Going For New Years...and have questions!

[Chip_N_Dale]

Hi everyone...

My family and I are leaving for Disney World 2 days after Christmas. We'll be staying there till after New Years. I've heard that this is the worst time of the year to go. Is it true that the parks are horrible and you may not even be able to stay with your family because it is so crowded? We're going with a party of 6 and I'd like it if we could keep track of everyone. So if anyone could help with letting me know what the expect that would be great

Thanks,
T.D.

 

[AJKMOM]

Tha parks are incredibly crowded the days right before Christmas, up until Jan. 2 or 3. I have heard that the people are wall-to-wall, especially at the Magic Kingdom. Post after post here at the DIS tells stories about 3 to 4 hour waits for major attractions, and lines even on the less populat ones.

Only story I can tell from experience is that we were there on Dec. 23- a Friday- last year, and it was awful. It made me wonder why anyone would subject themselves to that torture. However, I have also read there are strategies, including arrivng early, using FastPass, and taking advantage of the Extra Magic Hours if you are an onsite visitor.

A plus is that the decorations are beautiful everywhere, it is a sight to see!

 

[LauraAnn630]

We are only planing to do 4 things in each park and the parades.

Anything else is a bonus! We been to Disney several times. We are going at Christmas to see the decorations, holiday parades, Santas around the world and shop!

We plan to take it real easy, as far as rides go. This way we are not let down.

Other plans....

5 day passes to US and IoA
day trip to Clearwater Beach (hope the weathers better than good)
nite trip to Downtown Disney
nite trip to Citywalk (margaritaville)
outlet shopping

 

[Colson39]

Here is my post from a thread a few weeks ago concerning New Years Eve (you also might want to search the forums, I've seen quite a few New Years Eve threads, you can probably find quite a bit of information....


"I suggest perhaps taking a look at Epcot. Fiance and I went there last New Years Eve (2005), not knowing what to expect. I am a long time Disney veteran, and have been pretty much every time of the year but had never been on New Years Eve.

It was a BLAST! I thought perhaps they would just kind of do it up a little, but they went all out. There were different dance stages in each country, each one playing different music, from rock, to pop, to techno, to salsa, they had music for all kinds. It was definitely full of people, but not so much that you were contstanly running into people. Plus, unlike in MK, you are free to partake in the "drinks" of your choice!

I was so impressed that we will definitely be going back again, that is one of the most fun New Years Eve's I've ever had, I mean the place was just a big massive party, and they had TWO fireworks shows for New Years, one at 9 PM and the other at 11:50 with the countdown!"

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

We have been for Christmas and New Year's before, and we are going again for 2007. Its a blast. We had so much fun. Yes, it was crowded, but I loved the New Years Eve countdown with fireworks. It was so magical. We go on all of our favorite rides, watch parades, and look at all the decorations in all the hotels. We shop and walk around taking it all in. We don't go crazy running from one thing to the next, we never do no matter when we go.

Its actually my favorite time to go because that is when my kids went for the first time when they were small.

 

[LauraAnn630]

THATS what I wanted to hear! Im so excited! Glad to hear some people had a good holiday at the parks. Ive been reading a lot about the crowds. We usually go in June, its crowded then.

Cant believe its already Thanksgiving week!

 

[schoen]

We went in 1999 for the year 2000 celebration. We went to Epcot because we figured that was the biggest park. We got to the International Gateway right at park opening. We waited about an hour to even get into the park. We were waiting as far back as the Yatch Club! Once we got in the park it was very crowded, but I think we did a few rides and saw some attractions. We had dinner reservations and lunch reservations, and that took up some time. The decorations were amazing. We had to stake out a spot for the fireworks at about 6:00 pm because viewing areas around the lake were filling up, and that was for an okay spot. The excellent spots were long gone by the time we got into the park. We layed out a blanket (as many had done) and just stayed there playing cards and taking turns touring. We were with a group of eight, and we randomly met up with one of our good friends, who we knew would be there, but we never dreamed we would see.

There were a lot of CMs managing crowd control. It was busy, but we expected it, and so it was not so bad. It is not really the day to go and enjoy the park, but it is a good day to enjoy people watching, catching a few attractions, and enjoying time with your family. I am not sure if it was worse for the millenium celebration or not, but that was my New Years experience.

 

[disnut8]

We were there two years ago arriving a couple of days before Christmas and staying until January 2. We were joined by my son and his family and my in-laws. Even though we had a six year old, we avoided Magic Kingdom. Everything else was very easy for us using different strategies like Fast Passes and breaks. Definitely expect to park hop. For New Year's Eve, we went to Animal Kingdom (6 people) around noon and stayed almost until the close at 5:00. We didn't have a problem keeping together. My son and his family and my mother-in-law then left to finish some things at MGM and reluctantly met us at 8:00. They said it was a blast there and they wanted to stay until midnight. My son said he didn't think the crowds were bad and my daughter-in-law hates crowds. Hope that helps.