New Year's Eve at MK

[DisneydaveCT]

We are planning on spending New Year's Eve at the MK this year. How early in the day should we plan on getting there? I remember in '99 we had to get to EPCOT very early in the day.

 

[Debi]

Historically, the Magic Kingdom is the first park to close due to capacity on New Year's Eve. Get there at least an hour prior to park opening; the earlier you get there, the better off you are.

Have a great trip!

 

[robinb]

You should get there when the park opens. Here is my trip report from last NYE: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=490243

 

[fanofpooh]

We also need New Years Eve advice. We're at Epcot for breakfast and spending the day with family before they fly back to Michigan. We have reservations at Crystal Palace for 8:15 p.m. Will we be able to get in the park for dinner and the evening if the park is full?

 

[zurgswife]

Originally posted by fanofpooh
We also need New Years Eve advice. We're at Epcot for breakfast and spending the day with family before they fly back to Michigan. We have reservations at Crystal Palace for 8:15 p.m. Will we be able to get in the park for dinner and the evening if the park is full?

NO...sorry NYE is one of the days that when the park closes it doesn't open up again(unless you have entered in the am and have a hand stamp this might help)...people stay to the bitter end. Unless you plan to get there at opening...I'd say go to a different park ....Epcot has a wonderful NYE celebration as does MGM...We did Epcot last year and had no problem entering or reentering later in the evening...

 

[robinb]

fanofpooh, I have been to NYE at Epcot 3 times and the MK once. Every time I entered the park of my choice in the early AM and left it for the majority of the afternoon. We have APs, but we still get our hand stamped on that day. We have never had a problem returning to the same park in the early evening. Park hopping may be different.

This was posted on rec.arts.disney.parks newsgroup a many years ago by a CM. I'm not sure if it is still valid ... maybe a current park CM will know.


> On Tue, 01 Dec 1998, Drake Whimsy
> (Robyn Johnston) posted
>Seven Levels:
>The official line (as the MK gate computer sees it) is:
>Defcon 0: normal operations
>Defcon 1: (not used)
>Defcon 2: parking lot closes
>Defcon 3: ticket sales alerted not to sell for today's entry
>Defcon 4: park hoppers re-entering at MK & resort guests only
>Defcon 5: re-entering MK guests & resort guests only
>Defcon 6: re-entering MK guests only
>Defcon 7: closed


As you can see, re-entering park guests may still be allowed in when park hopping guests are not.

Why don't you have a back-up plan? Try to hop to the MK (have your PS# in hand! That'll help.) and if you are denied entry then hop on the monorail and spend the night in Epcot. Personally, I think you're going to be OK. When we returned to the MK last year no one was denied entrance.

BTW, are you staying onsite? Parking is the real problem that whole week. The MK parking closes before noon almost every day.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

NYE is one of the days that when the park closes it doesn't open up again

At least from what we overheard last year they did reopen.Last NYE we started off at Epcot for a few things we had missed and then headed to AK. When we left Epcot the CMs were telling people that MK was closed and suggesting MGM as an alternative. They were saying it didn't matter if you were a resort guest or that you had already been at Epcot, it was closed completely. Later that day we were at AK and were waiting to ask a question of a CM at guest services. The person in front of us was asking if they would be able to get into the MK if they headed there right then. The CM made a call and told them that the park had been closed earlier but as of then (about 6 PM or so) it was open again but cautioned them that there was always the possibility it would close between that moment and the time it would take to get there. We left and had our dinner at the Beach Club and my parents took our kids back while DH and I toured a couple of resorts. We ran into the same family on the monorail back to the TTC. We asked if they got in. They did but their kids fell asleep and the parents decided if the kids were going to sleep, they didn't want to brave the crowds so they were headed back to their hotel.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

One suggestion for the evening if you find the parks too crowded:
You can go to one of the parks during the day and leave for dinner. After that we rented a boat from POR to DTD to see the fireworks...We didn't have to be at the boat until around 11:00pm or something and got to have a front row view of the great fireworks...You can call the 1-407-WDWPLAY # for availability...
Whatever you decide, have fun!