New Year's Eve in the Magic Kingdom

We set off the day after Christmas and got to Orlando on the 27th. Our children are 15, 13, and 12 and we thought this might be the last time we visited Disney World as a family. We all had a wonderful time and rode everything and went to all the parks. The only restaurant that had an opening for New Year's Eve was in Germany, so we quickly scheduled and early dinner celebration. We had done all the parks but the Magic Kingdom, which we were saving for New Year's Eve, not knowing this was one of the busiest days of the year. We went back to MGM that morning to ride Tower of Terror and Aerosmith one more time. When we left there to go to Epcot for our dinner reservations, the park attendant told us that the Magic Kingdom had reached capacity and was closed to the public. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed Epcot, seeing things we otherwise would have passed up if the Magic Kingdom had been open. When we had ridden the Norway ride, it was pouring rain so hard people were leaving the park in droves. We purchased our yellow Mickey raincoats and wore our free New Year's Top Hats on top and looked like everyone else in the park that was still toughing it out. A Norwegian employee called over to the Magic Kingdom for us and yes it had reopened! Because of the rain so many people had left, we were able to go in. We rushed over, rode everything in the park without a wait and stood together under an umbrella in our Disney raincoats watching fantastic fireworks and brought in 2003! By 12:15 we were riding Space Mountain for the third time. It couldn't have been a more perfect celebration if we had planned it. It was a Christmas and New Year's that we will never forget.

Quick Tips:

We recommend going to Animal Kingdom in the morning as it doesn't stay open as long because of the animals.

If you stay at a Disney resort, you won't run the risk of being kept out of the park due to it being full. You also get extra benefits, like going in early.

The new Fast Passes allow you to plan what rides you want to ride without the wait. You can get a scheduled time and enjoy shorter lines for other rides while you wait.

Best Way To Get Around:

The Disney transportation is excellent and well marked. Parking for your car or rental car is made easy by trams and buses or other Disney transportation to take you back and forth to each park's parking lots.

It's fun for everyone. There is shopping, entertainment, and restaurants galore. The rides are tame (The Movie Set Ride) or wild (Aerosmith's Rock & Roller Coaster and The Tower of Terror). You can enjoy stunts at the Indiana Jones Stunt Show and we enjoyed a excerpt from the Broadway Play "Aida" while they were touring. The Osbournes had the Holiday Light Show with millions of Christmas lights set up along famous houses like the Golden Girls home. It really seemed like a special holiday when the New York skyline glistened with snowflakes on our Florida Christmas vacation.

A new park for Disney with many animals to be viewed on a fun safari. It's a Bug's Life is fun and you really think the bugs are crawling on you at the end of this 3-D adventure. The restaurants are according to the theme park. This park isn't open as long as the others due to the animals, and morning is the best time to go while the animals are out and being fed.

The new Test Track is a lot of fun and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience is great. It always feels like the snake is going to bite you, the mice are at your feet and you get wet when the dog sneezes in this fun 3-D experience. We love the Norway ride with the Vikings and spent a lot of time at the aquarium admiring the sea life. The Dinosaurs come to life and is a favorite.

The Land boasts singing celebrity vegetables that are fun, and a trip through the blood stream on a simulator ride is a must. There is shopping in most of the countries as well as shows. The restaurants are great--Italian in Italy, a pub in England, etc. The day always ends with the beautiful light show on the lake at Epcot, which is worth the wait especially during the Christmas holidays. They gave out free hats and noisemakers for New Years. They even have a first aid station where you can lay down or they can give you medication for your headache from a busy day and too many rides. Epcot is fun for all ages.

We got to see the last Country Bear's Show for 2002 and celebrated Christmas with the Bears. It was fun. We rode everything in the park and enjoyed it all. Everyone was in a festive mood and Mickey put on a wonderful fireworks show for the New Year.

The park is easy to navigate and well marked. The rides are easily accessible to all.

Alien Adventure can be a little scary for younger children as can the Haunted Mansion.

There is so much to do and see. The Disney characters are always out and willing to sign autographs and have their photos taken with your children. The Buzz Lightyear ride is mostly laser shooting, but is a big hit with the kids.