Suggestions for New Years Eve!

[IMADSNYLOVR]

I have a couple of ideas but I have only been to the World in the Summer. It will be our 5th night there and I am sure we will be tired. I want to have a magical evening thou and do something memorable without spending a ton of more money. So any suggestions? What would you do if you were there on NYE with a kids ages 12, 6, 6, and 4 and the grandparents?

TIA!

Sarah

 

[swilshire]

We have been twice at New Years. The first time, we were warned that MK and Epcot would fill up by noon. We got to MGM at 10AM and it was already full as well. The only park we could get into was the Animal Kingdom and they close early. We wound up going to Sea World instead and were in bed by midnight.

We went again this past year. We went early and got into the MK, but the crowds were ridiculous. You could not even walk through the area around It's a Small World. We fought the crowds and stayed until mid-afternoon, when they handed out the party hats and blowers. Then we headed out of the park. By the time we got out, I was pretty sick of the noise. We sat on our patio at the resort and watched the fireworks that were high enough to see through the trees.

New Year's Eve is not for the faint of heart or small children IMHO. My husband was upset by the crowds and would not have stayed if I had tried to convince him. I was very glad we didn't when we were able to walk into our bedroom after the fireworks and go to bed without fighting the terrible crowds to leave the parks. Just a wimp, I guess.

Sheila

 

[Mush]

I know that the parks are usually MUCH quieter once we get into January. We're arriving January 1 and staying to the 7th. With New Year's falling on a weekend, do any of the crowd experts foresee huge crowds after New Year's weekend? We're taking DS for his first trip (he'll have just turned 2 then).

Thanks in advance!

Chris

 

[swilshire]

I was very surprised on our first trip how many people were there the week after New Years. The crowds didn't decrease all that much.

It seemed that many were of foreign origin. Many different languages being spoken. Perhaps this is a holiday time in Europe.

Sheila

 

[Deb & Bill]

We arrived on NYE about 5PM, so we hit Disney Studios. Not that crowded, they had three Fantasmics and a band near the BAH. It was great, best NYE I have ever celebrated. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Mush]

Originally posted by swilshire
I was very surprised on our first trip how many people were there the week after New Years. The crowds didn't decrease all that much.


Sheila

Sheila,

Thanks for the information on this. I looked around in other threads and decided that, even though the marathon is the following weekend, it sounded like that didn't have a huge impact on the crowds. Plus it sounded like, with all the kids heading back to school, the parks were very quiet the second week of January.

Luckily, we have a little flexibility in our travel, so we decided to push the vacation back to January 8-14.

Great information, folks...it's greatly appreciated!

Chris

 

[Hieatt]

Don't go to the parks with kids on NYE! We went to Epcot this past NYE. We left the kids with the grandparents and got to Mission Space by 7:30 a.m. - the Fast Passes were already for after 2:30 p.m.!!! The were gone by 9:30 a.m. We went back in the evening around 6 p.m. and it was jammed beyond belief - not fun trying to push a stroller through the mass of people. I had made a dinner PS at the Rose & Crown to celebrate New Years in the UK at 7pm... there was a 10 minute line to check in, then another line just to get the pager... seated late, terrible service, cold food... I'll never do it again! After the early Illuminations show, we went back to our hotel (the Dolphin). A little before midnight we went down to the beach area of the Dolphin and watched the Epcot and MGM fireworks simultaneously - it was spectacular, hardly anyone around, and only a 2 minute elevator ride back up to the room. The next morning we were at the Magic Kingdom at opening (early entry if I remember right) and it was empty until mid-day.

My recommendation is book a room in the Epcot resort area, swim, ride bikes and/or play miniature golf on NYE day, and watch the fireworks from the Boardwalk or from your hotel.

 

[Traveliz]

I went with my husband, daughter (she was probably about 15), family friend (20 something), brother and his twins (8) a few years ago and we totally skipped the parks that day and had a great time.

The guys went to Disney Quest with the kids early for a large part of the day. The girls went shopping (outlet mall and mall). About 5 we met back up and went to downtown Disney where we immediately walked in to Planet Hollywood for dinner...it was not crowded that early at all.

After dinner it was back to the hotel where we played a scavenger hunt that I had set up in advance...met back to compare notes and I had fun prizes for everyone.

By now its getting later evening and we headed to mini golf by Blizzard Beach. Practically had the place to ourselves.

Headed back to the hotel and decided it was close to fireworks time so we headed out to the main road and found a spot between Epcot and MGM where we were able to see both their fireworks. We were back to the hotel and in bed minutes after midnight.

Then we were up bright and early the next day and at the parks which were virtually empty!

Liz

 

[tiggercrazy]

We (Myself, DH, DS9, DS7, DD6, DD3) will also be there for NYE this year. We were planning on spending the day at either Epcot or MK and getting PS somewhere like Rose and Crown. You just talked me out of it...
That's why I LOVE the DIS!! I see now that it would have been miserable. Thank you for bringing it up and for the responses.

 

[dougsmom98]

We spent a full day at AK when we were there for NYE. Our kids were 2 and 4. The park was not crowded at all and we had a wonderful day. The kids were tired when we got back to the hotel, so we had a quick swim in the pool and sent them to bed early. My husband and I got take out food and enjoyed the peace and quiet. My sister and BIL also went with us and enjoyed the hotel lounge that evening. All of us agree that it was one of the most enjoyable NYE ever despite not being "out" for the festivities that evening. If you have children that are unlikely to stay up until midnight, then I recommend AK during the day so that you can avoid the crowds.
-Amy

 

[Deb & Bill]

Originally posted by Hieatt
Don't go to the parks with kids on NYE! ...

I disagree big time, unless you are talking about babies or toddlers. Our 10 yr old had a great time with us at the Studios. I'd do it again in a minute. Best NYE ever!!!!

Of course, we didn't plan on doing rides or trying to get into the smaller venues. We did Fantasmic (I think it was the second show), we did a few of the attractions, got some fast food, did a little shopping, plus partied by the BAH. The party aspect was the best. We danced, sang, just all round fun.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

We were there for this past NYE with my sons (then 21 months and 3½) and my parents. My parents opted out of going into the parks at all that day. DH and I took the boys to Epcot first thing in the am (we were there at park opening) and did a few things there with little to no wait (as in less than 10 minutes tops) including Journey into Imagination, Living Seas, Living w/ the Land, Spaceship Earth, a couple of shows etc. We then had lunch and headed over to the Animal Kingdom and had a fantastic day there. We waited maybe 15 minutes for the safari ride around 2:00 or so, found a great spot for the parade, the kids rode triceratops spin over and over with no waiting, did the playground etc. The park closed at around 6:00 if memory serves me. We had reservations for dinner at the Cape May Cafe clambake buffet that night. My parents met us at the beach club and we walked around for a while looking around. I had scheduled our PS for about 10 minutes after Illuminations started. I checked us in and was told that it would probably be around 15 minutes or so after our PS time before we were seated. We walked over to the lighthouse between the beach club & the boardwalk and watched Illuminations from there (well, the high fireworks at least!). Afterward we had just enough time to go have everyone wash their hands before we were seated for dinner. Had a wonderful dinner and then headed back to my parent's RV (where we were staying) for the night. The kids were asleep well before 12:00. DH and I had planned to go out and see the DTD fireworks (not go to DTD, just go somewhere where we could see them!) but opted to get some sleep instead. We were up bright and early on Jan 1 and at MGM about 20 minutes before park opening. Had a great morning there.

 

[Hieatt]

Our kids were 5, 4, 1 and 6 months... we did have the help of my wife's mom and an au pair, but it was still pretty awful. I agree that with older kids it would be much more fun... definitely a festive atmosphere!

 

[zurgswife]

We were there this past NYE with kids ages...6,10,11,12,12...we entered Epcot at about 4:30pm... It was wall to wall people. We had ressies for dinner at the Lands...we decided to head over and put our name in early....glad we did...got seated by 5pm. Had an OK dinner with characters. Then joined the masses in the parks again by about 7pm...It was difficult to move around there were so many people. Finally decided that standing in line to ride Test Track 2.5 hrs was better then walking around the parks...It wasn't too bad.

Later my dd wasn't feeling well so about 11:15 dh took dd her girlfriend and my younges dd back to the boardwalk. Both DD's went to be and DH and my dd's girlfriend watched the Fireworks from the balcony.

I kept the boys in the park..we actually found our friends...we had saved great seats and joined them to watch the fireworks and ring in the new year.

Would I do it again..Yes..but not for a very long time and without young kids.

Year's ago we were there for NYE and never went into the parks that night and watched the fireworks from the beach of CBR...I enjoyed that alot too...

Good Luck...in what ever you do..

 

[mousefansmom]

We spent this past NYE at Disney, but our strategy was a little different. We chose AK because it closed early. We figured it might not be too crowded because most people who wanted to be in the park for midnight wouldn't pick the AK because it closed at 6pm.
The crowds were manageable. Not the best we've seen, but certainly not what you'd get at MK or Epcot. We ate at RFC and had a great meal after park closing (Safari Club helped tons!) and had plenty of time to get back to our hotel before midnight. We let the kids swim for a bit, then put them to bed, and went out on our balcony to wait for the fireworks. It was really the only "alone" time we had, and it was nicely romantic.
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for!

Have fun, whatever you choose!

Mousefansmom