What Christmas stuff will be left and nye ?s

[SassyCat]

Hi, we just scheduled a very last minute trip - Dec 30- jan 2. Hubby shocked me wanting to use his last vacation days this year at disney! I'm used to planning trips for months, so I'm freaking out!lol...anyway,we have gone the first week of jan several times and they have always already been taking down the Xmas stuff or it is completely gone then. Arriving on dec 30. - what christmas stuff will be going on? Will the gf gingerbread house be gone? Park decorations? What about Christmas snacks? Also, we were there for nye/ny several years ago, but we didn't go to a disney park on nye. We also just went to the celebration in the gf lobby and didn't see the fireworks. We now have a 14 month old, and he will most likely be up at midnight (he isnt t a fan of sleep). Definitely don't want to be inside a park at night on New Year's Eve, but we would love to see the fireworks. We are staying at carribbean beach. Is there any spot besides the MK resort beaches you can spot the fireworks? I know all parks will be incredibly crowded from early on on nye, but how bad are they at rope drop? How bad is dhs all day/night? I thought we might go to a park for a couple of hours at rope drop on nye, and then spend the rest of the day at disney springs - either have dinner there or at a resort. Can y'all think of any other non park things that would be fun for a 14 month old?

 

[siskaren]

Nothing's going to be gone before Jan 1; in fact I would assume nothing would be gone before Jan 3 since that's the last day of the weekend.

 

[5Hfan]

The gingerbread and Christmas decorations will still be up through New Years. If you can be up and at rope drop early, it is still valuable. But if you intend to but then are running late etc forget it, the parks will be packed by 10 am (maybe not morning of Jan 1?)

I think you can see the fireworks from the observation deck at the Contemporary (the lower one, not CA Grill), imagine it will be packed and don't know if there is sound piped in anymore?

If it isn't too cold, maybe the campfire with Chip and Dale at Ft Wilderness?

 

[SassyCat]

Great! Thank, y'all! I'm so excited to see the gingerbread house! The chip and dale thing sounds like fun! Hopefully the temps won't be too extreme.

 

[BarbieGal457]

We were at MK last NYE and not to scare you but we were on our bus to MK by 8-815am. Our driver took a back route and showed us the traffic along the highway, including other Disney buses, trying to get into MK and said that it was already 5-6 hours of traffic. If that was true, I'm not sure but it sure seemed it because it was just endless car gridlock. I honestly think you need to get to at least MK as soon as humanly possible. I think we got very lucky our driver took the back way. Once at MK we breezed right through bag check and the turnstiles and were in the park by about 8:35-8:40. I agree that if you are running even a little late, forget MK because you'll be in traffic forever, from what it looked like. I've heard DHS is a park on NYE that rarely if ever closes to capacity and has more room to move about that MK or Epcot in places like World Showcase. I have never been to DHS on NYE so hopefully someone can chime in with experience!

When we went they still had a ton of Christmas merchandise! We visited the gingerbread houses on Jan. 1st and they were great! Very fun to see. If you plan to drive to Grand Floridian, last year it was valet only and cost us $20. We were staying elsewhere in FL and checked out that morning, so we drove over before heading back south. The decorations at the Beach Club and the Swan were also very impressive!

I've also gone twice in the first full week of January following Christmas and they still had plenty of park decor up and merchandise for sale. I would definitely pack in layers though, because our weather forecast said something like 72 and sunny and it was really 66, misty, damp and sometimes rainy! It was so uncomfortable without a jacket - dumb me left it at the hotel and ignored my gut instinct.

I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[SassyCat]

Thank you for all the info, Barbiegal457! Yeah, definitely don't plan on going to MK at all on nye. I was thinking either ak or dhs. I hope jan 1 won't be as bad because that was when I was able to get lo an appt at harmony barber shop for his first haircut. Luckily it is for earlier in the day - 10:30. We went to MK on New Year's Day in 2008, and it was very crowded but still manageable (although at one point my hubs freaked out and sat in the corner of the lobby at CRT haha). You never know what the first week of jan is going to be like temp wise. We have been during that time 4 times - 3 out of 4 were freezing (30s) and one was hot (late 80s). That is great advice about layers!I'm thinking on nye, go to either am or dhs for a couple of hours, then look at resort decor, and then disney springs. Maybe gave dinner at trails end and try to go to the chip and dale campfire thing.

 

[kayteekt]

All the Christmas stuff will still be up through new years for sure, possibly a good bit after top. About 5 years ago we went the 2nd week of Jan and everything was still up.

 

[5Hfan]

my concern about HS would be it will have bigger NYE crowds this year with the Osbourne Lights ending...

 

[robinb]

Everything Christmas will still be in place for your entire trip. Go to the MK on the 30th for the NYE fireworks and then to Epcot or DHS on 12/31. DHS should be really nice now that the BAH is gone. Rope drop is really great that time of year and you'll get a lot done. I would schedule FPs for later in the day and schedule in a break for everyone mid-day. Try to get a dinner in the park of your choice to NYE. You will need to break from the crowds.