New Year's Eve???????????

[SimbaNoodle]

Hi Everyone,

I need the opinions of the Disboard experts. I am trying to decide if I really want to attempt a trip to WDW during NYE. I currently have a 1br reserved at VWL arriving Dec 27 for 7 nights. I have always made trips during non peak times and I am scared I will be miserable.

We have AP's. I would like to know if the parks are so crowded that you can't enjoy just being in Disney??

Are the Christmas lights still up?

I would appreciate any information you can give.

Lewis

 

[living la vida mickey]

Yes, the Christmas decorations are still up. We were at WDW NYE of 1998. It was very crowded at Epcot. You had to get into the parks early because they closed entry in the early afternoon. We watched the millenium celebration from Epcot on TV and there were less people there for that one. We had a great time, but it is definitely crowded.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We went last year for New Year's and are headed back for the same time period that you are this year. It is crowded but if you use early entry and fast pass, then pace yourself by leaving the parks after lunch when it gets crowded, it is okay. We had a great time last year despite the crowds (and the torrential rain).

HBC

 

[Connears]

We were there last year just like HBC above. It was crowded (and pouring rain), but really enjoyed NYE at Epcot. We left after PS at jTeppanyaki around 10pm and took boat to BW while DH went on to get car at MGM(we started the day there and hit Epcot at5pm or so). While DS and I waited at BW for DH, they brought our hat and noise maker like the ones we got in the parks and it was very festive in the lobby. They even had a jugler for the kids. We went back to OKW and wtched the ball drop in NY and saw and heard the fireworks at Epcot from our porch(at least some). I think we might try MGM this year. Yes , we are returning the same time 12/28-1/02/04.
Connears

 

[dbond]

We went last year for NYE. We arrived 12/30 and stayed until 1/6. NYE was crowded, but manageable during the day. At night, the rain came and didn't go away so it was hard to tell what it would have been like without the downpour. We had a blast though, it was warm, we were wet, who cared? After the 1st, the crowds thinned considerably each day. It was an awesome trip, well worth the experience. The fireworks show at midnight in Epcot was awesome, even in a torrential downpour. We're determined to hit WDW for every major holiday, crowds and all!

 

[tiberius]

dbond,

My New Year's experiences have been similar for 1998 and 2000 New Year's Eve times, except we had no rain--although 2000/2001 trip was cold at times.

 

[kinlaw6450]

We were there for NYE this year. We were soaking wet but had a great time!

 

[peachgirl]

We were at WDW this past Christmas/NYE 12/19 - 1/1. IMO, if crowds bother you, you won't like it. If it's like it was last year, the 27th-31st will be very crowded. Since we were there before the big crowds hit, we were able to get the "must do" things out of the way. From the 22nd on, it got very crowded so we cut our park hours down. We made use of EE and by 11 am or so when the parks became very crowded, we'd head back to our resort, then go back later in the evenings and stay until park closing.

We spent NYE at MGM. Since we knew we probably wouldn't be able to leave and return later, we didn't go until around 10am. By that time, MK was closed, at least to parking lot traffic and I heard that it closed completely by noon. Our bus driver said that Epcot was very close to being closed, but MGM was fine. One of the best things we did was to rent a locker! Because we couldn't leave, it was nice to have someplace to store things, rather than lugging them around the park all day. If you want a locker, rent it early. By 1pm, they were sold out.

We too got to enjoy the torrential rains! The only good thing about it was that by 10pm the park was virtually empty! We tossed the ponchos and had a ball walking onto any ride we wanted. Thankfully, it was fairly warm that night so other than being soaking wet, we were fine. It had been quite cold on other nights so it really wasn't bad.

We enjoyed our trip very much and I don't regret going. We wanted to experience WDW over the holidays. However, now that we can say we've done it, I don't think we'll ever go back during that time of year. I really don't mind crowded parks. We usually go in the summer months and it can be fairly crowded, but the crowds during the week of Christmas/NYE are beyond crowded!

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Spent last NYE at PI. Immediate reaction? Potted meat!

 

[Experiment626]

We were soaking wet but had a great time!

Yep... us too. I was the one in the yellow poncho

 

[funhouse8]

We are going this NYE also and were thinking of going to Epcot, but after reading your post maybe we should go to MGM. Do they also have a count-down at midnight with fireworks? Thanks, I can't wait to go!