NYE transportation?

[Dicentras]

How miserable is transportation on NYE? I know it’s crazy busy, but is it worth spending a ton more DVC points to stay at a walkable resort versus Animal Kingdom lodge? (which we would use the buses for)

Is it annoying and long waits, but if you have the right attitude it’s acceptable?
Or more like “whatever you do, do NOT plan on using a bus on NYE ever” type of situation? Thanks!

 

[Narcoossee11]

The issue with NYE is EVERYONE leaves at the same time .. Midnight.
Walking to your epcot resort, will still be very crowded . At least you are moving forward

If you have to use car or buses, best to find a place to sit for at least an hour. DONT try shopping. It will be WILD

 

[xlsm]

We have done two NYE trips and are going again this year.
On our first we stayed at Kidani Village. I had read EVERYTHING about going at that time of year and I followed vlog/blog/and disboard advice. Apparently so did everyone else because it was pure insanity. We waited for the bus to go to Epcot on NYE for over an hour, and then we got stuck in traffic on the bus for over two hours. Just between Kidani and Epcot. The roads were a parking lot, people were literally turning around in the grassy median of the road. While on the bus, we watched a woman get out of her car and use the bathroom behind a monorail support structure. (yes, seriously)

That trip was a huge learning experience, and the following year we did NYE again but at the Polynesian. We're booked at the Poly for our upcoming NYE trip too.

I would stay somewhere with only bus transportation on NYE again, but ONLY because I now know when not to try to travel where and at what time of day. Getting TO a park midday is normally the issue, getting back to your resort midday isn't that bad. So if you go out at rope drop traffic is pretty normal. It gets bad around noonish and stays that way for several hours.
Based on my experience, I would start being brave enough to venture back to a park around 6pm, because a lot of people leave after the first set of fireworks at Epcot and MK, so it's a little easier then to get somewhere. No matter where you stay, leaving at midnight on any kind of transportation is crazy, so we prefer somewhere with options (bus, boat, monorail, skyliner)

Our new favorite way to celebrate NYE is to go to a park early, and get back to the resort around 3pm, hang around the pool, go to dinner, and watch the fireworks from a resort. So much less stressful in my opinion.

Both of those trip reports are in my signature if you want to check them out and get an idea of what we experienced. After our first NYE I said never again, but then booked again for the following year But once you know what to expect, you can adjust, and our second time was one of our favorite trips ever. Hoping this year is just as awesome.

Have fun!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We've done Poly the last handful of NYE's. Our typical schedule is to go hit Epcot rope drop through 2-4'ish... then back to the resort and stay there for the rest of the night.

I've never actually experienced staying anywhere else, but have been on the monorail peacefully gliding over World Drive witnessing traffic backups that extend further than you can ever imagine heading into both Epcot and MK... and buses are in that mess too. Like terribly epic traffic - enough to make the usually non-discounted rates at Poly totally worth it.

Post-reopening things have been different, including this past year which had the normal NYE fireworks but traffic was NOTHING like pre-COVID from what we witnessed. I suspect that continues to revert back to the norm as time goes on, but this past year felt like a fraction of the normal experience, at least from what we saw.

I do think days like NYE at WDW are totally about your attitude and expectations. It's not a normal day in terms of navigating WDW as a whole, but in many ways that's part of the fun. A flexible attitude and spirit of finding adventure/fun in the chaos can make for a good day, in my humble opinion.

And I do think there's probably a bit of "it's not as bad as what you read on the Internet" when it comes to NYE. It's definitely not all roses and planning efficient transportation options is totally justified, but it's not all chaos either - like with many things reality for many will be somewhere in the middle.

Have fun!

 

[Mrs.AMC]

We do a MK resort on the 30th and Epcot resort on 31st
Always
Both Pre and Post Covid
Above post is right.
Pre-covid we'd meet up with local relatives and their drive in to Epcot took 2 to 3 times a normal day. For departure they'd actually bring chairs and a cooler and "tailgate" in the parking lot for an hour or so, then head home
Traffic post covid was a shell of it's former self. Road traffic that is. When we did our drive from CR to Epcot resort area there was no back up to get in MK where in the past it was backed up to Epcot Center Dr
Walking out has never been bad. We exit IG from Epcot and it's an easy walk back to the resort. Walking back to CR was easy. Getting out of MK is a shuffle but we started hanging back a bit and that helped. This past year we had the 14th floor balcony at CR so we stayed there to watch instead.
I will say do NOT stay at a skyliner resort. The line to board the skyliner following fireworks on the 31st was outrageous. It wrapped all the way around the loop beside the skyliner, along the walkway, down the path past the entrance to BC lobby, nearly to YC, and it was still growing as we walked by to our resort. I have no idea how long it took to get everyone back. It was much slower than buses for sure. I'm guessing they didn't add buses back for that night. They probably should in the future. If they did and that was the line with buses too, yowza

 

[Disneylover99]

We’ve never had bus issues (pre-covid) New Year’s Eve. We’ve never hit traffic. We stay at POFQ and generally head to Epcot late afternoon/early evening.

After the fire works, we relax, people watch, walk around world showcase and head to the buses once the throngs of people are gone.

 

[MrKnight]

IMHO, it is in fact VERY bad on NYE, as stated by pp, the crowd levels are extreme and road traffic is a total nightmare, I would NEVER drive to a WDW park on NYE.. If you can, I strongly recommend staying at a resort within walking distance of the park that you will be spending NYE at.. Another NYE recommendation is to STAY in the park after midnight to allow crowds to die down, for example, Epcot typically stays open until 1am on NYE, if you stay in the park until 1am the crowds will die down significantly..

 

[cjlong88]

We are staying at Yacht Club with park reservations at EPCOT on NYE. We weren't planning on visiting the park until the evening when the festivities begin. Right now I have planned a trip to Disney Springs for brunch at Wine Bar George. Will transportation be crazy going to and from Disney Springs, or will that be mostly normal? We would want to leave the resort around 10am and be back by 2pm.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We are staying at Yacht Club with park reservations at EPCOT on NYE. We weren't planning on visiting the park until the evening when the festivities begin. Right now I have planned a trip to Disney Springs for brunch at Wine Bar George. Will transportation be crazy going to and from Disney Springs, or will that be mostly normal? We would want to leave the resort around 10am and be back by 2pm.

IMO you shouldn’t have much to worry about with your plan/timing. Sounds like a good plan to me. Have fun!

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I stayed off site and went to MK on Dec 31, 2021 to ring in the new year.

Trying to leave the park was an ordeal. And that was even watching from the train station, hoping to be able to exit quickly. Nope.

The debate between monorail vs ferry was a tough one. Ferry couldn’t run until the smoke cleared but monorail was at least 3-4 trains deep. Turns out ferry was faster and I ended up getting to the car at TTC 15 minutes before my family did via monorail.

The upside was that the traffic wasn’t awful anymore when we were leaving because it took so long to get back to the car.

Anyways - I booked Bay Lake Tower this year. Not doing that again…

 

[cjlong88]

IMO you shouldn’t have much to worry about with your plan/timing. Sounds like a good plan to me. Have fun!

Thanks! I was stressing about traffic, but my hope was that it wouldn't get really bad until later in the day.

 

[isabellea]

Are rides usually opened after NYE fireworks at EPCOT? We will stay at ASMo and will have a car. If rides are still opened, we will stay in the park a little before taking the bus. If not, we might drive pre-park opening. Yes we would be stuck in traffic when leaving but at least we will be confortable in our car and the kids can sleep while we are stuck.

Last time we visited for NYE, we celebrated at our resort (POFQ) where we met King Mickey and Minnie at midnight.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Are rides usually opened after NYE fireworks at EPCOT? We will stay at ASMo and will have a car. If rides are still opened, we will stay in the park a little before taking the bus. If not, we might drive pre-park opening. Yes we would be stuck in traffic when leaving but at least we will be confortable in our car and the kids can sleep while we are stuck.

Last time we visited for NYE, we celebrated at our resort (POFQ) where we met King Mickey and Minnie at midnight.

No. Epcot is closed after NYE fireworks for the most part. Just like it's closed after Harmonious each night now. Unless it's EMH night. I guess it's possible they'll make NYE and EMH night but I doubt it. But, they did on July 4, so I'd never say never.

 

[deedubb]

We have only stayed at an EPCOT resort on NYE, and personally, would not even go to EPCOT if I wasn't able to do so. It is pure insanity afterwards. The last time we went was 2019/2020 NYE. Even the Skyliner line was insane and I was so glad we just had a short walk back to BWV.

 

[LauraLap]

Are rides usually opened after NYE fireworks at EPCOT? We will stay at ASMo and will have a car. If rides are still opened, we will stay in the park a little before taking the bus. If not, we might drive pre-park opening. Yes we would be stuck in traffic when leaving but at least we will be confortable in our car and the kids can sleep while we are stuck.

Last time we visited for NYE, we celebrated at our resort (POFQ) where we met King Mickey and Minnie at midnight.

Yes, they actually are opened afterwards. We rode Soarin' a couple times after the fireworks then we headed out. I hope it's the same this year!

 

[MrKnight]

Are rides usually opened after NYE fireworks at EPCOT? We will stay at ASMo and will have a car. If rides are still opened, we will stay in the park a little before taking the bus. If not, we might drive pre-park opening. Yes we would be stuck in traffic when leaving but at least we will be confortable in our car and the kids can sleep while we are stuck.

Last time we visited for NYE, we celebrated at our resort (POFQ) where we met King Mickey and Minnie at midnight.

YES the rides most certainly remain open until the park officially closes at 1am.. A few years ago I got in line for TT at 12:50am on NYE and got to enjoy the ride just after 1am, it was quite a memorable experience!

 

[MrKnight]

No. Epcot is closed after NYE fireworks for the most part. Just like it's closed after Harmonious each night now. Unless it's EMH night. I guess it's possible they'll make NYE and EMH night but I doubt it. But, they did on July 4, so I'd never say never.

This is inaccurate. The published park closing time for Epcot on NYE is 1am, all rides/attractions remain open until the park officially closes at 1am. I can personally attest to this, this is actually a great time to get into queues for popular attractions such as TT, Soarin, FEA, etc.