More Questions regarding New Year's Eve at WDW

[Jodi1980]

What a hard decision just trying to decide what park to be at midnight on New Year's Eve!

1. Does MK show the Christmas parade on NYE?
2. Are all the parks open until 1 or 2 am?
3. I've read that there are DJs in all the lands in MK- is this true?
4. Since alcohol is served in Epcot and MGM, could that be a problem? We don't drink.
5. Live entertainment is at MGM - is it usually a known band?
6. Do they pass out hats and noisemakers at all the parks?
7. Will there be the usual entertainment plus more of it in Epcot (e.g., the Mime in France)?
8. Is there a DJ in Animal Kingdom?
9. If we go to Epcot, will it be a good idea to be at a restaurant at midnight? Are they serving at that time?
10. I've read that if you enter a park and leave and want to come back into the park, you may not be able to re-enter the same park but if staying on the property, will have access to at least one park - how would you know what park you could enter?
11. Should we just visit the parks on 30 Dec and 1 Jan and forget about NYE? That is the reason we are visiting there! Or do we just go to the park and expect only to walk around and not do much of the attractions due to lines?

 

[peachgirl]

I don't know the answers to all the questions, so I'll field the ones I think I know !

Are all the parks open until 1 or 2 am?

With the exception of the AK, all parks are open late...I believe it's 1am.

Since alcohol is served in MK, Epcot and MGM, could that be a problem?

It's my understanding that alcohol is not served at MK, but regardless, we never encountered any problems regarding alcohol.

Live entertainment is at MGM - is it usually a known band?

It wasn't last year. Then again, it rained so hard that there wasn't any band at the outdoor stage.

Do they pass out hats and noisemakers at all the parks?

They did at MGM and I assume they do at all the parks. It's hilarious to stand around and listen when they start handing them out. At MGM, within minutes of distributing them, you couldn't hear yourself think for all the horn blowing. We decided to look at it as funny, rather than obnoxious.

Should we just visit the parks on 30 Dec and 1 Jan and forget about NYE? That is the reason we are visiting there! Or do we just go to the park and expect only to walk around and not do much of the attractions due to lines?

I wouldn't have missed NYE in the parks for anything! I would suggest going to MGM as it seemed to be the least crowded and they do have the fireworks there that you can't see any other time! Even through the rain, the fireworks at MGM were gorgeous. If this year is like last year, MGM never closed to anyone. In fact, due to the rainstorm that started at 8 or so, the park was nearly deserted at midnight. We walked on to any and every ride we wanted to for the last 2 hours we were there! We got wet, but we had a great time.


It was very crowded during the day, but not unbearably so. By using fastpasses we rode all the rides we wanted and did lots of shopping! Unless crowds make you crazy, I wouldn't worry about it.

That said, I wouldn't get within a mile of the MK either on Christmas Day or NYE!