Christmas is our favourite time of yr at Walt Disney World, and throughout the vacation season, there’s a week-long window that we actually love. This put up discusses why we advocate visiting after Thanksgiving however earlier than the height weeks of winter break, with a rundown of what makes this time of yr particular–and totally different from the busier weeks. (Up to date July 12, 2025.)
That is hardly a secret. Lengthy-time readers of the weblog would possibly know that our #1 favourite week of the yr at Walt Disney World is the one after Thanksgiving. We’ve advisable it numerous instances during the last decade-plus, and it’s been our go-to for ages. Again once we lived within the Midwest, our annual Christmas journey often began the Sunday after the vacation. (Even once we have been nonetheless at school, we used to skip a pair days to make it an extended weekend journey!)
I don’t hold observe, but when I needed to guess at which week of the yr we now have spent essentially the most minutes in Walt Disney World since 2007, it will be this one. In all probability by a reasonably large margin. We completely love the week after Thanksgiving. There are occasions once we’ve ‘prolonged’ our method and skilled the primary two weeks of December, and have been pleasantly shocked with each. Neither of those weeks are even remotely on par with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New 12 months’s Eve, and even the primary week of January.
It’s additionally price noting that regardless of what number of instances we’ve shared this “finest saved secret,” it has remained reliably uncrowded. To make sure, late November into early December is busier now than it was a decade or extra in the past. However that’s true of virtually all dates of the yr. Walt Disney World annual attendance has elevated, and park growth has not saved tempo. So crowds are worse, throughout the board, than they have been in 2010!
Accordingly, these of you with time machines in your possession could not even need to hassle with this put up, and as an alternative dial in any random date in 2002 for decrease crowds. Everybody else ought to proceed studying, as the vacation season has curler coaster crowds with each actually excessive highs and low lows!
In reality, our lists of the 10 Finest and 10 Worst Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World in 2025 & 2026 include a number of weeks in November and December–on each the very best & worst lists, too! It’s really fairly wild how the parks go from chaotic to quiet (comparatively talking) virtually in a single day from one week to the following.
Though this put up focuses on the nice, we now have in depth expertise with the dangerous. Again once we lived in Florida, we’d typically have household go to for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and (naturally) we’d take them to the parks throughout these peak weeks. And we ourselves did each single New 12 months’s Eve (and December 30) within the parks for a number of consecutive years. (Actually, we nonetheless love NYE at WDW, and advocate it regardless of the crowds–it’s an expertise price having!)
As vacationers, we go to a minimum of twice every year in November and December. The primary of these weeks is sort of all the time Jersey Week/Veterans Day, which is when the primary Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion and Disney Jollywood Nights happen (November 7-8, 2025) and the remainder of the vacation season kicks off (later this yr than regular–November 14, 2025). With out fail, that may be a busy week–and offers a pleasant distinction to our favourite household journey time after Thanksgiving.
Right here’s what we love about this timeframe throughout the vacation season at Walt Disney World, and why you need to go to throughout one in every of these weeks should you’re already planning a 2025 or 2026 trip throughout Christmas-time…
“Full” Christmas
Even with out the Dream Lights and different issues which were misplaced during the last decade-plus, the vacation season is way and away our favourite time at Walt Disney World. We’ve gone into this at size in quite a lot of different posts, together with our Final Information to Christmas at Walt Disney World, so we received’t belabor the purpose.
In terms of Christmas, we like a number of totally different home windows. The primary is the very starting, earlier than any vacation crowds arrive. The issue with this week in 2025 is that solely decorations might be up with the events beginning on the tail finish of that week, as crowds begin growing. However once more, common Christmas leisure like Merry Menagerie, meet & greets, and extra is not going to begin till November 14, 2025.
The second is after the week of Veterans’ Day, however earlier than Thanksgiving. This week is significantly better, and after the vacation season formally begins on November 14. Even so, it’s not fully Christmas throughout them. Many resorts nonetheless aren’t decked out for the vacations, and EPCOT remains to be “celebrating” Meals & Wine Competition. This leaves the 2 weeks after Thanksgiving because the candy spot to go to Walt Disney World for a full Christmas.
Resort Environment
Two of the final three years, I’ve stayed at All Star Sports activities throughout this week. Final yr was a household journey, and we did a cut up keep between the DVC Cabins at Fort Wilderness and Port Orleans French Quarter. All of those stays have been incredible, however the one price drawing consideration to is All Star Sports activities.
This one is notable as a result of the start of December was once pink flag dates at All Star Sports activities resulting from youth sporting occasions. We made the error of staying on the All Stars as soon as throughout Pop Warner, and rapidly mentioned by no means once more. Nicely, the ‘previous days’ are over and now ESPN Vast World of Sports activities doesn’t host main youth occasions throughout the holidays.
In each method, my expectations have been exceeded. The grounds have been wanting nice, the meals courtroom was by no means overly-crowded, and there have been by no means rowdy teams of youngsters taking part in on the soccer subject. Bus service was immediate, pickup instances have been correct, and it was solely shared on one late night time getting back from Magic Kingdom. Regardless of leaving late, I all the time made Early Entry with time to spare.
Throughout one keep at All Star Sports activities, I spoke with a supervisor who supplied fascinating insights about resort occupancy and constructing closures, which confirmed what I suspected based mostly on the low variety of folks out and about on the resort. It was an analogous story at virtually each resort I visited.
Admittedly, I intentionally didn’t do Grand Floridian or Wilderness Lodge throughout their ‘peak’ hours when crowds are likely to the worst, however even the favored Crescent Lake resorts have been fairly quiet throughout the days that I visited. As with the parks, it is a far cry from the scene throughout the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and NYE.
Decrease Costs & Higher Offers
With decrease occupancy than the height weeks of the vacation season, it ought to come as no shock that there are higher offers available between the height weeks of the vacations slightly than throughout them.
We’re sometimes doing on-site stays twice throughout the vacation season at Walt Disney World: as soon as throughout Jersey Week and the Veterans Day vacation weekend, and once more throughout this favourite week. In pricing out November 6-11, 2025 vs. November 30 to December 5, 2025, I’m seeing large worth variations.
There are some resorts that aren’t discounted in any respect throughout the first set of dates. Against this, I see loads of availability throughout the second set of dates, together with Deluxe Resorts which might be over $100 off per night time. (Though we haven’t booked it but, Animal Kingdom Lodge at $146 off per night time may be very tempting!) See All Present Reductions at Walt Disney World for a take a look at the varied particular provides.
Not solely that, however the resort rack charges and different costs are decrease to start with than throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New 12 months’s weeks. Should you take a look at the Most cost-effective Instances to Go to Walt Disney World, you’ll see that these two weeks are the very best of the vacation season. Nonetheless not as little as the true low season, however fairly shut!
Decrease Crowds & Wait Instances
As measured by common wait instances, the weeks of Veterans Day/Jersey Week and Thanksgiving are two of the busiest weeks of the yr, behind solely Presidents’ Day, Spring Break, generally Columbus Day, and the weeks of Christmas and New 12 months’s Eve.
In terms of each of those November weeks, the week-to-week drop within the following week is fairly pronounced. Specifically, crowds plummet on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and staying there for the whole thing of the following week. The week following Thanksgiving averaged a 34 minute wait time (2/10 on the group calendar), as in comparison with 49 minutes throughout the week of Thanksgiving (10/10 on the group calendar). That 15 minute distinction could seem insignificant, but it surely’s really large–and actually provides up over the course of a day.
The next week was busier than early December, averaging a 40 minute wait and 5/10 crowd stage. That’s nonetheless fairly busy as in comparison with September or Might, however very manageable for the vacation season. It’s additionally skewed by Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion dates–you would do considerably higher by merely selecting the Finest Days of the Week to Go to Every Park at Walt Disney World.
Should you’re planning a Walt Disney World journey for 2025 or 2026, you clearly can’t depend on these actual numbers holding up. Nonetheless, that’s fairly in keeping with what we’ve seen in regular years for the final decade or so. Sometimes, crowds fall off a cliff the Sunday after Thanksgiving, plateau for per week or so, after which regularly rise within the lead-up to Christmas.
Our expectation is definitely barely decrease crowd ranges for the second week of December 2025, and about the identical numbers for the week instantly after Thanksgiving. The premise for that is that wait instances have been down year-over-year at Walt Disney World resulting from “revenge journey” exhausting itself. Nonetheless, it’s exhausting to see early December enhancing that a lot. It was already actually good final yr, and is a well-liked time for annual guests.
No matter what else occurs, all bets are off as soon as winter breaks begin. The interval between Christmas and New 12 months’s Eve being one of many worst weeks of the yr, and issues not likely letting up till colleges return into session and Marathon Weekend concludes.
Eating Availability
We have been in a position to eat in all places we needed (with the vital caveat that many of the locations we favor aren’t essentially the most highly-coveted Advance Eating Reservations), and sometimes discovered same-day ADRs or availability by way of walk-up waitlist.
This included actually no watch for Nomad Lounge and Steakhouse 71, in addition to discovering same-day ADRs for numerous eating places. Even Fantasmic and Candlelight Processional eating packages had pop-up availability!
Provided that we each favor extra spontaneity, this certain beats visiting throughout the peak vacation weeks. Visitors doing journeys then needed to be up early to make ADRs 60+ days upfront, and a few seemingly nonetheless didn’t get every thing they needed. Waits for Cellular Order and Stroll-Up Waitlist are additionally a lot worse when it’s busier.
Lightning Lane Pricing & Availability
Throughout my go to final yr for Veterans Day, I bought Lightning Lane Multi-Cross on a number of totally different events. I used to be doing this “for analysis,” but it surely was nonetheless very helpful in serving to bypass heavy crowds.
Throughout our household go to in early December, we didn’t hassle with Lightning Lanes in any respect. There have been a few instances we got here to remorse this, resembling attempting to see Residing with the Land: Glimmering Greenhouses on the finish of the night time with an overly-tired toddler, however by and huge, it simply was not mandatory. It was additionally cheaper and had higher availability, so a minimum of if we did need to use it, we might’ve scored extra experience reservations at a decrease value.
Suffice to say, that’s a stark distinction to the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New 12 months’s Eve, when Lightning Lane availability was or might be rather more restricted resulting from elevated “competitors” ensuing from extra folks shopping for the paid FastPass service. Worse crowds solely compound that, with larger wait instances and extra congestion in between Lightning Lane return instances.
December Climate
One factor I’ve realized over the previous few years is that I used to be not “constructed” for Florida warmth and humidity. To make sure, we had traveled to Walt Disney World in each month and week of the yr beforehand, so we knew what we have been getting ourselves into. Nonetheless, a lot of our transplant buddies reassured us that it’s not so dangerous and also you get used to it. That by no means occurred for us, and we discovered ourselves spending far an excessive amount of time indoors 8 months of the yr.
Whereas some folks go to Florida for the countless summer time sunshine and heat temperatures, that’s positively not the case for us. Our ‘candy spot’ for Florida climate is from round November till February. I’ll take having to put on a coat over sweating by way of my shirt any day of the week. You may all the time add layers, however there are solely so many you possibly can subtract earlier than safety says, “sir, you possibly can’t take off your shirt right here and this Miss Piggy fountain will not be a water play space.” (Buzzkills.)
Whereas it’s not all the time excellent, we’ve discovered that 90% of the time, the climate in late November and early December is a minimum of temperate. As a lot as I really like late August and September for low crowds, I’ll fortunately take care of barely elevated attendance for considerably higher climate. It’s a simple commerce off for us.
Vacation Finery
I’m not what you’d name a classy man in any conventional sense of the time period. GQ is not going to be ringing me anytime quickly, asking the place I get my moisture wicking polos, quick-drying shorts, or bucket hats. In the summertime, my outfit rotation is fairly easy and restricted. Not like Sarah, who all the time seems good regardless of the season or climate, I seem like a doofus who simply emerged from the sauna throughout Florida’s three seasons of summer time.
Nonetheless, roughly 75% of my wardrobe is sweaters and flannel shirts. It’s gotten to the purpose that I’ve been “banned” from shopping for extra blue plaid, as ‘that appears like a half-dozen shirts you already personal and may’t put on 10 months of the yr.’ It ought to go with out saying, however these will not be the optimum outfits for Florida.
It’s an offshoot of climate, however one of many issues I like about this time of yr at Walt Disney World is that I don’t have to decorate in utilitarian clothes that appears like I’m about to go fishing. I can bust out my formidable sweater assortment or huge array of blue plaid shirts. Within the grand scheme of issues, it’s minor, but it surely’s good to have images of us the place we each look presentable and have enjoyable outfits.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion
For years, we’ve carried out the primary Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Occasion in early August and the primary Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion in early November. Whereas I can go from 0 to 60 with regards to stepping into the vacation spirit, the identical isn’t true of everybody else.
Not solely is the climate (often) higher for the December events, however the vitality is sort of all the time higher. Far more friends are wearing ugly Christmas sweaters, honest isle onesies, vacation Spirit Jerseys, and so forth. Simply because the MNSSHP is healthier in October, so too is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion nearer to Christmas. The occasion itself is similar, and but, higher.
It’s robust to elucidate how, however should you’ve carried out the primary night time of MVMCP and in addition one of many December dates, you realize. (We’ve additionally been rained out method too many instances on the first MVMCP previously, and that will’ve occurred once more had we attended this yr. Knock on wooden, however that hasn’t occurred to us in ages throughout the December dates of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion.)
Disney Jollywood Nights
It’s a really related story with the Christmas celebration at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which is retiring for its third yr in 2025. Disney Jollywood Nights is a vacation exhausting ticket occasion providing a extra refined vacation vibe, sights of glowing décor, sounds of recent beats over traditional vacation songs, tastes of craft cocktails and decadent dishes. It’s nostalgic and it’s glitz and glam galore.
To that time, Fifties vacation apparel is advisable for this seasonal soirée and an enormous a part of the occasion would be the glamorous vibe and ambiance. Clearly, you would assemble an outfit with layers that will work for doubtlessly scorching or chilly climate in mid-November. Or you would go later within the month or early December when temperatures are prone to be cooler.
Candlelight Processional
I’m a sucker for Candlelight Processional at EPCOT. The pageantry of all of it, stunning music, and energy put into the spectacle by so many expert and passionate Solid Members. Suffice to say, Candlelight Processional is one thing particular. From the choir to the orchestra to the conductor to the ASL interpreter, I really like watching these proficient performers give it their all. It’s a fantastic custom–one began by Walt Disney at Disneyland and imported to EPCOT a lot later–and one thing I hope by no means ends.
I’m not notably ‘large’ on celebrities, so the narrator issues much less to me. (If something, I favor among the much less common ones as they draw smaller crowds of their followers.) With that mentioned, there are some I get pleasure from greater than others. I don’t need to ‘title names’ and disparage anybody (or alienate their followers), however I’m not notably eager on the narrators who continuously seem throughout this window. Maybe it’s simply my notion, but it surely looks as if Walt Disney World books the very best narrators in mid-to-late December.
The upside to that is low crowds for Candlelight Processional. I managed to snag seats twice with no eating bundle and no wait in line. Positive, I used to be in the direction of the again, however I’ve seen it sufficient that I’m completely glad with solely an okay view. Not having to purchase a eating bundle (to not point out the stress of attempting to attain ADRs) or wait in an extended line is a greater than honest tradeoff, from my perspective.
It’s not simply Candlelight Processional, even when that’s what we’re emphasizing. Right here’s a rundown of the 2025 EPCOT Competition of the Holidays, from the Beacons of Magic on Spaceship Earth to the Vacation Storytellers round World Showcase to the festive meals cubicles. It’s all incredible, and we favor this occasion to the flagship Meals & Wine Competition!
In the end, it ought to be straightforward to see why that is our favourite week (or weeks?) of the yr at Walt Disney World. Though wait instances for sure headliners are nonetheless excessive, the decrease congestion ranges as in comparison with Thanksgiving week makes a large distinction when it comes to general consolation stage–and the higher climate additionally helps! Final yr, the one time and place we ever noticed crowding was within the hub and Primary Avenue throughout Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Occasion, however that’s about par for the course.
Should you’re at the moment planning a visit, our advice can be to go to from November 30 by way of December 7, 2025. Should you’re planning for subsequent yr, the finest dates are November 29 to December 6, 2026. That’ll virtually actually be the candy spot for the very best of crowds, wait instances, climate, seasonal spirit, and so forth. In recent times, Saturday hasn’t been busy both, so you would fly out on Black Friday and do your first park day on Saturday.
If we had to decide on a next-best set of dates from a qualitative perspective, it’d be tough to determine between December 8-14, 2025 and November 15-21, 2025 (alter these at some point earlier for 2026 suggestions). The massive tradeoffs can be barely larger crowds vs. full Christmas and doubtlessly higher climate. We’d select the December dates, principally as a result of we’re large followers of the EPCOT Competition of the Holidays, which doesn’t begin till after Thanksgiving. Regardless, some potential journey dates to think about on your future journeys to Walt Disney World!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about resorts on our Walt Disney World Resorts Opinions web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Opinions. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a singular take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Trip Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every thing it is advisable to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Should you’ve carried out Walt Disney World post-Thanksgiving, what was your expertise? Should you’ve visited this similar week in prior years, how do you assume this yr compares? Ideas about the rest lined right here? Should you’re a frequent customer throughout this timeframe, what’s your tackle crowds, wait instances, seasonal spirit, climate, and many others? Agree or disagree with our evaluation of those two weeks as the very best time throughout the vacation season? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
