new years eve, hotel and cars land

[paty]

this will be our fist time during the holidays, and although I have found a lot of info about christmas, foods and decorations, I did not find any specifics about New years evening.

So, what kind of celebration, if any, happens on New years? Does the parks stay open pass midnight? Both parks or just one? if both are open, what do they do differently?

should we make reservations for dinner? I'm guessing yes, but not sure where since I don't know what will be open!
Is it too crazy to go with two kids, ages 10 and 11?

is there a specific thread about new years?

we are staying off site at the Hilton, is it close enough to walk or do we need a shuttle?

About car's land, I'm just curious about the wide right technique!

thank you!
patricia

 

[ArchOwl]

this will be our fist time during the holidays, and although I have found a lot of info about christmas, foods and decorations, I did not find any specifics about New years evening.

So, what kind of celebration, if any, happens on New years? Does the parks stay open pass midnight? Both parks or just one? if both are open, what do they do differently?

should we make reservations for dinner? I'm guessing yes, but not sure where since I don't know what will be open!
Is it too crazy to go with two kids, ages 10 and 11?

is there a specific thread about new years?

we are staying off site at the Hilton, is it close enough to walk or do we need a shuttle?

About car's land, I'm just curious about the wide right technique!

thank you!
patricia

Hello! I wrote about my experience with NYE at DCA here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2857991

Both parks stay open very late (last year DCA stayed open until 1am and DL until 2am I think). DL does entertainment surrounding the Hub area with a countdown to midnight and then a fireworks display. DCA does a Fountain and Fireworks show at midnight.

Last year, DL was crazy packed even in the morning. They had campers in the Hub, people with blankets, people camped at the benches even in the morning. As the day progressed, we didn't even try to get past the Hub, it was very crowded. DL was also at capacity on and off throughout the day. I believe they stopped selling one day tickets sometime in the morning and briefly closed the parks in the afternoon and evening.

Last year DCA had a lot more entertainment options in my opinion. They gave away free party favors (hats and noise makers) and had live jazz, street performers, and the Tron theme party. I tried to see what DL had available, but honestly it was so crowded, I couldn't even get back to other areas of the park and just left.

Of course, this year who knows? DCA is a much more popular park and I wonder if it will be more crowded. I guess we won't really know until it happens. I do know that lots of people want to be in Disneyland specifically on NYE, so maybe it won't be too bad at DCA. Personally, I would go back to DCA during NYE, they had a ton of entertainment and you can have a glass of champagne! DL looked packed beyond belief and not nearly as much fun.

I would definitely make a reservation for dinner. Everything is very busy and you will be glad. All restaurants will be in full swing, so take your pick.

The walk from the Hilton would be rather longish, 20-30 minutes to the Resort I think. Although I haven't walked it myself, so maybe someone else could chime in here. There is an ART shuttle to Disneyland for a fee. Alternatively, I would look into catching the Toy Story buses from the parking lot at Harbor/Convention Way. I have stayed at the Marriott that is near the Hilton and done this. Walked to the light and entered the parking lot and caught the bus to the Resort. Much easier on the feet, especially after walking all day at Disneyland!

Here is the thread on the Carsland Wide Right Technique: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2971596&highlight=wide+right

Have fun!

 

[paty]

thank you! that helps a lot!

I thought the hilton would be closer. I'm sure we will be using the buses! is the toy story bus part of the ART shuttle? I'll take a look at the ART since we never used it before.

now we just have to decide where to go. I've heard that parks were at capacity last year and closed several times, if that happens my guess would be to stay in and not try to park hop! I cant event imagine the park being that full!

 

[disneymum58]

When I called Disney Dining to make reservations, they told me DL hours would be 8am - 2am and DCA hours would be 8am - 1am.
Thank you for this thread. I'm also interested in the days following Christmas.
We will be there Dec. 29 - Jan. 5 and only have tickets for 7 days. I'm thinking of taking a break day New Years Eve. We are staying at the DL Hotel.
If the parks are so crowded, is Downtown Disney or the DL pool a good place to hang out?

 

[ArchOwl]

thank you! that helps a lot!

I thought the hilton would be closer. I'm sure we will be using the buses! is the toy story bus part of the ART shuttle? I'll take a look at the ART since we never used it before.

now we just have to decide where to go. I've heard that parks were at capacity last year and closed several times, if that happens my guess would be to stay in and not try to park hop! I cant event imagine the park being that full!

Well, normally the Hilton wouldn't be that far, it is that after walking all day in the parks, the last thing I want to do is walk back to the hotel!

The Toy Story bus is Disney's transportation system. The Toy Story parking lot is Disney's other parking lot. The other one is Mickey and Friends. They run a tram from the Mickey and Friends parking lot and they run buses from the Toy Story lot. If you walk in to the parking lot, you can take the Toy Story bus for free to Disneyland. But you do have to walk across the street and half way into the parking lot for this option.

If you do ART, it is a paid service. I am not sure of the rates, but it is per person and you can buy an all day pass. It picks you up in front of the hotel area and runs on a schedule. It is nice not to have to walk quite as far, but I don't use it because I hate being on their schedule. If we do the Toy Story buses, they are always waiting for me and don't close down until an hour after park closing. I don't believe ART operates that long.

I park hopped last NYE because Disneyland was just too crowded for my tastes. They closed DL off and on through the late afternoon and evening. The lines to get into DL in the evening were switchbacks back and forth in the Esplande. It was crazy! We went to DCA and there were just short little lines to get in. DCA never closed because of capacity.

So for sure if you want to be in DL, don't leave in the afternoon. I think you could park hop in the morning if you wanted to, but I would definitely be in DL before noon and stay there. Good luck!

When I called Disney Dining to make reservations, they told me DL hours would be 8am - 2am and DCA hours would be 8am - 1am.
Thank you for this thread. I'm also interested in the days following Christmas.
We will be there Dec. 29 - Jan. 5 and only have tickets for 7 days. I'm thinking of taking a break day New Years Eve. We are staying at the DL Hotel.
If the parks are so crowded, is Downtown Disney or the DL pool a good place to hang out?

If the parks are crowded, normally the entire Resort is crowded. Downtown Disney is especially crowded because locals will be coming for NYE and to celebrate at the restaurants and bars. I don't know about the pool, since for most Californians it will be way too cold to swim in January! I would imagine that the pool area will be quite popular since Trader Sam's is right there and is a really fun tiki bar.