New Year's at Magic Kingdom...

[♥Tinkerbell♥]

Hey everyone..

This is my first official post on the disboards... I have been a huge fan of WDW for years and think of WDW in my daily life often...

Anyways my DH surprised me a couple of days ago with the news that we can go to Disney for our Christmas Break.. (Dec 26 - Jan 2).... I am so excited and really don't know where to even START!!!... This of course is not our first time at WDW... it will be our 7th time actually... however this is the first time we have been during the Christmas/New Years holiday.... and well I only have TWO weeks to figure this all out...

So any helpful tips on travelling to WDW during Christmas/New Years... we are thinking about going to MK on New Years Eve.. but I am really worried about the crowds...

Thanks everyone...

Gwen

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

Welcome and Congrats on your upcoming trip! We'll be at WDW for New Year's as well and we are planning to celebrate at Epcot. I thought it would be fun visiting all the countries to celebrate. As its our first time at WDW I'm not sure what to expect other than I know any WDW park will be packed that day. I've heard its good to get into the park early in case it meets its limit.

 

[♥Tinkerbell♥]

That would actually be a great idea to go to epcot for New Years... though this time our time is limited to only two days at the parks... so we figured MK and HS.... those were the kids favorites the last time...

 

[tgropp]

Hey everyone..

This is my first official post on the disboards... I have been a huge fan of WDW for years and think of WDW in my daily life often...

Anyways my DH surprised me a couple of days ago with the news that we can go to Disney for our Christmas Break.. (Dec 26 - Jan 2).... I am so excited and really don't know where to even START!!!... This of course is not our first time at WDW... it will be our 7th time actually... however this is the first time we have been during the Christmas/New Years holiday.... and well I only have TWO weeks to figure this all out...

So any helpful tips on travelling to WDW during Christmas/New Years... we are thinking about going to MK on New Years Eve.. but I am really worried about the crowds...

Thanks everyone...

Gwen

You will be going at a very busy time. We will be there until the 26'th and then we are heading to Fort Lauderdale for some beach time. Are you staying onsite? That will make a HUGE difference at this time of year. We would get up early and go to a park from 9-1, then go back to the hotel and revisit a park from 6-10. You will have a lot of fun though. Regarding NYE.... We have visited DHS, MK and Epcot and have found the MK to be the most chaotic. We found that Epcot was the least stressful. We would grab a drink and visit all the different countries. It took a long time to walk around the world showcase that night but it was a lot of fun people watching and just soaking up the atmosphere.

 

[MaryannF]

I was at WDW for Christmas 2005 with my 3 adult children. We landed Christmas Day. MK was closed briefly that day as it had reached capacity. Crowds in the parks that week were very heavy. We tried to fast pass as much as we could. We went to Epcot on New Year's Eve. You need to have reservations for any meals as the counter service restaurants get overcrowded. I was told that you need to pick a park that you want to visit and plan to stay for the whole day because a park can close if it reaches capacity. After the fireworks at midnight the busses are extemely crowded, you will need to have a lot of patience.

 

[♥Tinkerbell♥]

*sighs*... I keep hearing that... that it will be really busy that time of year cause of the break and that it is going to be CRAZY at MK on NYE...

I almost dont know what to do though... I mean it was all last minute... We both have the time off work and well Hubby says.. "instead of spending the money on gifts for each other.. lets just go to Disney"... I was really excited about the idea... but now I am kind of OMGing.. cause we thought we would put aside $1500 for the trip... $1000 to cover the hotel and tickets... and then the rest gas/food... but well now I am checking out ticket prices and off-site hotels and thinking... that this is NOT going to happen.. since the tickets are taking up most of that....

Anyone have any suggestions on how to stay down there for $1000 including tickets... only want to spend 2 - 3 days in the parks anyways...

 

[Pokemom]

I can't really answer your question on budget, but I do have a suggestion if you go. Magic Kingdom does a complete run through of the NYE celebrations the night before and the crowds are quite a bit smaller. We went a few years ago and went to MK on Dec. 30 and Epcot on NYE. It was almost impossible to get on any of the rides that day (several hours wait) and it was wall to wall people, but we knew it would be like that going in - we still had a blast. Each country's pavilion celebrates when New Years arrives in their country. I would second the suggestion to make dining reservations as we did find it hard to find places to eat at the counter service restaurants. Just remember to have lots of patience and enjoy the day.

 

[♥Tinkerbell♥]

Ya.. I am working on the details... we have never stayed on-site so that is not a big deal.. though I have noticed on the board most members do stay on-site.

As for where to go... it does seem like the best bet is MK on Dec 30th and DHS on Dec 31.... of course both parks will be crazy on those days.. but with MK doing the extra NYE fireworks on Dec 30.... it is the better of the two days to head there... the key will be to get there FIRST FIRST thing in the morning... though my Hubby is already grumbling about having to spend the whole day in the park... (my fear is that we will not be allowed back in if we do end up leaving)...

I am just going to plan out some rest time in the early afternoon..

Any other suggestions???