MinnesotaFriar
Member
Hello all, I am back after a one year hiatus, it appears that we will again be returning for 2015 New Years Eve (we were there 2012 and 2013, missed 2014, much to all of our sadness).
Since we've done New Years Eve two of the last three years, we're very familiar with just how crowded the parks our (they are), and what the weather is typically like (December isn't the most predictable month in Florida).
The biggest change we've incurred in the one year comes in the addition of an additional member, in the middle son now having a girlfriend that travels with us now. This has led us to now getting two hotel rooms (a long overdue move given that we're a family of five, and, well, now there's six of us).
So because of this, we're leaning towards Port Orleans (but wow, if every resort isn't extremely expensive on NYE). Two years ago, we booked Port Orleans but then were free upgraded to Boardwalk. I don't think that's something we can count on again, but man, would that be nice again.
Anyway, here's a couple of the questions we have for those that have kept coming to Disney a lot over the past few years (we were passholders from 2002-2007, stopped having them when oldest son went away to college):
1) If we're not going to be in a park and we're not going to be staying at the Contemporary or Boardwalk like we were the previous two times...is there a best place in Walt Disney World to watch fireworks/celebrate the New Year? And, I should ask, does anyone know if Port Orleans does anything special for NYE?
1a) The passes that we got actually are NOT good at any park on 12/31, so we're unable to actually be in a park when the ball drops...is Downtown Disney the best alternate spot to be? I'd imagine that's crowded, but willing to listen to any arguments on that.
2) Disney Dining Reservations...have they just not opened yet for the week of Christmas, or are they already booked? It looks like they stop accepting reservations now on December 22nd...
3) We're not necessarily married to Port Orleans...one idea that we're kicking around is Old Key West and getting a 1 bedroom villa. With Port Orleans being $296 per night (and us needing to get 2 rooms, like previously mentioned), we're considering whether it might be worth it to spring for a villa...
It seems that Old Key West has the biggest (in terms of both space and amount of beds) villas and that they're the most economical. With a 1 bedroom villa at Old Key West running $665 per night, it would seem like it would almost be a wash...
Any opinions on Old Key West (or the other villas) is very much appreciated. Bare in mind, we do have 6 people, so any other ideas are also welcome!
3a) Anybody know if there's anything special New Years Eve-related going on at Old Key West when the ball drops for the New Year?
Edit: While we're considering all options, the Villas at Grand Floridian run $769 per night, which would be a bit more of a reach, and we'd have to readjust our itinerary to checkout on 12/31 (due to there not being enough room)...but it does look quite incredible. That said, we wouldn't be there for the New Year, so the view during the New Year obviously wouldn't be a consideration.
As always, any and all input is always valued and I'm very glad that we're going to be back to Disney this winter giving me ample reason to post here (it's just too sad being here without knowing a Disney trip is on the horizon, as I'm sure some of you can relate to!)
Since we've done New Years Eve two of the last three years, we're very familiar with just how crowded the parks our (they are), and what the weather is typically like (December isn't the most predictable month in Florida).
The biggest change we've incurred in the one year comes in the addition of an additional member, in the middle son now having a girlfriend that travels with us now. This has led us to now getting two hotel rooms (a long overdue move given that we're a family of five, and, well, now there's six of us).
So because of this, we're leaning towards Port Orleans (but wow, if every resort isn't extremely expensive on NYE). Two years ago, we booked Port Orleans but then were free upgraded to Boardwalk. I don't think that's something we can count on again, but man, would that be nice again.
Anyway, here's a couple of the questions we have for those that have kept coming to Disney a lot over the past few years (we were passholders from 2002-2007, stopped having them when oldest son went away to college):
1) If we're not going to be in a park and we're not going to be staying at the Contemporary or Boardwalk like we were the previous two times...is there a best place in Walt Disney World to watch fireworks/celebrate the New Year? And, I should ask, does anyone know if Port Orleans does anything special for NYE?
1a) The passes that we got actually are NOT good at any park on 12/31, so we're unable to actually be in a park when the ball drops...is Downtown Disney the best alternate spot to be? I'd imagine that's crowded, but willing to listen to any arguments on that.
2) Disney Dining Reservations...have they just not opened yet for the week of Christmas, or are they already booked? It looks like they stop accepting reservations now on December 22nd...
3) We're not necessarily married to Port Orleans...one idea that we're kicking around is Old Key West and getting a 1 bedroom villa. With Port Orleans being $296 per night (and us needing to get 2 rooms, like previously mentioned), we're considering whether it might be worth it to spring for a villa...
It seems that Old Key West has the biggest (in terms of both space and amount of beds) villas and that they're the most economical. With a 1 bedroom villa at Old Key West running $665 per night, it would seem like it would almost be a wash...
Any opinions on Old Key West (or the other villas) is very much appreciated. Bare in mind, we do have 6 people, so any other ideas are also welcome!
3a) Anybody know if there's anything special New Years Eve-related going on at Old Key West when the ball drops for the New Year?
Edit: While we're considering all options, the Villas at Grand Floridian run $769 per night, which would be a bit more of a reach, and we'd have to readjust our itinerary to checkout on 12/31 (due to there not being enough room)...but it does look quite incredible. That said, we wouldn't be there for the New Year, so the view during the New Year obviously wouldn't be a consideration.
As always, any and all input is always valued and I'm very glad that we're going to be back to Disney this winter giving me ample reason to post here (it's just too sad being here without knowing a Disney trip is on the horizon, as I'm sure some of you can relate to!)
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