MK at Phase B closure as of 11:45 UPDATE reopened at 9pm 12/31/2016

[Ladyfish77]

Here is our NYE at Epcot Experience:

Thanks for the great review! Sounds like you did it the right way! Can't imagine just camping out in one spot all day--I'd rather wander even with the crowds!

 

[HopperFan]

Thanks for the great review! Sounds like you did it the right way! Can't imagine just camping out in one spot all day--I'd rather wander even with the crowds!

Me either but I guess different strokes If nothing else that hard ground was not comfortable.

(For the protection of the campers I blurred their faces )

 

[Andrea817]

Here is our review of NYE at Epcot (copied from another thread) -

"We had the best time at Epcot for NYE! I have been wanting to attend for years but was always weary of the crowds and leaving at the end of the night. On January 1, 2016 I sat on the couch with DH showing him videos from Epcot the night before and I said "next year, we're going"...and we did!

We are huge BC fans and I made sure to book our stay there for ease of returning "home" after the festivities. We planned our Epcot park day for the 30th so we could thoroughly enjoy the park and rides. The 31st we took it easy, ate a late breakfast at the resort and then walked around Disney Springs for a while. We went back to the resort, napped, showered, and headed to dinner at Cape May Cafe at 6:45pm. I originally had an ADR for San Angel Inn but decided (after lots of reading on the boards) that dinner at the resort would be a better idea for us rather than fighting through the crowds. We headed into Epcot at around 8:15pm with absolutely no line at International Gateway.

All I can say is...WOW! It was everything I expected and so much more. Was it busy? Yes! But completely organized! The streets were taped off with arrows and cast members were directing "traffic" all night to avoid chaos and people walking into each other. The vibe was incredible, so much fun but tons of families enjoying together. We loved every moment of it! Italy was amazing and although we checked out every stage, we spent the majority of our time there. Like previous posters stated, the lines for drinks and restrooms were insane! I was glad we planned it like we did and only came for the night time festivities, I think had we have been there all day tired and fighting the crowds it may not have been as enjoyable. We lucked out and found a little store in Italy that was selling beer and were able to get drinks with zero line We held out for restrooms until we got back to the room, there was no way I was waiting in those lines.

The fireworks were incredible! It was just a magical experience and Disney definitely does everything better!! We left once the music stopped at 1am and walked leisurely back to our room at the BC. I didn't check the time but I would say we were back to our room by 1:30am the latest.

We will definitely be back next year, this was hands down the best NYE I have ever had & DH agrees. He can't stop saying how awesome it was

Thank you all for your posts and past experiences as they helped us plan such a great evening!"


My best advice would be to avoid spending the entire day there if possible. I can't fathom being there from the early morning, it definitely would have made for a totally different experience. Plan your Epcot day for a different day and go there specifically for the NYE festivities. DH hates huge crowds and even he agreed they were manageable and not as bad as he expected due to the way the cast members were directing the foot traffic. We totally psyched ourselves out for years about going due to posts and photos we would see and it turned out we had an amazing time! Staying at an Epcot resort is definitely the way to go!!

 

[disdreamer7]

We went to Animal Kingdom NYE until 2:30 then hopped over to Hollywood Studios. It was crowded but not miserably so. We even had a little Pixie Dust. One of the cast members gave us a fast pass for any ride except TSM. We watched the 9:35 Fantasmic and meandered through the gift shops on the way out. We watched the MK fireworks from the Reunion Resort and on the other side we could see Reunion's fireworks. So, low key but lots of fun.

 

[klbrow11]

We stayed at coronado springs on NYE. Decided to have dinner at Boma and watched the fireworks from the Poly. Poly was packed and they were directing people for viewing areas. After fireworks they were directing people to walk to TTC and catch monorail to Epcot and then a bus to home resorts. We decided to to take resort monorail to MK. From leaving poly at midnight we were on a bus and in our room by 1 am so not too awful. I don't know if it would have been any less time to go to epcot or not.

 

[nancipants]

Re: camping out -

My husband and I are locals. His family got into town on December 18 and left New Year's Day. By New Year's Eve, they'd done everything they wanted to do in all the parks. We went to Epcot in the morning, did a tour, went shopping, and then found a spot in the grass and stayed there pretty much all day. My in laws took naps and ate food they brought from home. Every once in awhile someone would wander off for a snack or to do a Fast Pass ride. My husband and I watched the first Illuminations from France since we hadn't seen the Holiday Tag yet and then walked the World Showcase before heading back to our spot in Future World. We were right near the dance party in the Fountain Stage so it still felt like we were part of the party. Next year it'll just be my husband and I so we'll probably stay in World Showcase, but camping out ended up being great for us this year. Especially since we got out of the park by 12:15 and were in bed by 1! My brother-in-law drove separately and didn't get home until 3.

 

[HopperFan]

Re: camping out -

My husband and I are locals. His family got into town on December 18 and left New Year's Day. By New Year's Eve, they'd done everything they wanted to do in all the parks. We went to Epcot in the morning, did a tour, went shopping, and then found a spot in the grass and stayed there pretty much all day. My in laws took naps and ate food they brought from home. Every once in awhile someone would wander off for a snack or to do a Fast Pass ride. My husband and I watched the first Illuminations from France since we hadn't seen the Holiday Tag yet and then walked the World Showcase before heading back to our spot in Future World. We were right near the dance party in the Fountain Stage so it still felt like we were part of the party. Next year it'll just be my husband and I so we'll probably stay in World Showcase, but camping out ended up being great for us this year. Especially since we got out of the park by 12:15 and were in bed by 1! My brother-in-law drove separately and didn't get home until 3.

That makes some sense, I assumed most were locals but at least the grass was comfortable opposed to around the lagoon. I guess my thought was the park was never closed that I know of, folks were still pouring in 9 pm .... so if you were just coming for the midnight, why not just come later?

 

[nancipants]

We were going to come later, but my brother-in-law booked the Behind the Seeds tour at 11 am. We thought about leaving and coming back, but decided not to chance it. Plus it was a gorgeous day so laying in the grass was kind of nice. Next year I plan on arriving much later, though.