AK on NYE?

[mousefansmom]

I have seen plenty of posts regarding crowds at the other parks on New Year's Eve, but not on Animal Kingdom. Do people avoid it because it closes so early? Anybody tried it? We are thinking of going there and then will see if we could get into another park afterwards. If not, we will have a back-up plan. What do you think?
Mousefansmom

 

[ppiew]

AK is not open in the evening. At dark all the animals 'come in' for the night to their holding areas. Sorry!

 

[Jackie H.]

This is our first NYE trip, so I am NOT an expert. AK does close early (isn't it 5pm?). From my understanding, that may be too late to get into another park.

You would be taking a chance, I think. I am sure someone here has tried it, however and hopefully they will post.

 

[ppiew]

The other parks ARE open late NYE. We went to EPCOT once and it was a ZOO!!!! I have NEVER seen so many people in my life!! The other three parks are open until 1AM and the AK closes at 6PM. Plenty of time to visit any other park. The MK, Studio, and EPCOT all have parades and fireworks etc.

 

[hammertime]

It was my understanding from a previous thread that if we were resort guests. We would get into a park even if it wasn't the park of our choice for NYE. So the AK in the AM sounds like a good idea to me. I'll be there that week.

 

[Jackie H.]

Yes, with AK closing at 6pm, that would leave "plenty of time" to tour another park....but NOT on NYE! It is my understanding that 6pm will be too late to enter MK and EPCOT ...maybe even MGM due to the enormous crowds.

As far as being a guest, that guarantees you entrance to 'a park' on any 'one day'. It may not be the park you wish to enter. And having already been to AK that day would probably satisfy Disney's obligation to you.

I read on these boards once (posted by a WDW bus driver - sorry name escapes me now) that there is a progression of closings that occur when the parks start getting really full. I may have this wrong - I wish he would read this thread and post!

Seems like the first step was closing the parking lot; next came closing the park to off-site guests and finally closing that park to anyone new coming in.

Think about it this way: if MK is full, it doesn't matter if you are staying at the Contemporary, unless someone leaves there won't be room for you.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

My recommendation for New Years Eve... Pick whatever park you wish to spend New Years Eve at, get there in the morning, and STAY there.

Typically speaking, Magic Kingdom will be the first to fill up. Then Epcot. The Disney-MGM Studios might hit capacity, but it usually just comes close.

When a park nears capacity, there are various levels of closing.

First step is to close the parking lot (this usually occurs only at the Magic Kingdom/TTC). Guests are then re-routed to park at Epcot, and to take the Monorail to the TTC, then to the MK.

Second step is to close off ticket sales. You must have already purchased a ticket to enter the park. No new ticket sales for today.

Third step is to close the park to day guests. Only Disney Resort Guests will be allowed into the park. This is the most common stage.

The final step is to close off the park to EVERYONE. This means the park is FULL.

A few things to note...

It's not a one-for-one thing. So, if 5 people leave, you still may not enter.

Once you leave... you are not guaranteed re-entry. So, don't forget anything in the car -- you might not be able to get back in.

"Capacity" is not a set number. Rather, it is a decision based on many different factors, made by the parks highest management team.

 

[Jackie H.]

Thanks, Tyler for posting! And thank you for taking the time to help out all us deliously happy folks heading down your way!

 

[sbgrace]

We were in the Magic Kingdom on New Years Eve 2 years ago--It was an absolute zoo! Rumor was it closed to all by 11am. There was gridlock (literally--we could not move) around the castle by 11 pm. It was an interesting experience, but one I feel no pressing need to repeat.

I thought if I were ever back in WDW over New Years that I would spend the day at Animal Kingdom because it would probably not be overly crowded, then have a leisurely late dinner at one of the resort restaurants and welcome in the New Year on the Boardwalk. If you don't have your heart set on being physically in a park at midnight, maybe something similar would work for you.

Otherwise, I agree with everyone else--pick where you want to be, get there early, and plan on staying. Have a great time whatever you do!
Chris

 

[Geoff_M]

If you want to party with Mickey at midnight, AK is not the way to go. If you want a park to relax in and enjoy while others are looking for elbow room in the other parks, then AK is just the ticket on NYE.

We were going to do Epcot on NYE last year... and then we said "Are we nuts!?!?!" We had kids from ages 11 to 3 and then thought of keeping them happy until 1 AM or so and then getting up after a few hours of sleep on Jan 1 and doing another park was a very bad idea. So we opted to go to MGM at opening on Dec 31 and then flee to AK when MGM got too crowded for our tastes. We ended up spending around 3 hours at MGM and did everyone in the family's favorite rides. We went to AK and the crowds were very very light. (We asked a CM on the way into AK, and she said they'd totally closed MK around 11 AM that day.) The longest wait was about 10 minutes walk-on for KS. It was great! The park closed at 6 PM, but the last Festival of the Lion King show started around 5:45 PM. The bleachers in the ampitheater were only about 2/3 full. Then the show was over, the Lion King "crowd" had the parks to themselves. We had a leisurely walk out of the park, and the Christmas decorations were in full blaze.

It was about 7 PM when we got back to our car. The NYE monsoon started as we were pulling out. We went back to our hotel (HIFS), ate supper, and went to bed before midnight... as the rains continued to pound outside. We awoke to a bright and sunny January 1st, moved to the Poly, and hit the MK for EE. The crowds there were pretty light until the NYE crowd finally woke up and headed to the parks late.

If we had a room in the Epcot-MGM resort corridor, we might entertain doing NYE at one of those parks... but that's about the only way I'd do it.

 

[mousefansmom]

Thanks for all of the replies-

Since our kids are 2 & 7, I don't think we'll make midnight anyway. AK might be perfect- we could do another park if it were open, until 10 or so, but we aren't stuck on that, so whatever happens, happens!

So AK, here we come!

mousefansmom

 

[Lollipop Mom]

this is great to know! We have 2 small kids as well and were thinking it may be best to just do a non-park day on NYE but maybe we'll try to hit AK that day as well! That would free up another day to hit the other parks too.