New Year’s Eve (Eve) at Magic Kingdom

    Last night, Disney World had a return to form, of sorts, and threw their traditional New Year’s Eve (Eve) bash at Magic Kingdom. For the purposes of this review, we’ll simply refer to it as New Year’s Eve and drop the extra (Eve) because the offerings are the same on December 30th and December 31st. Here’s how the night went!

    Park Pass Reservations

    Perhaps the biggest change this year over what we’ve experienced in years past were the crowd levels. The Disney Park Pass system works, and it really shines on special event days (or in this case night). Just like any other day of the year, you’ll have to make a Disney Park Pass reservation to get into Magic Kingdom.

    Disney Park Pass reservations generally were “sold out” by the end of the first week of December, but sporadic availability could be found for Resort Guests shortly after Christmas. Just like any important date, it’s critical that you make your Disney Park Pass reservation as early as possible.

    However, if you’re not able to make a Magic Kingdom Park Pass, there were no restrictions on park hopping. We checked multiple times throughout the afternoon and evening, and there were no blackouts for park hopping. That is another departure from years past where park hopping would be blocked as Magic Kingdom worked through multiple “phase” closures. The Disney Park Pass system essentially works to remove phase closures, although that it’s always the case.

    (Relatively) Light Crowds

    With the Disney Park Pass system in place, we found that crowds were much lower than in years past. That said, there were still portions of the park that had very dense crowds – notably the dance party in Frontierland and the space in front of Cinderella Castle.

    Wait times throughout the evening were reasonable. Here’s a look at the wait times from thrill-data.com.

    Of course, if you’re going to Magic Kingdom on New Year’s Eve, you’re probably going for the dance parties. Here’s a look at what was offered.

    Magic Kingdom Dance Parties

    For a quick overview of the dance parties, check out our video below (YouTube 4K).

    Cinderella Castle

    Cinderella Castle is the main dance party in Magic Kingdom and features two DJs keeping the party going throughout the night. It’s worth noting that Mickey and Minnie’s Very Merry Memories stage show takes place throughout the night at 7:45pm, 8:45pm, and 9:45pm. The DJs will return at the conclusion of the show and start the dance party right back up.

    Tomorrowland

    Over in Tomorrowland, a DJ plays at the Rockettower Plaza Stage and is joined by Santa Stitch, a Snowflake on stilts, and some festive dancers!

    Frontierland

    Over in Frontierland, a DJ is stationed above the Country Bear Jamboree.

    Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks

    The night culminates in the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks that count down to the new year!

    Again, with lower crowds this year, watching the fireworks isn’t the chore that it used to be. We found this spot about an hour before the fireworks, but depending on your party size and desired viewing location, there were some good spots just 20-30 minutes before midnight.

    Transportation

    At the end of the night, Magic Kingdom remains open until 1am to entice guests to not rush off to the monorail or ferry boat back to the parking lot. That said, a majority of guests do leave Magic Kingdom right after the conclusion of the fireworks. We’d recommend sticking around and enjoying the dance parties or lowered attraction wait times if possible to avoid long lines for transportation.

    As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

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