Which park on New Year's Eve?

[cruisin'Mike]

Hi Gang,

This year will be our first time at WDW for New Year's Eve. We're going Dec 30-Jan 5. It will be myself and DW, and our three kids, ages 8,6, and 6. We're starting to think about resaraunts, etc, but the big question is which park for NYE? What are your opinions, and can you please post reasons for choosing (or avoiding) a particular park.

Thanks for your help!

Mike

 

[danny1649]

It's the most Magical for New Years Eve in my opinion.All parks will be crowded.Just standing in the middle of Main Street watching the awesome fireworks display was magical to us.Magic Kingdom is our favorite park and so that is where we went on NYE the 3 times we have been WDW during that time frame.

 

[snyderla]

I like EPCOT on NYE because there are LOTS of places to escape the crowds for a little while if needed. Never been to MK on NYE, that might be better with our age group. My kids were 10 & 14.

Lori

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I like EPCOT on NYE because there are LOTS of places to escape the crowds for a little while if needed. Never been to MK on NYE, that might be better with our age group. My kids were 10 & 14.

We did Epcot for NYE a couple years ago and had a blast! Dance floors all over the parks, cocktails flowing freely, a real party atmosphere. And as snyderla posted, if you need to take a break from the huge party going on, there are plenty of places to hide.

 

[INeedaVacation]

Magic Kingdom gets really crowded and you can barely move. Epcot gets really crowded, but there's more space to "hide". The Studios aren't as crowded as the others, but it's really not my favorite park. So I guess I would pick Epcot.

 

[Luv2Roam]

We were at MK for last NYE.
We ate breakfast at Kona Cafe. (Parking at TTC of course.) And took the monorail over.
It made for a lonnnng day and was extremely crowded. Seems guests were either in a good humor no matter what, or downright mean and grumpy.
I can't say I would do it again. But enjoyed our time.
After the midnight fireworks, it took an hour just to get to our car from Main St.
Just make sure your kids can handle an all day extremely crowded park.
And if I did this again after last year's experience, I for once wil take my own lunch and stick with a ADR at a sit down for dinner.
The counter service areas were a nightmare. Disney was not prepared well enough in this area for a crowd that size. Just too many guests for what counter service areas they have.
Around late afternoon we happened to be in the front of MK at the entry gates. Guests were trickling in, after the park had been closed eariler due to capacity.
Unless I just really wanted to do that again, I would take my chances on getting in when I really wanted. And if I couldn't, sit outside and enjoy the fireworks and get a head start on leaving.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

If we were there in NYE I would want to be in MK. JMHO.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I've done both MK and Epcot for NYE. It is a tough decision IMHO. MK is awesome, but it is wall to wall people. By about 10:00, don't think about seeing more than a couple more attractions. Epcot tends to be just as crowded, but it simply has more space. Plus, I am a big nerd and think the whole celebrating of New Year's when each country "turns" is just plain cool. Having said that, you won't go wrong either way. If you are staying on property, don't try to take the busses right after the shows. They are INSANITY! If you do Epcot, wait until about 1:00 at least.

Also, the next day is a GREAT time to pick up missed attractions. The crowds tend to be thin, especially at MK and MGM. One of my personal favorites was being at Epcot during NYE and seeing the park so packed then coming the next day. There are still crowds, but compared it feels like you have the park to yourself, especially in the morning. Kinda fun to see that juxtaposition from one day to the next.

 

[Tartan Tigger]

We went to Epcot for New Years Eve 04 and had a great time. The main reason we chose Epcot was so we could celebrate "our" New Year at 7pm in the UK pavillion. It was a fantastic atmosphere and we will be in Epcot again on December 31st 05.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

If you go to Epcot I would be careful with young children. There were quite a few people heavily drinking there and we have found the crowds to be a little frightening. The MK doesn't serve liquor so you can't have that problem. If you go to Epcot stay away from UK at night. A lot of major drinkers there. I personally prefer to see the fireworks early and then go back to our hotel and see the fireworks from outside the parks. JMO

 

[Disney Spaz]

We were at MGM this past NYE and I would not do it again with kids. Everybody seemed to be drunk. There were rolling bars all over the paths and rude drunk people. By midnight my DH and teen DS's positioned ourselves at the exit for the fireworks so we could get out as quickly as possible. We thought MGM would be better because they only do fireworks twice a year NYE and 4th of July since they have Fantasmic but we saw a preview of MK fireworks the night before and they were way better then MGM.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

I would choose Epcot until about 10:00pm, then head to the room. I would then hit the parks at opening Jan 1st to avoid any type of crowds. The average person that was at the parks at Midnight isnt going to be at any park before 11:00 AM on Jan 1

 

[cruisin'Mike]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I don't even want to post which park I'm leaning towards, because it changes several times a day. At least I have a few months to decide before I need to make ADR's.

Thanks again,
Mike