New Year's eve at Universal??

MelindaKiah

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Joined
Nov 5, 2002
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We're thinking of staying longer, and enjoying New Year's Eve at Universal. Does anyone know if they do anything special? Just being there will be special enough!!:D
 
Get ready for large crowds, but lots of fun!!! At least we sure had fun!

This will be our 2nd trip to Univeral for New years eve, our first being in 2001. We are looking forward to returning..

Yes, the crowds are large, but with skillful planning, it can be done... Before we even decided to go, I did research on this board and others and we knew what we were getting into...It was just the two of us minus kids, so that may have contributed to it, but we saw many many families their large and small.

Citywalk hosts a large NYE party (adults only) with party favors, champagne toast, live bands, hot and cold buffets and a fireworks display at midnight.. It gets very crowded, but we arrived early, so we were able to sample much of the food which was very good. They do refill during the evening, but after a few hours the food does get cold and stays that way, so its best to arrive early as possible.

NYE Party cost $99.00 per person, (in 2001).

WIthout your wristband, you will not get in before 1230am or at least until the fireworks are done.

Some people tried getting in, but there is only one entrance that night.

There were plenty of people in the parks waiting for the fireworks to start, but let me warn you, and we definitely have a new plan of attack this year, leaving the parks after the fireworks is the worst time to leave!!!!!!!! Trust me on this...Especially if you are not staying at a hotel onsite....Getting back to our hotel was a nightmare. Definitely plan on how and when you are leaving...

Otherwise, we had a fun!!!!!!!! Any other questions, let me know.

Enjoy:bounce:
 
Thanks!! We've change our dates to include New Year's eve!!:Pinkbounc

Our countdown is very similiar!!

We will be staying at the RPR....is it hard to get back to an onsite hotel? I'm not sure we'd go to Citywalk...probably stay with the kids. Make it special for them there.

Do the parks stay open later that night?

Thanks.:D
 
The parks are open until 1am.

Also, there is a HUGE fireworks display that happens at midnight. It's so big, it happens at USF, IOA, and Citywalk all at once!
 

MelindaKiah - there should be no trouble getting back to the Royal Pacific, as even if the line for the boats are huge (and it will be) it is less than a 10 minute walk from the parks to the hotel. My wife and I stayed at the RPR last year over the holidays, and will be there again this year, including New Year's Eve.

As far as the crowds go - yes, it will be very busy that time of year, but with the hotel express passes it has never been a hassle. Restaurants and such are packed, but we just make sure to eat at off-peak times while in the park. And with the parks being open so late, we usually don't even head in until the afternoon, which I realize may not be very practical with kids in tow ...
 
thanks spewey!!!

maybe we can meet up!!:D

be great to meet up with a fellow Canadian:D
 
Wow, there will certainly be many Canadians at Universal on NYE!

We're heading there for two nights Dec 30 & 31 before our cruise. Never been (done WDW 2x) but we're looking forward to it, but not the crowds. Unfortunately, we're staying offsite so we'll be doing US commando style!
 
We stayed at HRH on New Year's Eve 2002 - while the "party" at CityWalk didn't really tempt us we had a great time at the hotel party. We felt the $ for the party wasn't worth it - the hotel lobby was decorated and they had a balloon drop at midnight with champagne (sparkling cider for under 21) and hats/noise makers. Plus, we had a great view of the fireworks and then didn't have to deal with the crowd afterwards. The hotel party was free (yes, I know- we paid for it with the hotel rate) and lots of fun for everyone. We basically had as much champagne as we wanted within reason, of course.
 




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