We ran over to Walt Disney World on New Year’s Eve for the afternoon- just for lunch at Kona Cafe (YUM) and a quick trip into the Magic Kingdom. We had reservations for lunch at 12:45 then were going to ride a few Magic Kingdom rides. We had lunch no problem, but we could not go to the Magic Kingdom. First, the monorail had broken down, so we were redirected to the boat launch at the Polynesian. Then when the skipper came, she said the park was at capacity- 65,000 people! The only way to get in was to be a RESORT guest or to have a reservation for a meal. She said the wait for anyone else could be a minimum of 1 hour. Needless to say, we regrouped and made a new plan.
We decided to go to Epcot. As we came up to the car entrance booths, there was a huge line to park. We turned around and went to Animal Kingdom. It was 3 PM, and the park closed at 6 PM – perfect for our quickie trip! Animal Kingdom was wonderful! Not a huge amount of people there and we were able to get on rides rather quickly. I was concerned that being towards the end of their day we wouldn’t see many animals on the Safari, but being that it was cool outside, we did! We were also about to stay on Kali River Rapids as many times as we wanted (3!!). The Christmas parade was lots of fun and worth seeing. It was funny to talk with Cast Members at Animal Kingdom as they said they were the ‘overflow’ park to the more popular Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
As we left to drive home, there were flashing info signs up on World Drive that said “Magic Kingdom Closed- at Capacity” and “Epcot Closed- at Capacity”. There was Disney security directing traffic….it was crazy!
One last thing- they were selling mouse ears with ‘2006’ on the front. A good idea except they cost $13.50!! Too rich for my blood. No matter how cute they are. We had a fine time.
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Library of Congress ISSN:1556-3863