WDW at New Years

[AllDisney]

What are the crowds like from Dec 29th until January 4th? Not that interested in being in the middle of new years celebration, but is there a park that will be less crowded?

Also, when are the Christmas decorations taken down?

Never been this time of year before & are working around college semesters & such. I know the weather is iffy. We have no problem with that. We just don't want to be elbow to elbow while we are down there if we decide to go this time of year.

Thanks for the input!

[Strmchsr]

Parks are jam packed. MK is definitely the most crowded. Lines are still long, though, at DHS and DAK because of the fewer "headliner" attractions. After Jan 2-3 crowds begin to die down, but they don't disappear. Epcot is usually okay as it is more spread out. However, going at this time of year you just have to know you'll be dealing with huge crowds.

[Pirate Granny]

we've been at MK and EPCOT for New Years Eve...hummmmmmmm stay away from EPCOT unless you aren't taking the bus...we made sure we were at the beginning of the park and RAN (yes, at 55 years young) to the bus area, immediately following the fireworks...we were on the second bus...talking the next day to people who were also there...the average waiting time for a bus was 3 hours...I would've gone nuts...so...I know the Grand Floridan has a party...balloons and all...so if you are on a monorail resort that may work...I think that all the hotels that have lobbies probably have their own celebrations...It's such a magical time to go...would I go again...IN A HEARTBEAT...but I would go to MK and not EPCOT...unless I was staying at YC or BC resorts...it was a ZOO...and it was way more crowded that MK...we found Jan 1 the crowds were a lot lower...but this year it's on a weekend so maybe it'll still be crowded.
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[faline]

Expect the parks to be extremely busy - they might even reach capacity and shut down to new folks coming in - particularly on New Year's Eve.

Decorations begin to come down fairly quickly after the 1st.

[RedSoxandPatsfan]

The whole experience was amazing. That being said though the parks were jammed packed crazy. Two and three hour standbys were the norm on Dec 30th and the 31st. TSM was 180 minutes on the 30th.

Jan first at AK wasn't bad but it rained heavy early that morning. EE had 5 min standby waits, so we rode four times in a row. walk on to Dinosaur.

Jan 2nd at Studios, and Epcot at night, was cold, ~ 50°F, but crowds were much more manageable.

The fireworks on NYE at MK were the most amazing I have ever seen. MK was doable for us on NYE because I had birthday FPs for our group. We were able to do all the major rides and lots of minor rides due to these.

I am very glad I did it once, but I don't think I would do it again without the gaurantee of the FPs for MK on NYE.

[WDWdriver]

The most crowded time of the year. Don't go if you can't handle crowds. AK is the least crowded, but that's not saying much.

[websitekid]

Most likely, all the parks will reach capacity by 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I was in WDW 3 years ago for new years, and at 11:00 am the MK was already closed to capacity. Later in the afternoon EPCOT closed, and I imagine the DAK closed very soon after that. I would recommend being at Epcot for new years, the firworks show and music they do for new years is phenominal (they celebrate each country as it reaches the new year in that country's time zone). Of course, MK is always a good place to be. Be prepared for extremely long lines in everything, and bring plenty of snacks. Usually, however, the weather isn't too hot or too cold.