MGM or Epcot for New Year's Eve?

[TracyK]

I like the sound of the live entertainment in MGM but I also like the idea of the different countries New Year celebrations in the WS.
Which would you choose and why? Please help
Thanks
Tracy

 

[Luv2Roam]

We were in Epcot last NYE and there were several live bands in FW and WS.

 

[cranbiz]

I also did EPCOT last year for NYE. There was plenty of entertainment and 2 Illuminations that night.

I have read the the fireworks at MGM this year were very good. Illuminations was good, but not as good as I was hoping for (it was just the holiday version, nothing else)

My thoughts are that EPCOT is far better at handling crowds because of the extra space. Most of the time, I did not feel overwhelmed by the crowds and used the time to explore the little known features and shows.

I can see MGM being a difficult place to navigate if it is at capacity.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I also did EPCOT last year for NYE. There was plenty of entertainment and 2 Illuminations that night.

I have read the the fireworks at MGM this year were very good. Illuminations was good, but not as good as I was hoping for (it was just the holiday version, nothing else)

My thoughts are that EPCOT is far better at handling crowds because of the extra space. Most of the time, I did not feel overwhelmed by the crowds and used the time to explore the little known features and shows.

I can see MGM being a difficult place to navigate if it is at capacity.

This was exactly why we chose Epcot for NYE this year. As crowded as it was, you could still move very easily through World Showcase. MGM just doesn't have the space to handle crowds well in my opinion. Also, my tip is to see the fireworks near America and Italy. We were able to see MK's off in the distance which was kind of neat. We didn't even attempt to ride anything, we did see the France movie but mostly just people watched and snacked. We arrived at 8:30 that night and got in no problem. I did notice a line of cars not moving to get into the parking area, maybe they were only letting the resort buses in. I can't imagine being at Epcot or any other WDW park for the whole entire day given those crowds. We spent the night before at MK doing their EMH until 4:00 a.m., then slept in on NYE, swam, had an early dinner in DTD then headed to Epcot. Since we knew fastpasses were long gone, crowds would be huge and we had already eaten, we had no expectations and had a wonderful evening. I am so glad we got to do this, all future New Year's Eve's will be lacking from here on out!

 

[TracyK]

Thanks for the great information. Epcot is our favourite park but really needed to know what was happening on New Year's Eve.
Thanks
Tracy

 

[Danauk]

We were in MGM last NYE. We watched Fantasmic at 10:30 then listened to the live bands and DJ under the hat until the midnight fireworks. The fireworks were amazing and set to various rock tunes which were really cool. The crowds in MGM were great, not as busy as what I had feared. We walked to the exit through the shops to avoid the crowds then walked back to our room at the BCV via a lap of the Boardwalk. We were back in our room 30 mins after the fireworks ended. I would definately go to MGM for NYE if we were at WDW again at this time of year.

 

[jessiesue]

We were at MGM and it was nice. Not too crowded until close to midnight. But we had a wonderful time. Earlier in the night we sat by the Osbourne lights and our 3 DS's played in the street by the stunt car show. They had very few people around. The park gave out black hats and blowers and everbody was blowing them. We enjoyed listening to the music and watching people dance. The fireworks were beautiful and lasted a long time. It was definitely a great experience.