Hi Adam!
The holiday season is absolutely magical at Disney World Resort. Your family is going to love the decorations, specialty food items, and parties that take place during the Christmas season.
My family has visited Disney World many times during the holiday season and find that the crowds do tend to be a little bit lighter at Magic Kingdom on days when there is a
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. I don't know if I would say that the crowd difference is significant enough for me to change my vacation plans to either avoid or prioritize going on one of those days. With the reintroduction of park hopping, this will likely make the crowd size difference even slimmer. If you are looking for a less crowded time to visit Magic Kingdom during the holidays, I highly recommend attending Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Tickets for the event are limited to a certain number of guests so the crowds are much smaller than a normal day at Magic Kingdom and you get to meet some really fun characters that are exclusive to this event.
If you plan to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, we like to do something a little more relaxing during the day so we have a lot of energy to stay up late! We love doing a resort tour to see the decorations and try all of the different treats. The
Grand Floridian,
Contemporary Resort, and
Wilderness Lodge are my favorite resorts to check out during the holidays. The Grand Floridian has a life-size gingerbread house that doubles as a store where you can order themed treats. The Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary Resort have huge Christmas trees that make for the perfect family photo location.
There are so many wonderful experiences at
Disney World during the holiday season. I recommend checking them all out! A new favorite of my family's is
Disney Jollywood Nights because it features great food, special shows, and the glamour of a Hollywood Christmas.
Happy Planning
Jenna