Partying in MK on NYE Eve (Dec 30) until 1am!

[elaine amj]

We had such a blast at Dec 30th’s “practice” party for New Year’s Eve Eve at the Magic Kingdom!

DD23 and I started off with a 2pm ADR at Steakhouse 71 (added bonus of leaving our car for the rest of the night). DD was a bit sleepy afterwards and we both ended up falling asleep on the couches on the second floor convention area. For an hour!

All good as we were fueled with some sleep to start our evening fun. We wandered into MK around 5:30pm.



We ended up stopping for the 6:30pm fireworks instead of skipping it as we had planned as we found really good spots near the Tomorrowland bridge (great view but found the music a little quieter than I like).

Very slowly worked our way over to the Tomorrowland dance party and it was a blast (Of the 3 parties in MK, this was more filled with little kids). We eventually made our way back to the Castle stage where we were surprised to discover characters coming out on stage to dance with us!

They made appearances at each of the dance parties throughout the night (at least we saw them on the Castle Stage and the Tomorrowland stage) before all making a group appearance before the midnight fireworks.

The vibe through the parks was so much fun. People everywhere were bopping to the music as they made their way to the various attractions.

I think it is especially good for teens as it’s a really fun, yet safe and clean atmosphere where you can dance the night away.

We spent our whole night going from dance party to dance party. The only thing I didn’t like is that the DJs didn’t coordinate their playlists and we heard some of the same songs 3 times If they did want to play some of the same songs (understandably so), it would have been nice to play them at the same time so we don’t move on to the next party just to hear the same songs we just heard 10 minutes ago!

Oh well - we still enjoyed ourselves and really liked how animated the DJs were which added a lot to the vibe.



We had packed pinwheel wraps for dinner and ate it sitting on a platform in Frontierland grooving to the music of the dance party there. Comfy seat and no worries about waiting in line for food



Around 10pm, we got in line for the People mover and waited 10 mins, still enjoying the music from the Tomorrowland dance party. It ended up being a much needed rest for our feet

We made sure we were at the Castle stage by 11pm. It was quite a bit busier now although at 11:30pm, CMs were still able to squeeze more folks in. By the midnight fireworks, there were lots of people at the stage but it was wayyy less packed than normal fireworks. We each had space to move and dance and some people even sat on the ground watching the fireworks!



The DJ returned after the fireworks and the party kept hopping! Around 12:15-12:30ish, the DJs from Tomorrowland and Frontierland moved over to the Castle stage and we had 4 DJs keeping the party moving.

We danced until they wrapped up at 12:45pm with the Mickey Mouse clubhouse song.

After that we took a bunch more photos as photographers were stationed all the way down Main Street until after 1am.



Then it was time to monorail back to the Contemporary to get our car to head back to our offsite resort.

Looking forward to Epcot’s NYE party tonight!!!

 

[Mrs.AMC]

We were there last night too. It was much, much less crowded than the past few years. I was shocked. Had a great time but makes me wonder what Epcot is going to be like tonight.

 

[summerlvr]

So good to see you on here again! Glad you are having a great time! Look forward to reading how NYE goes for you.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Glad you enjoyed the evening so much!! Sounds like lots of fun!

Just a note for future and for other guests, unless you paid to valet park at the Contemporary, you should have moved your vehicle to the TTC after your meal. An ADR includes parking while you eat but not beyond that.

The parking is intended for resort guests and if everyone did what you did, resort guests would not be able to find a parking spot at the resort they are staying at. Thanks.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Glad you enjoyed the evening so much!! Sounds like lots of fun!

Just a note for future and for other guests, unless you paid to valet park at the Contemporary, you should have moved your vehicle to the TTC after your meal. An ADR includes parking while you eat but not beyond that.

The parking is intended for resort guests and if everyone did what you did, resort guests would not be able to find a parking spot at the resort they are staying at. Thanks.

So true. As guests who had a car at both boardwalk and contemporary and had a hard time finding parking at times it annoys me to no end that people do that. We no longer get a car and use uber instead. We ubered to contemporary on the 30th. About 9:00. So nice that they ask no questions now

 

[scrappinginontario]

Often guests are still asked at security for many resorts to prove either a resort stay or an ADR, even for Uber/Lyft drop off.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Often guests are still asked at security for many resorts to prove either a resort stay or an ADR, even for Uber/Lyft drop off.

That used to be our experience but this entire year they never asked once. Even on very busy days like the 30th. and at all the resorts around mk or epcot. We use Uber a lot. Multiple times on multiple trips. We like going to the bars at resorts so no adr possible. Drivers told us that it is really easy for them now. If they ask it’s very rare now. Not the norm.

 

[scrappinginontario]

That used to be our experience but this entire year they never asked once. Even on very busy days like the 30th. and at all the resorts around mk or epcot. We use Uber a lot. Multiple times on multiple trips. We like going to the bars at resorts so no adr possible. Drivers told us that it is really easy for them now. If they ask it’s very rare now. Not the norm.

Interesting. You're the first to share this update. I'm going to ask on the Transportation board for recent experiences to ensure I'm providing accurate information as this is a question that is asked often.

 

[Dave006]

You're the first to share this update. I'm going to ask on the Transportation board for recent experiences to ensure I'm providing accurate information as this is a question that is asked often.

It is more of a timing thing vs just using a Ride Share for a Guest drop-off.

@Mrs.AMC mentioned resort bars without ADR vs early morning breakfast before or at Park opening times. It always varies by the resort, time of day, and how busy the resort is at various times of the day.

Dave

 

[scrappinginontario]

It is more of a timing thing vs just using a Ride Share for a Guest drop-off.

@Mrs.AMC mentioned resort bars without ADR vs early morning breakfast before or at Park opening times. It always varies by the resort, time of day, and how busy the resort is at various times of the day.

Dave

You could be quite right about the timing thing but to be sure, I've created a thread to ask the question about drop-off since @MrsAMC says she's 'used uber/lyft multiple times on multiple trips and never been asked' so I'm trying to find out if things have changed. I have included a time question in my thread to help gear if any changes have been made or if she was just lucky.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

There’s just no logical reason to ask or care if guests are simply getting dropped off at a resort. The car is not taking up space for an overnight guest in any way. At worst, the guest gets dropped off and leaves for a park. At best they get dropped off and spend money at the resort. At no time is it harming Disney in any way so baffles me why they ever cared. I assumed our experiences this year meant they finally realized it. Not to mention there’s no question about drivers coming to pick up guests. Often drivers do both when we get dropped off, they have another pick up there any way

 

[scrappinginontario]

It's a problem because there are tens of thousands of people arriving at the parks each day and many are being dropped off. Disney has provided drop-off locations for each park but some people try to use other drop off locations at resorts which is not the intent of the resorts. It puts extra stress on the security stations that are there to ensure each person entering is there to use the resort facilities.

Disney is an amazing place and their flow of traffic (both vehicle and people) is amazing, but when guests try to use other places for drop-off, it alters the flow of traffic.

As an update, so far there are 10 responses on my thread and the vast majority of them still report in the past 6 months that proof of an ADR or reservation has been required to enter a resort so the practice is still very much alive.

To enter a resort parking lot, guests still require an ADR or resort reservation at that resort. Disney resorts are not intended as drop-off locations for guests just using them to go to a different location.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

It's a problem because there are tens of thousands of people arriving at the parks each day and many are being dropped off. Disney has provided drop-off locations for each park but some people try to use other drop off locations at resorts which is not the intent of the resorts. It puts extra stress on the security stations that are there to ensure each person entering is there to use the resort facilities.

Disney is an amazing place and their flow of traffic (both vehicle and people) is amazing, but when guests try to use other places for drop-off, it alters the flow of traffic.

As an update, so far there are 10 responses on my thread and the vast majority of them still report in the past 6 months that proof of an ADR or reservation has been required to enter a resort so the practice is still very much alive.

To enter a resort parking lot, guests still require an ADR or resort reservation at that resort. Disney resorts are not intended as drop-off locations for guests just using them to go to a different location.

Ok. Not going to change our way. Guess we got lucky 20 or 30 times this year

 

[JODEE2090]

We had our Uber drop us off at the Yacht Club on New Years Eve, so that we could enter thru the back gate at Epcot. I agree with the above poster who replied that you're being dropped off and the car is not taking up space in the parking lot.