New Years trip - Dec 31-Jan 7

[mom2elle]

We are planning a trip over NYE and through the first week in January. I am trying to gain a realistic understanding of what to expect that week, considering we will be there for NYE and New Year's Day, and then I assume the next weekend will be marathon weekend.

We are a family of 6, and considering school and work schedules this was the best compromise on dates.

How crazy will Dec 31/Jan 1 be? (We have been to wdw for easter and thanksgiving in the past).

Will any holiday decorations be up (at least the first day or two)? Castle lights?

Recommendations for a park for NYE? (My kids are 21, 18, 13, and 9).

Any other General advice or feedback from anyone who has been there this week in the past??

Thanks!
-Kate

 

[thelittlemermaid2]

I've never been at that time of year, but I do know that Christmas decorations start to come down on Jan. 2. So you should get a chance to see them the first few days!

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

We are planning a trip over NYE and through the first week in January. I am trying to gain a realistic understanding of what to expect that week, considering we will be there for NYE and New Year's Day, and then I assume the next weekend will be marathon weekend.

We are a family of 6, and considering school and work schedules this was the best compromise on dates.

How crazy will Dec 31/Jan 1 be? (We have been to wdw for easter and thanksgiving in the past).

Will any holiday decorations be up (at least the first day or two)? Castle lights?

Recommendations for a park for NYE? (My kids are 21, 18, 13, and 9).

Any other General advice or feedback from anyone who has been there this week in the past??

Thanks!
-Kate

Hey there -

We're heading to Disney for our 7th Christmas and NYE.

Having been there for Easter, you have an IDEA of what the crowds are like, but nothing prepares you for NYE. It's crazy crowded. Even as a seasoned vet, last year was a little overwhelming. I think between the heat (it was crazy hot) and everything going on in the world, it made us feel a little uneasy.

That's not to say you shouldn't go. You SHOULD. It's an amazing time and I wouldn't give up the memories we've had at Disney.

In the past, Magic Kingdom, DHS and EPCOT were the three main parks to go to for NYE. Magic Kingdom gets the most crowded, obviously, and normally hits capacity by 11am. EPCOT gets insanely crowded, but it rarely hits capacity. DHS also holds crowds pretty well - well, it did.

Are you staying on-site or off-site?

Magic Kingdom does the same show on 12/30. The only thing that changes on 12/31 is the year. It's a "warm up" show of sorts and a chance to see the show with a lower crowd level. MK is one of the parks you need to just go to and stay at. Even if you're on-site.

EPCOT is a little more lenient when it comes to crowds. We normally go to EPCOT around 8pm and stay the night. This year, we're staying at Beach Club and will probably walk over around 10pm. Last year was just too crazy. This will be a fun spot for your 21yo. It's more adult-friendly than it is kid-friendly. There's very much a drinking culture to it and some guests do tend to get over served. If you can see past all that, though, the fireworks show is the best I've ever seen.

DHS is fun. It's a scaled down version of EPCOT. They have drinks and all, but it's more family friendly and tame. I'm not sure how it'll be this year, though, with all the construction. It'll probably feel far more packed and not absorb the crowds as well.

I'm actually wondering if AK will do anything for NYE this year. With Animal Kingdom starting nighttime attractions, I'm wondering if they'll stay open for NYE. The only problem is the fireworks scaring the animals.

Disney also has plenty of restaurant events, like prix fixe menus.

- All in all, I'd say DHS is your best choice. It's family friendly, but also gives you and your 21yo a chance to have a drink. BUT - I'm not sure what the state of the park will be come NYE

- I'd stay away from MK. It's way too crowded and doesn't absorb crowds well.

- EPCOT can be good if you're on-site. You have the perk of going late and not being turned away. Now, that's not to say the park won't hit such a high capacity that they would turn away on-site guests. It can happen, but it hasn't yet.

- There's always Disney Springs. Again, it gets crowded with off-site guests and those from the area, but it can be fun, especially now after all the additions.

 

[Skywise]

The 31st will be nuts. There's no way around that. If you're staying not staying on-site plan on getting to the park you want to see the fireworks early and staying there. If you are staying on-site you'll want to give yourself plenty of time to get around (I'd give myself an extra hour for bus transportation between MK and Epcot area for instance). You can afford to go a little later to the parks because it's rare that they're closed to on-site guests but it's still a possibility. Also, if you're planning on seeing the fireworks in front of the castle, you'll still need to go early to stake out a spot! For the most part I try to avoid the parks on the 31st and watch the MK fireworks from the Poly, CR or the TTC (depending on where I'm staying).
The 1st will still be a zoo during the day but the crowds start to die off pretty quickly and won't be as bad as the 31st.

The rest of the week should be fairly "normal" until the marathon when the crowds will start picking up again but nowhere near as bad as the 31st.

Christmas decorations will still be mostly up but some things may start coming down. For instance the tree at Epcot goes down almost immediately. The Christmas fireworks shows and castle lighting shows will stop (although the castle lights stay lit for part of the week) but the Christmas music will continue playing for awhile.

 

[DWillowBay]

I was in MK on January 1th this past year and the castle lights were still up. The street decorations and the tree were still there too. However, over night...like MAGIC!...they all disappeared (the castle lights were up, but not on). So, you have very good chance of see the decorations. They were still up at Epcot too.

 

[robinb]

I've been to WDW many times over NYE.

How crazy will Dec 31/Jan 1 be? (We have been to wdw for easter and thanksgiving in the past).

It will be cray-cray-cray-crazy all week between Christmas and NYE! Crazier than Spring Break. It will slow down after NYE, but given that NYE is in the middle of the week, I really wouldn't count on it. It's probably going to be pretty busy that whole week instead of *dead*.

Will any holiday decorations be up (at least the first day or two)? Castle lights?

Yes, all of that plus all the Christmas music. The Christmas parade will already be done.

Recommendations for a park for NYE? (My kids are 21, 18, 13, and 9).

The best park, IMO, for NYE is Epcot. If you can arrive a day earlier on the 30th the MK shows their NYE fireworks on both the 30th and the 31st.

Are you staying onsite or offsite?

 

[HopperFan]

We used to go then, but stopped.

NYE/day are busy. NYE if you want to go to MK or maybe Epcot (1) go early and be prepared to stay inside (2) as soon as you can book dining during the day to give you a break and off your feet meal (3) game plan ... it's a long day. If I had to choose - it would be find some place to watch the MK NYE fireworks on 12/30 (traffic will be nightmare so be very early) and then do 12/31 at Epcot.

The way the calendar falls this year most around us in the south are OUT OF SCHOOL ALL WEEK, and a big destination is Disney World, Every once in a while our schedules hit that first full week off. Expect it more crowds the entire week than other years.

 

[mom2elle]

Thank you all so much for your feedback! We are staying on-site, but will be flying into town early on NYE (coming from PA).
I'm mentally prepared for total insanity, but I think we will go for it. We can't come any earlier, so our only other option is to arrive on jan 1, and I'd rather opt for experiencing the madness!

 

[pa. dad]

We were there last year from 12-28 to 1-5 so many of the same days you will be there.
We have been there in the summer, in the MK on July 4th before and we have never seen crowds like that before. All of the parking lots full or almost full. Lines for rest rooms most of the day in the parks including mens rooms at times.
You have to downsize the number of attractions you can do in a day even though the parks are open longer hours. And you have to be willing to stretch the amount of time you'll wait for something without a Fastpass.

You will see most Christmas decorations still up and you'll hear some Christmas carols. Maybe not as much as a week or 2 earlier but still quite a bit.

We had some hot days early in the trip and some cool days later in the trip. None of the days were actually like the "average" days they call for at that time of year weather wise. So pack a variety of clothing.

Sometimes in order to get all the family without missing school or sports or work, we have to take a timing that is not our first choice. Even at insanely busy levels, we still got to do most but not all of the things we wanted to with some planning and persistence.

 

[robinb]

Thank you all so much for your feedback! We are staying on-site, but will be flying into town early on NYE (coming from PA).
I'm mentally prepared for total insanity, but I think we will go for it. We can't come any earlier, so our only other option is to arrive on jan 1, and I'd rather opt for experiencing the madness!

Great! thanks for the additional information.

The MK's fireworks are the best IMO but there is a small chance that you will not be allowed into the MK when you arrive. The MK always closes on NYE in the mid-morning and then re-opens in the late afternoon. Since you can't be there in the morning when the crowds are smaller, I would skip it. Epcot is much, much bigger and you will not have a problem getting in. In addition, Epcot has a number of dance parties that your kids will enjoy. The fire breathing dragon in China is AWESOME! My 16-year old DD loves the Epcot parties. I suggest that you get an ADR somewhere in the park right at the 180-day window. I would also suggest that you get FP+ at exactly 60 days for NYE starting a couple hours after your arrival to give you enough time to get to the park.

Since you're staying onsite, DHS always has evening EMH into the wee morning that day.

 

[mom2elle]

Thanks again everyone!
We are so excited about this trip. It will be the first time in 4 years that we will have all 4 kids with us. Last trip was Nov 1-8 2014, and my oldest DD had just started college so she was not with us.

DHS has always been our families favorite park. We love epcot too. Sounds like we should aim for one of them for NYE!

 

[hippiechicken]

We go Christmas to New Years. It's amazing then. Definitely worth the madness. Easter and Thanksgiving are nowhere near as crazy!!
I would recommend finding a way to get there on 12/30 and go to MK. We usually go to HS on 12/31 because we like the DJ. We may try EPCOT this year though for a change, but my daughter will be 21 so it's a little different... If I had young kids and couldn't do MK on 12/30, then I'd probably go there on 12/31, expecting it to be crazy!! Trying to leave any parking lot will be torturous.
Whatever you do, it will be wonderful!!

 

[CAS239]

I wouldn't do HS at all for New Years. Epcot and MK would be my only options. We were there for New Year's last year and we did MK on the 30th to see their NYE fireworks so we could do Epcot on the 31st.

Since you can't be there on the 30th, I'd do Epcot for New Years. We thought Epcot was hands down the best show. The atmosphere was great as well. Free NYE hats and whistles given out, multiple dance parties and DJ's in some countries, extra stands for beverages and snacks. And for those old enough, they had stands that had the cheapest beer prices in all of Disney at $5 a cup.

We got to Epcot around 8am and got in like it was any other day. No extreme wait to park or bag check. Meanwhile, as we took the turn for Epcot, the line for MK had to of been backed up about 1-2 miles from the MK entrance. We were glad we weren't going there. Ride times at Epcot did get ridiculous, but knowing you're staying there until after midnight, there's plenty of time and might as well wait.

We plan on going back to Epcot again for this New Years

 

[CAS239]

Here's some pics I took on NYE. These fireworks were from the fireworks they shot off at 6pm

One of the many stands they had set up

And speaking of crowds. It's NYE so expect all rides to have a long wait in the afternoon. The morning at Epcot wasn't bad at all. But after about noon, the lines picked up. Here's a pic of Living with the Land at 4pm with a 50 minute wait.

 

[TLPL]

How is the crowd for the week after new year? This year's school Christmas break starts late, so we don't have to go back to school until January 9th. I am thinking maybe go to WDW after the new year. Will it be crowded?

 

[pa. dad]

How is the crowd for the week after new year? This year's school Christmas break starts late, so we don't have to go back to school until January 9th. I am thinking maybe go to WDW after the new year. Will it be crowded?

We left on the 5th of 2016 and were at the parks thru the 4th, and crowds were still huge. No doubt many on the people we saw in the lines on the 3rd and 4th had arrived in town before the new year as we did.

 

[mrsR123]

How is the crowd for the week after new year? This year's school Christmas break starts late, so we don't have to go back to school until January 9th. I am thinking maybe go to WDW after the new year. Will it be crowded?

Normally, crowds drop off as early as the 3rd. This year, though, I'm seeing a lot of posts from folks whose breaks run until the 9th-- as ours does. We're booked 12/31-1/6 with fingers crossed.