Which park on New Year's Eve?

[woodlandsparty]

We are going to WDW on Dec 29th and staying off site at one of the vacation pool homes near Disney.

I have read on this board that the crowds on New Year's Eve are so high that the parks even usually close to guests arriving after the parks are full. Yikes!

I'm travelling with a large group (13 people) so trying to brave the parks on that day is pretty scary to me with that large of a group. I hear that we should get to the park early that day to make sure that we get in before they close the gates. I also have a child under 2 that probably won't make it till midnight if we go to the park early in the morning. What a dilemma!

So....those of you that have visited the parks on New Year's Eve, what do you guys do to help your child 'make it' all day long?

Also, if we should have to leave the park for my baby to take a nap break, what will we be missing as far as New's Year Eve festivities if we are unable to get back in?

Thanks for any advice that all of you pros can give!

 

[Angelgirl13202]

Epcot is awsome on New years eve.. I know you didnt ask about which one to go to but i had to sugest it the fireworks are awsome and if the weather is like last year i didnt get to the park until like 5 and was fine (rained all day and night) but was still fun

 

[Connears]

We were there last NYE and made PS at Teppanyaki in Epcot. Started the day at MGM and toured with no problem using FP then we left at 5:00pm and headed over to Epcot via boat and toured WS until our PS at 7:30pm. It poured that night and we ended up waiting almost an hour even with PS for dinner then headed to BW via boat around 10pm dried off there and DH went on to MGM to get the care and pick us up at BW. Made to OKW in time to watch the ball drop and hear (and see) some of the fireworks from our porch. We will be there same time this year and staying at Swan ..not sure about night in the park or at the resort this year..Swan/dolphin have a NYE party for all ages and might choose to do that..then watch Epcot fireworks from resort.
Connears. PS MK has great fireworks, but unbeleivable crowds(they closed to guests in late afternoon)...can't see doing that.
Connears

 

[Jodi1980]

I'm still trying to find out if Animal Kingdom has any live entertainment on NYE. I wanted to plan where we would spend NYE but cannot make up my mind.

 

[CindyAnn]

We thought AK was a great choice last year during the day on NYE, but it does close at 5:00 or so. The crowd was very reasonable, probably because the other 3 parks drew the bulk of the guests. We're planning on doing the same thing this year, with a PS probably at 'Ohana for our evening celebration so that we can avoid the chaos in the parks.

 

[dbond]

We spent last NYE in Epcot. We arrived in the morning amidst all the warnings about park closures due to capacity. There were no capacity problems that day. It started to rain about 7:00 PM and there were downpours for the rest of the night. So by midnight, we had the place practically to ourselves. But it was fun. Epcot set up video screens and areas for dancing with live DJ's, live music, etc. in several locations around the park. They had a NYE dinner buffet in the Millenium pavillion and had a live band and dancing later. This place got really crowded since it was the only entertainment inside! We spent most of our late night time in the Japan area dancing with the dj and watching the video screen. It worked beautifully. When we got a little cold from the rain, we ducked inside the counter service place there for hot chocolate and when we warmed up and dried out a bit, back to the dancing in the rain. It was certainly a night to remember.