DW on New Year's Day Crowds?

[Meets1]

Thinking about a last-minute trip to DW over the New Year's weekend next weekend, with the thought of going to one of the parks on New Years Day (January 1). I checked the crowd calendars and it shows every single day through January 3 as a '10', except for New Years Day, which is a '7'. Any rationale behind that? People stay up too late partying from New Years Eve? It's also a Sunday so it may be a travel back home day for kids getting back to school/adults getting back to work? Or is that nonsense and it will also be crazy busy? Any New Years Day veterans? TIA!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It will be pretty busy. It really depends on your tolerance and what you're used to.

 

[soniam]

I think it will be less busy due to people returning home and people who stayed up too late the night before. It will still be busy, just not as busy as the day before or after.

 

[Accident]

New Years eve is a midnight thing and the parks stay open after midnight. The crowds are so large for it that parks could go into phased closing and often do.. Even if you take off after the fireworks at midnight, you will take 2-3 hours to get back to your room unless you can walk there but first you need to get out of the park to start your walk there and it's as packed as it can be on NYE. Figure most people will not get to bed until 2-3 am at the earliest and they aren't going to make an early morning rope drop since many of them just don't stay up that late and didn't expect it to take 2-3 hours to get back to the room.

Epcot is the drinking the new year in place to be so those participants that decided to include alcohol and lots of it in their evening may not even see a park on sunday but it helps a lot of people just not make it to the parks until the afternoon.

I personally think it's one of the best days to rope drop magic kingdom if you are up to it. Most went in for NYE or the day before as MK does it 2 nights in a row so they aren't looking to do MK again and everyone else is still asleep and being lazy from their after midnight adventure the night before.

It will steadily grow but it'll be that odd 1 day where it's crowded but not ludicrous crowded.

EDITED TO ADD: this is not counting all the other just NYE things disney has to offer. Contemporary, hollywood star wars desert party with nye theme, atlantic dance hall, various restaurants with something special liek a nye watch the fireworks from here theme. there is just a lot of options to be out until the middle of the night and that is what NYE basically is. people just aren't awake or as coherent the next day unless you plan your nye around being able to get out of the resort early.

 

[disdreamer7]

Thinking of doing Hollywood Studios on NYE. Is it more manageable?

 

[mom2rtk]

If I was at Disney over the New Year, I would make every effort to be at one of the parks for rope drop New Year's Day. I have to think a fair number of people stay up late and the early hours would be the most reasonable crowd level you are likely to find for a few days.

 

[carolrie]

New Years eve is a midnight thing and the parks stay open after midnight. The crowds are so large for it that parks could go into phased closing and often do.. Even if you take off after the fireworks at midnight, you will take 2-3 hours to get back to your room unless you can walk there but first you need to get out of the park to start your walk there and it's as packed as it can be on NYE. Figure most people will not get to bed until 2-3 am at the earliest and they aren't going to make an early morning rope drop since many of them just don't stay up that late and didn't expect it to take 2-3 hours to get back to the room.

Epcot is the drinking the new year in place to be so those participants that decided to include alcohol and lots of it in their evening may not even see a park on sunday but it helps a lot of people just not make it to the parks until the afternoon.

I personally think it's one of the best days to rope drop magic kingdom if you are up to it. Most went in for NYE or the day before as MK does it 2 nights in a row so they aren't looking to do MK again and everyone else is still asleep and being lazy from their after midnight adventure the night before.

It will steadily grow but it'll be that odd 1 day where it's crowded but not ludicrous crowded.

EDITED TO ADD: this is not counting all the other just NYE things disney has to offer. Contemporary, hollywood star wars desert party with nye theme, atlantic dance hall, various restaurants with something special liek a nye watch the fireworks from here theme. there is just a lot of options to be out until the middle of the night and that is what NYE basically is. people just aren't awake or as coherent the next day unless you plan your nye around being able to get out of the resort early.

Thank you for this information! It is very helpful. I have a car rented for the week (12/29-1/7) but was thinking of canceling it and using the bus system. Do you think it's better to keep the car due to the crowd and hassle getting back to the resort or will the traffic be just as bad getting out with a car and the bus system?

 

[Accident]

I honestly don't know what to recommend. Best I can offer is it will be messy and kind of already is. buses are being reported in threads saying they are going really slow so. The parking lot has the potential to be full and you don't park anywhere near where you are going and have to transportation it anyway. but the buses are slower so it's a guess which is faster if that's the goal of the car. because I budgeted and planned to have the car, I'd probably still get it but knowing that I might just park it and never use it or rarely use it.

For MK, cars don't really help you speed up things because you don't park at MK, you park at the TTC and still have to get across the lake and back to the ttc later so your going to use transportation unless your walking from contemporary no matter how you got the MK in the first place. I find getting around that lake, with crowds can be longer than just taking the bus in the first place (or boat if you're in a resort that has a boat to mk).

Good luck.

 

[gap2368]

I too am thinking of going for New Years but $700 for a hotel room for 4 night I normally can stay 5 night for $550 or less I think for me it will depend on how much money I get for Christmas this year and if I can find a room at one of the all star. If you go I hope you have a tone of fun,

 

[Geoff_M]

We've done the Reverse Psych NYE strategy at WDW once, and we're doing it again this year. We'll go to AK on NYE because it'll be the least crowded park, after closing we celebrate the new year at our son's apartment and then go to sleep. We'll be at MK for rope drop on New Year's Day. As previously mentioned, most people will be "sleeping it off" on the morning of Jan 1 and last time we did this MK didn't get busy until around lunch time.

 

[lindsey]

We went to EPCOT last year on New year day and had a wonderful day, we were there at rope drop 8 am. It was getting Crowded around 2pm. We left around 3pm. - drove with no problems.