Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Party"—mid-November crowds?

Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Party"—mid-November crowds? - From above of Christmas composition with gingerbread cookies with Ho Ho Ho letters and fir tree branch on white table

I'm taking my son on a surprise, 1-night trip to Orlando. He's been to Walt Disney World once and LOVED it. I noticed that during this time they'll have the Very Merry Christmas Party going on at the Magic Kingdom, and thought it might be a good thing for us to go to. We're arriving November 15th, a Thursday, and I was planning on going to the MK that night. Does anyone know what sort of crowd levels we could expect? I'm hoping that since it's early in the holiday season (November) and a weeknight (Thursday) the crowds won't be too terrible. But, I've also read stories on the web about huge crowd levels.

Does anyone have any first-hand experience they can share? Since we're only going down for 1 night I want to make sure we can make the most of our time.



Best Answer

November is very much off-season for Disney - Christmas Crowds begin in mid-December and then drop off again shortly after New Years. The one variable this year is that the FantasyLand extension was scheduled for October, but crowds will still be far less than the Christmas Invasion that starts the second week of December.

As someone who worked at "Mouse-chwitz" for a year (developing websites in the "Hot Set" next to Toy Story Mania), I can heartily tell you that September - November, and January - March are the times to visit. The crowds are minimal, the temperature is great, and the cast that sticks around is experienced. If you are doing the water parks, November is better, because they close for cleaning in February and March (one at a time, for several weeks.)

If you want exact times, there are several free Disney World apps that show actual wait times at attractions. Disney itself holds on to these same data very tightly, so you'll need to go with the third party apps to see it.




Pictures about "Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Party"—mid-November crowds?"

Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Party"—mid-November crowds? - Christmas cookies and fir branch on white background
Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Party"—mid-November crowds? - Crowd of many people entertaining near Christmas cafe decorated with shiny baubles and glowing garland
Disney's "Very Merry Christmas Party"—mid-November crowds? - Family Celebrating Christmas Dinner While Taking Selfie



How crowded will Disney World be this Christmas?

Expect moderate to high crowd levels. Still worse than the two weeks before it, but not bonkers. However, if you have the choice to visit any of the first three weeks of December, definitely choose one of the first two.

Is Disney decorated for Christmas in November?

Despite the Christmas 2022 season not officially starting at Walt Disney World until early November, the reality is that decorations will go up before then. This year, you can expect Magic Kingdom to be mostly decorated by November 1, 2022 and fully decorated by November 3, 2022.



Every Time Sofia Meets a Disney Princess 👑| Sofia the First | Disney Junior




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