Hiya, Margaret! Welcome to planDisney!
You’re planning a trip to
The Most Magical Place on Earth at the most magical time of year, Margaret. The parks are wonderful any time, but the holiday decorations and festive atmosphere in the parks is infectious!
Based on what you’ve said, you’ll have a good window of time to visit the
four theme parks, and some of them a second time, which is great! This gives you lots of flexibility in how you’ll structure your visit. In my opinion, you really can’t go wrong no matter what order or which days you visit each park. The best itinerary will be the one that best fits your family’s needs and wants. With that said, here are a couple of tips that we’ve found helpful when planning our family trips over recent years. Personally, I find that Disney’s Animal Kingdom and EPCOT have a more relaxed atmosphere than Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which tend to be more high-energy. I always recommend rotating through the parks in this fashion. If your first day is at Magic Kingdom, your second day could be at Animal Kingdom, then Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT, and so on. Once you’ve visited each park, you’ll have a better idea of which parks you’d like to prioritize for the other days of your visit. For example, if there’s a park that you want to experience again for a specific attraction, or because there was heavy rain during your visit, you have the flexibility to decide where you’d like to spend the rest of your time.
I think it’s a great strategy to visit Magic Kingdom on the day you’ll be attending
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. In my experience, the park tends to be less crowded on party days. Given that the park will close at 6 PM to Guests with day tickets, some Guests prefer to visit the park on a day where it will not close early. Since you’ll be staying for the party, you’ll have plenty of time to take full advantage of your visit to Magic Kingdom!
Since you’ll already be in the park when the party begins, note that you can pick up your wristband, party map, and your commemorative ornament from dedicated stations inside the park. You will not have to exit the park and re-enter with the Guests without day tickets who will be let in beginning at 4 PM. In my opinion, the best part of the party is the entertainment! Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, and Minnie’s Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks Show are all great!
I hope you’ve found this helpful, Margaret. No matter what order you do the parks in, I’m confident that you and your family will have a magical time visiting Walt Disney World Resort. It really is just so magical during the holiday season, and there’s so much to see and do! If you have any other questions as you continue to plan your visit, please don’t hesitate to come back and see us here at
planDisney. My
fellow panelists and I are always happy to help!
See you real soon!
Olivier