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Crowds for New Years Eve?
- Thread starter svanda
- Start date
They will all be crowded. The Magic Kingdom will be the most crowded followed by the other parks. If you plan on going on any rides, you will extreme wait times for the more popular rides. I did Epcot the other year and even though it was crowded there it was fun and Future World didn't seem as crowded as it was because of the size of that park. You could also try to go to the Boardwalk and bring in the New Year there as you will get to see the Fireworls from both Hollywood Studios & Epcot from there. I'm not sure how crowded the Boardwalk is on New Year's Eve.
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rct247
Well-Known Member
If you go to a park on New Year's Eve, PLEASE do not expect to actually do much. Go to enjoy the atmosphere and the celebration of a new year and maybe get in a ride or two. If you go expecting to visit the parks as actual theme parks you will be sorely disappointed and exhausted. I also recommend packing snacks and a lunch.
Lines will be everywhere in the parks and they will be long even to use the restroom. Some parks like Magic Kingdom will most likely close due to capacity. Other parks like Epcot will do their best to keep shoving them in. Hollywood Studios will reach capacity for a couple hours, but will reopen back up, and Animal Kingdom is a toss up but usually the least crowded.
If a ride typically has a 30 minute average wait through the year on a moderate crowd level day, expect the line to be at least 90 minutes if not longer. If you are used to waiting 5 minutes in line to order lunch, expect to wait 30 minutes. If you expect to grab a spot for a parade 45 minutes before showtime, expect to stake a spot an hour and half before hand.
New Year's Eve can be one of the most exciting times at a Disney theme park, but if you are not prepared for MASSIVE amounts of people, crowd control issues, extremely long waits even for unpopular attractions, and no plan to tackle it all, then you will not enjoy it and will never return for New Years Eve.
Oh and best advice I can give you when traveling through crowds as a family. Before venturing through a crowd ALWAYS discuss a meeting point if you become separated. Don't expect to be able to stop and wait for them to catch up and don't rely on your cell phone. If you are at the castle and are exiting the park, agree to meet up at Exposition Hall if you get separated on the way. Just focus on getting there and not getting there together.
Hopefully, it won't detour you from having an awesome trip, but I figured someone needed to say it like it is.
Lines will be everywhere in the parks and they will be long even to use the restroom. Some parks like Magic Kingdom will most likely close due to capacity. Other parks like Epcot will do their best to keep shoving them in. Hollywood Studios will reach capacity for a couple hours, but will reopen back up, and Animal Kingdom is a toss up but usually the least crowded.
If a ride typically has a 30 minute average wait through the year on a moderate crowd level day, expect the line to be at least 90 minutes if not longer. If you are used to waiting 5 minutes in line to order lunch, expect to wait 30 minutes. If you expect to grab a spot for a parade 45 minutes before showtime, expect to stake a spot an hour and half before hand.
New Year's Eve can be one of the most exciting times at a Disney theme park, but if you are not prepared for MASSIVE amounts of people, crowd control issues, extremely long waits even for unpopular attractions, and no plan to tackle it all, then you will not enjoy it and will never return for New Years Eve.
Oh and best advice I can give you when traveling through crowds as a family. Before venturing through a crowd ALWAYS discuss a meeting point if you become separated. Don't expect to be able to stop and wait for them to catch up and don't rely on your cell phone. If you are at the castle and are exiting the park, agree to meet up at Exposition Hall if you get separated on the way. Just focus on getting there and not getting there together.
Hopefully, it won't detour you from having an awesome trip, but I figured someone needed to say it like it is.
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MissM
Well-Known Member
All of the above is very true. I've done NYE at MK before. Everything is crowded; everything takes time. You will be pushed, shoved, hit with strollers and lose track of your group. You will also go partially deaf once they hand out the free noisemakers and hats.
You just have to go into it being patient, knowing it's about being there rather than doing things. Popular attraction waits easily climb to 3 or more hours. You get there early and stay there late and have to just understand the conditions you, all the other guests and the overtaxed CM's will be under.
If you are ok with that and if you can accept just hanging out in the park for the day with what feels like a million strangers, then go for it. If you can't deal with it, do yourself a favor and skip the parks.
For me, it was worth doing - once. I don't think I'd ever want to do it again. It's fun to say you've been there for it though. The year I was there, they had camera cranes around Main Street doing live shots for the D i c k Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve special so that was cool. They'd cut to us every now and then.
You just have to go into it being patient, knowing it's about being there rather than doing things. Popular attraction waits easily climb to 3 or more hours. You get there early and stay there late and have to just understand the conditions you, all the other guests and the overtaxed CM's will be under.
If you are ok with that and if you can accept just hanging out in the park for the day with what feels like a million strangers, then go for it. If you can't deal with it, do yourself a favor and skip the parks.
For me, it was worth doing - once. I don't think I'd ever want to do it again. It's fun to say you've been there for it though. The year I was there, they had camera cranes around Main Street doing live shots for the D i c k Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve special so that was cool. They'd cut to us every now and then.
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njDizFan
Well-Known Member
I've done NYE at the MK and it was a great experience, would I do it again...maybe. It's a very long day and the later it gets the crazier it becomes. Early morning the crowds are similar to any day in mid summer. So if you get there early you can get on quite a few rides. By 10-11 you will definately see a phased closing. By 8 o'clock it is just completely jammed. It took my almost an hour to get to my ADR at CP at 9:30 from Fantasyland. By 11:00 my daugher(then 6) was exhausted but we waited patiently(although it was quite chilly) just inside the main gates. It wasn't much of a view but at least we had some personal space and were able to exit fairly easily.
Overall, it was a fun and crazy day and would recommend it at least once.
Overall, it was a fun and crazy day and would recommend it at least once.
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