NYE at DL with a family of 5

[minivan3]

We are considering moving our Oct. 2006 visit to Jan. 2006 in order to see all the holiday attire up through Jan. 2. My question is, is it a good time for a family to visit during this holiday weekend? Will the parks be jammed packed, or will it be doable and can we still see all and have a great family vacation at this time of year?

 

[AFMom]

The parks will be absolutely jam packed. This is one of the most popular times of the year to go - and one of the most crowded. Have you checked to see if there are any hotel rooms available? You might be suprised how limited it may be! You could still have a wonderful time - as long as you go fully aware that these would be peak holiday crowds for Disney!

 

[minivan3]

On-site hotels are available after the 1st, but up till then I guess a good-neighbor hotel would be left.

would love to hear of someone's trip report that has been during this time and what strategies they used to beat the stress of the crowds.

 

[dennis99ss]

Anybody? I too am going to be there for the days up to and including NYE and NYD (GO HORN'S!) and would like to hear about the days before NYE as well as NYE, as well as Knotts, Legoland, Universal....if any of these are less stressed during that time. I have been to Disney during busy times, and wonder if DL compares with WDW busy times.

 

[tinagirl]

The one day turnaround at both DL and WDW are staggering.

Three years ago, it went from complete mayhem on New Years Eve! I MEAN CRAZY! To relatively empty with quite relaxing sounds of the Rivers of America by January 2nd. The past two years have started the cooling of the crowds a bit later, as New Years fell on the weekend.

When they say that value season starts the 2nd, they mean it! If you start your trip on Monday the 2nd, you should be golden!

However, I must say that my favorite time of year is October.
The quiet sounds of the park with the leaves rustling as you pass the haunted mansion is unbeatable in my book. I love fall!

However, keep in mind that there is a HUGE probability that Nightmare Mansion Holiday will not be in place next year. If you want to see it up, you may have to visit now.

Burton is considering revising his decision (He retains all nightmare rights, and they need to get his explicit approval every year to do it).

-Tina

 

[pjhootch]

I spent New Year's Eve there a couple of years ago, and am going back this year, but not until the 4th or 5th of January. I think the New Year's Eve experience is probably best for adults or teenagers and fairly miserable for young kids.

However, that doesn't mean you can't have a great trip during that time if you plan carefully. Our kids (and us) had a blast, but we simply bailed out of the park and spent NYE evening at our hotel watching the fireworks peacefully. At the time our kids were 12 and even for them the crowds were unbearable and intimidating on NYE after about noon.

We arrived on the 29th and spent three days at the HoJos and using parkhoppers to avoid crowds as much as possible. I bought the parkhoppers with enhanced fastpass, and during that christmas-new year's week I wouldn't do it any other way. Despite elbow to elbow crowds we were able to get on ride after ride with no more than a 15 or 20 minute wait. When the fast pass lines became ridiculous or the fastpasses sold out by noon, we would go amuse ourselves in DCA or go back to the hotel for dinner and return later at night.

It is no longer possible to get enhanced fast pass options unless you book your trip through AAA and stay at a Disney hotel. If you plan on being in the parks in the days before New Year's Eve, I would definitely take this option. I'm getting my tickets this way even for my trip on the 4th-7th because the 50th anniversary crowds are so large this fall.

Be aware that on New Year's Eve itself, fastpasses are irrelevant. If it rains, the park may be empty and everything available. If the weather is tolerable it gridlocks around noon and people can't really get much done after that. I think the NYE experience at Disneyland is something very different than the normal visit. If your goal is to just be in the park and celebrate the New Year and see the fireworks from within, it is worth the crowds and the wait. If you're like me and prefer the rides and like fireworks from afar... consider doing all the rides and things in the days before or after and not fighting the crowds on that particular day. We were in Disney early in the morning and rode a few rides, but by noon we went to DCA and enjoyed ourselves over there. By 4 p.m. even DCA was getting packed and we went to let the kids swim and hot tub. We actually watched the beginning of the fireworks from the hot tub.

If you want to know more about the enhanced fastpass system there a couple of tricks to it that really make it worthwhile when the crowds are this big.

 

[minivan3]

Would love to hear any tricks and/or other tips. Thanks for all responses so far. About how much is it to join a local AAA and do you use it for more than your Disney trips?

 

[pjhootch]

I think the price to join depends on your local chapter. Ours was about $50 for one driver or $70 for both of us. If you remember to check for AAA discounts throughout the year, or if you travel more than once a year, you can easily make this up. Many hotels are $10-15 less per night with AAA.

I normally am too cheap to pay to stay on property at either Disneyland or Disney World. ;-) However, after using the enhanced fast past around New Year's I am willing to pay to stay at one of the Disney hotels in order to get it. Booking a trip through AAA doesn't cost much less than to book directly through Disney. Definitely not a budget option. I was quite happy staying at HoJo's for a third of the price of GCH. Since I have no choice but to travel close to New Year's again, I'm going to make the trip as comfortable and laid back as possible!

The best way to use the enhanced passes is to get to the plaza before they open the gates. When the crowd is admitted, one member of your party should have all your tickets and basically make a circuit of the park picking up fast passes at all the machines. My husband was the fast pass gatherer, and he would circle the park and then meet us in fantasy land where the kids and I were having morning coffee and cocoa. Then we just re-traced his steps using the fast passes in the same order he gathered them. When we exited a ride we would get another fast pass if we thought we were going to ride again. There was only one day when a fast pass went unused ( I think it was New Year's eve) and my son and I handed off fast passes for splash mountain to a couple at the end of a 1 hour (plus) wait line.

P.J.

 

[minivan3]

So, unlike the regular fast passes, you are able to get them for several different rides without waiting the hour or so time limit before being allowed to get another one? That is pretty neat. And the only way to get this is buying tickets or reserving the hotel through your AAA?

 

[pjhootch]

In response to your question, yes... and sort of.

The enhanced fastpass allows you to hold multiple fastpasses at once. However, you can only have one fastpass per ride until your return time has passed.

You can only get the enhanced version of the fastpass when you buy a parkhopper ticket (I believe it has to be a minimum of 3 days, but can't swear to it) AS PART of a AAA package that has you at a Disney Hotel during your stay.

You can get the enhanced fastpass option even if you only stay at a Disney Hotel for one night, but purchase a three (or longer) day parkhopper ticket as part of your "vacation package".

Personally, it seems like too much work for me to move hotels once I get settled (I'm too lazy and switching hotels mid-stream kills too much time in a short vacation) but it certainly would be a way to save money and still get the enhanced FP.

This does not work if you buy your hotel and tickets separately, even if you stay in one of the Disney hotels. It is not available for the Disney good neighbor hotels. You cannot get the enhanced fast pass directly from Disney, or any other outlet.

P.J.

Also note: During the holidays (unless weather is nasty) your fastpass return time is reasonably early if you get fastpasses first thing in the morning. As the park becomes very crowded, your fastpass return time is increasingly later in the day and on some rides you wind up waiting quite a while, even in the fastpass line. The fastpass machines wind up mostly covered in early afternoon on busy days because the return time gets so far away it is near closing time scheduled for hours away. In order to make these things work for you, you need to be an early riser and actually be ready to go into the park when the gates swing open (or take advantage of early entry if and when available). If you prefer to sleep in on vacation and have a leisurely morning, this system just doesn't work.

 

[MateasMom]

I just wanted to add that I definatly wouldn't do DL NYE with kids. We've done it with just adults and, while it was insanely crowded, we had fun. It was chaos though. We, a group of adults, would loose eachother. Holding hands walking down mainstreet trying to escape the crowd (going to DCA) our hands would get seperated and the crowd would push DH one way and me the other. We did many a cell phone call to find the lost friends that night. One minute they were right by your side and the next there was a swarm of people that had pushed everyone in different directions. I remember thinking that night, NEVER would I bring my girls for NYE. Not to DL at least.