I know traffic is bad but...?

[bumbershoot]

Why anyone staying on site drives to the MK is beyond me. No matter what time of year they go.

I wouldn't do it for Xmas, but I drive to MK not for getting there in the morning, but so I have my car at closing.

 

[kay1864]

That picture makes me anxious. I can't imagine being there.

I can only imagine being there. I wouldn't go in person even if I were given free tickets.

 

[Alesia]

I think if you plan to be at the TTC around 6:00-6:15 am is just fine. You'll be through security by 6:30-6:45 and ready to roll at 7:00 am.

This will put you at the very back of the pack pictured in post #18.

 

[CAS239]

We were at Disney over nye this past nye. Driving ourselves to and from each park as we hate waiting on Disney buses.

Went to MK on the 30th and Epcot on the 31st. Driving was a breeze both mornings. We left at about 8pm from MK on the 30th so didn't have to deal with the usual mass of people leaving MK. So for us the only bad traffic we saw was seeing the line of cars waiting to get into MK as we took the turn to go to Epcot, and then leaving Epcot after the nye fireworks. Took about 20 minutes to get out the Epcot parking lot.

 

[AngiTN]

I wouldn't do it for Xmas, but I drive to MK not for getting there in the morning, but so I have my car at closing.

I guess but you still gotta wait on some mode of transportation to reach the car. Do you really think you gain a lot of time vs. a bus?

 

[AngiTN]

I stayed offsite one Christmas week and I have to tell you that the TTC was a nightmare. It should be better for resort guests since you'll be able to bypass the offsite crowd and take the monorail. I think if you plan to be at the TTC around 6:00-6:15 am is just fine. You'll be through security by 6:30-6:45 and ready to roll at 7:00 am.

And you'd be very late as the park will have already opened. This is the WORSE time frame to arrive, even on a non-peak day

 

[NS8VN]

You might want to prepare everyone for MK at that time of year.

(No, I'm not kidding. This is really how bad it is.)

Ah, the Happiest Place on Earth! Just look at those smiling faces.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I guess but you still gotta wait on some mode of transportation to reach the car. Do you really think you gain a lot of time vs. a bus?

Not time...I just enjoy the ferry ride and the walk to the truck and the drive back...I never said I was normal.

 

[bumbershoot]

I guess but you still gotta wait on some mode of transportation to reach the car. Do you really think you gain a lot of time vs. a bus?

Every time we leave MK by bus I swear our bus is the second furthest away. And we have to wait for multiple buses. It's maddening. Whereas when I leave it by ferry we get in line and are on the very next ferry.

It's a matter of being in motion rather than being in line. I prefer motion. And I really despise the buses. I mean seriously despise them. I do not mind public transportation in general, but the public bus at Disney makes me nutty. Hate. It. Best that I'm not on a bus.


But again none of that would apply if I were going on xmas.

Of course, if we go on xmas we're at the GF so bus vs ferry isn't the question. (plus, DS wants Epcot while DH just wants to explore GF and ignore that the parks exist)

 

[LSUmiss]

You might want to prepare everyone for MK at that time of year.

(No, I'm not kidding. This is really how bad it is.)

I've seen many pics like this & expect it to be more crowded than I've ever seen it. But, is it like this all day on 12/30 & 12/31 throughout the park or are these pics from rope drop or after a parade or something?

 

[Liz Z]

OK~~ so i have a feeling it might not be in our best interest to drive to the poly for our Ohana breakfast on December 30th.
We'll have our car since we drive from CT and staying onsite at POFQ.

This will be my DH's 1st Christmas~ New Years in Disney He hates crowds
Our reservation is for 8:30am what would you recommend we do?

2 years ago it was just my adult DD and myself and we used the buses everywhere and it worked out great. A couple of nites we did take a taxi though.

But this will be somewhat of a challenge with the car (DH also doesn't care for the buses)
Most of the time we will take the bus system but just wondering what we should do for Ohana breakfast.

help please

 

[IrishNYC]

You should take the bus to MK, then take the ferry or monorail to Poly. Or drive to TTC if your DH insists on driving, because you likely won't be able to park at Poly unless you valet, and with crowd levels, I don't believe you'll be able to leave it all day, but I could be wrong about that.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Security at MK is a huge choke point during the holidays. There's only so much space to add lanes or personnel (and they don't).

 

[fla4fun]

OK~~ so i have a feeling it might not be in our best interest to drive to the poly for our Ohana breakfast on December 30th.
We'll have our car since we drive from CT and staying onsite at POFQ.

help please

What you may run into is that they won't allow you to park at Poly even with a dining reservation at that time. I have been turned away from the Contemporary even with a legitimate ADR a couple times when things were busy. So not only would you have deal with traffic getting to the Poly, but you would have to deal with the madness of regular MK parking, trams, and TTC, after trying to drive to Poly in the first place, which might make you very late for your ADR.

If it were me, and I had to drive, I would plan on getting started on the road about three hours prior to the ADR, and plan to park in the MK lot in the first place. If you get there early, you can spend time wandering around the Poly, but you would rather be early than late. You can also try posting the question again once we actually get to Christmas week, to get an idea of how bad the traffic actually is in 2016. Some years more people drive than others, and if people decide to use Uber instead of buses, that would create additional congestion since the guest drop off for MK is right next door to Poly.

 

[Robo]

if people decide to use Uber instead of buses, that would create additional congestion since the guest drop off for MK is right next door to Poly.

If anyone takes a hired car to MK and uses the designated drop-off (at TTC,) they are making a mistake, especially during busy times.

 

[IrishNYC]

What you may run into is that they won't allow you to park at Poly even with a dining reservation at that time. I have been turned away from the Contemporary even with a legitimate ADR a couple times when things were busy. So not only would you have deal with traffic getting to the Poly, but you would have to deal with the madness of regular MK parking, trams, and TTC, after trying to drive to Poly in the first place, which might make you very late for your ADR.

If it were me, and I had to drive, I would plan on getting started on the road about three hours prior to the ADR, and plan to park in the MK lot in the first place. If you get there early, you can spend time wandering around the Poly, but you would rather be early than late. You can also try posting the question again once we actually get to Christmas week, to get an idea of how bad the traffic actually is in 2016. Some years more people drive than others, and if people decide to use Uber instead of buses, that would create additional congestion since the guest drop off for MK is right next door to Poly.

Three hours! This whole thread really seals it for me never ever going during Christmas break!

 

[Disneylover99]

We were at Disney over nye this past nye. Driving ourselves to and from each park as we hate waiting on Disney buses.

Went to MK on the 30th and Epcot on the 31st. Driving was a breeze both mornings. We left at about 8pm from MK on the 30th so didn't have to deal with the usual mass of people leaving MK. So for us the only bad traffic we saw was seeing the line of cars waiting to get into MK as we took the turn to go to Epcot, and then leaving Epcot after the nye fireworks. Took about 20 minutes to get out the Epcot parking lot.

We are going to MK on the 30th and Epcot on the 31st this year. Our plan is to drive our car to Epcot early in the morning and bus back to our resort a few hours later. We would bus back to Epcot early evening and drive back to our resort later. Does this make sense? We were worried that the parking lot at Epcot would fill up later in the day.

 

[Robo]

Have a great trip!

 

[jvz82]

I've seen many pics like this & expect it to be more crowded than I've ever seen it. But, is it like this all day on 12/30 & 12/31 throughout the park or are these pics from rope drop or after a parade or something?

I've gone on Christmas fairly regularly and only seen the park like this on New Year's Eve. The park was virtually empty from opening until noon, and then looked like that pretty much the rest of the day. I've been there on Christmas Eve and Christmas before and it wasn't too bad, but that was over a decade ago at this point so who knows how it's different now. Last trip we were there on the 22nd and 23rd and it was busy but not unmanageable.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Thank you so much for this post. I am contemplating heading to the parks 12/30 and 12/31. I'll be in FL (along the gulf coast somewhere) and my bucket list includes NYE at MK. Figured I should go this year as I have an AP and I probably won't have one again. Thing is, there are no value rooms available for both nights - I can get into Pop on NYE though for only $200 though. I had thought about staying offsite as I really don't want to pay close to $300/night for a moderate when all I am going to do is sleep there and even then it won't be much sleeping. However, after reading these posts I'm wondering if maybe it is worth the extra $ just for the transportation? Maybe I just go to the parks on NYE and stay somewhere close by on the 30th (this will be a travel day anyway). I know MK shows fireworks on the 30th and 31st.....do any of the other parks have things both nights?