Has anyone any really good advice on how to avoid the lines at Disney at Christmas?

Check out Deb Wills web site, the unofficial guide to WDW at www.wdwig.com If you can't go during a slower time of year, then stay on site, take advantage of early opening admission and the Magic kingdom E-ticket nights for WDW resort guests. GO AS EARLY IN THE DAY as you can, and you can ride & see lots of attractions before the parks get really crowded.

I second Joy's advice on getting there early and hitting the main attractions as soon as you clear the front gate. Once upon a time I read something wacky about going left when you walk in the front gate since most people go to the right and those attractions get busy quickly. We tried it and what do you know--it was good advice. We didn't stand in line ONCE until after lunch and this was Dec. 30th. Has anyone else ever heard of this tactic? I think I read it in one of the unofficial guides to Disney.

In order to make the most of the crowded days, you must be at the park when the gates open. Stay on site and take advantage of the early morning entry. Be aware though, that the whole park is not open early, just certain sections. Find out what the sections are. Determine which rides are a must and head there first, if they are open. We managed to ride Indiana Jones twice in the height of summer crowds by being at the gate at 6:30 am when they opened! Talk about insane ... Go back to your hotel about 11:30 when the crowds are at their worst and have lunch there. If you have little kids, make a reservation for a character breakfast or lunch. It is a great way to get character autographs and pictures with the characters. Make the reservation before you go on vacation, they fill up at peak season. Go back to the park mid to late afternoon as the crowds thin a bit then. Plan to stake out a viewing spot for any parades at least an hour in advance. I found one book particularly useful, it is called Disney with kids. It is full of practical and time saving tips.

Thank you all for your advice. Problem now being, we are staying off site at Indian Pointe. Looks like we're going to be stuck in traffic!!!!!!! Any way around this, advice welcome!

Sarah:
When my family and I were at Epcot, we started from the World Showcase and wound up in front later in the day. It was MUCH less crowded doing the park in reverse...and it was July!

Good luck and have fun!

Pray for rain! There were no lines on our rainy day at Epcot. Of course, most of the rides/attractions are indoors so it didn't really matter. We just dashed from one building to the next and had a great day. We also stayed on-sight and road lots during the dinner hours (daytime people leave, nightime people haven't arrived yet)and during the Electric Light Parade each night. After we'd seen the parade once we'd head right for the most popular rides each night just as the parade started. We could usually get in 2 or 3 well planned attractions during the parade and/or fireworks display. Hope this helps.

on the most crowded attractions in a park (eg Space Mountain & Splash Mountain at MK, Test Track at Epcot, etc), WDW has introduced the "Fastpass" system.

Basically it is a short line to get a voucher, entitling you to come back 60-90 minutes later into the special Fastpass line to board...sort of like reserving a place in line.

You get about a 30 minute window of time, say 1:00-1:30, to return to the special.

It works OK when crowds are high (eg between Xmas & New Year), but on medium crowded days it's not worth the extra hassle.

We were just there and used a combo of advice that helped, but especially the Unofficial Guide. We did arrive when the park opened (we stayed offsite so we went to park that did not have early open) and proceeded to the most important ride to my niece. We used the fastpass system extensively in MGM and a lot in MK. We would get a fastpass to one (Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, etc.) with a return in an hour or two then would do less popular rides or shows while waiting for our time. MGM is small enough to use this well. At MK we decided to get food and park ourselves on the ground just over an hour before the first parade near the ice cream parlor. After the parade we walked down and sat in chairs from the ice cream parlor and reviewed our day as we waited to see Tinkerbell and the fireworks from there. While folks left after the fireworks we walked through Tomorrowland to Fantasyland and rode all the rides like Dumbo that had been crowded for hours. Then during the 11 pm parade we walked through the stores along Main Street to the exit, even could ride the monorail. There was a crowd waiting for trams but since we got there early we were in the second parking lot and just walked to our car.

The Unofficial guidebook referred to in the previous post is Birnbaum's Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney Worl 2000 edition. It is excellent!

Actually, I think they're published in October, so you may as well wait for the 2001 edition. I'd think they'd have something to say about the FastPass as it's a new system.

No, No, NO! The book is by Bob Sehlinger, NOT Birnbaum.

The difference between the 2: The official guide by Birnbaum is candy-coated sweetness. It has info, but for the honest truth, get the UNOFFICIAL guide by Sehlinger! He and his team of researchers dare to criticize Disney when it's deserved. And the touring advice is wonderful. They don't just list the rides and attractions, they let you know how appropriate they are for kids (or seniors!) and WHY. Also, what ages the attractions appeal to. Wait times that can be expected. The area hotels are treated the same way. They let you know which hotels are the best, and which are the best VALUE.

Sorry for rambling, but I needed to correct myself!