How to Spend New Year's Eve at Disneyland
Navigating through Disneyland on New Year's Eve can be quite a challenge, especially in the places of the park where the flow of traffic bottlenecks, particularly around New Orleans Square and "It's a Small World." Good planning, however, and the decision to sacrifice some events, can make for a pleasurable, albeit long, day.
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Instructions
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Plan to arrive early on Dec. 31. Being one of the first families through the gate will ensure quicker access to the more enjoyable rides. Rides like Space Mountain, the Matterhorn and the Haunted Mansion will quickly attract long lines. If a family can ride two or three of those more popular rides before the lines form, all the better.
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Stop at EZ Pass stations along the way and secure tickets for rides nearby. The EZ Pass rides can be scheduled at various intervals throughout the day. The lines outside the park at this time will be very long and by mid-afternoon many ride lines will seem at a standstill.
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Plan to have lunch early, preferably between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Few people plan this way and instead spend well over an hour in a lunch serving line. Ride lines during the lunch hour are somewhat shorter as well.
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Catch a less popular ride after lunch, preferably in the area between New Orleans Square and Splash Mountain. Here, it soon becomes obvious that Disneyland is becoming packed with humanity. Movement through the crowd is slow and frustrating.
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Escape with the family over to Tom Sawyer Island, an oasis away from the madness. Children can play freely to exhaustion and parents can enjoy a much needed rest. If the children crash for a couple hours, so be it. They will wake up refreshed and ready for a New Year's Evening at Disneyland.
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Spend the early evening along the perimeters of the park. Many visitors will begin congregating along Main Street to see the Christmas parade. Unless the family insists on seeing the parade, a sacrifice not to see the parade may be worthwhile. The parade route becomes crowded early to the point of impasse. The attraction of the parade frees up some of the lines to the rides.
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Leave toward the exit after the parade crowd has dispersed. Some visitors have left for the night, opting to take their now exhausted children home, while others have returned to the rides. Do some shopping and stake a position on Main Street for the fireworks show, scheduled usually after 9 p.m.
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See the fireworks show from Main Street. It appears in the sky above Cinderella's castle, especially decorated for the season, and is performed in sync to festive music. After the fireworks have ended, it begins to snow along Main Street. Small white suds magically appear like snowflakes, and quickly dissolve in one's hands.
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Exit Disneyland and take the shuttle to the parking area. The walk will be short because of your early arrival.
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Tips & Warnings
Parents retreating to Tom Sawyer Island only need to station themselves near the boat dock. Establish a rule that no one is permitted to get on the boat back to New Orleans Square without either parent.
Occasionally when Disneyland is too crowded, they will offer a package deal involving Disney's California Adventure, a less crowded park adjacent to Disneyland. The rides are fewer and not as famous, but it has its own parade, and Disney's fireworks display is visible from there as well.
Watch out for a mass sea of humanity admitted beyond capacity.
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