NYE & PS in the PARKS

[AlwaysAPrincess]

HELP!!! I have priority seating at MK at Chrystal Palace. I was told that MK is soooo CROWDED on NYE that you must be in by 9am and cannot leave. Does anyone know...if you have a PS in the MK are you able to get back in if you leave for a nap in the afternoon???? Have you done this? Or do you stay in ALL DAY till midnight??? The CM told me that if you have a PS you are guarenteed into a park....but it may not be the park that you have the PS in. ANyone experience this?

Thanks you!

 

[TroyWDW]

We were at WDW for NYE two years ago. We wanted to leave Epcot during the afternoon and return for our PS later that night. Before we exited the park, I had a 5 minute conversation with the security people and the gate attendants. Before we left I wanted to understand whether we would get back in.

They explained to me that there are different levels of restricting entry into the park based upon how full the park is. Because we were staying at BWV we would be the last group of people excluded from Epcot. If your resort is associated with a given park then you are the last to be shut out. Hence, Epcot & MGM would be associated with BWV, BWI, YC/BC, BCV. The MK would be associated with the Contemporary, Poly, WL, WLV, and GF.

They stated that Priority Seatings don't factor into their decision.

It was about 3:00 pm on NYE day and I remember they told us that MK was completely closed to any new entries and that MGM and Epcot were both turning away non-Disney Resort guests (i.e. if you weren't staying on property the only park open to you was AK). I don't know if later in the day the parks changed to a different restriction level.

Sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear. Maybe someone else has had a different experience.

Troy

 

[robinb]

If you're a Disney resort guest you shouldn't have a problem going to the MK early, leaving for a break, and returning later in the day for your PS. That's exactly what we did.

See this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=675908

 

[Connears]

The above post is NOT corrrect. Our friends started at MK and left and then tried to return for PS at LTT and were NOT allowed back in because MK was at max capacity and no one(not even resort guests ) were allowed in. We have been there for NYE for the past 2 years and MK has closed to all by 9am. 2002-3 NYE We had no problem park hopping between MGM(left around 4pm for Epcot) and Epcot(7:30 PS at Teppanyaki) because Epcot is much more laid out. Last NYE we spent the whole day at MGM.
If you plan on MK plan to go early and plan to stay!
Connears

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by Connears
Our friends started at MK and left and then tried to return for PS at LTT and were NOT allowed back in because MK was at max capacity and no one(not even resort guests ) were allowed in.

It has been my experience (3 NYE in Epcot (99/00, 01/02, 02/03) and 1 in the MK (03/04)) that I have never had a problem returning to the park I started in. What year did your friends have a problem? What time did they try to return? Were they driving? We returned to the MK around 6:00 pm last year and walked right in.

 

[Connears]

2002-3 and they tried to return to MK at 7pm. They were not even allowed to get to parking. I have had no problems park hopping at MGM or Epcot. I have never been brave enough to do MK and that story certainly detered me from ever going there for NYE
Connears

 

[AlwaysAPrincess]

WOW!! This could get hairy. We are staying on-site, Coronado Springs, which helps...I guess. I made PS in both the MK and EPCOT because of what the CM said to me. SO I need to cancel one of them. We will be traveling with friends who have a 9 yr old. I thought MK would be a better night for the 9 yr old. But to go the WHOLE day....9am to 1am....may be a bit rough even on the adults

What do you think if I cancel my PS at MK....but go to MK first thing in the morning....leave mid afternoon.....rest up & then head over to EPCOT around 6pm for our PS at Teppanayki 7pm. Finish the evening at EPCOT. How did your children like EPCOT?

Not really sure what to do?

 

[Terk-1]

New Year's Eve is one of the busiest days of the year. I went a few years ago and made PS for everything. The parks all maxed out their capacity by 10am and no one was allowed to enter the parks, until enough people left. From what I was told by several CM's, once you leave a park, there is no guarantee that you will be able to get back in, even if you have a PS at a restaurant inside a park. They have a maximum capacity that they are allowed to have inside a park and once they reach it, they stop letting people in. My recommendation would be to pick a park, make your PS, arrive at early entry (all parks will have EE that day), then plan to stay until midnight. Also, plan on waits on the attractions to exceed 90+ minutes. Make sure to dress in layers, since you never know when the temps may change.

 

[AlwaysAPrincess]

Thank you all for replying. Sounds like a VERY LONG day. I have my PS all squared away already...that has been done since 90 days out. What my other concern is....is that there is a chrage of $10 per person if you do not show up for your PS on NYE. SO I asked the CM about park hopping & what would happen if we cannot get into the park where we have PS? She said "good question...I will find out". SO she came back on the phone & said if you are staying on property you will be guarenteed to get into a park....but it may not be the park of your choice. And I would have to go to guest services at the park where I have PS & they would make arrangements so your credit card would not be charged. But then....we have NO PLACE to eat!

I guess the best bet is to decide what park we want to be in, go in early....dress in layers (GREAT TIP Terk-1) & prepare for a LONG LONG DAY!!!

Thank you all for your help. If anyone can think of anything else to help make our 1st NYE in WDW better....please...do tell

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by Connears
2002-3 and they tried to return to MK at 7pm. They were not even allowed to get to parking.

They tried to get into the parking lot, not the park. The MK parking lot closes before noon every day that whole week and it's not clear that it re-opens on NYE even if people leave.

I was at the MK last year for NYE. Here's my trip report: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=490243 . We took Disney transportation all day since I didn't want to mess around with the parking lot or the TTC. We entered the park at 7:30 am and the place was empty. As we were leaving the MK at a little after noon they were still allowing people into the park even though the parking lot was closed. I assume these were resort guests or park hoppers coming by bus or monorail. Around 6:30 pm we took the bus back from our resort (OKW) and had no problem re-entering at all. In the past we stayed at BWV and walked into Epcot through the International gate in the morning and again in the early evening. Never a lick of trouble even on the Millennium the busiest NYE on record.

The main problem appears to be parking. If you are a resort guest, I would recommend that you take Disney transportation if you can. If you are not a resort guest I wouldn't pick the MK. You'll end up staying all day (and get pretty cranky) or you'll be like Connears' friends and be turned away at the parking gate. I would choose Epcot instead. I believe that Epcot's parking lot is twice the size of the MK's and rarely closes.

 

[AlwaysAPrincess]

robinb....
Your NYE report was GREAT!!! I cannot belive there was a 175 minute wait for Space Mountain!!!

We are staying on the property & plan to take Disney transportation. MK looks CRAZY CROWDED!!! EPCOT may be a little less crowded b/c it is more spread out. Going to have to show our friends your report & then make a final decision so I can cancel one of our PS's.

Thank you!! Any other advice is welcome!!