New Years at Disney, help/advice please!

[mykiddiewinks]

We are cruising over Christmas (not Disney) and thought as we will have already paid for our flights from Michigan why not maximize that and tag on a Disney stay.

We will be staying Dec 27th - Jan 2nd and we will definitely stay in a Disney hotel (not sure which yet).

We totally expect it to be crazy busy, with staying in a Disney hotel are we guaranteed entry to parks? I recall seeing posts last year that the parks closed down. Any help or advice would be appreciated, it is 11 years since we last did Disney our kids will be 14 and 16 when we travel - thanks.

 

[Killnme]

Mid-day naps on the 31st. I suggest EPCOT on the 31st.

 

[Master Yoda]

We are cruising over Christmas (not Disney) and thought as we will have already paid for our flights from Michigan why not maximize that and tag on a Disney stay.

We will be staying Dec 27th - Jan 2nd and we will definitely stay in a Disney hotel (not sure which yet).

We totally expect it to be crazy busy, with staying in a Disney hotel are we guaranteed entry to parks? I recall seeing posts last year that the parks closed down. Any help or advice would be appreciated, it is 11 years since we last did Disney our kids will be 14 and 16 when we travel - thanks.

Technically, no. If parks hit a phase 4 closure no one gets in , but phase 4 closures are rare if they have ever happened at all.

 

[Killnme]

If you want to beat the phase 4 closing make sure to make a dinner reservation in the park you want to be in for the fireworks at Midnight. If they make you reserve with a credit card they will have to let you in.

 

[yellowb]

We have been the last 3 years during Christmas through New Years. It has never reached a point to where a resort guest can't enter. After last year's New Years Eve at the Magic Kingdom though, I am more inclined to book New Year's Eve night at the Contemporary just so it doesn't take 2.5 hours to get back to the resort.

 

[wdwmagic]

We are cruising over Christmas (not Disney) and thought as we will have already paid for our flights from Michigan why not maximize that and tag on a Disney stay.

We will be staying Dec 27th - Jan 2nd and we will definitely stay in a Disney hotel (not sure which yet).

We totally expect it to be crazy busy, with staying in a Disney hotel are we guaranteed entry to parks? I recall seeing posts last year that the parks closed down. Any help or advice would be appreciated, it is 11 years since we last did Disney our kids will be 14 and 16 when we travel - thanks.

Here is the guide to how capacity closings work and who is eligible
http://www.wdwmagic.com/park-closing-phases.htm

 

[wdwmagic]

Technically, no. If parks hit a phase 4 closure no one gets in , but phase 4 closures are rare if they have ever happened at all.

April 2009 was the last I remember reporting on
http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...gdom-closed-to-all-guests-due-to-capacity.htm

 

[Master Yoda]

If you want to beat the phase 4 closing make sure to make a dinner reservation in the park you want to be in for the fireworks at Midnight. If they make you reserve with a credit card they will have to let you in.

I am not sure if that is correct. Everything I have read on a phase 4 closure is "no one gets in. Period, end of story." Having and ADR will get a not resort guest in through phase 3, but it helps no one at 4.

 

[MickeyisMyBestFriend]

You are not guaranteed access to the parks even if you stay at a Disney resort if it is a phase 4 closing. You should be able to get into the park even if it is a phase 3. I was there last new years eve and it did shut down quite often due to maximum capacity (we got to the park for rope drop). It is very busy and make sure you have your phone charged because the Tangled station was packed and half of them weren't working.

 

[boilerpicc]

We were there for New Year's 2012. It was crazy crazy crazy busy. I know the Magic Kingdom made it to a phase 3 closure on Dec 31. I heard rumors that it was phase 4 for awhile. We went to Epcot and got there pretty early in the morning (definitely before 10). We came from the Polynesian, and there were temporary turnstiles put out for the monorail because there were so many people. It took us about 20 minutes to get on the monorail. Then it took us about 40 minutes just to get into Epcot, and we didn't even have bags. DO NOT take bags to the park on Dec 31 if you can avoid it. That line was hugely long. We didn't ride anything that day, because the lines were so long. The wait for Soarin was over 4 hours. We ended up walking around the World Showcase and playing the Kim Possible game. Even with that, we generally had at least two families in front of us at each station. If there was a grassy area, there were people sitting/laying down in it. I got sick of the people, so we went back to the Polynesian before the fesitivities started. Best idea we ever had. We watched the MK fireworks from the beach there. They used the water pageant boats as speakers, so the music was super easy to hear.

All this ranting aside, it was still neat to be there at New Year's. There were all kinds of bands and DJs getting set up around the World Showcase when we left. I bet the party would have been cool. I just want to set your expectations for the absolutely insane amount of people that will be there. Even if you stay in the resort, you might not get into a park. Epcot is your best bet, because it holds the most people.

On the flip side, if you can get up and get to the parks before lunch on Jan 1, it is like a ghost town. We walked on all of the rides in the MK the next morning. Also, they do a test run of the MK NYE fireworks on Dec 30. It's a nice way to see what the MK does for NYE if you intend on going to another park.

 

[wannabeBelle]

As Master Yoda has said, phase 4 is a complete closure with no one getting in at all. Magic Kingdom is the toughest park for any of the really popular days like that. Definitely dont plan on seeing or doing a lot, make your ADR's and get into the spot you would like to be for New Year's fairly early. Be sure to be patient and relaxed as there are probably more people in the parks than you have ever seen at one time. That having been said, I went a few years ago to do New Year's at Hollywood Studios with Mulch, Sweat & Shears and it was AMAZING!!!! I lucked out with good weather, good friends, etc. a few days later it was FREEZING so the weather is very changeable during that time frame, but I think you will have a blast!!! Marie

 

[mykiddiewinks]

We know it is going to be extremely busy and are prepared for that, we did Universal a couple of Christmas' ago and it was so busy that day the park closed. I think we are all prepared to go with an open mind and be easy going that plans may and probably will change. We are thinking one option is that we may even stay out of the parks NYE, do the hotels have anything going on or would downtown disney be a good alternative???

 

[dreamscometrue]

We've done 4 'New Year's Eve's' of the past 6 (5 of the past 9) at WDW, so we're not experts by any stretch, but definitely can offer an opinion.

Avoid MK at all costs. I know people say it's cool and romantic or whatever to be there. Yeah, whatever, it's insane. If you must check out the NYE fireworks there, go Dec. 30th for the same show. Simply put, MK is wall to wall people all day, you must go early, wait times for attractions and for food is nuts, and after the fireworks, it can take hours to get to your hotel.

Here's what we've done the past few years. Relax at our resort much of the day Dec. 31st, or go to Epcot or DHS for a few hours in the morning. At about 4pm, take a bus to the Studios and walk to Epcot (because we like to walk and eat at ESPN) or take a bus to Epcot directly. Enjoy the park and catch the 6:40pm NYE edition of Illuminations. At about 7:30pm, make our way to DHS (we always can walk in...never at capacity) and enjoy the park all night*, watch Mulch, Sweat and Shears on the big stage, enjoy the midnight fireworks, and get on a bus to our resort. We are always back at our hotel (on site) well before 1am.

On New Year's Day, we hit D.A.K. about 10am and ride like crazy because it's friggin' empty. Last time, we did Everest 8 times in a row and lots of other stuff. One year we thought we'd try DHS at 9am because it had been open until 3am NYE. Who would be back there right? It was crazy, crazy busy! By 9:30am, wait times at the major attractions were 50-120minutes. We left, got to our beloved Animal Kingdom at 11am and played all day.

Have fun!

*Probably even better now because you can book some fave attractions with FP+