New Years Eve - Which park?

[spumonisowner]

We're really excited to be visiting DW for New Year's, 12/30 - 1/5! It will be me, DH, DD10 and DD13. This is our second visit to DW on NYE, but the first time we went, we got in late and so we opted to play it safe and stay at the resort (CSR). We had a great time at the resort, but this time we are thinking about venturing out to a park. But which one?

Based on what I've heard about MK on NYE, I don't think we're brave enough for those crowds!

At this point, I have the SWaGS Dessert Party booked on 12/31. My thought was this would be a good way to get a reserved spot for the fireworks at HS, plus a couple of drinks and cupcakes! After reading through the boards, though, I'm starting to have second thoughts. It seems like Epcot is the place to be instead of HS. Will I be disappointed in HS? Am I missing out if we go there?

Given my kids' ages, would Epcot be a good idea? Are the crowds really crazy? Is it too "adult" for tweens to be around? We love Epcot under "normal" circumstances.

Which would you choose for NYE: Epcot or Hollywood Studios?

 

[CAS239]

MK on the 30th, Epcot on the 31st

 

[spumonisowner]

MK on the 30th, Epcot on the 31st

Thanks. Do you think we will be able to get into MK late on 12/30 or will it likely reach capacity? Not getting in until 6PM 12/30.

 

[FelisLachesis]

Thanks. Do you think we will be able to get into MK late on 12/30 or will it likely reach capacity? Not getting in until 6PM 12/30.

Before answering that, are you staying on property, or have any ADRs, or an appointment with BBB or Harmony Barber Shop, or signed up for Pirates League? If you do, you can still get in unless MK reaches phase 4.

If you don't have any of those, then you could get locked out at phase 1 or 2.

MK is likely to phase close on both the 30th and 31st. The 31st is usually a higher phase close, and sooner.

There is a fireworks show at 6:30 both the 30th and 31st, so some parents might have see that with their kids and then leave to scooch them off to bed.

 

[LeahA]

We went to Epcot on New Year's Eve and there was a 5 hour wait to get on Test Track. Epcot is a great choice if you don't plan on going on any rides. It took me an hour to get through the security check point. So don't bring a purse!

 

[AppleSister1]

I'm going to be a little contrary here and say I'd do something OUTSIDE the parks. We used to go for Christmas week all the time, and for NYE, we'd usually do a nice dinner and something like Downtown Disney (which still had the nightclubs back then) or watch fireworks from one of the hotels, or Jellyrolls. I just find the parks to be far too nuts on NYE. Another advantage? Hit the parks early on Jan 1 and enjoy some really uncrowded conditions!

 

[spumonisowner]

We went to Epcot on New Year's Eve and there was a 5 hour wait to get on Test Track. Epcot is a great choice if you don't plan on going on any rides. It took me an hour to get through the security check point. So don't bring a purse!

Thanks. We would probably just ride our fastpass rides and be done. We have been to the parks many times, so if we miss the rides it isn't a big deal. Good tip about not bringing a bag!

 

[soniam]

Thanks. Do you think we will be able to get into MK late on 12/30 or will it likely reach capacity? Not getting in until 6PM 12/30.

I don't think MK reaches capacity on 12/30. In fact, last year, it really didn't seem that busy. There were crowds near the hub for the fireworks and the dance party. However, it was sort of empty in the rest of the park. It was cold that night though for Florida. If it looks like it might be cold and you think you will want a hot beverage, like tea, bring your own tea bags. They had plenty of hot water that QS but ran out of tea bags and hot chocolate We did MK on 12/30 and Epcot on 12/31. It was a total blast. I wish we could go again this year

 

[spumonisowner]

Before answering that, are you staying on property, or have any ADRs, or an appointment with BBB or Harmony Barber Shop, or signed up for Pirates League? If you do, you can still get in unless MK reaches phase 4.

If you don't have any of those, then you could get locked out at phase 1 or 2.

MK is likely to phase close on both the 30th and 31st. The 31st is usually a higher phase close, and sooner.

There is a fireworks show at 6:30 both the 30th and 31st, so some parents might have see that with their kids and then leave to scooch them off to bed.

Staying on property, but no ADRs at MK on 12/30. Would it be a better idea to watch the fireworks from outside the park? Maybe from the beach at Ft. Wilderness?

 

[FelisLachesis]

Staying on property, but no ADRs at MK on 12/30. Would it be a better idea to watch the fireworks from outside the park? Maybe from the beach at Ft. Wilderness?

You're staying on property, so you'll only be denied entry on a phase 4 closure, but that's never happened at MK on the 30th. The midnight fireworks are the holiday ones, Fantasy in the Sky, so I don't think there's any projections.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I've done NYE at both DHS and Epcot. I wouldn't say that DHS is disappointing, but Epcot is a much larger park and handles crowds better. Also, Epcot on NYE is AWESOME! There are parties all around World Showcase and one in Future World. The China Pavilion basically turns into a giant club and has a fire breathing dragon. I don't think it's too adult for the tweens - I would advise against little kids and stroller babies, but I think that a 10 and 13 year old would be fine. Given the nature of Epcot and World Showcase, there is a good amount of drinking (also all of the pavilions have additional stands set up with specialty drinks). If you're worried about your kids being around drinking adults, I would advise staying on the Future World side, which seems to have a much more family-friendly party. But I will say that I have never noticed extreme rowdiness, and that there are still lots of kids (and stroller babies)!

 

[CAS239]

Staying on property, but no ADRs at MK on 12/30. Would it be a better idea to watch the fireworks from outside the park? Maybe from the beach at Ft. Wilderness?

If someone is staying on property or an AP holder then they really don't have anything to worry about. You'll be fine heading to the park on the 30th whenever you want

 

[bobbiwoz]

MK on the 30th, Epcot on the 31st

I do this usually, but we also did DHS one year for the 31st and we are happy we did. The fireworks were great, and the crowd was more manageable. So, if you decide on DHS, you will not be disappointed.

 

[mrp4352]

We do this - generally AK in the morning and Hoop De Doo for the evening. My brother's family has gone back into MK after midnight - once they made it past the hub - it was crowded, but not unmanageable.

I'm going to be a little contrary here and say I'd do something OUTSIDE the parks. We used to go for Christmas week all the time, and for NYE, we'd usually do a nice dinner and something like Downtown Disney (which still had the nightclubs back then) or watch fireworks from one of the hotels, or Jellyrolls. I just find the parks to be far too nuts on NYE. Another advantage? Hit the parks early on Jan 1 and enjoy some really uncrowded conditions!

 

[kniquy]

We did epcot NYE 2015 with our then 9 yo twin boys. We chose Epcot because after reading and researching it seemed to be the park, which even though it is crazy busy it isn't a wall of people. We arrived at the park later in the afternoon ~3:30-400. We picked our fast pass rides and just stuck with those, if we could hop on something with very little wait we would do it. It is busy so lines are very long. They handed out NYE hats and noise makers for the kids. Probably towards 10ish, future world crowds started dying out because everyone was staking out their spot for the fireworks.
I'm sad to say that it was our arrival day and after being up at 4am i couldn't last and deal with the masses leaving the park so we headed out at 11:45. Tired and exhaused i really didn't care at that point if i saw fireworks, so our NYE was spent on a bus to the resort.

I noticed you are coming in on 12/30 - I believe that Mk does fireworks that evening, so you could always hit that your first night, sleep in the next day and hit epcot later in the day.

 

[spumonisowner]

Thanks everyone! It sounds like MK 12/30 and Epcot on NYE would be the thing to do. For those of you that have done Epcot on NYE and stayed on property - how bad was it getting back to your resort after midnight? Where did you stay? We were planning to stay at ASM. Should I pay the extra money and do a multi split stay to do an Epcot resort for NYE?

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Thanks everyone! It sounds like MK 12/30 and Epcot on NYE would be the thing to do. For those of you that have done Epcot on NYE and stayed on property - how bad was it getting back to your resort after midnight? Where did you stay? We were planning to stay at ASM. Should I pay the extra money and do a multi split stay to do an Epcot resort for NYE?

This year we did NYE at Epcot while staying at POR-FQ. Getting back was MISERABLE! We were in the bus line for an hour. Staying at an Epcot resort would be super convenient - maybe you could snag the Swan and Dolphin for a little less. I also think this might be a good time to utilize Disney's new Minnie Van service.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We were at Epcot for NYE last year staying at Wilderness Lodge. It took about 2 hours using the bus to get back to WL. We exited at Mexico and went backstage and the crowds just trying to get to the bus depots were unbelievable.

I would book a boardwalk resort if you can if you plan to attend the Epcot NYE fireworks. I would imagine they are booked already though.

 

[soniam]

Thanks everyone! It sounds like MK 12/30 and Epcot on NYE would be the thing to do. For those of you that have done Epcot on NYE and stayed on property - how bad was it getting back to your resort after midnight? Where did you stay? We were planning to stay at ASM. Should I pay the extra money and do a multi split stay to do an Epcot resort for NYE?

We did a split stay last year: POFQ first, and then switched to Beach Club on the 30th. We knew we would stay out late at MK on the 30th, so I didn't want to try to switch on the 31st. Walking back to BC was awesome! I am totally spoiled now and could never take WDW transport on NYE back to our hotel. Getting back to BC on the 30th wasn't bad at all. We did stay until the fireworks at midnight. If you can afford it, stay at one of the Epcot resorts.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

MK 12/30 and Epcot 12/31 as others have mentioned. You get to see both shows. You could not pay me to be anywhere at WDW but Epcot on NYE.

In terms of leaving Epcot, the last time we were there we walked on Test Track (2x) and Soarin because people were trying to high tail it outta there. I can't remember what time they ran the rides until. We hung around for a long while until bus lines were shorter and I want to say we got back around 3:30? If you can swing getting an Epcot resort that night, you could do rides after fireworks AND get back to your resort easily. Win win!