Walt Disney World in December
 

I am thinking of planning a trip to WDW Dec 11-21, 2008. I have heard before Christmas is a very slow time, but I am not sure if I am getting to close to Christmas (VERY crowded time). Has anyone been that time of year? When do the Christmas crowds arrive?

Christmas is a very crowded time at Disney. You will do quite well, though, if you visit the park at the first half of your trip, there will be a lot less people.

it should be pretty quiet until the end of your trip. people might start arriving for christmas week that thursday or friday.

keep an eye on this website
http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14
it gives crowd predictions for each day and tells you the best park to visit on each day for the least amount of crowds. unless you subscribe you only get the calendar for about 1 month out. but if you look at the similar days for 2007 it should give you a good idea for 2008.

That's a great time to visit - yes, it will be slow right up until the 20th or 21st. lolfn is right on the money; the crowds will start coming the Thursday or Friday before Christmas.

The crowds will build with each day of your trip. Do you have your dining reservations in place? If not, get some good "Best Days" information so that you are in the least busy park for each day and then make your dining.

After this, you can start figuring out a touring plan. A good plan takes established crowd traffic patterns and helps you avoid becoming one of the herd.

I've used and recommend these good sources for best days information and touring plans:

1.) www.tourguidemike.com is a subscription service that helps you do your own plans.

2.) www.buildabettermousetrip.com/FullService.html does custom touring plans for you.

FYI,
You might want to prepare for the possible really cold night. We took our kids down last December for a long weekend around their Christmas event. It was BRUTALLY cold.

We spent a week there last December as well. We were there from about the 5th to the 12th or so. The crowds were not bad at all. But as Ryan mentioned...it was cold! We are from Oregon and are used to it, but we were freezing walking around Epcot one evening. So check the forecast before you go so you can pack accordingly.