New Years week

[tracy2kids]

Hello! We are planning a multi-family trip to Orlando offsite New Years week (Dec. 29-Jan 5). Unfortunately, this is the only time we can work it in between school and work. Could anyone tell me their experience with visiting that time of year? Any recommendations for New Years Eve and New Years Day or should we avoid the parks all together until the 2nd? I hope we will still be able to enjoy the parks without being overrun!
Thanks for your help!

[faline]

Welcome to Intercot!

Unfortunately, you're going at one of the busiest times of year. I would expect that all the time you will be there will be quite busy just based on where New Year's day falls. The latter part of the week might slow down some but I expect a lot schools will be off most, if not all of that week.

There are some fantastic fireworks displays on New Year's eve. The parks are so crowded on that day that they often close to additional guests. Most folks recommend that you pick the park you want to be in and plan to be there all day. Make sure you have dining reservations as far in advance as possible!

Generally, the parks are pretty quiet in the morning of New Year's day but will get busier once folks are up and about.

Where will you be staying? Resorts such as the Poly often restrict acess to their beach on New Year's eve to resort guests only.

[mamacatnv]

I have been during those dates the past 2 years. The first year we went the 29th - 5th just like you are planning, the second year we went the 1st - 9th because NYE was just a little too overwhelming for us and we wanted the Value season rate.

I agree with everything Faline said and would add: Take your patience hats and be prepared to wait for everything. If you go into it with the mindset of it is going to be crazy crowded then you are not shocked when it is.

Use FastPass and hit the big stuff early.

Personally, we avoid the parks on NYE, we went resort hopping, shopping at DTD and to the FW campfire & sing-a-long. The crowds were too much for our 8 yr old.

The rest of the time, take advantage of the morning EMH's and be at the gates when the parks open.

If you have TS that are must do's make the ADR's as soon as possible.

Make your resort choice ASAP also as they will fill up quickly.

Happy planning - the holiday decor and festive mood is awesome

[CarolinaWDWFan]

You have selected a popular time to go. We have made the trip during that same stretch and have these tips for you:

1. Plan to do things off the beaten path - the great thing about WDW is that there are things to do other than just the theme parks. DtD and the West Side are fun places to spend time. Resort hopping is fun. Usually one of the waterparks is in full swing, if the temperatures are warm enough for you.
2. Make ADRs as early as possible - be prepared to be flexible in your dining times the later you wait to make the ADR.
3. Ditto to the "Patience Hats" - a 40+ minute wait for an attraction will be common, so pick your battles. Some lines move quicker than others.
4. Fast Pass, Fast Pass, Fast Pass.
5. Divide your group into smaller, theme oriented groups - if you have thrill seekers, leisure riders, moderates or kiddie riders, try to split them up. Due to the increased crowd at the parks, it will allow everyone to key in on the attractions they want to see and maximize their time.
6. If a good fireworks spot for NYE is what you need, you will probably have to go to the park. My understanding is that it is very difficult to go to a neighboring resort(Poly, GF) if you are not a guest for that particular evening.
7. Go early or later in the afternoon on the other non-holiday days. Avoid the mid-day traffic in the parks. Since your not staying on property, EMH will not be an option for you, so plan accordingly.

Have a great time and happy planning!

[HereWeGoAgain!]

I think your idea of avoiding the parks New Years Eve and Day are right on.... Our last trip was offsite and at the same time you are going - I have to say, I'd never do it again! Wall to wall people, even after the holiday was over!

New Years Eve we tried to get into Magic Kingdom (Ha!) they were at capacity and CLOSED to all by 9:00 a.m.!

We decided to visit Seaworld instead and had a great time - we literally had the park to ourselves!

[MissyWishes]

We just spent New years Eve and week 2006 -2007. Don't be put off by the crowds. Our strategy was dinner at Ohanas New Years Eve. We had a wonderful view of the fireworks from the restaurant at 9pm. They pipe the music in as well. After dinner we went for a stroll on their beach and watched the electric water pageant float past which was really beautiful. We made it a reasonably early night 10.30pm and headed back to our offsite hotel. Whilst everyone else is sleeping off their big nights we arrive at the Magic Kingdom at around opening time New Years Day. We got to ride all the popular rides easily by lunch time when the crowds started to thicken, and then fastpassed other rides in the afternoon and had a leisurly time although extremely crowded later in the day. I guess thats how we played it all New Years Week. Get to each park around opening and you will get so much done in that time before lunch. Also enjoy all the christmas decorations that are still up at that time of year.

[BellewanaB]

We did the 26th-2nd a couple years ago and leading up to New Years was AWFUL!
From my time working in WDW I knew that Epcot was usually the last to close due to capacity restrictions and we had no problem getting in around dinner time. Morocco rarely has much of a a wait so we ate there for dinner and then pretty much felt like veal all night until midnight. Rides were impossible to get on (all fastpasses were gone) and forget walking around. Around 10:30 all the good spots for fireworks were gone so we hurried to find what was left and waited. It was chilly but we met some great people from the south and Europe and had a great time chatting. For us it was totally worth it just to see them totally light up the sky with an Illuminations grand finale at midnight. The park was also open late, I want to say 1 or 2, so we scooted right after to avoid any "after fireworks" sort of exodus.
For any die hards, I say at least one New Years Eve is a must. However, you may not want to do it again anytime soon after how exhausting it is! (New Years Day was TOTALLY a pool day!)

[tracy2kids]

Thanks for replying! Any additional hints or tips would be great. We are staying offsite in a large home as there will be 3 families together. We already planned on visiting other things this trip, since we are staying offsite (probably Windsor Palms). The Seaworld tip might be a great idea. We were also thinking about Kennedy Space and even though it will probably be chilly, checking out one of the beach communities.
We're mostly looking forward to being together with family, but I hope we can fit in a couple Disney parks over the week to get my fix in!!