Christmas and New Year Orlando!!?

[gkjones]

Hi, we are going back to orlando for xmas and new year, we have heard that you have to get into the parks before 11am on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve and stay there the whole day as you cannot get back in once you leave the park. We don't fancy having to stay in one park for that length of time, especially on New years eve as we would be absolutely shattered by midnight!! Does anybody have any suggestions as to which parks to go to on Xmas Eve and New years Eve where we wouldn't have to go till afternoon to be able to enjoy the fireworks. Has anybody been to Celebration town? Would that be an option? We will have our 12 year old son with us.

Karen

North Wales

 

[robinb]

Karen:

Where are you planning to stay? If you're on-site you can easily take a break in the middle of the day and return to the parks later. We do this every year. Just make sure to get to the park of your choice when it opens. The busses will take you back to your resort when you're ready for a rest and back again to the park.

Staying off-site is more problematic since the parking lots close before the parks do. If you left during the day you may not be able to park when you returned.

 

[gkjones]

Hi, We are staying in a villa, but have discussed staying overnight in a disney hotel, maybe dolphin or swan on new years eve or xmas day night. Would we be guaranteed to get in the parks if we were staying in one of these hotels?

Karen

 

[danandjackie]

we are there the same time but are staying at the hilton downtown disney..However were moving out to sea world on christmas day, the mks busiest day..then using the planner and the early entry system to full advantage..we have made all our ps arrangements already and intend to make long slow lunch breaks with nice wine...We have no children though so its easier to plan i guess...Last Christmas in Paris the parks became mush pits on Christmas Day but we were allowed entry even though they declared full because we had restaurant bookings..Not sure if this works in US parks though..Simple plan is to plan plan plan..Ask a CM before you move to another park if that park is open etc..Arrive Early and try to fit in nice food breaks that take you away from the crush..Though personally I prefer the parks busy, they seem to lose atmosphere when empty or out of season, I know its easier for us to say that not having kids. Obvious things as well make sure you have your PArk tickets in advance and try using the dibb dvp planner to get yourself an idea of what you want to do...Dont forget things like the fantasmic dinner package and the candlelight procession dinner package are great value and will save q..ing time..Remember the Fastpass system though brilliant will run out on most rides by lunch time so plan to do all your big rides in the morning ...relax in the afternoon and then do more rides at night as the parks are open later...pics last year http://community.webshots.com/user/danny_jackie page 2

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by gkjones
Hi, We are staying in a villa, but have discussed staying overnight in a disney hotel, maybe dolphin or swan on new years eve or xmas day night. Would we be guaranteed to get in the parks if we were staying in one of these hotels?

Disney hotels, even the Swan/Dolphin are very expensive over the holidays. Unfortunately, discounts that are available to the general public for that time period have already expired . If you are an annual passholder you can still obtain a discount for checkins by 12/25 (http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyresorts.html#ap), so your plan to be at a Disney resort for Christmas day (and maybe even Christmas eve) would work out fine. If you do not have APs, you may want to read this: http://www.mousesavers.com/wdwtixadvice.html#ap and this: http://www.mousesavers.com/annualpass.html . Since you're coming from Wales I assume that you intend to go to the parks for at least 8 days.

Epcot would be my recommendation for New Year's Eve for anyone staying off-site. It's the last park to close and has the largest parking lot. I would recommend that you make a Priority Seating at for dinner at one of the Epcot RESORTS so you can park in their lot when you return from your break. Make sure you have a copy of your Priority Seating number to give to the guard or s/he won't let you in.

FWIW, you are not guaranteed to enter or reenter the parks no matter where you stay. However, it has been my experience over my last 5 Christmas/New Year's trips (including 1999/2000) in Epcot and the Magic Kingdom is that we were allowed to re-enter our original park after our rest/swim. We always stay onsite, though.

Just so you know what you're getting into ... this is what the Magic Kingdom looks like on Christmas or New Year's Eve:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=490243

 

[gkjones]

Thanks for the info everybody! We have now booked into the Hilton at Walt Disney World Resort, for New years eve, if we don't get into Epcot park we will just go downtown disney! Either way just to be out and about on New Years Eve will be fine by us. We have yet to decide where to go on Xmas Eve, we may try and get into MGM or give the parks a miss and go to Celebration Town for a quiet night, have an early night and get up really early on xmas day find somewhere nice to eat for lunch, then try one of the parks for the afternoon and evening. We may even try Seaworld on New Years Eve!!