Walt Disney World – Magic Kingdom

Image: Disney

Park hours: 8:00 AM to 1:00 AM (January 1, 2018); Extra Magic Hours 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Special events:

• Frontierland’s New Year’s Celebration Dance: If you need a break from the hubbub of Fantasyland – or, more likely, just want to enjoy hubbub of a different kind – Frontierland is hosting a New Year’s Eve DJ dance party from 7:00 PM until park close.
• Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks Spectacular: You’ll have plenty of time to catch one (or both) of the scheduled fireworks shows on New Year’s Eve, with performances set for 6:30 PM and 11:50 PM.

Best spot to ring in the new year: As with Disneyland, there’s no more iconic spot to be than in front of Cinderella Castle. If you’re really not feeling the holiday crowds, you can catch a special New Year’s Eve Eve fireworks show on December 30 at 11:50 PM, but to experience the real thing, you’ll need to stake out a spot in the Hub hours in advance.

Walt Disney World - Epcot

Image: Disney

If you want fireworks in front of the castle, you visit Magic Kingdom. If you want mouthwatering food, you visit EPCOT. In addition to all the delicious food featured around the World Showcase pavilions, a special New Year’s Eve buffet will be offered at the World Show Place Restaurant.

Park hours: 8:00 AM to 1:00 AM (January 1, 2018)

Special events:

• New Year’s Eve Dinner at the World Show Place Pavilion: The only drawback to EPCOT’s incredible dining options is that you have to walk around half the park to sample them all. That shouldn’t be a problem at the New Year’s Eve buffet, where there’s no shortage of appealing options, from Nutella Bundt cakes and seafood mac and cheese to Ruskin tomato soup and eclairs. Reservations are required, however, at the cost of $72.90 per adult and $44.38 per child. Pro tip: You can use a Disney Dining Plan to cover the event tickets, but it will cost two (2) table-service meals per person.
• New Year’s Eve Dinner at Monsieur Paul: If a buffet isn’t quite your style, Monsieur Paul offers gourmet prix-fixe lunch (12:00 PM – 6:30 PM, $89 per person) and dinner (9:00 PM, $245 per adult, no child options) menu with limited-time New Year’s Eve dishes.
• New Year’s Eve Parties: In the mood to dance till dawn? You’ll find DJ dance parties at Future World Fountain Stage and American Garden Stage throughout the evening.
• New Year’s Countdown Fireworks: IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is still scheduled for its nightly 6:30 PM performance, but an additional fireworks spectacular is scheduled to kick off at 11:40 PM as EPCOT counts down to 2018.

Best spot to ring in the new year: You really can’t go wrong with any spot in World Showcase or Future World, since the open layout of the park allows for better viewing locations than most others. As with the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, stay away from the viewing areas closest to the park entrance if you want to avoid the mass exodus of guests trying to exit after the fireworks show.