NYE at WDW

[Zaptrem2]

Hi,


So my family of 7 (two adults, an 18 y/o, a 16 year old, 11 y/o, 7 y/o, and 5 y/o) will be spending 12/30 - 1/5 at WDW this year. I have been trying to plan New Years Eve for what we will do, and here’s what I’m thinking (opinions/advice on changing the plan would be helpful!)


The day before NYE, I was planning on taking the 3 older kids to MK for the fireworks on the 30th as we have one day with only 4 park tickets. For NYE we were thinking to spend the first half of the day at AK. I figure it’ll be the least crowded of the parks since they don’t have any special NYE events going on. We have a reservation for lunch at Tusker House. The only thing I’m worried about is getting to AK from the Poly, I’ve read that traffic is insane, and as the Disney Transportation buses can be a long wait, we usually take an Uber, so I’m not sure what’ll be fastest. We would go back to the Poly late afternoon and spend a few hours at the pool. DH thinks if we go to Epcot late with the kids, around 9:00 or 10:00, we might be able to get in to see fireworks as people with young kids leave. How likely is this? I’m worried about Epcot being full to capacity. If we cant, we’ll probably end up watching the fireworks from the Poly.


Thanks!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Hi,


So my family of 7 (two adults, an 18 y/o, a 16 year old, 11 y/o, 7 y/o, and 5 y/o) will be spending 12/30 - 1/5 at WDW this year. I have been trying to plan New Years Eve for what we will do, and here’s what I’m thinking (opinions/advice on changing the plan would be helpful!)


The day before NYE, I was planning on taking the 3 older kids to MK for the fireworks on the 30th as we have one day with only 4 park tickets. For NYE we were thinking to spend the first half of the day at AK. I figure it’ll be the least crowded of the parks since they don’t have any special NYE events going on. We have a reservation for lunch at Tusker House. The only thing I’m worried about is getting to AK from the Poly, I’ve read that traffic is insane, and as the Disney Transportation buses can be a long wait, we usually take an Uber, so I’m not sure what’ll be fastest. We would go back to the Poly late afternoon and spend a few hours at the pool. DH thinks if we go to Epcot late with the kids, around 9:00 or 10:00, we might be able to get in to see fireworks as people with young kids leave. How likely is this? I’m worried about Epcot being full to capacity. If we cant, we’ll probably end up watching the fireworks from the Poly.


Thanks!

Last year we stayed at Poly for several days. The NYE plan was for us was to dine in Epcot around 9:00 PM with the meal going past midnight. We also had FPs for Rock and Roll Coaster and ToT @ HS around 6:00 PM. Made it to HS but canceled the Epcot meal due to illness. Ordered room service at GF as family was staying there and watched ALL the fireworks from the room's terraces. Would have had fun watching some of the fireworks from Poly as well.

Here's my thoughts based on last year's experience. MK will be crowded on the 30th and 31st. I believe we recieved text messages from WDW stating they might be closing the park on both days; no idea if this happened for hotel guests or not since we had no plans to be there either day. Probably got a text for Epcot on the 31st. I think visiting AK on NYE is a smart move because as you noted most of the crowds were at Epcot and MK. How to get to AK from Poly? Not that hard. Take a ferry/boat/monorail to MK and then switch to the AK bus OR just take the AK bus from Poly straight thru. I think WDW changes lane patterns on those days to accomodate the incoming people but don't hold me to it. We opted for early in and out as far as the parks were concerned for the most part.

You might consider "escaping" the crowds by booking a meal at Tokyo Dining for 9 or 10 PM and be able to see the fireworks from some of the seats. I believe if you are a resort guest with restaurant reservtion you've a better chance of getting into Epcot later in the evening. As for Uber vs a Disney bus they'll still have to deal with the same traffic so I'd save the money and opt for the bus.

HTH!

 

[lolomarie]

EPCOT on NYE is AMAZING!!!!!!!! My favourite thing at Disney ever, hands down!!!!!!!! Your plan looks perfect to me! NYE 2015/16 we had dinner at the boardwalk, Character spot fast passes for 8-9 and then got drinks and a spot for the fireworks and it was perfect. No issues entering the park. Loved entering from IG. No issues finding a spot right near Canada. No issues getting drinks. Busy for sure, but just the fun NYE vibe that makes things exciting!

Now exiting the park....that's another story. But it was worth it for one of the best nights of my life!

 

[Zaptrem2]

Last year we stayed at Poly for several days. The NYE plan was for us was to dine in Epcot around 9:00 PM with the meal going past midnight. We also had FPs for Rock and Roll Coaster and ToT @ HS around 6:00 PM. Made it to HS but canceled the Epcot meal due to illness. Ordered room service at GF as family was staying there and watched ALL the fireworks from the room's terraces. Would have had fun watching some of the fireworks from Poly as well.

Here's my thoughts based on last year's experience. MK will be crowded on the 30th and 31st. I believe we recieved text messages from WDW stating they might be closing the park on both days; no idea if this happened for hotel guests or not since we had no plans to be there either day. Probably got a text for Epcot on the 31st. I think visiting AK on NYE is a smart move because as you noted most of the crowds were at Epcot and MK. How to get to AK from Poly? Not that hard. Take a ferry/boat/monorail to MK and then switch to the AK bus OR just take the AK bus from Poly straight thru. I think WDW changes lane patterns on those days to accomodate the incoming people but don't hold me to it. We opted for early in and out as far as the parks were concerned for the most part.

You might consider "escaping" the crowds by booking a meal at Tokyo Dining for 9 or 10 PM and be able to see the fireworks from some of the seats. I believe if you are a resort guest with restaurant reservtion you've a better chance of getting into Epcot later in the evening. As for Uber vs a Disney bus they'll still have to deal with the same traffic so I'd save the money and opt for the bus.

HTH!

Okay, thanks! Good to know about the possibility of parks closing on the 30th too, now I can create a backup plan in case we can’t get into MK that day.

 

[TwinkleKS]

Personally I wouldn't do the AK, back to Poly, then to Epcot ... it will be a long day with a ton of time in the car. Last year driving into Epcot from CBR it took us over an hour before lunch ... and don't ask about the mess (partially self induced) we had getting back that night. Based on our experience the driving to and from AK could end up with you spending 2+ hours just sitting in traffic. Even the buses were stuck in the traffic, so a bus ride won't solve all of the problems.

Personally, I would go to Epcot midday and just plan on spending the day there. We had a late dinner, like at 9:00 as our break and then made it until midnight to watch the fireworks.