re-entering parks on holidays?

[LauraAnn630]

We thought we would leave during the afternoon to take a little break.
Then I was reading about the parks filling up to capacity and not being able to get back in!

If we get to the parks at opening and have to stay all day till closing, thats going to be a long day...and night.

The major problem is my disabled mom really needed an afternoon break.

Will we really NOT be able to re-enter the park on Christmas Day and New Year Eve Day?

 

[KikiFan]

Everything I've read says the same thing. So we're planning on a long day as well. Something we're not really used to either, and since we've got my 74 year old mom this time, it's something I'm concerned about. My solution was to book two table service meals on CHristmas, lunch at LeCellier and Dinner at Tepanyaki. That way we'll get a couple of breaks during the day. Hopefully that will be enough.

 

[safetymom]

As a resort guest you are guaranteed entry to A park. It may not be the one you want to go to.

 

[Diznut84]

I would recommend you do yourself a favor and subscribe to TourGuideMike. He has the Least Crowded Parks listed for Christmas week, and important strategies for touring during this very crowded period. Shortly, he will update an even more detailed guide for Christmas week. Currently, you can view the 2005 version.

My family has gone to WDW many times over the holiday break, and we will be at WDW over the holiday week this year as well. But trust me, you don't want to be at a park that is at capacity. It is closed for a reason. The park cannot accommodate any more people. It will literally be wall to wall people. Everything from bathrooms to counter service restaurants will be jammed. Lines will be horrendous.

For example, two years ago on NYE at Epcot we were literally in a human traffic jam. It took 45 minutes to get from Mexico to Norway. You could not move either forward or backward. Worse yet, my daughter and I were separated from my wife and other daughter. My kids were crying and wanted to go home. It was VERY scary. This will never happen to us again. From now on, we read and follow TourGuideMike's recommendations. Five trips later, we have rarely waited for more than 20 minutes for any ride.

Some people can survive parks that are at capacity during the NYE and Christmas period and stay in good spirits. All the power to them. But most cannot. For those people, they should listen to TourGuideMike. It IS possible to tour that week and enjoy minimal wait times. But you have to know which park to go to and at what time. HINT: You WILL NOT be going to a park that is at capacity when it is at capacity.

Anyway, best wishes for a wonderful family vacation. If you want to have minimal wait times, you will need to swim "against the flow", or alternatively you will be caught up in the largest human trout stream in history... Do yourself a favor and subscribe to TourGuideMike.

 

[LauraAnn630]

It's a common misconception that onsite guests are guaranteed admittance. While you can expect to get into a park, it may not be the park where you planned on celebrating the New Year. Note that having a Priority Seating does not mean that you will be allowed in should that park reach capacity.

For your comfort, arrive early and rent a locker. Should the weather be an issue, you can stow your warm clothes or raingear.


I copied and pasted this off the Disboards Walt Disney World Highlights page.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There are four phases of closing for the parks.

1. The parking lots are closed. Guests may only arrive using Disney transportation.

2. The ticket windows are closed. If you do not already have a ticket you cannot get in.

3. Only Annual Passholders and Resort Guests with tickets in hand are allowed in.

4. Completely closed.

I was working Epcot Front Gate 12/31/05 (until 4:00pm) and for my last couple of hours I was at one of the exits. I was told to warn all people who were leaving that they might not get back in.

Note that operations constantly gets an automatic update of the number of people in the park. The counter subracts people who exit just as it adds people who enter, so there is a running total. That is why if you see someone leaving pushing a stroller the Greeter will spin the turnstiles one or two time to help keep the count accurate.

Even if you have a dining reservation that will not override any phased closing.

And for the person with the 74 year old mother, if necessary you can go to First Adi and they may provide a place for her to lay down and nap for an hour.

 

[gssmks]

What are the chances of us being able to do this?

I know that MK is the worse place to be Christmas Day. However, they have EMH to 3:00 a.m. I want to go to Epcot and then switch over to MK near or at closing to take advantage EMH. My thinking is that the people who were there who are not staying at a resort will leave, making room for us to move over.

Could some of you Christmas Day pros tell me if I'm dreaming?

 

[LauraAnn630]

Thank you Cheshire Figment. I was wondering if there was a place for my mom to rest if need.

Ok, they have an ongoing count of people in the parks.

Do they have a line of people waiting to get in as people leave?

Or do they close the park to people not on-site once they hit their quota?


We are going to Epcot for NYE. I was thinking some people would leave after the 7:30 Illuminations show. That would make room for the later crowd.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Do they have a line of people waiting to get in as people leave?

Or do they close the park to people not on-site once they hit their quota?

I know that last year they did hit Phase 2 and stopped selling tickets for a while. Of course I went home (actually to a party) when I got off at 4:00. So I don't know what happened later.

I'm too far down the food chain to be able to answer the question of when and how they make the decisions. I know they closed the parking lots about 10:30 and closed the ticket windows for about 45 minutes starting a little after noon.

 

[robinb]

Will we really NOT be able to re-enter the park on Christmas Day and New Year Eve Day?

The MK does close at some time during the day to guests on those two days. There is a chance that you will not be able to re-enter in the early afternoon, especially at the MK. Many people are still hanging around for the parade. However, just like on a regular day people leave the MK after the parade which allows people to re-enter. You should be fine as long as you attempt to re-enter in the early evening.

This upcoming NYE at WDW will be my 7th. We have been at Epcot for 4 trips and the MK for 2 trips. We always leave in the early afternoon to go back to our resort to relax and then we return to the park at around 6:00 PM. We have never been turned away, even when we re-entered on 12/31/99.

This applies only if you are staying on-site. If you are staying off-site, I would say that all bets are off. The parking lots close wayyyy before the parks do. You may not be able to park your car when you return.

 

[HappyCamperToo]

In the back of my mind I keep saying that if it's that crowded, WHY do I want to go there?!?!? But....

...if we park at one park early in the morning, then take Disney transport to get to another park, and we find that it's closed, can we just hang out there until enough people leave for them to let us in??

 

[disneyfan19712006]

What are the chances of us being able to do this?

I know that MK is the worse place to be Christmas Day. However, they have EMH to 3:00 a.m. I want to go to Epcot and then switch over to MK near or at closing to take advantage EMH. My thinking is that the people who were there who are not staying at a resort will leave, making room for us to move over.

Could some of you Christmas Day pros tell me if I'm dreaming?

I have never been on Christmas Day but have on the Fourth of July. Same issue park at capacity. We plan on having dinner at the Grand Floridian, then heading over to the Magic Kingdom. We do have alternate plans if unable to get in we will be visiting the hotels and seeing all the decorations. The dock at the Grand Floridian is a great place to watch fireworks and by that time I feel many people will leave allowing us a chance to enjoy EMH.

 

[gssmks]

I have never been on Christmas Day but have on the Fourth of July. Same issue park at capacity. We plan on having dinner at the Grand Floridian, then heading over to the Magic Kingdom. We do have alternate plans if unable to get in we will be visiting the hotels and seeing all the decorations. The dock at the Grand Floridian is a great place to watch fireworks and by that time I feel many people will leave allowing us a chance to enjoy EMH.

This is our basic plan also. We are going to EPCOT and want to switch over to MK after Illuminations for the EMHs. If they will not let us in, we will ride the monorail around to the hotels and look around or grab a snack and then try again.