Disney World's Magic Kingdom at capacity & closed??

[WDWmemories]

I heard that today (New Years Eve - December 31) the Magic Kingdom was closed because it was at capacity. Supposedly there was a "Phase 4" close:

What is a Phase IV close?

> Phase I: Guests with non-hopper-type Magic Your Way base tickets or Single Day/Single Park Tickets, guests without admission, and Cast Members using certain types of CM admission are turned away at the entrances to the parking lots.

> Phase II: Disney Resort guests, Annual/Premium Annual Passholders, guests with park hopper tickets, and guests re-entering the same park on the same day are admitted, but only if they arrive using Disney resort transportation or a taxi.

> Phase III: Disney Resort guests and Annual/Premium Annual passholders are admitted; however, they must arrive using Disney resort transportation.

> Phase IV: The parks are closed to all incoming guests. There is no incoming transportation of any kind.

Someone reported that there were 93-100,000 people in the Magic Kingdom alone. Wow!

Anyone have details?

I would love to see some picutres of the crowds

[Stitch]

I also heard that Epcot is now at Phase 3.

[Spodie]

Someone reported that there were 93-100,000 people in the Magic Kingdom alone. Wow!

HOW COULD THAT BE FUN AT ALL?? That seems like complete madness to me - I wouldn't want to be anywhere near those crowds!

However, I would like to see pictures if anyone has 'em.

[nicks10]

I sure hope all those people are gone by friday!

[MJMcb]

HOW COULD THAT BE FUN AT ALL??

tell me about it. we're heading down on the 10th. Hopefully the crowds will have left

[nicks10]

The Touring Plans crowd calendar has the 2nd and 3rd at an 8, and then all 5s and 6s until the 17th.

[Rocketeer]

I had the 'joy' of experiencing New Years Eve ('88) @ MK & New Years Day ('89) @ Epcot, and the crowds were tremendous. Yes, rumors were that the gates were 'closed' by mid-morning. The long lines just took away all the fun. I remember the line for the newly opened Maelstrom was ~1 hr!
Never again for me - now I ALWAYS seek out the off-season as best I can.

As a consolation, just before midnight at MK all the rides emptied out and so we went on more in that last hour than we probably did all the rest of the day... (I think the rides stayed open til 1am)

[mini-V]

MK was closed by noon yesterday. DD saw the flashing roads signs stating such as she was heading home, yet people were still coming in. I have no idea why they thought THEY could get in when the sign said go to Epcot.

DTD was busy, but not overly so; at least on the West Side. There was still some parking open on the far left of Cirque as we were leaving, but there were cars definitely coming in. All the other parking lots were closed.

My DS and her friend were in Epcot last year on the 31st. I will have to do some fast talking to get either of them back in a park...ever. They waited 3 hours to ride Soar'n and ended up leaving the park to get food because they just couldn't find a place to eat.

I'm guessing the crowds will be diminished greatly after the weekend. I expect to be in a park on Monday, so I'll let you know.

[StarsNStripes]

Shear madness! I can't imagine being there! I'd actually think Downtown Disney would be a bit more fun myself.

[ERich2010]

that wouldnt seem like fun at ALL! we normally go in july/august and i can barely stand the crowds then.

this is like getting in 2, maybe 3 rides the WHOLE DAY! that would surely ruin the magic for me

[LisaAnn]

That does NOT sound like fun at all!! I was at Blizzard Beach one year, though not on New Years, and it was filled to capacity. It was horrible! At least there, though, we could just go in the wave pool and still get cool cuz it was like 97 out.....but i know that THAT was not a fun experience, so i can imagine that New Years would just be dreadful

[amillionmilesz]

We did not travel into MK until almost 8 pm, but we did see them turning away hundreds of cars around 10:30 am. Buses were running late b/c World drive was a zoo. Some people we met later in the day said they couldn't get anywhere, including DAK, and they were staying at boardwalk as well. By 6:30 pm the lines at epcot for all the major rides were still in the 200 mins. It was total insanity. We come down here every year for new years and I think this was the worst it's ever been for us. It should be better by sunday we think... it usually gets better by the end of the holiday week. at least I really hope so, I'm here til the 7th.

[disneygurl]

I was in the Magic Kingdom last night and I have to say that I was a little worried that it was going to be horrible, but it was definitely the best new years eve ever!! The fireworks were incredible! As long as you went into the park knowing that you were there to go on every single ride and more to just have a good time, then it was fine. We went on all the less popular rides and then just got fast passes for a couple of the bigger attractions like space mountain. We also over heard a cast member say that they closed the gates at 10:55 and that the capacity was 85,000. It was the best time that I have ever had in Disney World, which is pretty impressive because I have been there a lot!

[MJMcb]

The Touring Plans crowd calendar has the 2nd and 3rd at an 8, and then all 5s and 6s until the 17th.

not bad

[disneycanuck]

Ended up at EPCOT, since MK was closed. Extremely busy but lots of atmosphere. Preferred being here on a crowded day, since the food choices are much better than MK. Left in the afternoon and returned around 8pm. Could have gotten into MK at that point but were there last year for NY eve. Fireworks were good but not nearly as good as MK. We were disappointed as last year they did 3 nights of New Years fireworks at MK and saw them on 29th and 30th. 29th was great because no EMH and so got in lots of rides late.
Went on the 29th this year but only Holiday Wishes were on. Anyway, had a very fun time, and highly recommended for atmosphere, just get your fill of big rides on other days, unless you want to wait 4 hours for Soarin'. Entertainment was outstanding at different pavilions.

Crowds already noticeably thinner by today, unfortunately going back to the snow and -30C temps.