Parking strategies for New Year's week

[salovesdisney]

We have been to DisneyWorld enough times to know the usual strategies, but now are faced with the huge challenge of visiting for New Year's week while staying offsite. We are resigned to not being able to leave MK for an afternoon break, as its too risky that we won't make it back in. I'd love to hear other's experiences with the theme park parking lots for New Year's week, especially those who were staying offsite, as we hope to at least get into Epcot and DHS for evening events without arriving first thing in the morning.

 

[supersnoop]

Park at Epcot and take the monorail. At 10 a.m., the line of cars waiting to get into the Magic Kingdom parking lot was stretched past the Epcot entrance.

Personally, we did Magic Kingdom on 12/30 and Epcot on 12/31. Crowds were bad, but not near as bad as I expected. The cast members were doing their best to direct traffic in the park ("please walk to the right, stay to the right"), and everything really seemed to move fine. Granted, the posted wait time at 9 p.m. for Test Track was five hours (300 minutes), so don't expect to get much done.

 

[salovesdisney]

Thanks; good tip. I was planning that sequence of parks as well.

 

[Skywise]

If you can afford it, you might also try valet parking at one of the Epcot resorts and then making use of transportation from there.
Agreed getting into the Magic Kingdom parking will be nigh impossible, especially closer to NYE you get!

 

[Keels]

EPCOT increases the parking capacity and starts parking cars on the grass area under the monorail, just before security, on NYE. I would park at EPCOT at every opportunity.

 

[fla4fun]

Are you visiting the week between Christmas and New Year's or arriving for New Year's and staying a week after? That makes a big difference in how to handle the crowds. The week between Christmas and New Year's the parks (especially MK) easily close for capacity, but then typically open back up in the late afternoon. The only day that doesn't apply is NYE, when the crowds just build and build and build all day. If you are arriving for New Year's and staying for the week after, the crowds are pretty heavy through the weekend after New Year's then drop off substantially.

I would park your car where you plan to end your day, and then use Disney transportation to get around property. So if you plan to end your day at MK, park at the TTC. If you plan to end your day at Epcot, park at Epcot. If you park at Epcot but are planning to close down the park at MK, you need to make sure Disney will have transportation running between the two parks at the time you need to return to your vehicle (since Epcot often closes earlier than the other parks).

 

[salovesdisney]

I am visiting the week between Christmas and New Year's, Sun to Sat.

 

[Robo]

If you plan to end your day at Epcot, park at Epcot. If you park at Epcot but are planning to close down the park at MK, you need to make sure Disney will have transportation running between the two parks at the time you need to return to your vehicle (since Epcot often closes earlier than the other parks).

They always have transportation running for that route until all guests have been accommodated.
If they shut down the monorail, they will provide buses for that run.