Crowds on New Year's Day

[juan]

I have never been to Disney over New Year's. What is it like? I will be there Jan1 to Jan 10 of this year

 

[rick3236]

I have never been to Disney over New Year's. What is it like? I will be there Jan1 to Jan 10 of this year

I have not been there since 2000, but I remeber it is one of the most crowded days of the year. Also, wherever you are going to be stake out a spot early for the fireworks at midnight. One thing I do remember, after the fireworks the Magic Kingdom stays open until 2 AM, and there are vey little lines everywhere at that time, so we rode a lot between 12:30 and 2:00 AM.

Have fun.

 

[surfsupdon]

It should be SUPER crowded on 1/1 and 1/2. That is the end of the Christmas through New Years week. The most crowded time to visit WDW is the week after Christmas through New Years day, and, this year, the weekend it encompasses. Starting on that Monday, the 3rd I believe, it should be quite quiet and much slower.

We will be at Yacht Club for that fabled Christmas-New Years week crunch, then be at Caribbean Beach for a bit in January to relax, and to enjoy off season in the parks.

Hope I could help somewhat.

 

[RockStarBaby]

I'm going then too. I'm a little scared about the crowds. LOL!

 

[ghostygreeter]

The crowds are huge during New Year's... I was there last year, and I will be there again for this New Year's celebration!! I will be at epcot for New Year's, as I had a great time there last year... The fireworks were amazing!

 

[FamilyMan]

I have never been to Disney over New Year's. What is it like? I will be there Jan1 to Jan 10 of this year

A little off-topic I know, but don't you mean next year?

And you're not going to be there on New Year's Eve?!?!

Bah.

The crowds will be horrible through the 2nd, but on the 3rd they will start going down, and will continue to go down through out your stay.

 

[Prof Ecks]

We are going to be there as well...Dec 28-Jan 3. We will be staying at the Boardwalk. I am a bit worried about the crowds, but we have always gone around Jan 3-9th, and the crowds were so low we sometimes wished there were more people. You literally walked through a lot of the really cool set-ups, like in Splash Mountain or Kali River Rapids, never taking time to check things out. I am sure we will get our wish this year!

I have us booked for the Brown Derby and then Fantamic on New Year's Eve and then I guess we will just head back to the Boardwalk and Epcot for midnight events. The one dumb thing I might have done is make a 9 am PS for Ohana's character breakfast on Jan. 1st. Yikes, it seems a bit early, no?! Anyway, it will get us up out of bed.

 

[Prof Ecks]

opps, I meant Fantasmic!

 

[kal1484]

Let's put it this way:
The lines at the outdoor food carts at EPCOT went about a block if not more, and that was already at 9.

 

[Joevn]

I was at the Magic Kingdom on January 1, 2004, and it was packed. Practically shoulder to shoulder. I was there January 1-4 and it was crowded the whole time since New Year's was so close to the weekend. It seems like everyone else decided to make a weekend trip of it. Be prepared for the crowds, people bumping into you, long lines, etc. The best thing I can tell you is to do your best to get to the parks as soon as they open to ensure you can see the most popular rides with minimum wait.

Joe

 

[drp4video]

I was at MGM for New Years last year, and it was crowded, but fun. SO much fun, that I will be there again this year.

 

[longfamily]

We went on Jan. 8 this year and the cast members told us that this year was the first year that they actually stopped admittence into the parks do to maximum capacity. The part about it being the first time is that they allowed first come first serve admittence. Some people staying at Disney hotels were not allowed in...usually they are given priority to the parks.

 

[Prof Ecks]

That is interesting. We went Jan 3-9 of 2001 and 2003 and, as I said in an earlier post, the crowds were really managable the entire time we were there. Based on your experience, the crowds are now persisting past the time the kids have returned to school from their holiday break.

 

[wainy]

We visited the WDW parks on Xmas day and New Years Eve a few years ago and shall certainly avoid these dates in future. The atmosphere is pretty good, but if it's your first visit and intend to 'do' the rides, be prepared for massive queue lines even for the older less attractive rides. It was so busy people started lining the firework viewing areas at EPCOT and MK 3 hours before they were due to start! ( Probably fed up of waiting in lines).

 

[disgolfer]

It is a blast to do what you are going to do one time. You will never want to do it again. Imagine having the best time you have ever had and being absolutely miserable all at the same time because of all the people. :hurl: Do not get me wrong. WDW is the best place to spend New Year's, but I have done it once and will never do it again.

Have a great trip everyone.

 

[LilDucky]

The crowds are huge during New Year's... I was there last year, and I will be there again for this New Year's celebration!! I will be at epcot for New Year's, as I had a great time there last year... The fireworks were amazing!

I will see you there!!! I am also going and I have gone the last 4 years. I cant remember the last few years but last year, well lets put it this way: on new years eve my sister waited 3.5 hours to get on mission space. The very next day, there was a 20 minute wait. I dont know how it will be this time around, but it looks like it varies.New years EVE has horrible crowds make no mistake about it, but new years DAY varies. Not to mention the fact that New years day is the start of the value season. Dont worry about the crowds because it will be amazing!!

 

[m star]

I have us booked for the Brown Derby and then Fantamic on New Year's Eve and then I guess we will just head back to the Boardwalk and Epcot for midnight events.

Woah, red flag here. On New Year's Eve, the parks tend to get so busy that they close them (I'm sure most of you have experienced this, but this is for those who haven't) If you were to leave MGM, you probably would not be able to get into Epcot, because it will probably be closed by then (the people in the parks can stay of course, but no one new can get in). Basically, I would ask a cast member if Epcot is open before you leave the park. When I was there a couple years ago, all four parks were closed on New Year's Eve. Be careful about switching parks because you might get left out. My advice is to pick one park, get there early in the day, and then stay there until midnight or whatever.

 

[surfsupdon]

Woah, red flag here. On New Year's Eve, the parks tend to get so busy that they close them (I'm sure most of you have experienced this, but this is for those who haven't) If you were to leave MGM, you probably would not be able to get into Epcot, because it will probably be closed by then (the people in the parks can stay of course, but no one new can get in). Basically, I would ask a cast member if Epcot is open before you leave the park. When I was there a couple years ago, all four parks were closed on New Year's Eve. Be careful about switching parks because you might get left out. My advice is to pick one park, get there early in the day, and then stay there until midnight or whatever.

As long as you are a Disney Resort Guest, you'll be guaranteed admission. We always stay at the Resort for New Year's Eve day, then head into Epcot around 4 for our PS at a restaurant. Even tho the parks are "filled," we have consistently been allowed in for our WDW Resort Guest status.

 

[LilDucky]

We went on Jan. 8 this year and the cast members told us that this year was the first year that they actually stopped admittence into the parks do to maximum capacity. The part about it being the first time is that they allowed first come first serve admittence. Some people staying at Disney hotels were not allowed in...usually they are given priority to the parks.

What you said is very true. We have gone during this time for the past couple of years and we never had a problem getting into the parks. Well last year was different, and we were completely shut out of the MK. People were parked on the grass the parking lot was so full. We were directed to Epcot and we were almost shut out of there too. We were dissapointed, but a CM told us lots of people leave the parks before midnight because of small children, and he told us to check in later. So we did, and we found out that they were admitting more people, so we ended up spending NYE at MK!!

So those of you going this year.. go to the parks early that day. Even if youre a resort guest, I suggest picking one park and staying there. Better to be safe than sorry..

 

[Prof Ecks]

Thanks for info M star, Surfsupdon and LilDucky- I will definitely be careful about leaving one park and entering another on that oh so busy evening. I would hope I could get into the Epcot via International Gateway, but I don't want to leave MGM and find out we are unable to get into any park. I found LilDucky's story heartening though - if LDy could get into the MK on NYE there is hope for us at Epcot!

thanks

P.S. It is info like this that really makes this forum special and shows me that doing Disney is a mixture of art and science!