New Year at DLP

[FiFi]

We are off to a beautiful gite in France on the 28th December for 1 week with another family and we thought we might like to see in the New Year at DLP as it is just uner 2 hours away by car. Do any of you have any experiences of New Year at DLP - do they limit numbers, is it packed solid etc.?

We are going to book date specific tickets as I looked on the DLP website and they have some available. The parks open at 9am and close at 1am for the New Year celebrations so we'll all be whacked by the end of it!

We thought it would be a great surprise for the children as there seems to be lots of festive goings on from the look of the website. My two Herberts have been twice before but it will be a first for my friends two girls.


Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Fiona

 

[WDWfan uk]

Hi Fiona We definitely have some earlier threads regarding New Year at DLP - packed solid sounds familiar and I think I remember someone saying that they had a hard time finding somewhere to eat...... I think the thread or threads was on the Trip Planning board.

 

[Sleepy Dragon]

Hi FiFi, we went last new year to DLP and had an absolutely wonderful time.

Yes the park was packed and I'm not sure if they limit numbers or not - I guess so but if you pre-book tickets for a certain day there may be guaranteed entry - I'm not sure.

Basically, use your fast passes as much as possible, do any of the big rides you want early on/ late or when the parades are in action. Have a few things that you definitely want to do and any extra is a bonus.

Eating in DLP can be very expensive/bland and you can queue for hours but if you eat off peak you should be fine. We always eat in the diner just on the entrance to Disney village - there's a good selection of meals not too expensive and if you eat lunch around 3ish the queues aren't too bad. HAve a hearty breakfast or take a few snacks with you to last you the morning.

We were a bit disappointed with the characters last year - there weren't that many milling around and when they did appear they were swamped and literally pushed from pillar to post - there is none of the queuing that you get in USA - people were just pushing children out of the way and I did get very aggitated by the rudeness of some people. In the end we just stayed away from the characters and did the rides and drank in the atmosphere.

We did have an excellent time but were so shattered that we didn't last till midnight new years eve - mind you it was so foggy that night that I don't think you could have seen much of the fireworks anyway which was a real shame as the previous days had been bright winter days without a cloud in the sky!!


The winter shows and parades are really lovely and good photo opportunities - if you want to be at the front make sure you bag your spot around 1/2 hour before the parade begins. if you site yourself near the start of the parade once all the characters have passed you, you can run off through fantasyland to some of the big rides so the queues aren't too big as 000's of people are still watching the parade. I think the parade takes around 1/2 hour to get from the start point to finish so you can get at least one ride in. I think they usually start next to It's a small world in fantasyland - if you stand up above the gates on the entrance to it's a small world there's a good view from there!!

If you need any further info let me know

Julie

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

I've been at DLP at New Year on a few occasions. There's a great atmosphere, but New Year's Eve is the busiest I've ever seen the park. Queue's for all the attractions can be very long, and it is difficult to find somewhere to eat because of the number of guests. On the other hand the park says open until well past 2am, and everyone seems to have a great time. 1st of January is also a good day to visit, especialy if your hangover is not so bad that you can get to the park at opening time!

Regards

Rob