New Years??

[Tab2Disney]

Hi!
I have been to Disney World a dozen times, just about every time of year.
But never around New Years Day. Does anyone have any advice/ warnings/ tips, for a trip that will be the week after Christmas. (Dec 27 until Jan 2)
It will be a group of 4 adults and 2 teens.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Robo]

Hi!
I have been to Disney World a dozen times, just about every time of year.
But never around New Years Day. Does anyone have any advice/ warnings/ tips, for a trip that will be the week after Christmas. (Dec 27 until Jan 2)
It will be a group of 4 adults and 2 teens.
Thanks for the help!

One of THE busiest times at WDW.

Some of the parks can close to further admissions due to reaching capacity by mid-to-late morning.

 

[winnja]

Expect the worse crowds you have ever seen. January 1st starts "Adventure Season" (lowest costing season) with the DVC points. I have NO idea why. I went Dec. 30 - Jan. 5 a few years ago and the crowds did NOT die down the entire week. I expected crowds to get a little thinner as the week wore on but they didn't. I would describe it as 10+ and I've been in the middle of the summer and would much rather prefer that!

That being said, all you can do is go early and get what you want done and then when the crowds start pouring in around 11, get out of the parks and go to the pool.

Don't go to the Magic Kingdom on January 1st! One of my ankles was bleeding at the end of the day from getting bumped with so many strollers.

 

[GovieMom]

One of THE busiest times at WDW.

In other words, all the parks will be slam-packed FULL the whole time you're there. Because the week you're going is THE MOST crowded time of year at Disneyworld, just so you're aware.

 

[jayandstacey]

Don't.

It can be done. I just went a few months ago. Never again - until we're to the point of being willing to pay admission to simply sit on a bench, then defend it with our lives.

Somewhere else I posted pics of the Soarin standby wait time of 270 minutes midday NY's eve. That night was even worse. I left feeling, i dunno, bitter.

I mean, it was still Disney - but had that been my first time, it might also have been my last.

Move a mountain to go sometime when it is less crowded. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Robo]

Now, its time for the posts from those who will tell us that the crowds aren't too bad and, if you just use FastPass, it'll be an easy trip!

 

[Amanda_the_awesome]

Its so crowded that its scary.
I was at the mk new years eve and it was closed due to full capacity at 10:30 and the park opened at 9. Its a great experience but its something you only want to do once. Just being truthful

 

[winnja]

Its so crowded that its scary.
I was at the mk new years eve and it was closed due to full capacity at 10:30 and the park opened at 9. Its a great experience but its something you only want to do once. Just being truthful

I agree with you. I did it once but now I will never do it again.

 

[Jacklynn]

We went to Epcot this last New Years Eve. It took us almost 3 hours to get out of the parking lot. We weren't even that far from the parking lot exit either. It was totally gird-locked and people were starting to get VERY angry. We literally didn't move an INCH for 2 hours. We were just sitting there wondering when we were going to move. People were starting to honk and yell at each other... seeing as it was no approaching 3am and most people had been in the park since near opening to ensure they would get in (We had got there around 10 or 11ish by then there was a 4 hour wait for soarin')

Granted the fireworks were pretty amazing.

Other than that, we will never go again on New Years Eve. (unless I lose my mind somewhere along the way).

 

[Tab2Disney]

Yes, I did ask for the "warnings" but I didn't expect to be scared out of my Mickey Ears...
I knew that New years eve would be bad, especially at MK and probably at EPCOT. But the whole week?? Really??
I figured it wouldn't be worse than mid summer or spring break?
come on?
even after New Years Eve??

 

[msgrimm23]

if you are not staying on site you may not get in to the parks they do close them. the crowds this year where nuts. elbow to elbow peeps. we went to mgm (wont call it by the name it is now) the hats and blowers where at certain locations at certain times. they closed mk on new years. traffic was really bad as well. it can be really frustrating with the crowds but if you do it right you can still see everything

 

[jayandstacey]

OK, something more constructive:

Early, early, as others have said. We got to MK one morning and rode all the mountains and big attractions two or three times in the first two hours. Then the "fog" rolls in and everything bogs down.

With teens, you have some options that don't include tantrums. If you leave, prepare that you might not get back in. So you might do rides in the AM, then explore the hotel, DTD or Orlando in the afternoon.

Or tough it out - early AM to late evening, and have fun with the "survival" experience.

 

[jayandstacey]

I figured it wouldn't be worse than mid summer or spring break?
come on?
even after New Years Eve??

Yeah, because everyone has the same days off, and is doing the same thing you are. Summer is spread over 10 weeks or so and even for Easter, some systems are off before, others after. EVERYONE is off Dec 25 through Jan 1.

We went in early August, then over new years. New Years was worse. And to your point, New Years Eve was THE worst, but the days before and after are mostly worse than similar days in the summer.

You can plan for this and make it work. You just have to be prepared for things that become more annoying as it gets crowded, where the biggest impact is to your time management - everything just takes MUCH longer, even walking to another part of the park.

One tip - get out early New Years Day - most people won't - it is a window of opportunity.

 

[jayandstacey]

And one last anecdotal comment:

It would seem that getting to the park at rope drop has a stronger positive effect than during the summer. I think this is because during the summer, you have more well-planned families, who at a bare minimum are willing to put up with the heat and thus are more likely to get up early.

Over New years, you have people that are more looking to get away, don't care the price, and aren't willing to sacrifice. So they sleep in. And paradoxically, this ends up being the biggest sacrifice, the chance to have an uncrowded park.

Of course, there are plenty of people there at park opening. I'm just guessing that the delta between early risers and midday numbers is greater during Christmas week.

Can anyone confirm?

 

[msgrimm23]

And one last anecdotal comment:

It would seem that getting to the park at rope drop has a stronger positive effect than during the summer. I think this is because during the summer, you have more well-planned families, who at a bare minimum are willing to put up with the heat and thus are more likely to get up early.

Over New years, you have people that are more looking to get away, don't care the price, and aren't willing to sacrifice. So they sleep in. And paradoxically, this ends up being the biggest sacrifice, the chance to have an uncrowded park.

Of course, there are plenty of people there at park opening. I'm just guessing that the delta between early risers and midday numbers is greater during Christmas week.

Can anyone confirm?

very true we got up late on 2 of the days and there where so many people getting breakfast then the lines to the parks where long yikes. do the early magic hours if staying on site. we got alot done by the time the parks are open to the public

 

[Tab2Disney]

Thanks for the input, the bad and the worse of it...
I know the Christmas lights are worth seeing, especially when you haven't been before. (the spectacular lights at Hollywood studios)
But if it was just me I'd trade it for "free dining" in a minute.

Now what;
The worst crowd I've had to handle was one night after Wishes,
EMH started and we were boxed in a mass of people, some going toward Main St, others trying to get to Tomorrowland. It was awful. No one could move at all. I swore I would never put my kids in that kind of place again.

 

[twenty3curls]

My fiance and I went down on whim for NYE last year (06/07). We were at Epcot at RD, but were exhausted and hot by 2. We knew we wouldn't make it until midnight feeling like that and dealing with crowds, plus the wait for rides was way too long and FP were gone. So, we took a chance and decided to leave. MK was already at capacity by 1 and we were told Epcot would reach capacity by 4 or 5, so we chaulked it up as a bust. We went to dinner off-site and decided around 9:30 to see if HS was still open. We got there a little after 10 and it was great!! Definitely crowded but not bad at all. They had a huge stage set up in front of the hat and they rotated between a DJ and an 80s band. We didn't feel like doing any rides, so we bought some drinks (they had mini bars set up all around the park) and walked around. We enjoyed the Osbourne lights and saw the Muppets 3D because there was no wait. We went back to the hat for the countdown and we weren't far from the stage at all. At midnight they had a 25 minute firework display set to a soundtrack full of songs from Disney movies. They were amazing! After midnight everyone cleared out, but it still only took us a half hour to get out. We definitely made the right decision. We would have been miserable had we try to hangout at MK or Epcot from 9 am - midnight+. We got a nap, a great steak dinner and awesome fireworks with relatively light crowds. Definitely recommend HS on NYE.
On New Year's Day we managed to hit AK, Epcot and MK since it was our only other day in the park. It was definitely busy...but by 8ish when we got to MK we were able to do all the rides except for SM because we didn't want to wait 40 minutes.
So, long story...okay it was long It's definitely crowded and I wouldn't expect to walk into the parks and try to do everything or even a lot of things...but it's definitely doable and tolerable if you revise expectations.

 

[jmkrat]

We went last year for New Years' Eve. I honestly didn't feel it was as bad as everyone said. For New Year's Eve itself we did go to one of the least crowded parks ( Disney Studios). We were fine. We went to MK the night before ( Dec 30) to see the fireworks display. They showed the same fireworks display the night before New Years Eve that they show on New Year's Eve. They were amazing. Yes, it was crowded, but we had plenty of warning and managed quite well. The parks have extra EMH hours galore. I think MK was open to 4am one evening. I am glad we went, between the fireworks, the Osborne lights and the beautiful Christmas decorations it was well worth it. Just keep reading up on how to get through the busy holiday season. It really helped that I read the boards. There are plenty of people that have gone and can give you great tips, that is where I got most of mine. I am glad we were able to go at least once.

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

We were there this past Xmas and NY and the biggest surprise lines were at the ladies roomthey should have posted waiting times!!!

We went to EPCOT on NYE and it was waste of time-- 4 hour wait for soarin, nemo was over 2, test track was almost 3-- we go several times a year and there was no way I was waiting in those lines-- we just waited around for our ADR at Coral Reef so we could go back to our resort after dinner.

 

[DWFan4Life]

We haven't been during New Year because it's really busy and crowded, you will wait long minutes in rides, so for us, better not to go.