Christmas Day and NYE Help.

[Naughty Pixie]

Hi Guys

I still have around 50 odd days unti I can start booking ADRs but as a family we have been discussing a couple of things.

At first we were planning on taking it easy Christmas morning and heading to Gaylord Palms for Christmas lunch, doing ICE then back to the villa for Christmas TV and goodies.

Now however, my dad has asked if we could do Christmas dinner in the villa and no matter what he wants to see the Christmas Parade and Christmas Wishes in the MK on Christmas Day.

I explained how busy and we may need to get there very early Christmas morning and be there all day. I explained how busy it will be but he really wants to see the parade and Wishes on Christmas Day.

I don't want to disappoint him so, I am now considering Christmas Lunch and trying to be in the MK for around 4pm?

My question is, will this work? Will we be able to access the park around this time?

Also, NYE. Like everyone else we want to be in Epcot. Do all the different countries celebrate NY at their times?

Also will we need to get their for park opening to get access and how long before Illuminations at midnight do we need to get seated around the lagoon?

Thanks

 

[Lisash]

Having done three Christmas and New Years now. I would say you may struggle to get into MK much later than mid morning on Christmas day. Last year was particularly bad. It took us the best part of an hour to just get into the park and that was at 9am. On Xmas day and NYE it is quite common for MK to be closed to further admissions by noon.

If he is intent on going, how about going early and booking your Christmas dinner at the park. Last year we had a turkey christmas lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. It was a great break from the crowds and really delicious

 

[Naughty Pixie]

Thanks Lisa for your help on the MK Christmas Day question. He is just so adamant he wants to be there on Christmas Day to see the parade and Wishes.

I have tried to explain to him but he knows what he wants, i just want to make sure he understands how busy and work the best plan possible for him to achieve it.

Oh the joys of planning at Christmas. Thanks

 

[robinb]

We go to WDW between Christmas and New Year's every year. The parks are jammed packed that time of year. You mention a "villa" so I assume that you are staying off-site. Be aware the the MK parking lot (and the park itself!) will close to off-site visitors by about 10 a.m. every morning. It tends to re-open *after* the parade when people leave.

Here is the operating calendar from last year:
http://hiddenmickeytravel.com/Documents/WDW_Operating_Calendar_Dec.pdf


Christmas:
There is no way around it. If your father wants to see both the parade and the Wishes fireworks on Christmas itself, you will need to get there early and stay until the fireworks. Last year there were two showings of the Christmas Parade: at 12:30 and at 3:30. Wishes was at 9:00 pm. Since you're going to be there all day I would recommend that you get there as early as possible. You need to be able to collect fast passes as early and often. They can be used later in the day (outside the 1 hour window) while you ride the other rides with shorter lines. I guess you could maybe get there early, leave after the Christmas Parade and return to the park for Wishes but you run the risk of not being allowed back into the park and I don't know how re-parking the car would work. I don't know if they allow you to re-park once the parking lot is closed.

New Year's Eve:
We do Epcot for NYE almost every year. Again, you would want to get there as soon as it opens and collect fast passes like crazy. The same rules apply to using the FPs after the hour window. If you want to do any of the World Showcase rides (like in Mexico or Norway) then get there as soon as the WS opens which is at 9:30 am (1.5 hours earlier than usual!). The lines will not back up in the WS until people get hungry for lunch. Each country will celebrate their own NYE according to their local time. We always eat dinner in the WS around 7:00 pm and then wander around (as much as we can) and then find a place for the fireworks around 11:00 pm. If you want to SIT and have a GREAT VIEW you need to stake out your spot much sooner.

One more thing ... the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks at the MK are THE BEST. The circle around you. They show them at midnight on 12/30 also. The downside is staying up late on 12/30 makes it really hard to get up early for 12/31.