New Years Eve

[DisneytheKid]

Is anyone going on New Years Eve? I've never been but am thinking about going tomorrow, just worried about the crowds. Im sure it will fill to capacity which may make park hopping impossible,right? Has anyone else gone on New Years?

Its been a few years since we went over new years and it is most definitely crazy busy. I don't see us going back for NYE again. Just too busy. ..

 

[disneychrista]

gotta get up early for tomorrow!

Even though I KNEW that tomorrow was NYE, I am having a hard time with NYE being TOMORROW.

Have fun tomorrow.

 

[ButterflyKisses77]

Even though I KNEW that tomorrow was NYE, I am having a hard time with NYE being TOMORROW.

Have fun tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

[cats mom]

Any live from DLR reports yet today?

We've been at DLR for NYE a couple of times, and for me it has become one of those I'm glad I experienced it, but may never need to do it again kind of things.

In fact we were in the parks yesterday and left by noon-ish because the crowds were a bit much for our liking even then. I'm just glad I live close enough for that to be an option, because I think I've become a crowd wimp.

 

[christinaspring]

I keep checking in for crowd reports too! Just curious!

 

[8timesblessed]

I would love to hear as well. My friend is there with another mom and her sons and their girlfriends. She wanted helpful tips and I tell her arrive early and she messages me saying they don't plan to be there until 11am. Ugh of all the days to arrive early it's the next 3 days!!! I told her they might not get in if they wait that long. It will be wall to wall people.

 

[Astylla]

I would love to gear back also though I saw pics of WDW bag check today and it was worse than opening weekend of CarsLand , butt o be expected.

I hope everyone is doing great though!

I myself have discovered my favorite wine from Steakhouse 55 - Rosa Regale was at BevMo and will be drinking in the new year very well..muaha. Though it is a 2012 vintage I am not that picky and it was on sale

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I don't know about other people's experience, but we found DLR to be surprisingly sane and manageable for NYE. Both parks were crowded, but not totally insane. We arrived around 4:30 pm, cruised right into M&F, entered DL without any problem or wait, had dinner in NOS, walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere, then went to DCA (again, no problems with entry) to listen to the music and dance. The longest line was FF&P, but it wasn't too bad. Saw Mary Niven and thanked her for all the festivites and good crowd control planning. As far as I know, DL never did reach capacity -- CMs were telling us it was OK to return after 11 pm. Hope others had a good time as well. Happy New Year!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Thanks for the report.

Happy New Year, everyone.

 

[dismomofbn]

We didn't arrive until 6:30 last night. We walked from our hotel to the parks knowing there was a strong possibility that we wouldn't get in. We were so surprised to find very small lines to get in to both parks. We went to the ticket booth to purchase our new annual passes. (Thank you for DisBoards for the information that you can still get in on a block out date on the day of purchase, upgrade or activation of an AP) Paul, the helpful CM at the ticket booth said both parks were open and that they were all very surprised. We chose to go into DCA where we found ride waits were very short. The longest we waited was 30 minutes for TOT and that was because of a short technical difficulty. RSR had a wait of 60 minutes but we decided to wait to do that on one of our other visits this week. World of Color and Mad T party were packed but manageable. We are about to head to the parks in about an hour and are hopeful that today will be smooth as well

 

[Malcon10t]

It was the most peaceful NYE we have seen in 10+ years, not counting rain years. Racers had a wait time of 60 mins at 7pm. Screamin' had 5 min waits at 4pm. At 11pm when we crossed to DL, we rode the train to NOS, where the queue for Pirates wasnt extended! Got seats for fireworks and Fantasmic! Great night!!

 

[christinaspring]

Thanks for reporting in! Very interesting. Makes me wish I was there!

 

[Gisele]

ButterflyKisses77 --

If you're looking for someone to tell you that the crowds will not be that bad, or that you will have no problem entering or reentering Disneyland if you hop over to DCA, I don't think that's possible. DCA will probably not reach capacity, but even that is not guaranteed anymore. Disneyland, very probably, could reach capacity.

I will say -- in fairness, and just to present another side -- that I have, indeed, read comments/reviews from people here and there who have said that NYE was "not that bad" or "not as bad as expected." Some have even said they had a great time, despite crowds in Disneyland. So there are people out there who enjoy it and don't have an issue with the huge crowds, or with getting into Disneyland.

I find, time and time again, that on these boards people want to know how crowded it will be at such and such a time. If we (and that means anyone on The DIS) tell them that it will be really, really crowded, inevitably someone will come back after their trip and say that it "wasn't that bad." If we tell them that it "won't be that bad," then inevitably someone will come back and say that the crowds were "much worse than expected"!

Personally, I tried a NYE trip many years ago -- before it was even an option to hop over to DCA. It was way, way, way too crowded for me -- like the kind of crowded where everyone was packed onto Main Street, smooshed against each other for hours (not even just before midnight, but hours earlier). No space in between each person. No personal space. Anyone who is prone to being claustrophobic would have been very uncomfortable. My friend and I had a rough time even trying to get out of the crowd because no one would move. After a while we literally had to just barrel through because no one would make way for us to escape! Another friend took one look at the crowd and decided to head back to our hotel room for the rest of the night.

It was not fun. That experience left me with no great desire to ever do another New Year's Eve trip to Disneyland in my lifetime. Now, many years later, I won't say that I will never ever do another NYE trip -- after all, the concentration of crowds in Disneyland 'back then' may have been worse than it would be now, because these days people can escape to DCA or to the hotels or DTD (Jazz Kitchen is having a festive masquerade bash). I could do the NYE trip differently, and maybe hang out somewhere outside of Disneyland. But it is not at the top of my list. I would not choose to go at that time again, and would probably only agree to it if a friend wanted to go.

Lol....I so totally agree. I highly doubt NYE is anything but very crowded at DLR. I am not a local to so cal, therefore cannot just stop by to see how things are going.
One day, I might plan to visit during that time frame.

 

[dizneefan13]

It was the most peaceful NYE we have seen in 10+ years, not counting rain years. Racers had a wait time of 60 mins at 7pm. Screamin' had 5 min waits at 4pm. At 11pm when we crossed to DL, we rode the train to NOS, where the queue for Pirates wasnt extended! Got seats for fireworks and Fantasmic! Great night!!

That is good to hear! Any idea why things were so peaceful this year?

 

[Gisele]

That is good to hear! Any idea why things were so peaceful this year?

In my opinion, it's all about perspective and what works for the individual person.

 

[marcyinPA]

We were there. We went to DCA from before rope drop until about 6 pm. The crowds were manageable and we rode everything we wanted- some twice- and only used two fast passes all day.

We walked over to DL when we were done at DCA. OMGoodness, it was a ZOO!!! The parade had just finished on Main St. and Main Street/train station was wall to wall people. We just wanted to take the train to toon town so we could get some pictures of Small World lit up. We could barely move. Snapped some photos and decided to walk back to the front because the line for the train was insane. Walking was not much better, but we kept our sense of humor and made it out of there alive .

We were in CA for the Rose Parade so Disney was just a bonus for us. I don't think I would choose to visit at this time of year on purpose.

 

[starry_solo]

was in DCA for an hour (around 10 am) before heading to DLR. DLR became a zoo around 4 pm.

 

[GeneralTso]

We had family there (locals) and they said it was wall to wall humanity.
I totally agree with above poster who said it's all about perspective.

Of course folks are going to say it wasn't that bad. They probably just dropped a load of money for the trip and need to make the best of it.

When I've been there and it's been super crowded, I just roll with it. You have to make the best of it and lower your expectations.

I've also been there when it was truly low crowds and that is just fantastic. The best. No comparison.

Just like when it rains---sorry. It pretty much sucks. So much better when the weather is mild. Not 96 degrees. Not raining. Not 32 degrees.

 

[ButterflyKisses77]

My brother & I went and we thought it was crazy crowded! Space mountain wait was 2 hrs most of the day. So crowded that you are just shoulder to shoulder with people all day. Glad we went but don't think I'll ever do new years at disneyland again! Planning on going back in February - cant wait

 

[Sherry E]

My brother & I went and we thought it was crazy crowded! Space mountain wait was 2 hrs most of the day. So crowded that you are just shoulder to shoulder with people all day. Glad we went but don't think I'll ever do new years at disneyland again! Planning on going back in February - cant wait

I'm so glad you reported back -- I was wondering if you ended up going after all!

Well, at least you tried it. You wanted to see what Disneyland was like on NYE and now you have had that experience. The shoulder-to-shoulder/no personal space thing is an issue for me if it lasts for more than a couple of minutes, so that would really drive me nuts. It becomes hard to even move around the parks when it is that crowded.

February should be great!