Making last-minute plans to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World

You might think that I’ve tried everything there is to experience at Walt Disney World because I’ve lived in Orlando for more than 20 years and I write about theme parks. But that’s not the case. In fact, my family and I are going to cross something off our collective bucket list on Thursday.

We have decided to spend New Year’s Eve at the Magic Kingdom for the first time, and I’m alternating between bursts of excitement and trepidation. My husband hasn’t had a New Year’s Eve off work in at least 12 years, so we decided to seize this rare opportunity and make some family memories. But I have to admit being a little leery of the crowds. Although we all can navigate the Magic Kingdom like our back yard, it’s been many years since we were there on such a heavily trafficked day. Plus, this year I am dealing with a knee injury that has really slowed me down — so much so that this will be only the second day in December that I have visited the parks, even though we have annual passes. Still, I know this can be a fun experience with a little preparation and the right mindset.

These days, advance planning can go a long way toward an enjoyable day at Walt Disney World. That preparation takes two forms — making reservations as soon as possible for dining, attractions and other entertainment and knowing what to bring with you to the parks to maximize your comfort. Our ability to spend New Year’s Eve at the Magic Kingdom was not certain until just recently, which is very last-minute in the world of Disney reservations. I wondered if we’d be able to secure any dining reservations or even FastPasses.

The first step for our family was to purchase one-day tickets for my husband and children whose passes do not allow them admission on one of the busiest days of the year. I linked the tickets to our My Disney Experience account so we could book FastPasses, and … the system would not allow them to reserve any attractions. I persevered, thinking that couldn’t be correct. When I called the Disney World passholder hotline, I was transferred to the Internet Help Desk, where a wonderful cast member worked with me for quite some time. She was able to do two things I could not: She made sure the one-day tickets were “prioritized” so the system understood my family members were not blocked out as they normally would be and she assisted me in finding FastPasses that would work for my family because the inventory already was almost gone for New Year’s Eve. Although we didn’t get our first choices on times and attractions, I was just happy to know we have three rides where we won’t have to stand in hours-long queues.

Next, dining reservations. I know, I know: Fat chance finding anything at this late date, right? It’s true most table-service restaurants have long filled their reservations for this popular holiday, but guests who need or want to cancel dining reservations without a penalty must do so the day before. That means if your timing is right, you could luck into a spot. With some perseverance of calling and checking online at various times, we secured an early lunch at Be Our Guest. We’ll continue to check for a dinner location because I think a break from the crowds will be welcome on a long day in the park. If nothing becomes available, there are plenty of counter-service restaurants.

On to packing … Magic Kingdom traditionally reaches capacity and closes (and reopens) to guests on New Year’s Eve. The park is closed to incoming guests in phases, and guests with one-day tickets arriving for the first time that day are among the first to be turned away. Guests who are re-entering the park, hopping from another park, have reservations, are staying at a Disney resort or are annual passholders increase their chances of being allowed back in. With that in mind, we are going to heed the general advice of arriving early and staying late.

For such a long day, we plan to rent a locker (which we normally don’t do) to stash extras so we don’t have to haul them around all day. I expect to bring a small cooler for drinks; lots of snacks so we can avoid those lines and cut down on expenses if we already are buying two meals; raincoats because there is a 30 percent chance of rain; possibly extra clothes in case we get wet or just want a change because of the unseasonably warm weather; and a blanket to sit on for fireworks. What else would you bring?

I’ll be posting all day and night on social media, so please follow along with the links below. Happy New Year to everyone!

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