The Disney World Mistake You'll Make in December

December is creeping up on us, and that brings new challenges when it comes to navigating Disney World.

Mickey in the Christmas parade at Magic Kingdom

It’s one of the most beautiful times of the year, that’s for sure, but it’s also one of the most crowded. There’s so much to explore, but SO many people there to check it all out. If you’re heading to Disney World this upcoming month, here are the mistakes you 100% won’t want to make!

Not Planning For Those Larger Crowds

As we mentioned earlier, Disney World gets BUSY during the month of December with the amount of holiday offerings to experience, not to mention that it’s much cooler than it is during the summer and many families choose to take their vacations in the winter rather than the summer for that reason.

Animal Kingdom Christmas tree

With that being said, that means that wait times will likely SHOOT up in almost every single park for rides, dining wait times, check out lines in the stores, and everything in between. If you usually have a list of 5 must-dos, maybe knock it down to 3 in preparation for how busy the parks will be. That way you don’t get frustrated when you can’t get to everything you planned!

Wait Too Long For A Parade/Show Spot

Remember those crowds we talked about? Yeah, that extends to the fireworks, castle shows, parades, and other live entertainment around the parks for the month. While we usually say you can get a spot about 15-30 minutes before with little issue, for this time of year, getting a spot 30 minutes advance is MINIMUM.

Olaf in the Christmas Parade!

People will claim their fireworks/parade spot over an hour ahead of the event, so if you want to be sure you can get a great spot, you likely will want to do the same. If you’re looking for a mediocre spot, you can walk up 15 minutes before, but just waltzing up and getting an okay spot for the show goes out the window for the majority of this month.

Forget To Try The Special Treats

Disney World introduces a TON of new holiday-inspired treats in all their parks and many of their hotels, and missing out on these is NOT something you want to do. These are limited time treats that you can likely only get this ONE time of year, and there could be something on there you’d really love, but if you don’t look at the menus, you’ll miss them entirely!

The EPCOT tree has arrived!

And that’s not even counting the fact that EPCOT’s International Festival of the Holidays begins in EPCOT on November 29th with a whole slew of treats and offerings across their many food booths, so truly, there’s a lot to explore this December in terms of food!

Not Realizing Magic Kingdom Closes Early Some Nights

With the holiday season comes Disney World’s infamous holiday party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and while we love the offering when we get to go ourselves, it means that the park closes WAY early on those select nights and doesn’t bode as well for regular guests in the park.

Welcome to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

This is especially true if these adjusted park hours catch you off guard — there’s nothing worse than arriving to Magic Kingdom for your full park day and realizing that you’ll be asked to leave at 6PM when the park closes to regularly ticketed guests. Not only that, but these parties are sold out by the time they arrive 99% of the time, so families can’t even choose to purchase a ticket to spend more time in the park. That’s why it’s ALWAYS important to look at those park hours ahead of time!

Forgetting to Check for EXTENDED Park Hours

However, Disney is also known for extended park hours on holiday evenings and those surrounding it only a few weeks before they happen, so if you checked the park hours when you booked your tickets two months ago, you may not realize certain parks are open LATER than they originally were if you don’t check!

Gertie the Dinosaur at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

There’s a lot to experience this holiday season, it can feel a little overwhelming, but that’s why we’re here! We’re here to keep you updated on all the latest Disney World holiday news to make it feel more manageable as you plan your trip.

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Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney World holiday news!

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