NYE.guaranteed entry into park if staying on site?

[Debs Hill]

Do you get guaranteed entry into the parks on NYE if you are staying on Disney property, even if the park is at capactity? We are travelling with a 4 year old and don't want to spend a full day there if we can help it and would like to go over late afternoon! Please help!

 

[2tinksmom]

There is no guarantee...even for on-site guests. We got to EPCOT this past NYE about 10:00 am and it was starting to get crowded. We chose EPCOT because it is the largest park. We managed...my DDs were 6 & 10...by taking a lot of breaks, just sitting, having a snack and people watching. We left WS around 10. There were a lot of people, some drinking, and a whole lot of noise makers...very loud. My youngest DD kept getting hit in the head as we walked. Her head seemed to be right at elbow level. Once in FW, we walked on to several shows and enjoyed them while resting. I believe they did close the park that day in the late morning. We actually had a good time, but it will be a while before we go again!
Michele

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by Debs Hill
Do you get guaranteed entry into the parks on NYE if you are staying on Disney property, even if the park is at capactity? We are travelling with a 4 year old and don't want to spend a full day there if we can help it and would like to go over late afternoon! Please help!

There are various phases of closing at WDW -- it's pretty seldom that they get to the final "no one else allowed in no matter who they are" phase. It's done park by park, also, so if MK is closed, that doesn't mean that every other park is closed as well.

NYE day is different than most days. On most days, the parks fill up (and close at capacity) early in the day, and then thin out again in the late afternoon and evening. On NYE (and July 4), the parks stay busy all day long and often get a bump in attendance in the evening, as all the people show up who are just coming for fireworks.

All that said ... you are pretty much guaranteed entry into ONE of the parks on NYE if you're on property. However, it may not be the park you WANT to be in. So if it's a priority to you to be at MK on NYE, when the clock strikes twelve, then you'll be taking a chance going over in the late afternoon. If it doesn't matter to you which park you're in that evening, then you should be fine.

 

[seashoreCM]

Heads up!

If you are staying on-site during the most busy times and using a single day ticket, put pressure on Disney to give you admission all afternoon and all evening to some park or combination of parks if that is what you want. (single day tickets do not normally allow park hopping.)

Again, they have the final say as to which park(s) but you should have the final say as to which and how many hours.

No guarantees as to how well you will enjoy things because the most busy times don't allow you to go on that many rides given the crowding.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Geoff_M]

All that said ... you are pretty much guaranteed entry into ONE of the parks on NYE if you're on property.

However, keep in mind that the ONE park may be AK, which usually closes at 6 PM on NYE! The bottom line is, pick your park and get there as EARLY as possible. When we were there on 12/31/2002 as used an "avoid the crowd" strategy and went to MGM at opening and left when it got too crowded to enjoy and then went to AK for the balance of the day and then did EMH at MK on 1/1 while the masses "slept it off". The CM at the AK gate said when we asked that they fully closed MK at 10 AM.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The Disney Studios was not packed this past NYE. We arrived at about 7PM and got right in. Stayed until about 12:30 and walked back to the Dolphin. The fireworks were great. They had three Fantasmics and a live band. We had a great time.