New Year's Eve Question

[mareemouse]

If you have been at one of the resorts for the New Year's Holiday, what was it like....was it too busy, overcrowded ? How was the dining situation ? would you do it again ? and what resort would you recommend ? Thank You in advance !
ps.....is it too cold to use the pool facilities ?

 

[Claire L]

We stayed at POFQ last NYE and it was great temps were into the 80's around NYE and we swam in the pool. NYE itself was great we went to Epcot and ate at Le Cellier (booked 180 days out!) and the NY midnight fireworks were out of this world and we scooted out of the park, onto the waiting bus and were back at POFQ by 12.25am! The parks were busy until about the 5th and then had a peak for the marathon on the 7th but we woudl definitely go back again but not for a few years.

Claire

 

[Tikicampers]

We were there for New Year's in 06. We arrived late on New Year's eve and just stayed at our resort. The good thing was that when we went to MK early on New Year's day, it was empty. I know it is usually less crowded then, but it seemed especially so.

 

[Tikicampers]

Sorry I missed the bit about the pools. We didn't take suits because we thought it would be too cold. We really regretted it. The pools were packed. The crowds in general weren't too bad, but we always hit the parks early.

 

[Deweysgirl]

I will answer your question honestly and will not sugar coat it. This is our observation of what it is really like. The crowds at EPCOT on NYE '06/'07 were phenominal! People were told to get to their park of choice 1st thing in the morning as once the park was filled to capacity they wouldn't let anyone else in. The lines were so long for everything, I'm talking 3 and 4 hour waits for the most popular attractions, and of course, all fast passes were gone by mid-day. By dinner time, every grassy stretch in Future World had families literally camped out and a lot were sleeping, I assume because they had been there since early morning and knew the night would be a long one and there was really nothing else to do. Forget about riding anything.The shops were also wall to wall people. We ate at Rose and Crown, the line at the ladies bathroom across the street was so long that my daughter ordered her food and it was on the table when she returned, I'm sure at least a 30 minute wait to use the bathroom. We stayed at Swan/Dolphin and walked back to the hotel as the boat line was a mile long and yes, people were laid out on the concrete, sleeping in this line too. The whole scenario reminded me of a scene from Woodstock! Swarms of people and half of them passed out on the lawn! As much as we love Disney and I am a huge EPCOT fan, we will never ever do a theme park again on New Year's Eve. Sorry to be a downer, I'm usually very up-beat but believe me, this was no picnic.

 

[fAnnF]

I'm going for my 3rd trip for NYE, and we stay at values due to budget, the resorts are crowded and buses are full, but we love it. We always go to the parks and we've been to MK on the 30th, MGM and Epcot. If you want the real NYE experance in the parks go to MK, Epcot is nice with the different celebrations around the world and MGM is okay. It's quiet and not a lot of special execpt for fireworks and dj.

 

[Claire L]

We went expecting it to be busy and at 1pm it took us about 25 minutes to get into Epcot whch wasn't too bad. We didn't plan on doing any rides and just soaked up the atmosphere and watched a few live performances in WS such as the Beatles Tribute band 'The British Invasion' and Off Kilter.

Here are some pictures -

DH doesn't like crowds but even he survived!

Claire

 

[CanadianGuy]

New Years Eve is typically the SINGLE busiest day each year for all parks . On the upside.. some parks stay open REALLY late.. 3, 4 even 5am sometimes..

The downside -- there are some of the biggest crowds you will EVER see at WDW.

Knox

 

[BCV23]

If you have been at one of the resorts for the New Year's Holiday, what was it like....was it too busy, overcrowded ? How was the dining situation ? would you do it again ? and what resort would you recommend ? Thank You in advance !
ps.....is it too cold to use the pool facilities ?

The weather that time of the year varies a great deal. Some years it is swimming weather, other years you'll need jackets, gloves and a hat.

Are you choosing a resort for dinner or a stay?

 

[TinkTatoo]

We stayed at VWL on New years Eve and spent the day by the pool, it was lovely and we didn't think it was too crowded. We had an ADR at the Yacht Club Galley for dinner then went into Epcot for the 7:30 fireworks. It was very busy and we got into a very scary situation when the entire area we were in became grid locked and no one was moving. I have two kids with autism and they got quite stressed so we wended up climbing over a fence and walking on the grass to get to an area where the crowds were moving.

 

[disneyjunebug]

It's been a while since I was at WDW for NYE (2002), but it was fun and very crowded! We actually did a park early in the day, got our free hat and noisemakers, then went to Pleasure Island that night. I told my friend that what would be fun would be to have a helicopter ride at midnight, so that you could see ALL the fireworks going off at all the parks that night!

It was fun, but I don't think I have the stamina for it now!

 

[CTDis4]

Stayed at the CSR December 19, 2003 through January 4, 2004. Hotel never seemed crowded, even though it was totaly booked. New Year's Eve we went to Epcot at about 10 am and stayed til after the fireworks. There were 4 of us, so we staked out prime fireworks watching space and took turns sitting there. It was great - we wandered or should I say squeezed (very crowded) around the park, but didn't do any rides. We really enjoyed people watching and met some great people. It was warm enough to swim. What made the stay worth while was the wonderful fireworks display. Would do the World for New Years again in a heart beat!

 

[karebear1]

Stayed at the CSR December 19, 2003 through January 4, 2004. Hotel never seemed crowded, even though it was totaly booked. New Year's Eve we went to Epcot at about 10 am and stayed til after the fireworks. There were 4 of us, so we staked out prime fireworks watching space and took turns sitting there. It was great - we wandered or should I say squeezed (very crowded) around the park, but didn't do any rides. We really enjoyed people watching and met some great people. It was warm enough to swim. What made the stay worth while was the wonderful fireworks display. Would do the World for New Years again in a heart beat!

Do you remember where you sat???

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

We haven't been for NYE in about 10 years, so I was wondering, do they still do the dance floors and DJs all over Epcot? I was in my mid-20's and I remember the dance floors being packed. Of course, the nonstop barrage of Fiesta Margaritas and thousands of guests doing New Year's Beers Around the World en masse really helped the festivities along nicely. We had a blast!!

 

[fAnnF]

We haven't been for NYE in about 10 years, so I was wondering, do they still do the dance floors and DJs all over Epcot? I was in my mid-20's and I remember the dance floors being packed. Of course, the nonstop barrage of Fiesta Margaritas and thousands of guests doing New Year's Beers Around the World en masse really helped the festivities along nicely. We had a blast!!

I don't remember seeing that last year, but it was so crowded that I may have missed it. There was lots of beer and lots of buzzed 20 somthings.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I don't remember seeing that last year, but it was so crowded that I may have missed it. There was lots of beer and lots of buzzed 20 somthings.

That's too bad. The dance floors with Euro-style techno pumping and extensive light effects dotting the grounds of Epcot would be pretty hard to miss. It was fun while it lasted, I guess...

 

[TheTexasKid]

The weather that time of the year varies a great deal. Some years it is swimming weather, other years you'll need jackets, gloves and a hat.

Are you choosing a resort for dinner or a stay?

You can say that again. My sister and I were there at WDW for NYE, December 31, 2000, and was it cold. I would have been better off staying in northern Texas, where it was warmer than it was in Florida. Of course, the good thing was the cold must have kept most people away from WDW, because I don't remember it being that crowded.