Planning Trip for Dec 29- Jan 4

[hollieandjake]

I know this is the busiest time of year. I need some suggestions on navigating the crowds and using the Fast Pass + and Extra Magic Hours to make the trip go smoothly and fun. We will be a group of 4 adults and 2 toddlers (1 Boy and 1 Girl). We are using the Quick service dining plan because of the freedom, but we have one reservation for Chef Mickeys for Breakfast to get good pictures. We have 5 day passes. We are using Sunday the 29th and Saturday Jan 4th as travel days. We also purchased the Photo Pass + so we could get all of our Disney Pictures. I want to know some strategies that have been successful or unsuccessful. We have had success in the past by keeping breakfast in our room and getting up early then hitting the parks. Take break (Nap and eat) in the middle of day then head back to parks in the late afternoon and be refreshed.

We want to get good pictures with Characters, hit all the major rides, watch Fantasmic, and maybe try to watch fireworks depending on how late the kids can make it. We love all the Christmas stuff too, but probably can't make it to the Candlelight Processional.

My Questions are for this week so we can create a game plan
What time to go to certain parks?
What to avoid?
Where to go to find most accessible rides or characters?
How to use Fast Pass + the best?
How to use the Photo Pass + to get the most for our money?
Any suggestions will be welcomed, thanks!

 

[minniemickeyfan]

I would avoid early entry days, always arrive before open, do the rides you want to most that would get long lines later and make my fp+ times for later in the day when it's more crowded. Also see the shows in the afternoon and eat lunch at 11 and dinner early. This is just what I've done going during this time of year and seems to work pretty well. I like to avoid crowds!
If you want to see the New Years Fireworks at MK, go the 30th. The DS has fireworks on the 31st. Good Luck with the planning!

 

[boilerpicc]

We were there for NYE 2012 for a babymoon. The crowds will be a step beyond insane. I have never seen anything like it. There were turnstiles for all of the people waiting for the Monorail. It took us almost an hour just to get into Epcot (without bags) on the 31st.

Your best bet for doing rides is to get to the parks right when they open. You will have a couple of hours before the big crowds make it there. The morning of Jan 1 was the best, because everyone was still sleeping from the night before. Use FP+ and rider swaps (for the rides the kids can't go on) to the greatest extent that you can. There was a 4 hour wait for Soarin on the 31st, but only about 1 hour for the FP line.

If you want to see Fantasmic, I would recommend booking another sit down meal with the Fantasmic dining package. That will save you from having to wait in that line.

For the fireworks, ditto the post above. They do a test run of the MK fireworks on the 30th. They are exactly the same as the ones on NYE. We watched both nights from the beach at the Polynesian (beach was packed on NYE). When we watched, they brought Electric Water Pageant boats out, parked them in front of the Polynesian, and used them as giant speakers for the firework music. The music was plenty loud, and I think you could probably see more of the fireworks than in the park. Some of them are shot off from outside the MK, by the GF and the Contemporary.

I have heard that the crowds die down considerably after Jan 1.