New Years Eve & Day Park Choice

[TiffFromTX]

Hello! We arrive NYE and staying at Boardwalk through the 4th. Hoping to get recommendations for NYE and NY Day park reservations.

My travel agent said NYE is usually shoulder to shoulder at MK so she suggested Epcot because it can absorb the crowd better.

Does this sound good - and is NY Day the same - extremely crowded at MK? I'm assuming it's crowded everywhere really. LOL!

 

[AZMermaid]

We are at the BW the same dates. We are planning NYE at Epcot, but expecting huge crowds. I have read there isn’t as big of a risk of hitting capacity as MK, but videos I’ve seen are still jam packed. Our plan is parks open to 2ish. Then resort for swimming and rest and dinner. Then we’ll return around 7-8pm. We were going to MK on NY day but decided to take a resort day instead.

 

[tjmw2727]

100% agree with your TA - we always go to Epcot on NYE and love it! It is crowded so be prepared and bring your patience. Transportation at the end of the night is also an issue so the Boardwalk is a great choice for either Epcot or HS.

New Years day is ok in the am at all the parks but gets crowded again later.

If you end up arriving earlier (or for those reading along) the MK does the NYE fireworks on the 30th as well and we have enjoyed that in past years, its very crowded as well but not quite as bad as NYE. Well that's how it was pre covid - so we shall see this year I guess!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I have only done EPCOT on NYE. I tried to get into the MK but they were at capacity. I will say, EPCOT was not shoulder to shoulder. It was really enjoyable. I had a great time. I was staying offsite and drove. I got there at 10am so my spot was way up front of the lot. It took me 3 hrs to get out of the parking lot and I left at about 12:45am. So yeah there were a lot of people but they were spaced out well

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Also agree with your TA that EPCOT is known to absorb crowds the best and FOR SURE you want the benefit of being able to walk "home" on NYE vs. relying on buses or sitting in traffic in a ride share or your personal car.

My NYE experience of several years ago was that daytime was pretty reasonable vs. our expectations. In other words, crowded but not the insanity we'd feared. I think we may have done both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios (we (group of 10) were staying at Boardwalk and Beach Club). We did an early dinner at La Hacienda in EPCOT - maybe ~5 (might have been 4)?

The early fireworks (they've traditionally done an early show and then one at midnight) went off while we were at dinner. When we left dinner, it was a literal sea of humanity. To the point that there was no going against the "current" (that area outside La Hacienda is a bottleneck) and you just had to move with the crowd (and EPCOT does move to one-way only traffic at some point). It was a bit nerve-wracking with young kids in the mix but we did a zone defense and each adult took responsibility for a kid.

We pretty quickly decided that the crowds were not for us and retired back to the Boardwalk. The adults relaxed in chairs on the deck with some paper cups and a few bottles of wine from the gift shop and enjoyed catching up and the kids loved running back and forth between us on the deck and the dance party happening on the green. Around midnight, they handed out noise makers and maybe hats and if you stood out on the Boardwalk you saw partial fireworks (note: this was Illuminations with the holiday tag ... not sure what current show will be).

 

[LeslieLou]

I would pick magic kingdom since you won’t be there NYEE. We tried Epcot a couple years ago on our second NYE trip and we also retired to the boardwalk bc crowds were too much.

 

[TiffFromTX]

Oof maybe I should add I'm in a scooter, too. I have a feeling that won't work in my favor. I can't walk w/my knee though. I like the idea of walking home afterwards to BW. Is the crowd just directly around the world/lake or does it just expand all over?

 

[sdk1231]

Oof maybe I should add I'm in a scooter, too. I have a feeling that won't work in my favor. I can't walk w/my knee though. I like the idea of walking home afterwards to BW. Is the crowd just directly around the world/lake or does it just expand all over?

I've been to Disney multiple times on NYE. I go to the MK on the 30th (they do the NYE fireworks twice on the 30th and twice on the 31st). On the 30th, MK is crazy crowded but fun. The 31st is horrid. I did it one time and will never do it again. The time I went, we booked a fireworks dessert party at Tomorrowland Terrace for the early showing. We had Fast Passes for 7 Dwarfs and 2 other rides immediately afterward, but blew them off and left the park immediately after the dessert party. Crowds were shoulder to shoulder. I will never attempt the MK on NYE again. I use an ECV but cannot imagine taking it into the parks on the 30th or the 31st. I have not been to Epcot on NYE but have watched videos on youtube and crowds look insane, shoulder to shoulder, similar to what I experienced at the MK. New Years Day is pretty dead until late morning/noon.

 

[jskbird13]

Planning a new year's trip for the first time this year. Wanted to do Epcot for New Year's Eve, but have park hopper so I wasn't sure if it was feasible to start in Magic, for example, and then hop to Epcot at 2:00, when park hopping starts, or should I just plan to be at Epcot all day?