Headed to WDW for NYE. Staying onsite. Plan to do MK on 12/30 and NYE on 12/31. (Note: I know it will be very crowded and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea so no need to respond with words of warning ) We are frequent visitors and this is a Disney experience we haven’t done before and want to try this trip.
We are typically not park open to park close kind of people - so I’m realistically trying to figure out how late I can safely enter the parks so we can make it to midnight.
I keep reading that I need to get there early because parks will close to capacity but I’ve been searching the forums and the internet and have not been able to find any actual reports of when that has happened and what time of day it occurred. It has not happened since APRs have existed, but since this is the first year that APRs are not required for date-based tickets, I’m assuming it’s more of a concern.
Does anyone out there have actual reports of the parks closing to capacity pre-COVID/pre-APR (specifically EP on 12/31) and what time of day that happened? Also, where do they announce things like - the parking lot has closed, phase 1 closure has begun, etc?
Thanks for the intel @Nicky_S. If anyone else has thoughts on this, please share. Trying to gather my data points. Really hoping we can go into the parks no earlier than lunch if we are staying until midnight - or maybe go in early, come back to hotel for a nap and return late afternoon. That would be ideal, but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try it.
I went on NYE back in the pre-Covid days and it did close but I have no idea what time it happened. We arrived at early entry (effin 6am) to be on the safe side which yes means we got up at 4am and OMGosh this was my least fave MK day ever. Not only was I exhausted from that insane wake up time and late time but it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO packed. I got hit in the Achilles heel multiple times that day from both strollers and wheelchairs but wheelchairs hurt much worse. Very sharp pains that I remember well. I mean packed. Could barely walk around all day. I will never ever again do this. But I wish you a better experience. I would choose Epcot for NYE personally.
I searched Twitter and found a post from bioreconstruct on New Year’s 2018 that said the Magic Kingdom was at capacity on New Year’s Eve at 11:30am. Saw a similar post from WDWNT at noon in 2019. I didn’t find any posts about closures in 2022 or 2023, but it’s impossible to find everything. But with APRs in place for some or all guests these years, it’s less likely there would be capacity issues (but not impossible).
Historically, the first stage of closure still allows onsite guests, guests with ADRs, and APs to enter. The first group to be denied are offsite day guests. But I’m not sure what their latest policy is or will be.
Long story short, historically you will probably be ok arriving no later than 11am, and possibly much later than that, especially if you are staying onsite.
Oh yeah but the real nightmare was the walkways. Do not rely on touringplans to indicate walk times because you will literally be shuffling your feet. I missed the Christmas Parade (well the beginning of it) because of that shuffle walk to Main Street from Fantasyland.
Thanks for the feedback! I’m going to EP on NYE so I’m thinking that buys me a little extra time than MK would. I’m going to MK on the 30th and will likely go early and leave after the 6:30 fireworks so we aren’t out late 2 nights in a row. I’m hoping MK won’t be quite as crazy on the 30th.
It feels like it won’t be as busy this year. There was plenty of resort availability when I checked not long ago. I also secured our lightning lanes this morning without trouble. All were within 60 minutes of the desired time, except Tiana’s, which didn’t have morning left (the earliest was around noon). Got all of HS (ToT, RNRC, TSM, RoTR) before noon. I haven’t had trouble booking dining. I’m a week earlier than you, but it does seem lighter than normal.
We were in MK back in 2011 or 2012 on NYE. It closed for capacity around 10am, I think. We got in when the park opened and stayed all day - the traffic out after midnight was wild. We were offsite so we waited at least an hour to board the boat to the TTC.
Not sure how helpful this will be but I was there in 2000 - we decided the best way to handle Y2K would be to do at it Disney - and MK closed pretty early, definitely before noon. I also remember spending literal hours in traffic trying to get from the KOA campground we were staying at to a park.
I did Epcot for NYE in 2010 - when I was stuck in Orlando due to the Northeast blizzard. (My sister and friends and I did MK for “practice NYE” on the 30th) and the way they did it then was my favorite. That was in Illuminations days though, so I have no idea how they do it with whatever their current show is.
Everything that I can find regarding parks filling to capacity was pre-covid and pre-reservations (and AP holders still require reservations at this point).If I’m wrong, let me know, but I can’t imagine that capacity will be reached in the morning. Now, it is possible it could be reached in the afternoon or evening when parkhoppers start to head that direction for fireworks.
We did New Year’s Eve at AK last year and had a fabulous day! Saw every show and rode every ride except for Expedition Everest which was down almost all day. It didn’t seem crazy there that day. I imagine MK and Epcot were much busier. Then we finished off the day with a lovely dinner at Sanaa!
) We are frequent visitors and this is a Disney experience we haven’t done before and want to try this trip.
