Holiday Planning 12/28-1/4 (Need Help with details)

[LeeAnn]

For the first time I will be WDW on New Year's Eve. And I don't know where to start.

What parks, which holiday events, what to do New Year Eve...

All info welcome. Thank you

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Can you share more about who will be traveling in your party? Ages? How often do you visit WDW (at all, and/or around the holidays)? What type of NYEver are you?

So many different paths any additional information would be helpful!

 

[LeeAnn]

Traveling with young adult children. Have been to WDW mainly in summer months over the years and some other months. We did early December many years ago for the holidays but never during during this time period. How bad are the crowds?

The waterpark tix on first day, is this doable during this time?

What holiday events are still available (since we arrive after Christmas)?

The Festival at Epcot, is this similar to the other Festivals?

Do we do a theme park on New Year's Eve? If so which one? When do you arrive? Does it gets to capacity?

Are dining reservation for New Year Eve difficult to get? Any suggestions?

What are other options?

What other non-theme park activities to do?

Thanks for your help.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Are you staying on property?
Which resort ?

 

[LeeAnn]

Have not booked yet. Want to stay on property and there's no discount that week. Maybe Caribbean or Coronado. Pop to save some money. For location, Dolphin or Swan. Still trying to figure what we are doing so that I can choice a resort that best fits our activities.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I stayed at Swan last year to be close to EPCOT.
In the future ( this NYE) I will be back at BLT once again.
I am a MK on NYE for Me
Epcot was boring Worth experiencing once I guess. Just to get it off my bucket list

I also liked staying at the Fort W Cabins with a golf cart one year for NYE .
This year I plan to have a golf cart/cabin stay for Halloween activities!

 

[leebee]

Generally...
No MVMCP, but you should still have the Christmas parade at MK during the day.
Festival of the Holidays at Epcot runs thru 12/30.
Decorations will still be up at the parks and resorts.
Expect shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. We went to Universal/Diagon Alley one year on 12/26 and had to leave; I was starting to have a panic attack due to the crowds, and I don't EVER have panic attacks. Disney (Epcot) on 12/24 was not as bad, but really close. We had a CP breakfast package, spent the day at AK, hopped to Epcot in the late afternoon.
Good luck with dining on NYE. You'll have better luck with resort and Disney Springs restaurants, but not sure you want to leave the parks.
MK and Epcot have reached capacity on NYE. I'd recommend going early and being prepared to stay for the duration.
If you are thinking of going to the Poly to watch the fireworks, unless you are staying there, they won't let you on to the beach... or at least that's what's happened for the past couple of years.
Resort/hotel prices will be the highest of the year- as will the crowds- and no discounts. I'd put my money into the cheapest onsite hotel and use the savings towards LL passes.

 

[cruising spud]

We stayed at Disney once over the Christmas/New Year's Eve holiday-magical but crowded. My suggestions-
Get LLMP and LLSP for all of the parks-they will all be crowded
Get to the parks early for the rides, go back to the hotel for naps, and then back to the parks for the nighttime holiday magic
Because of the crowds, I am guessing that all dining reservations could be hard to get. I would book early.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I vote decide where you want to go for NYE and pick a hotel within walking distance. If it’s EPCOT, then do Swan/Dolphin. We were at MK last year for NYE and stayed at GF and being able to go back to our resort and not rely on Disney transportation was a huge benefit.

However, I also agree with PP that if staying at resort within walking distance + LL isn’t in your budget, save the $ on the hotel and put towards LL. It is an absolute must for this week.

 

[_19disnA]

I doubt Disney will offer any sort of discounts for a week when there is peak demand around major holidays. Discounts are offered to help fill rooms during slower periods. If you are planning to fly, you have already waited too long to book reasonably priced flights. Tickets for peak travel times sell out months in advance.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Traveling with young adult children. Have been to WDW mainly in summer months over the years and some other months. We did early December many years ago for the holidays but never during during this time period. How bad are the crowds?

The waterpark tix on first day, is this doable during this time?

What holiday events are still available (since we arrive after Christmas)?

The Festival at Epcot, is this similar to the other Festivals?

Do we do a theme park on New Year's Eve? If so which one? When do you arrive? Does it gets to capacity?

Are dining reservation for New Year Eve difficult to get? Any suggestions?

What are other options?

What other non-theme park activities to do?

Thanks for your help.

We have done NYE several times and I usually like to be at Epcot for NYE. I don't stay up until midnight, but my teens do and they love the NYE Epcot "party". It's not a ticketed event, just festivities. Unfortunately, most of the parties like MVMCP are over by the time NYE hits. Plan for lots and lots of traffic. I usually like to hang out at the resort after a dinner reservation because I'm not into the chaos, and do park during the day. If you have people in the party that like the nightlife aspect of NYE, again, I think Epcot. I've never been there when it's reached capacity, I think it's safer than MK for capacity concern because Epcot has more room for people to spread out.

You may want a dining reservation IN the park if you plan to hang out there for the evening.

Weather is hit or miss for Water Park, personally for me, it's a no, and I'm from the Northeast.

Someone else already mentioned this, but hitting the parks early during this time of year is definitely a winning strategy to beat some crowds. I feel like crowds start to reduce a little around 1/1