, updated in April 2019, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.
11/30/2019 Low to moderate resort prices. Low+ crowds. Crowd ranking=4. Week ranking=1. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary
12/7/2019 Moderate resort prices. Low+ crowds. Crowd ranking=4. Week ranking=2. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary
12/14/2019 Higher resort prices. Moderate-minus crowds, better earlier in the week, worse later. Crowd ranking=5. Week ranking=13. Use the Basic December Itinerary
12/21/2019 Highest resort prices. Highest crowds, Crowd ranking=11. Week ranking=47. Use the Higher Crowd Itinerary
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