Will this work

[tarheelmjfan]

Our family, DH, DS(12), and I have decided that we want to spend NYE in Epcot. Our plan is to go to Epcot at opening, have a PS for lunch, then leave shortly after. As I mentioned before, my health is not good, plus we have a 4-legged baby girl that will need our attention by then. We would like to rest up, spend some time with her, then return for a 6:45ish PS. We will then bring in the New Year in WS, celebrating with each Country. As a side note, I was telling DH about the mob to get party hats, whistles, etc., and we decided that we will be visiting Party City before we leave home, and come party prepared. One less worry. Will my master plan work? Will we be able to get into Epcot around 6pm on NYE. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[kilee]

Since I think it may be ify-- I'm going to bump this up for you. Hopefully someone who's been on NYE will have a specific expierence to relate.

 

[WDSearcher]

The later you go into the evening on NYE, the harder it will be to get into Epcot. MK will close first, at capacity, and Epcot is usually right behind. You don't mention if you're staying on property or not. Being on property will help, since even when the parks are closed to off-site visitors, on-property folks can get in until they close off to everyone.

If you're off-property, you have a much greater chance of not making it back in during the evening.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the bump and the info. Unfortunately, since we have our 4-legged baby girl, FW is our only on-site option, and they were booked up when I first called about a month ago. So no, as of now we're not staying on-site. We're going to be in Orlando 10 nights, and only plan on spending 3 days in WDW, so I'm not as concerned about our location, as I am getting into the parks. I have been told by many to keep calling to check for cancellations, which we did at first, but DH got kinda burned out on that after calling every day for 2 weeks. I'm just wondering if I should bother to keep calling, or just stay where we are. I'm to the point that the only reason that I would keep calling is if it is an absolute must to stay on-site, in order to get into the parks. How much better is our chance of getting in if we're on-site? Any other Epcot on NYE experiences? Thanks again!

 

[CatLady]

Your chance of getting in is much better if you stay on site. When the parking lot is full, it's full, and no one driving a car can get in. Since guest staying on property can hop a monorail or bus, they will still be allowed in for a while. However, holidays like NYE will still fill to complete capacity at times.

Epcot is a madhouse on New Years Eve... we did an Illuminations cruise that night last NYE and loved it. All of the fireworks, and none of the extreme crowding (I'm short, and crowds eventually stress me out). Illuminations cruises have openings come up pretty late because it's more expensive than the standard Illuminations cruise, and people back out when they realize they're required to pay more for it.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Oops! I just looked at the time conversions that I had written down, and it looks like it will be midnight in most Countries at 6:00pm EST. Does this mean that these Countries will be celebrating at 6pm? If so, that means we'll need to be back to Epcot by 5ish. Now, I'm wondering what time Epcot fills to capacity? Maybe, we could try to make it back, before it is full. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[dgaston]

We took a monorail to Epcot from MK and then walked thru to the International Gateway to take a boat to MGM (I had to see Sorcery in the Sky ). We were able to follow our plan but my Epcot was full with people. My brother later found info that it was the highest attendance day in Epcot history (NYE 03). You probably will get in, but definitely get a PS now--it's nuts over there.

 

[chyam]

If you are talking about a 4 legged baby being a pet........have you considered kenneling at EPCOT just for the day? That way you wouldn't have to leave the park.........just a thought.