Disney after Christmas/New Years

[Angel59920]

I'm planning a trip from Dec 27-Jan 2. I know this is the busiest week all year and some might think we are crazy. But I really want to see Disney at Christmas and this is the only time we can with everybody's schedule. What I'm really looking for is some information about what not to miss, what to avoid and what did you wish you would have known before going. With the parks being very crowded what is the best way to get the most out of your day?

 

[LaurenT]

If you are staying on site, MK will open at 7 am every day. Get there no later than 6:20.
Epcot will still open at 9 I think (they never open early for some reason .... Though I haven't been during Christmas week) and AK and DHS will open at 8 am. Always be at the park at least 40 minutes ahead of opening. Do the most popular rides first, then do high capacity attractions, then go to the pool. If you're interested in the nighttime entertainment, get yourself back to the park at least 2 hours before and get a spot, but remember that the crowds will be unbelievable by then. If you go to WDW regularly, you might want to skip the evenings most nights and just go once to see the holiday version.

 

[Angel59920]

We have planned to be at the parks early but are going to breakfast first thing in the morning. Do the parks fill up quick during the morning hours or does that usually happen during the afternoon? Now on New Years Eve we are planning on staying at MK all day, cause I'm afraid that if we leave we won't be able to get back in. Does anybody have a plan for New Years Eve? Something I shouldn't miss that one might not know?

 

[LaurenT]

I don't know about NYE, but the parks will fill up extremely quickly that week. If you go to breakfast first, you will be walking into high crowds. You are much better off scarfing down a granola bar and then having an early lunch.
Early at Dinsey over Christmas means 6:20 am .... By 9 am the crowds will be building.

 

[Alesia]

Do the parks fill up quick during the morning hours or does that usually happen during the afternoon?

Staged closings will be in effect by 9:00 am or so at MK.

I very much recommend eating an on the go breakfast (cereal bars, pastries, etc.) while you're waiting for the park to open and then having a more significant meal later in the morning.

 

[Alesia]

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[Angel59920]

Thanks so much for the information.

 

[Jenna319]

I recommend doing MK on the 30th and Epcot on NYE. We went to MK the evening of The 30Th to see the fantasy in the sky fireworks and felt the crowds were not bad at all. The fireworks are CANT MISS UNBELIEVABLE. Epcot is larger and can handle the bigger crowds. I don't know if your party consists of adults and or children but if it's adults Epcot has an amazing party atmosphere on NYE. Several DJs it was fantastic. I would also recommend staying at a hotel walking distance from MK or Epcot (contemporary, yacht and beach club, boardwalk, or swan and dolphin). Transportation on new years eve is a nightmare. We stayed at beach club on new years a few years back and I almost walked back to my room to go to the bathroom. It was like an hour wait!!! I thought I would die.

 

[Ksquared]

We went from Dec. 26th through Jan. 4th in 2013. For being the busiest time of the year, I thought it was manageable with a little planning.

Here are some suggestions of what we did:

We pretty much made rope drop every morning (aside from NYE - we slept in and made alternate plans). If you really want to make some breakfast reservations, I suggest getting to the parks early, riding a few rides, then eating. At Animal Kingdom we rode, Everest, Dinosaur and that spinning coaster then went to check in for our breakfast reservation at 10:30. We rode safari right after breakfast, did some other stuff, saw Nemo show and then we were done by mid afternoon.

UP until the 30th, I though crowds were manageable. But the crowds on the 30th were huge. We happened to be at Hollywood Studios that day. For HS, I would suggest seeing the first Fantasmic Show. They open up early and you can go in and wait in your seats. They have a dj and try to do some fun things while you wait. Much more relaxing then when we came out and the line to get in for the 2nd show was to the front of the park by the entrance. After Fantasmic we did the Osborne Lights. Only two rides we did at night were TOT and Toy Story. We rode everything else before the Fantasmic show.

We decided to go to Downtown Disney on NYE after some mini golfing. The parks that day were at capacity by 9:30 in the morning and we saw on the news the lines at MK were 5 hour waits. Craziness.

For Magic Kingdom, we went at least 2 days there. I suggest starting in a different area each day - be strategic when making your fast pass reservations.

Make time to look at all the lights, decorations at different resorts etc. It's part of the fun and atmosphere.

 

[cemeb4dk]

While I understand the urge of wanting to go during that time. We went from Dec 28, 2013-Jan 6 2014. Well we could say we did it, but I would never do it again. We are members of DVC so we go pretty often, but to think there are people that save up for a year or two and plan this magical trip and maybe its there first time at the parks, it would be such a waste. Besides being the obvious with the crowds, what shocked us the most was the lines for the bathrooms most had like 10-20 minute waits. Then counter service places were about a 20 minute wait for the food then another 20 minutes to find a seat. So like I said I get the whole wanting to go over the holidays, but if its a first trip or your not able to go often where you don't mind if you miss a few things, I would avoid this time.

 

[hakepb]

With early sunsets and extended hours at AK (open until 9 or 10pm this year) you may have a rare opportunity to experience the best nighttime ride at WDW..EE
Seriously, you must try EE at night!

 

[Skywise]

Did this last year -
- Plan your dining NOW and get your rooms booked if you haven't already so you can be sure you have rooms and that you can make ADRs at 180 days out. You've got a problem with the ADRs and the 180+10 rule - That means people can make dining reservations at 180 days before their reservation for up to 10 days forward! Many people will come in on the 24th and stay through the 2nd. So people starting their stay on Dec.24 can make their reservations at 180 days beforehand and can make ADRs immediately through Jan 2nd! This is why many people can't get BoG dining reservations on their 180 day mark - because people with longer stays a few days before have already snapped up the RSVPs!
Ultimately, my main point is that with all the crowds that week you absolutely want to have your dining planned out as this will alleviate at least that part of stress of the trip!

-Bus traffic WILL be delayed, especially as you get closer to NYE. If you're staying at an MK resort with monorail or boat access, getting to MK or Epcot isn't a problem but getting to DHS or AK can take up to more than an hour to get to your destination.

-MK's NYE fireworks are done on the 30th and the 31st. What some people will do is see the fireworks at MK on the 30th and the Epcot fireworks on NYE. Epcot is a vastly larger park than MK so the crowds are "better" (but it will still be a lot of people). Personally i watched the fireworks inside of MK on the 30th and then from the Polynesian Beach (where we were staying on the 31st). Although it's the same show, the experience is very different - Inside the park you can't see all the fireworks going off at once because they're going off all around you (which is still really cool) but outside the park, especially on the Poly beach, you have a perfect view of all the fireworks park-wide AND they set off a set in the lagoon itself.

I planned out the trip so that we hit MK on our arrival day so we could see the Holiday Fireworks show and castle lighting, spent the next day at Epcot then DHS (With MK at night for the 30th fireworks) and finally AK on the 31st (then back to MK for the 1st).

 

[js]

I'm planning a trip from Dec 27-Jan 2. I know this is the busiest week all year and some might think we are crazy. But I really want to see Disney at Christmas and this is the only time we can with everybody's schedule. What I'm really looking for is some information about what not to miss, what to avoid and what did you wish you would have known before going. With the parks being very crowded what is the best way to get the most out of your day?

We were just there December 26-28 for a pre-cruise stay. We stayed at BLT.
We were up and walking to the MK from BLT by 6:15 am and were at the gates for about 6:25 am.
It was dark, even dark walking down Main Street about 6:50 am. We rode EVERYTHING we wanted and even a few things twice.
I had FPs for later in the evening but we ended up not using them since we made sure we got to the parks and right at the gates
that would open at least 30-45 minutes prior to opening.

If you are asking what you wish you would have known, I will tell you that you should cancel your breakfast ADRs. This is a BIG
waste of your time if you really want to experience the parks and attractions.

Have a great trip!

 

[MOM POPPINS]

We went last year for New Years for the first time! We have been to Disney 30 plus times and this was our first New Years trip. Our kids are getting older and really wanted to try it. I thought I was going to be miserable... but I loved it! We are going back this year for New Years!

 

[Angel59920]

Thanks so much everybody for the great information. We had already booked and planned out our meals and parks, that is if times don't care to much for last year to this year. On New years eve we plan to go at rope drop and stay all day and take it easy. We have already been to Disney before and we aren't in a mad rush to ride all the rides. If we can ride them then that is fine. What we are really there to see is all the christmas stuff.

Can you make breakfast times earlier then the park opens at the parks?

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

Can you make breakfast times earlier then the park opens at the parks?

As far as I know, in-park ADRs are never before 8:00, regardless of when park opens.

 

[Angel59920]

So you think I should schedule my breakfast in the parks a little later then opening, so we can get in and ride some rides first then go to breakfast. We are having breakfast at Ohana's and 1900 Park fare what is the earliest time they open? I'm just trying to make the most of my day.

 

[Disneylover99]

So you think I should schedule my breakfast in the parks a little later then opening, so we can get in and ride some rides first then go to breakfast. We are having breakfast at Ohana's and 1900 Park fare what is the earliest time they open? I'm just trying to make the most of my day.

The MK will probably open at 7am all that week. But since rides are not your number one priority, you should just book your breakfast whenever you want. You'll still have your 3 fp's to use.

Or, if you decide rides are important, book a 10:30 am breakfast and be at MK by 7am. Schedule your fp's for early afternoon or later in the evening.

 

[Angel59920]

Are all the parks really busy during this time of year or is MK the only one to worry about. We didn't plan a breakfast on MK days so we could hit the park early and just grab something alone the way. We do have one whole day in Epcot so I might want to change around my breakfast time that day and do the couple of rides as soon as the park opens then go and have breakfast.

 

[Disneylover99]

Are all the parks really busy during this time of year or is MK the only one to worry about. We didn't plan a breakfast on MK days so we could hit the park early and just grab something alone the way. We do have one whole day in Epcot so I might want to change around my breakfast time that day and do the couple of rides as soon as the park opens then go and have breakfast.

In terms of riding anything.....all parks are busy.