Category — 7. New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World

OVERVIEW: CHRISTMAS 2012 AT DISNEY WORLD

The Christmas season at Walt Disney World includes both the best and the worst times to visit, with both prices and crowds at both lower and very high levels over the period.

Decorations, special Christmas shows, programs, and events, and Christmas trees are everywhere, making Disney World as special a place to celebrate the holidays as you can find.

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CHRISTMAS IS COMING AND SO ARE THE DISNEY WORLD CROWDS…

The busiest days of the year at Walt Disney World begin later this week, and peak next week.

Today, a little less than half of kids are on Christmas break.

More start going on break beginning the 21st, and by the end of this week, the 23rd, about 70% of kids will be off.

By Saturday, Christmas Eve, all kids are off.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the busiest day at Orlando International this holiday season will be Friday the 23rd, followed by Thursday the 22nd.

Later next week, likely more than 70,000 people will visit the Magic Kingdom on an average day, with totals perhaps well above that, possibly leading to park closures.

The hourly ride capacity at the Magic Kingdom is on the order of 40,000 people, implying average waits of 90-120 minutes for the most popular rides.

Bathroom waits may seem as long…as may waits for food, even if you eat early or late.

COPING WITH THE CHRISTMAS SEASON WALT DISNEY WORLD CROWDS

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FREE CHRISTMAS AT DISNEY GUIDE FOR READERS OF YOURFIRSTVISIT.NET

My friends at Destinations in Florida are making available a free guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World to readers of yourfirstvisit.net.

To sign up for this free guide to Christmas at Disney World, click here.

Thanks to Allison and the rest of the crew at Destinations in Florida!

For more on the holiday season at Disney World, see this.

WINTER AT DISNEY WORLD

Winter at Walt Disney World—loosely defined as November through February–is the most variable of seasons.

The weather is literally variable—cooler, and with typical daily highs ranging from the low 60s to the 80s. Tornadoes can be an issue during this period. See this for more.

Crowds are both at their lowest—in January and February after the Martin Luther King Day weekend and before the President’s Day week—and at their highest, over the week that includes New Years Eve.

Prices are the lowest of the year from early January through mid-February (the value season). They also hit their highest level of the year in winter, over the weeks that include Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
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In this post, I’m covering the Christmas-New Year’s season 2011-2012.

(I’ve also posted on spring break crowds at Disney World here and summer 2012 crowds at Walt Disney World here.)

DISNEY WORLD CROWDS FROM MID-DECEMBER 2011 TO EARLY JANUARY 2012: THE PRINCIPLES

Disney World usually sees its highest crowds and prices of the year in the second half of December, in the week that includes Christmas, and the next week that includes New Year’s Eve.

This is for a pretty basic reason: most kids are out of school these weeks.

However, not every school district has the same break schedule.

• Not every kid gets two consecutive weeks (or more) off
• And the days of the week that these holidays fall on matter

As a result of all this, I’m seeing the week beginning the 17th of December 2011 as an OK week, with crowds beginning to build in the middle of that week and lasting through the morning of 1/2/2012.

SCHOOL BREAKS AND DISNEY WORLD CROWDS

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OVERVIEW: JANUARY 2012 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews January 2012 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, operating hours, adds a few other notes, and ends with week by week summaries.

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