Have parks ever closed to resort guests on NYE?

[nanalisa]

We arrive at AOA on Jan. 31 around noon. We were thinking of not going to the parks until around 7:00 on NYE. Do you think we will still be able to get in? Or should we just choose a park, go in around 1:00pm and hunker down till midnight? I don't like to hunker down. I feel trapped.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think MK has closed to resort guests in quite some time. NYE is nuts though so I personally wouldn't want to risk it. We usually go to EPCOT and arrive mid afternoon with no issues. MK would be more likely to close to resort guests than EPCOT, but again I'm not sure MK has reached that closure in a while.

We usually ride quite a few EPCOT rides on NYE during the late afternoon through the evening and make a good ADR so we don't really feel hunkered down. And there's more space to spread out in EPCOT (wider walkways, corners in the countries to get away).

 

[minnie mum]

It depends on which park you're talking about. MK will have some level of closure, most likely. The others are less likely.

Here's a discussion about capacity closings from touringplans: http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/capacity-closures

 

[kaybird]

If you are a resort guest, you will get in one of the parks. MK and Epcot are usually the first to close for crowds, different levels depending on the amount of people.

 

[Alesia]

If you are a resort guest, you will get in one of the parks. MK and Epcot are usually the first to close for crowds, different levels depending on the amount of people.

The last time Epcot was at a stage 4 closure was January 31st, 1999. DHS is much more likely to close than Epcot.

 

[FamilyGuy]

Just to clarify, we are referring to Dec 31st in each of the respective posts, correct?

 

[Grumpy247365]

I would hunker down in a park all afternoon/evening. NYE is one of the busiest days @ Disney. Good luck.

 

[mitchwebb]

I actually like to not spend the whole day at a park, we're getting old. We like to make a sit down dinner reservation around 6-7pm see Illumination. Do our three FP+ and walk around and take in the music and
have a few drinks. End the evening watching the fireworks on the bridge by France and leaving out the international gateway.

 

[yulilin3]

Like a PP said MK and DHS will be the first to have some sort of closure. Epcot is extremely unlikely. I have gone to Epcot every NYE for the past 6 years around 6pm and had no problems entering the park.

 

[Alesia]

Just to clarify, we are referring to Dec 31st in each of the respective posts, correct?

I can't speak for everyone, but it seems like it. Is there a reason you think they might not be?

 

[ssour]

I can't speak for everyone, but it seems like it. Is there a reason you think they might not be?

OP said Jan 31 in their original post

 

[philharmagic fan]

The last time Epcot was at a stage 4 closure was January 31st, 1999. DHS is much more likely to close than Epcot.

A few years ago we arrived at WDW on 12/31 and entered the Studios at about 5:30pm. We were amazed at how (relatively) light the crowds were; the following two years we went to MK and EPCOT and it was an absolute zoo at both; you could hardly get through some areas. I'd definitely recommend the studios if you plan to arrive early evening.

 

[kayteekt]

We were there NYE 2013. We had planned an AK day bc i knew it would be crowded. MK did close even to resort guests, i can't remember what time but we were getting on a bus and some dance parents were beside us flipping out bc their children were already in MK for a parade or something and now they wouldn't be allowed in to meet up with them. By the end of the day only AK wasn't on some level of closure.

 

[4EverFigment]

We were at the Studios NYE 2005/6 and it closed for capacity by 6 pm. The crowds, noise and commotion were beyond bearable. We left! I have never heard of Ep/WS closing before (I haven't seen the data) but I have heard of MK close for capacity days being nightmareish.

 

[BarbieGal457]

If you don't like to feel trapped in the sense of tons of people in one area, NYE might not be for you. I was at MK last year for NYE and we were on the bus by 8am. Our driver told us to look out the windows and the buses and cars we saw? They were already in 5-6 hours of traffic trying to get in MK. He took some back way and we made it there very quickly, but it was absolute gridlock for miles on the roads in from what we could see. It took over an hour to get from Liberty Sq to Tony's on Main St starting at about 730pm. Because we never left the park I am not sure what crowds looked like trying to get in, but it couldn't have been anything pleasant. I would guess if you were able to enter MK around 7, you probably would be stuck totally on Main St or fighting your way around the crowds for over an hour, like we were, to get anywhere else. We couldn't even successfully walk through the shops as a cut-through because they were so mobbed.

If you don't like to feel trapped in terms of staying in one spot in a park, that's different. Everytime we saw crowds we turned and went the other way so we ended up doing a lot, and the only times huge crowds truly affected us was at night near Main St. It was honestly so crowded I had a panic attack once we got out of the situation and to the restaurant. Yes, stupid me made an ADR for 8:30p at Tony's on Main St on NYE, but it was the only thing we could find for days so I had to do it.

Depending on what park you want to go to, I'm not even sure what the traffic situation might look like, let alone the front gate by later in the day. We were told it had closed twice that day but I have no idea at what levels the closures were. This is just my perspective from inside the park on NYE since as I said we never left....I just can't imagine that at 7pm or so it would've been anywhere near easy to enter MK. We took the railroad and there were just gobs of people at the gates.

 

[supersnoop]

To quote http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/capacity-closures: "the only Phase 4 Closure in the past 5 years has been Magic Kingdom on April 7, 2009."
And they've added capacity for about 20,000 more people since then. It looks like they've hit Phase 3 frequently, but only reached Phase 2 last year.

 

[CSchex]

We were there on New Year's Eve in 2009. The Magic Kingdom did in fact close to resort guests. At the time of our arrival (3 pm) they were in Stage 3, we got in. My sisters and my parents arrived closer to 6 pm. They did not get in. They were told they could wait it out and if people left, they could go in. Instead, they choose to go to Hollywood Studios. We enjoyed the MK on New Year's Eve, but it's not an experience I would like to repeat. Absolutely wall to wall crowds, we rode nothing. We sat in a special fireworks viewing area behind main street and just waited about 5 hours for the fireworks. They were awesome and amazing, but if we ever go again, I think I would just watch them from outside of the park somewhere. Also, they did tell us that if we left, we may not be able to get back in. So, if you want to be there at midnight, go early and stay in the park. Good luck!