New Years Week Help Please!!

[pgende80]

We are planning a trip from dec 27-jan 3 an would like to hear from any veterans that go during this time or have gone during this time in the past! Any info on your experience would be greatly appreciated! We have gone during summer an very busy spring break crowds an we are a rope drop family! My game plan was gonna be rope drop a park in the morning an then schedule my FP+ an dinners at another park in the evening but afraid with parks being shut down due to capacity that it wouldn't work out! Again any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[ibela]

Can't help you because I've never been that week but am planning to this year. Subscribing and hoping for some good tips. I think the WS @ Epcot used to celebrate according to NYE @ home countries. Not sure if they still do that, but I think it'd be neat. Also wondering if there are any special fireworks shows @ midnight.

 

[pgende80]

Yes I'm exited to see the replies so hopefully they can help us both out!!

 

[clutter]

We did that a few years back - maybe '09? Anyway, best tip I had was to do the NYE fireworks at MK the night before! They were awesome, and not that crowded (relative to what the crowds were). On NYE, we went to MGM. Stood in front of one of the shops and caught our bus back to All Star Sports. We were in the room by 1:00am.

 

[csjordan]

We are planning a trip from dec 27-jan 3 an would like to hear from any veterans that go during this time or have gone during this time in the past! Any info on your experience would be greatly appreciated! We have gone during summer an very busy spring break crowds an we are a rope drop family! My game plan was gonna be rope drop a park in the morning an then schedule my FP+ an dinners at another park in the evening but afraid with parks being shut down due to capacity that it wouldn't work out! Again any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

We were there this past year 1/2-1/5. Not quite as close to the end of Christmas/NYE as you will be there. We scheduled our FP+'s and ADR's and hit rope drop and got most everything done that we wanted to do. We found the crowds to be less than expected, overall. We tried to stick to the "recommended" parks. One advantage we did have was the fact that we had AP's and could also access FP-. We did use that quite a bit in the afternoons. That is why rope drop is essential. With a good touring plan, you'll be fine! Have fun!

 

[RookieLady]

Rope drop is essential, and the year I was there, it was 7:00 am at the magic kingdom. You could ride well for about 2-3 hours.

We did fireworks from the Poly beach. That was beautiful. Epcot has a nice show, too. That atmosphere is much more adult, and we have not been back NYE at Epcot since I had my children.

New Years Day has the parks empty until about lunch time, with most folks sleeping off their late night.

I have found this time much more crowded than summer, but it's still a lot of fun.

 

[Itinkso]

In DHS, there should be three Fantasmic shows each night. The third show will be the least crowded. The Osborne Lights will be less crowded after the second Fantasmic show.

Resort hop before January 1st to see the decorations at the Deluxe resorts. The gingerbread displays at GF, BWI, and BC shouldn't be missed!

 

[pgende80]

I never even though about resort hopping to check out there decorations! Thanks good tip!

 

[macman752]

If you go that week expect very crowded parks. Both shots were taken at Liberty Square from the porch of the Liberty Tree Tavern looking toward Columbia Harbor House. The first shot at about 8:00 pm on 12.30.2013 and the second shot about 6 hours later:

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Hey there! Welcome to the Christmas Club!

Before I type out some tips, I wanted to check if you are staying onsite or offsite.

This would be pivotal in giving you tips and a plan of action!

 

[pgende80]

I am staying on site either at all star sports! Thanks

 

[linskypens]

We went New years week DEC '12. I had been 17 times before but never that week.
Be prepared!! Rope Drop essential. It was 7 am most days. Got a lot done first thing in the morning.Got little done in the afternoon with out a fastpass.
Parks were preposterously crowded. We only ran into closures on NYE at MK.
we got there by ten AM and stayed all day. Staked out our fireworks spot at 6PM and sat there for 6 hours. IT was horrible. i would suggest you do the night before as they do the same fireworks both the 30th and 31st, if you plan on NYE fireworks in MK
We miraculously, and after two weeks of calling 4 times a day made a reservation at Liberty Tree for NYE at 4PM. It was nice to get off the street and out of the crowd for an hour. I would suggest you do the same if you can.
The line to get into the MK parking lot was so bad at 930AM, that the bus took a back way to get in. I got to see the WDW waste Water treatment plant...Not quite the thrill it sounds like

Anyway... Go at Rope drop, get done what you can, and make your FP+ for the evenings. We didnt see any closures except for NYE. At least none that affected resort guests. If you are staying on site you should be fine.

Osbourne lights the highlight of the trip. We spent an hour, but you could easily spend twice that. They are remarkable.

 

[pgende80]

Sounds like i have alot of planning to do!! Thanks!

 

[linskypens]

I have any number of horror stories from NYE..... My suggestion is be prepared to do RD every day, and understand that its going to be the most crowded you have ever seen it.
If you go in knowing that, you will feel better about it.
Get done what you can, enjoy the atmosphere of holiday in the parks, and go with the flow.
ENJOY!!

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Well, you've come to the right place!

My family has spent Christmas week (December 24th through January 1st) in Disney the past 4/5 years. Many times we have said "maybe we'll try something else next year," but I can't see a Christmas holiday spent any other way!

It is truly one of the most magical places and experiences I have ever had. Eve with an older family (I'm going to be 25, my sister will be 30 and my parents are 60+) we still really enjoy it!

I remember the first year we decided to go to Disney for Christmas. It was a mess! The temperature was frigid and we did not pack correctly at all. Along with this, it was so much more crowded than we had anticipated. We had been to Disney during the thick of July - tour groups and all - and it was still unlike anything we had ever seen.

The next year, we were prepared. We packed warmer clothes and mentally prepared for the crowds. The problem was - I broke my foot! I was stuck in an EMV the entire trip! It's hard enough to walk in Disney, but to drive one of those things and avoid people and hope that they see you - it's very difficult! The trip was an improvement over the last, but my each member of my family (myself included) caught a stomach bug that brought down the morale!

We took the next year off. I had just started at my new job fresh out of college and we had a wedding in Disney in April 2012 to go to. Going into our next trip for Christmas 2012/2013, we were hit by Sandy! We refused to cancel the vacation. Well, we were greeted by beautiful weather. Unfortunately, we were unable to plan the way we normally would and were left improving most of the trip. That's a huge no-no during Christmas/NYE week!

So now I take you to our past trip - Christmas 2013/2014. Going into our fourth Christmas vacation we were seasoned veterans. We knew how and what to pack, how to plan and when to go to each park. We decided a little later to do the vacation - I was laid off and out of work. We finally decided to book the vacation in August (well after our 180-day window) and I finally found a job in October.

So here's the basics of what you need to do and know..

- The 180-day mark is more pivotal for this vacation than any other time. Signature restaurants on Christmas eve, day and NYE will fly! It is very hard to secure a reservation for popular restaurants in Disney during this week, so plan ahead and secure those ressies!

- Equally important will be the 60-day window for FP+. Popular rides will be reserved very fast! It feels ridiculous, but you will want to look to book the FP+ reservations at midnight the day your window opens.
- Make sure to enter your reservations into the MDE. The app/UI will try and find FP+ times around your reservations.
- Keep an eye out for if/when your entire trip opens. By the third day of booking within our 60-day window, our entire trip opened. I'm not sure if it was a glitch or not, but I was able to book for dates within the 60-day window as well as days that were 61, 62, 63.. days away.
- If a member of your family does not go on rides, use their MB/name to book additional FP+s. Yes, this is considered "cheating" but think about it - you're paying for this person anyway, why not use it to your advantage? My mom doesn't go on rides, so my sister and I each had a choice of rides that we wanted to FP+ and we swapped bracelets for that time.
- When you book the FP+, many time it will give you three options. Sometimes, it will only give you two of the three rides you want. If this is the case for all of the options, select one with the best time. You can always swap out one or more rides and many times your preference will be available. You want to book the FP+s when you can get them and not risk losing them!

here's a tip thread I started going into our trip last year.. hope it helps!

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3142648

 

[momof2disprincesses]

Since 2006, our family has been at WDW during Christmas/NY week 5 times.

Here's a link to my most recent TR and it includes a link to my 2012 TR.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3221384

Now you have to understand that we go to WDW a lot, so we don't feel the normal pressure to ride everything and do everything. In fact, we have gotten so much more relaxed about our trips that we slept in almost every day of our 2 week trip this past Christmas/NY.

WDW is obviously a magical and wonderful place, but in my opinion, so much more so during the holidays. There is just nothing that compares! Enjoy all the extra pixie dust!

 

[Disneytigergirl]

I went just the past New Years and honestly it was not anywhere near as bad as I was expecting. All I heard was how packed it was going to be. My group and I did the Magic Kingdom on the 30th and I don't think it went beyond d a stage one closure. We did the dessert party for the midnight fireworks so can't comment on how that worked. We arrived at Epcot around 10:30 the next day, New Year's Eve. Now that was crazy. The line for bag check was about 45 minutes. We just did some walking around and the rides we had reserved before with FP+. It seemed really busy when you looked out and noticed places that rarely ever had people, had people. But that's what we were expecting so we weren't completely overwhelmed. World Showcase after the sun goes down is very very busy. But once you get to where you want to be, it feels better. We hoped to multiple dance parties while a few in our group held a bench because they were tired. It's just a very different experience and I would consider doing it again.

 

[pgende80]

Awesome thank you guys for all this info im gonna be busy looking through all this stuff! Thanks again

 

[karenklo]

I went just the past New Years and honestly it was not anywhere near as bad as I was expecting. All I heard was how packed it was going to be. My group and I did the Magic Kingdom on the 30th and I don't think it went beyond d a stage one closure. We did the dessert party for the midnight fireworks so can't comment on how that worked. We arrived at Epcot around 10:30 the next day, New Year's Eve. Now that was crazy. The line for bag check was about 45 minutes. We just did some walking around and the rides we had reserved before with FP+. It seemed really busy when you looked out and noticed places that rarely ever had people, had people. But that's what we were expecting so we weren't completely overwhelmed. World Showcase after the sun goes down is very very busy. But once you get to where you want to be, it feels better. We hoped to multiple dance parties while a few in our group held a bench because they were tired. It's just a very different experience and I would consider doing it again.

We just there this last NYE too! We did the same!! MK on the 30th and Epcot the next day! I would agree with other posters that RD is key. We have been there quite a bit so we felt no pressure to do it all. FP+ was a godsend as we could RD one ride and know we already had another lined up. It was crowded, but not terrible. We had a great time. I just need to talk my DH into going back again this NYE!!

 

[DisneyMim]

We've been going right after Christmas into New Year's for years now. We are not a typical family, don't do rope drop, are night owls, and go often so are not worried about rides. For us it is a very magical time of year. We love all the decorations at the parks and resorts. The only time we are up early to hit a park is on New Year's Eve. We get to Epcot early and stay all day. We make both lunch and dinner ressies. We've been at ALL crowded times of the year (my husband is a teacher and now both of our kids are too!!) so only go during school vacations. You have to just go with the flow. New Year's Eve is (IMHO) the busiest day of the year. We avoid MK. If you want to see the fireworks at MK go the night before, they are the same. We like Epcot, but whatever park you go to get there early and make sure you have any ressies made well in advance. We like the entertainment in Epcot and have been known to have a few drinks throughout the day. LOL. The other days during that time period are still busy, but not like NYE. Last year we were able to stay until Jan 5th and found that it was less crowded as days went on. As for the weather, it can be cold so pack a little of everything. Layering works best for us (and we are from NE, but still find it cold). When you are out for a long time especially at night it gets cold. We've seen people in shorts and t-shirts and never can figure out why they just didn't look at the weather in advance. We've been maybe 10 times but have yet to feel like jumping into the pools. I still pack a bathing suits, but have never used it!! We like to go around and see some of the resorts. We were at the GF last year and watched them taking down the decorations one night. Everyone in the lobby was just in awe of all the work that goes into it. Disney is really at it's best during the Christmas season. As you can see we keep going back. We'll be there again this year too. Hope you have a magical Christmas and...

Enjoy The Magic!!