Has anyone been to Disneyland over new years?

[fairykin]

Do they do anything special for new years?

How are the crowds?

I'm interested in hearing experiences of weather, crowds, pros and cons during this time of year.

Wow, does this board addictive or what?!!!

When I'm not here I'm telling my mother or my husband ooohh one of my friends on the disney board said this...

*eek*... i don't check my email as much as i check this board.

Yet in all truthfulness i've learned so much here.

yeah yeah... education.. it's all about education.. not Disneyland.. oh noooooooooooOOOoooooo!

 

[Disneylvrforever]

Omg New Year's is CRAZY!!! I go every year and it's packed. You can barely even walk through MS during the late afternoon. The lines for rides are long and I end up waiting and keeping spots w/ friends for the fireworks. After the regualr Christmas fireworks at 9:25, they have special New Years fireworks when the clock strikes 12. There's a DJ in a few areas and last year, the music was so annoying. I thought the music the year before was bad, listening to bad versions of ppl singing Disney songs, but the songs last year were random and I didn't like it at all except for one song that they played from Grease. lol. Since everyone wants a good spot for fireworks, ppl get really pushy so even though my family and friends wait forever for our territory, gobs of ppl still push their way though and I always complain that I can't see, which is pretty much true. There are hosts besides the DJ and every once in a while, they come out to say hi and bring some characters w/ them.

The weather is cold, typical winter weather, and a couple of years ago, it rained! But at least it stoped for the New Year's fireworks. Last year, it was windy and there almost weren't any fireworks, but then there was and I was so happy! I make sure to have my gloves and scarf and depending on how the weather is during that week, ponchos and an umbrella might be the next thing on the list.

And I'd have to say that the Dis boards ARE addicting. Even if no one posts anything, I'm still here looking and waiting for someone to post something.

 

[JaneJetson]

We went to Disneyland on the New Years Eve (at night) once. We will never do that again. It was insanely packed. You could barely walk. But I think the thing that made in unbearable....were the noisemakers. They handed out noisemakers fairly early in the evening and people were blowing them constantly. They were LOUD. And a lot of the annoying teenagers were blowing them in our ears when we walked by and when we waited in line. It was awful.

 

[fairykin]

Thank You Thank You Thank You Both for Posting!!!

Let me tell You why!

I went ahead and booked our trip for Dec. 28th thru Jan.1st.

So we wouldn't be going to the park on the 1st..that would be the day we fly out.

SOoooooOOooo... we would miss the really crazy New Years Day.

Are the other days okay?

Tell me Tell me Oh Wise and WONDERFUL Disney Friends!

 

[fairykin]

Ooohh re reading everything.

HHmmm... perhaps I want to skip new years eve???

I wanted to go after christmas.. so my mom can see the decorations.

hhmmm.... I may need to change the dates back a couple days to miss the crazy kazoo tooting people...

Mabe 26th through 29th???

The day after christmas???

i don't think that will work...

 

[JaneJetson]

Well, I'm not sure if they still pass out the noisemakers. When we went, it was a few years ago. So maybe someone else will answer that's been in recent years. I think the noise was what really pushed us over the edge.

If you don't mind crowds and if you don't mind if you can't get on any rides without an insanely long line....they you could still go and have a good time.

However, if you plan on taking any small children...I could advise against going on new years eve.

 

[fairykin]

This was some really good advice.

Thank You for it, as we will be traveling with 3 small children and my mother.

hhhmmmmm..... Well... now i need to start looking at early december.

which throws everything out of whack because my husband and i have a anniversary trip planned for nov.

hhmmm...

 

[kimmay]

We went last year from the 26th to the 31st and yes it was very crowded. I'm glad we went though. We had only been during Spring and Summer so I really wanted to go during Winter, at least once. I had heard so much about the Christmas decorations that I wanted to experience it. After reading on these boards about how busy it was going to be - we just expected it. I LOVE that we went, the kids had a great time and it was a perfect trip (except for the blisters on my feet!)

We found that we could get quite a bit done by going in early - normally we are 'sleep in and stay late' kind of people but this trip we got up early every day.

Every day we brought our caps to keep the sun off our faces and at night we used our jackets. It wasn't too hot or too cold except that we didn't do any of the water rides (must have been a bit colder than I remember?)

Have fun!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We went in 2004 from Dec 27 - Jan 1. The first 2 days, it rained like crazy. We just put on our ponchos and trekked on through. By the 30th (which just happened to be my 40th b-day!) it was sunny but still cool. I have a picture of us in DCA that shows a beautiful blue sky but all of us in sweatshirts. On the 31st, they started handing out hats and noisemakers around 8:00 p.m. Also around that time, they started blaring party music throughout the entire park. People started jockeying for position in front of the castle and down Main Street by 9:00 p.m. We found a place to watch the countdown and fireworks and camped out there for at least 2 hours. There was an emcee with Mickey and Minnie on the balcony of the castle. There were news cameras from CNN since Disneyland was one of the many places they showed at midnight. The fireworks were amazing!

After that we said, "OK, been there...done that." We're glad we saw it once but won't make a habit of doing it again. Fun, but insanely crowded!

The best December trip we ever had was the first week of the month (before the kids were in school). The weather was cool but not too cold. The decorations were up. It wasn't crowded at all. That was in 2000. If you have a choice between early and late December, definitely go early if you can.

 

[JaneJetson]

If you can do it....I would probably do early/mid-December...especially since you'll be taking kids. All of the Christmas stuff will be up but the crowds won't be crazy. we went at the end of November/early December last year and it wasn't crowded at all. It did rain though...so pack ponchos or rain coats (and maybe a dry pair of shoes/socks to throw in the lockers for when the rain stops.)

 

[yunique4u]

I've never gone on New Year's before, but you could usually catch a good deal a couple days after. Usually around Jan 3 or 5th or something, that's when the spring-ish deals start. The year before last, I went on the 3rd for 3 days and it was "adults pay the kids price". I was still able to enjoy the christmas things too, including the snow. This year, I think they did a buy 3 days get a day or 2 for free. I don't really remember.

The crowd wasn't bad around that time either. I think because it was a bit rainy the day before. So if you could wait a couple days, i'd look into the deals some more

 

[fairykin]

Thank You Everyone for taking the time to help me.

Sweet Dreams!

 

[canadadisney]

I have, about 10 years ago and I swore I would never do it again. They did give us fancy hats, blowers etc. but the crowds were unbearable. If you have ever been in the Fantasmic area when Fanstasmic is over, that is what it was like everywhere. Even on main street they had CM with the flashing batons directing traffic.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

If I had to be there on New Years Eve, I would get a room that had a fireworks view and watch from the room. (A Concierge room would be even better since they pipe the music in to the lounges for viewing.) Either that or a higher floor Wonder Tower Park View Suite or Dreams Tower Park view room at the DLH. You can actually hear PP's Concierge balcony fireworks music from your room if you open the sliding door. That is the safest option. Go to DCA for the day and go back to the hotel for NYE countdown. Avoid DL if possible. I think someone said they actually pipe in the fireworks music for GCH's DTD view rooms. We've done the Concierge level there for Christmas Eve and it was very nice to see fireworks from the lounge balcony.

If you have to do late December, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are still fun. There's nothing like opening presents under the tree at the Gand Californian Hotel! EarlyMid December is the best though. Feser crowds and all of the fun holiday stuff. Just get your Haunted Mansion FPs early - they "sell out" and have 3 hour lines on a good day!

Nancy

 

[Disney Dreams]

We went to Disneyland once on New Year's Eve.

"It'll be fun! It's Disneyland, it's NYE, it's outdoors, it's free (we had APs at the time), what fun! Let's do it."

The simplest summary I can give is: NEVER AGAIN

You literally could not walk on Main Street. At the end of the night, there are so many people exiting the Park, the trams are not running. They line the route to the parking garage and you WALK there. The special festivities were nice, but they were shared with 100s of 1000s of our newest closest friends who were literally squished up next to us (and others on EVERY side of you) so that you could not move an inch

Did I mention, "NEVER AGAIN"?

But if you are as huge of a Disney lover as I am, maybe you have to do it once, just to know that you will never ever do it again.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

We went to Disneyland once on New Year's Eve.

"It'll be fun! It's Disneyland, it's NYE, it's outdoors, it's free (we had APs at the time), what fun! Let's do it."

The simplest summary I can give is: NEVER AGAIN

You literally could not walk on Main Street. At the end of the night, there are so many people exiting the Park, the trams are not running. They line the route to the parking garage and you WALK there. The special festivities were nice, but they were shared with 100s of 1000s of our newest closest friends who were literally squished up next to us (and others on EVERY side of you) so that you could not move an inch

Did I mention, "NEVER AGAIN"?

But if you are as huge of a Disney lover as I am, maybe you have to do it once, just to know that you will never ever do it again.

I had to laugh because we did it twice, with friends before we had kids.

Squished doesn't quite describe it. You know those tuna in the net at the end of Finding Nemo? "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Yeah, they had more room in that net.... And they we're surrounded by people who had alcohol (pure grain or vodka - take your pick) in their water bottles, either.

That's why I suggest to pay the extra - get a room with a view and watch it from there!

Nancy

 

[fairykin]

This post has helped me make a decision about NOT going over New Years.

Today I am going to look at early December.

I know they have Cast Members parties first week.. but I'm not sure when.

Also does anyone know when It's a Small World Opens? We missed it in Feb. so It's a Must Do this trip!

I appreciate the information given here.. I would have been so disappointed it we had gone and it had been packed with long lines.

 

[JaneJetson]

This post has helped me make a decision about NOT going over New Years.

Today I am going to look at early December.

I know they have Cast Members parties first week.. but I'm not sure when.

Also does anyone know when It's a Small World Opens? We missed it in Feb. so It's a Must Do this trip!

I appreciate the information given here.. I would have been so disappointed it we had gone and it had been packed with long lines.

They are starting to put the hours up for December on the disneyland website. I see that Disneyland closes at 6pm on Monday the 8th and Tuesday the 9th. (Normally they close at 8pm on those days.) So I'm guessing those are the cast parties. DCA stays open until 9pm those days instead of the usual 6pm.

Something else that happens at the beginning of December is the candlelight ceremony (or something like that...I'm not exactly sure what it is.) I think the weekend of that might be busier too but I'm not sure.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We are planning to go for just a day on Jan. 2 to see the Christmas decorations (hopefully they are still up, I think they will be). Does anyone know if the crowds have died down by that date?

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

We are planning to go for just a day on Jan. 2 to see the Christmas decorations (hopefully they are still up, I think they will be). Does anyone know if the crowds have died down by that date?

The crowds really die down on the 1st - everyone stayed up late the night before, so they don't go into the park the next morning. Then, usually,everyone has to be back to work the next day, so it's also a travel day for most. Not sure how it will play out this year with Friday being the 2nd. I imagine more people will be taking the extra day off and staying through the weekend. There are still a lot of industries/professions where they can't though, so it might be anybody's guess.

Nancy