Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom
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Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom. What could be more perfect. Every perfect vacation to Walt Disney World should end with a beautiful visit to the most magical park in the most magical place on earth on the most special day of the year. Sounds magical doesn't it?
REALITY CHECK ...
Christmas Day in the Magic Kingdom? |
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| Don't expect it to look like this - Photo by Express Monorail |
News Flash
I saw an article today (December 8) with the title "Disney World at Christmas: Expect crowds, BIG crowds" like this is big news. (In fact the name of the site is worldnewsmania or something.) News Flash ... Disney World ath the Magic Kingdom crowds will be BIG Christmas Day. Mmmmm. Wonder where I've heard that before?
Dad's December Disney World Crowds page
Yes, on a typical Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom will reach capacity by noon.
That would be correct. The only problem is the Christmas parade is taped on December 4th and 5th (in 2010). Oops. Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom is the busiest day at any park anywhere. Over 120,000 people will try to jam into the park. (Disney never publishes crowd sizes, but outside estimates reach 150,000. If this was DC, it would probably be estimated at 2 million.)I know, you're thinking "Dad you are crazy I see the Christmas parade on ABC (Disney propaganda network) every year and there are really small crowds around the park."
But Dad, we just have too
OK, I understand the need to have a really special experience on Christmas Day. (I would counter that it's not going to be so magical but ...) So if you just have go anyway, here's what Dad would suggest.
- Don't expect to ride a lot of rides - pick the rides you absolutely have to ride and do them as soon as possible.
- Get to the Magic Kingdom 1 hour before the advertized opening time. That's not leave your hotel 1 hour early, that's be at the gate 1 hour early.
- Enjoy the shows. They will be packed, but that's part of the fun.
- Sing Christmas Carols while in line - hey, you don't have anything else to do, miight as well enjoy the season. Try to see how many others you can get to join you.
- Have a reservation for meals or bring your own. There were reports, in years past, of 2 hour lines at the quick service restaurants.
- Don't expect to leave the park and get back in.
- Go slow, relax, people watch, enjoy the moment.
Dad's Bottom Line
Yes, Dad has ranted about Christmas Day at the Magic Kingdom before, and probably will again. It's a big deal to me. Thousands of people every year show up at the Magic Kingdom and are turned away or go away with a bad taste in their mouths because of the crowds. It's a shame. It's easy to find out what Christmas Day is like, but alas, some people don't read Dad's great site (yet).
