DisneyKidds
<font color=green>The TF thanks DisneyKidds for mo
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2001
- Messages
- 4,731
My apologies to anyone who has already read this account in another thread, but I didn't want the information get lost and I wanted it to be easily searchable for people considering a NYE visit in the future. Also, this is just one family's account and lots of other people surely had lots of other experiences. Even for us there were a few crazy annoying moments, but here goes.....
In our experience, for a very crowded park on the biggest holiday (celebration and crowd wise) of the year it wasn't bad at all. Notice I didn't say wasn't THAT bad, implying an acceptable level of badness. No, for us it wasn't bad at all. It was downright enjoyable and fun.
Now we didn't go for the rides. Frankly, IMHO anyone who goes on NYE for the rides is a little bit foolish because even the most simple research or planning would tell anyone that the rides will be bad. No, we went for the very thing people want to know about, the crowds. The people, the atmosphere, the entertainment, the crazy.....that's what you have to embrace.
So how did our evening go, and how were the crowds for us? Well, we arrived at the International Gateway at about 5pm. No problem, no wait getting in. As we hit the promenade things are moving. The Fish and Chips line is longer than I've ever seen, but we ate at Beaches and Cream before we hit the park (planning), so that didn't bother us. Time to start getting my NYE on, and there is no line to grab a couple of draughts outside the UK pavilion. Things are looking ok, despite our trepidation. Then we hit a Canada fiasco, where a confluence of masses moving in both direction, a natural bottle neck, Lumberjacks, chanting and tempers make things downright unpleasant as it takes 15 minutes to move 200 feet, and panic sets in that THAT is what the night is going to be like. Fortunately, that snapshot proved not to foretell things to come.
We had FP+ for Mission Space good until 5:30 that we could have used, but as we've done it plenty of times we skipped it in favor of getting our FP+ (planning) spot for the 6pm Illuminations. We entered the area at 5:20 and got the best primo spot right at the front. No jostling, no crowds, just pleasant discussion with the cast members and lovely guests around us. I will say we were right next to the rope between the FP and non FP section, the non FP section being crowded with people who had probably been there for 3 hours or more, people trying to jump the rope into the FP area and being rebuffed by the cast members. Remember, it is crowded after all. However, we thoroughly enjoy our non-crowded perfect view of Illuminations. Once Illuminations was done the ropes dropped, and masses of people flooded in to claim spots, at 6:15 mind you, for the midnight Illuminations. Not for us, thankyouverymuch.
We head off to use our Spaceship Earth FP+. Yes, crowds and traffic flow are interesting, but we navigate through with little trouble. We hit the bathroom outside of Spaceship Earth with only a short line for the ladies. Finished with our ride it is time to head to Fantasia 2014 (planning) for dinner (will post separate review of that). We spend from 8:00 to 10:00 out of the crowds, eating decent food, with easy access to booze that surprisingly wasn't overpriced.
So, sheltered from the sea of humanity for a couple of hours, with midnight approaching, we nervously make our way to the promenade. The self imposed mission is to make it around the World Showcase once, and ring the New Year in around Canada. Expecting throngs to make it nearly impossible to walk....we set forth.
A short stroll and we hear the DJ in the UK. We make our way in at about 10:15. Crowded? I suppose. Shoulder to shoulder? Not while we were there. We stood in a nice spot along the building, plenty of space. After enjoying the DJ there for a bit we had to continue our mission.
Things were moving surprisingly well as we headed over the bridge to France, past Morocco, to our next stop to observe the silent DJ party at Japan. Very interesting to watch for a few minutes, and we moved on. Very Latin flair at the American Gardens Theatre and we were able to easily move past after observing for a few minutes. On to Italy!
Ok, it's packed in by the DJ, but you can still move......and if you are in there it's because you want to be, to feed off of the crowd, the loud music, the pulsing lights and smoke/laser show. Very cool scene, and after a bit of jumping and dancing we continue the mission.
No problem moving on to China, where the next rave is in full swing. You could easily pass by on the promenade if you wanted, but we dive in. With bass to thump you to the core, great lights, shooting fire and a dragon breathing smoke over a true mosh pit, it's truly shoulder to shoulder insanity of the best kind, with people being passed over the top of the crowd. My daughter was throughly impressed by the DJ and his "drops", as I pretended to know what the heck she is talking about.
Very cool scene, but it's 11:30 and we need to get to Canada. Once again we can move fairly easily around the promenade, and we arrive by Canada at 11:40. Worried about finding a spot for the fireworks we notice that, despite tape clearly indicating that it is an available viewing area, people have not claimed the "curb" space in front of the steps in Canada. We grab a "front row" seat for an incredible Illuminations show to ring in the New Year. Incredible show, just incredible.
After the show we wait about 15 minutes for the crowds to disperse and we make our way back around the World Showcase the long way, with stops in China and Italy for some more dancing a revelry. We exited the park about 1am, dealt with a little traffic on the way back, but were safely back at the GF by 2am.
All in all it was a great night, and much less crowded/aggravating than I expected it to be. Notice the number of times I pointed out planning? If you plan ahead you can have a great experience. You also have to be willing to embrace the crowds and the insanity. All things considered, it was a great way to celebrate New Years Eve.
In our experience, for a very crowded park on the biggest holiday (celebration and crowd wise) of the year it wasn't bad at all. Notice I didn't say wasn't THAT bad, implying an acceptable level of badness. No, for us it wasn't bad at all. It was downright enjoyable and fun.
Now we didn't go for the rides. Frankly, IMHO anyone who goes on NYE for the rides is a little bit foolish because even the most simple research or planning would tell anyone that the rides will be bad. No, we went for the very thing people want to know about, the crowds. The people, the atmosphere, the entertainment, the crazy.....that's what you have to embrace.
So how did our evening go, and how were the crowds for us? Well, we arrived at the International Gateway at about 5pm. No problem, no wait getting in. As we hit the promenade things are moving. The Fish and Chips line is longer than I've ever seen, but we ate at Beaches and Cream before we hit the park (planning), so that didn't bother us. Time to start getting my NYE on, and there is no line to grab a couple of draughts outside the UK pavilion. Things are looking ok, despite our trepidation. Then we hit a Canada fiasco, where a confluence of masses moving in both direction, a natural bottle neck, Lumberjacks, chanting and tempers make things downright unpleasant as it takes 15 minutes to move 200 feet, and panic sets in that THAT is what the night is going to be like. Fortunately, that snapshot proved not to foretell things to come.
We had FP+ for Mission Space good until 5:30 that we could have used, but as we've done it plenty of times we skipped it in favor of getting our FP+ (planning) spot for the 6pm Illuminations. We entered the area at 5:20 and got the best primo spot right at the front. No jostling, no crowds, just pleasant discussion with the cast members and lovely guests around us. I will say we were right next to the rope between the FP and non FP section, the non FP section being crowded with people who had probably been there for 3 hours or more, people trying to jump the rope into the FP area and being rebuffed by the cast members. Remember, it is crowded after all. However, we thoroughly enjoy our non-crowded perfect view of Illuminations. Once Illuminations was done the ropes dropped, and masses of people flooded in to claim spots, at 6:15 mind you, for the midnight Illuminations. Not for us, thankyouverymuch.
We head off to use our Spaceship Earth FP+. Yes, crowds and traffic flow are interesting, but we navigate through with little trouble. We hit the bathroom outside of Spaceship Earth with only a short line for the ladies. Finished with our ride it is time to head to Fantasia 2014 (planning) for dinner (will post separate review of that). We spend from 8:00 to 10:00 out of the crowds, eating decent food, with easy access to booze that surprisingly wasn't overpriced.
So, sheltered from the sea of humanity for a couple of hours, with midnight approaching, we nervously make our way to the promenade. The self imposed mission is to make it around the World Showcase once, and ring the New Year in around Canada. Expecting throngs to make it nearly impossible to walk....we set forth.
A short stroll and we hear the DJ in the UK. We make our way in at about 10:15. Crowded? I suppose. Shoulder to shoulder? Not while we were there. We stood in a nice spot along the building, plenty of space. After enjoying the DJ there for a bit we had to continue our mission.
Things were moving surprisingly well as we headed over the bridge to France, past Morocco, to our next stop to observe the silent DJ party at Japan. Very interesting to watch for a few minutes, and we moved on. Very Latin flair at the American Gardens Theatre and we were able to easily move past after observing for a few minutes. On to Italy!
Ok, it's packed in by the DJ, but you can still move......and if you are in there it's because you want to be, to feed off of the crowd, the loud music, the pulsing lights and smoke/laser show. Very cool scene, and after a bit of jumping and dancing we continue the mission.
No problem moving on to China, where the next rave is in full swing. You could easily pass by on the promenade if you wanted, but we dive in. With bass to thump you to the core, great lights, shooting fire and a dragon breathing smoke over a true mosh pit, it's truly shoulder to shoulder insanity of the best kind, with people being passed over the top of the crowd. My daughter was throughly impressed by the DJ and his "drops", as I pretended to know what the heck she is talking about.
Very cool scene, but it's 11:30 and we need to get to Canada. Once again we can move fairly easily around the promenade, and we arrive by Canada at 11:40. Worried about finding a spot for the fireworks we notice that, despite tape clearly indicating that it is an available viewing area, people have not claimed the "curb" space in front of the steps in Canada. We grab a "front row" seat for an incredible Illuminations show to ring in the New Year. Incredible show, just incredible.
After the show we wait about 15 minutes for the crowds to disperse and we make our way back around the World Showcase the long way, with stops in China and Italy for some more dancing a revelry. We exited the park about 1am, dealt with a little traffic on the way back, but were safely back at the GF by 2am.
All in all it was a great night, and much less crowded/aggravating than I expected it to be. Notice the number of times I pointed out planning? If you plan ahead you can have a great experience. You also have to be willing to embrace the crowds and the insanity. All things considered, it was a great way to celebrate New Years Eve.
