Crowds around New Years with EP?

[Gentry2004]

I’d like to take our kids around New Years for their first time. We’d stay somewhere with unlimited EP. How bad are the crowds/lines with EP?

DH would rather wait and go during a slower time.

Thanks!
(I apologize if I already posted this - if I did I can’t find it!)

 

[skylock]

That is a very busy time of year. EP will certainly help, but there will probably be a longer wait even in the EP line.

 

[only hope]

EP is not quick ride access like fp+ usually is. It’s quicker ride access. During busy times, expect to wait about 1/2 the posted standby wait. Standby waits that time of year for headliners are usually 100+ minutes. Most everything has at least a 30mn wait, if not more. HP rides tend to be 2+ hours. That time of year there are 5-20mn lines just to get to some of the lockers. Food lines are long too. So you’ll still be spending a lot of time in line, which isn’t much fun or a good use of the cost per hour of the tickets. My advice is don’t come anywhere near the parks from 12/21/19-1/5/19, especially since you’ve never been. If you really don’t want to pull the kids out of school, the other breaks will still be busy but not as busy as Christmas. It’s the worst time of the year to go. If the kids are younger and you don’t mind pulling them out, come not near any school breaks or holidays for the lowest crowds.

 

[Disxuni]

May I ask specifically why around New Years?

I ask, because if it's something like fireworks, or something like that, then you could easily enjoy fireworks outside of the park by watching them from a distance within City Walk. Depending on timing you could even try to see if there is a good vantage point without getting into too much traffic to seeing even the Disney fireworks, or other hotel, or theme park fireworks.

Or if it's something like the holiday decorations, I do not know how exactly how long they stay out, but typically they have them out until the end of the week of the New Year, however you might want to do research, or even call to ask specifically when it ends. While it will be busy still, it would be less crowded than going the day of.

If it's because you are wanting to enjoy Universal prior to kids going back to school, perhaps depending on the day they have to return and travel time, to try to plan a Universal prior to needing to be back at school that isn't so close to the New Years.

I'm sure there might be reasons I'm not thinking of, but I ask since it's a question of is there a way to experience it without being 100% there, a way to delay it, but still get what you want, or ask yourself is there a particular reason and are you willing to sacrifice dealing with the crowds for it.

While normally EP will be much less of a wait, but as everyone so far as previously said since it is a high peak day / season, the EP wait times will be more of half the wait time, which might be a good thing to you and might be satisfied with that, but typically people are used to and wanting to have the more desired low wait time, not half the wait time, so it's just a warning, as most people are surprised due what they typically hear about EP, as well as often assume it's like Disney's FP typically which moves swiftly regardless.