It isn’t even Halloween yet, but before we know it, Christmas will hit Disney World with a wave of twinkling lights and massive decorated trees. After Christmas comes New Year’s Eve, which is a huge celebration in the parks — who wouldn’t want to party it up with Mickey Mouse for the new year?
If you’re planning on coming for the holidays and haven’t booked your ticket yet, you might want to confirm your plans because reservations are starting to fill up, which might leave you outside the castle for New Year’s.
Currently, New Year’s Eve, December 31st, is full in Magic Kingdom for certain ticket types. This includes:
- Student group tickets
- Sport and convention tickets
- Florida Resident Disney Thrills ticket
- Disney Military Salute ticket
- Other tickets not mentioned outside of Annual Passes and date-based tickets
Annual Pass reservations are still available, but we expect this, along with New Year’s, Christmas Eve and Day, and Thanksgiving, to fill up soon, because believe it or not, we’re only a few months away.
You can also still purchase date-based tickets for the holidays, but again, we expect these to sell out soon as we get closer and closer. These tickets include date-based tickets for 1-day, multi-day, and vacation packages with date-based tickets.
While tickets are sold out in Magic Kingdom for the other ticket types, Disney may open more reservations. We recommend keeping an eye on it, and if you see the date open, book it quickly.
If you’ve ever been to Magic Kingdom for this big celebration, you might have seen what a full park looks like. There are people EVERYWHERE. Typically, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT will fill to capacity early in the morning, likely before 10AM, which means if you really want to be there at midnight, you’ll want to get there right away in the morning. If you have a Magic Kingdom reservation, you’ll be able to come and go, but if you’re planning on visiting the parks without a reservation, you can still be turned away. The same is true for the other parks as well.
Magic Kingdom is currently the only one sold out, but EPCOT is also a huge place for New Year’s celebrations! Many of the countries in the World Showcase celebrate New Year’s during their country’s time zone, which makes it fun to head from country to country to check it all out.
As you could imagine, big holidays like this are huge crowds at Disney. Be prepared for long waits for transportation, especially the monorail, Skyliner, and ferryboat, and have a couple of different options prepared in case they’re too busy.
Keep in mind that parks CAN reach capacity on busy holidays like Christmas and New Year’s — especially New Year’s Eve, with so many people wanting to ring in the New Year at the Most Magical Place on Earth. If you’re planning on visiting the parks but don’t want to waste a trip only to be turned away at the gates due to the park being at capacity, or if you want to park hop but aren’t sure there is availability at other parks, Disney has a way for you to check before you go!
The easiest way to check theme park availability is to call the capacity number at (407) 560-5000. This number has been used in the past to notify guests if a theme park is at capacity during major crowd times. While we haven’t seen Disney parks hit capacity too often in recent years, it’s still entirely possible that it could happen this year, so we suggest keeping this number handy if you’re heading to the parks during the holidays.
Guests visiting Disney World with the Park Hopper ticket option that allows them to visit other parks might want to call the number before hopping to ensure they’ll be able to get into the other park they’re trying to visit. The catch is that these parks CAN hit capacity, and if they do, you won’t be allowed inside.
If you are heading to the parks during this busy holiday season or any other busy season, keep these tips in mind for managing a full-capacity day in Disney World. Make sure you keep following Disney Food Blog for more tips and tricks for your next visit to Disney World!
DISNEY WORLD CROWDS HAVE GOTTEN UNPREDICTABLE. HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THAT NOT MATTER.
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Do you go to Disney World for the holidays? Tell us your favorite memory in the comments.










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