It was crowded, but I did not think it was obscenely crowded. I am used to going to college football games with crowds in excess of 100,000, so I might not be the best judge. Going early, and late helps. When we were on the buses, we did see the signs about the closures, and ogled at the traffic, glad we were not stuck in it.
We spent New Year's Eve in Epcot, I couldn't imagine going anywhere else
We went to MK the 30th, and did the NYE dress rehearsal, which was a blast! My DH and youngest DS got tired and went back early, my DD stayed for a bit longer, but my other DS and I stayed till the bitter end, which was probably around 1:00 am. MK's dress rehearsal is about the same as NYE, but I would guess a touch less crowded. It was still packed, but you could move and dance without feeling claustrophobic, which I believe I have a touch of. They have a huge dance party right at the castle, and pretty much everyone was participating. On the actual NYE, we went early to Epcot (I fully believe I am on a huge adrenaline rush when at WDW, and don't need as much sleep as usual
) We did our FP's in the morning, had a leisurely lunch at Via Napoli, did the "Behind the seeds" tour at Living with the land, and went to the Biergarten in Germany for dinner, around the time Germany was actually celebrating NYE in Europe, which was very entertaining. By the time we were done, it was almost dark outside and things were almost all set up. They had multiple dance areas, an American top 40 in FW, a dance area with a dragon in China, and a techno area in Italy. There was latin music at the America Gardens stage, and there may have been more. Our kids stayed pretty much at the Top 40 dance area, and DH and I wandered around the countries, trying different celebratory drinks, people watching, dancing, and just enjoying the atmosphere!
It was very busy, but Epcot is so large that it did not feel as bad even as a weekend at F&W! Youngest DS got tired of dancing, and walked around with us, and we all watched the midnight fireworks celebration, and finally made it back to our cabin at Fort Wilderness probably around 2-2:30 am. We stayed in the cabin pretty much January 1st, watching parades and bowl games; Michigan State was in the Rose Bowl, so we HAD to watch. I think we did grab some food somewhere during the day, but pretty much just recuperated from the previous two whirlwind days. My kids were 16, 13, and 11 at the time, and very active, so I would say we did much more than a family with smaller children. (I grew up with a Disney COMMANDO mom, so we were used to going non-stop
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It was an amazing family trip, and we all would go again in an instant! Below is our family at the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. Sorry for the long post! If you have any other questions, just holler
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