[HelenJNT]

Originally Posted by JayTheDisneyDad

We are going the week before xmas too - 16th-19th Dec.

Crowd prediction calendars tend to be useless for DLP but everyone seems to be saying that this week shouldn't be too busy so fingers crossed!

1) I must admit when I first saw the closure times I was a little disappointed it is so early. But with a 1yr old and a 5yr old it's probably for the best to avoid them falling asleep for the fireworks. Also note the 16th and 17th first went up as 6pm close but is now 7pm..

2) We're going to try Lucky Nugget Saloon for a quick lunch for the kids (they don't eat big at breakfast and last all day like us adults) and a warm up drink for us adults.

4) Despite my comment about it not being too busy hopefully I would always make reservations at Disney... made the mistake of not doing so before and it can get stressful and waste more time hunting for somewhere that will let you in.

6) Don't bother with FP for Buzz.. it's a waste of time and I have often found practically walk on in EMH and towards the end of the night just before the fireworks. FP will be needed for Peter Pan, Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain in Disney park plus Ratatouille and ToT in Studios.

Finally don't forget you'll want to do lots of xmas shopping and the shops on Main Street often stay open at least an hour after park closes so don't waste time in the shops until after the fireworks!

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Thank you for the post. We’ll be there at the same time!

You’re right about the stress of pounding around looking for somewhere to eat. Our WDW trips are planned almost to the minute so I do need to make a rough plan I think, to see where we can fit in a table service meal or two.

Great tip about saving the shopping til later too...I’ll try to stay out of the shops up to then...