WE GOT TO GO TO EPCOT FOR NYE!!!!
How Did We Get To Go
You guys this was something that wasn’t even on our radar for this year as our annual passes were blocked out and we were not going to purchase an extra ticket to go. BUT, I woke up Saturday morning and my friend, Pam had texted me that some other friends of ours that had tickets gifted to them were not able to go anymore and were looking for someone to give the tickets to, did we want them? DUH?!
Then, I almost fainted when I saw what kind of tickets we had been gifted! If you know what Club 33 is then your jaw just dropped too! Hahaha! No, we were not able to get into Club 33 but it was still really cool to have that in my Disney app even if just for one night. In case you don’t know what Club 33 is, I’ll give you a quick run down.
What is Club 33
Club 33 is a super exclusive Disney club that you have to be invited to join and then you pay, I believe, $33,000 to join and you pay $15,000 for your club dues every year and there are private clubs and lounges in each park you can access with your magic band…..Obviously not something I am a member of or will probably ever be a member of! But, hey share this blog out to your friends and follow us on social media who knows wha could happen! Hahaha!! It’s certainly on my bucket list to get to into one of the Club 33 places someday!
Silent Rave
Y’all it was AMAZING!! There are different parties all throughout World Showcase that are just crazy and were so much fun. We started out in the UK pavilion where they had a silent rave. Everyone was given a set of bluetooth headphones to wear, there were two DJ’s and you could switch back and forth between them or switch to no DJ and just watch the show. By the show I mean when you turn your music off and all these people are dancing and singing off key around you it is pretty funny!
The DJ’s here were really great and played some really fun music that I think was designed to see people singing along off key the whole time! Haha! We swapped back and forth between the two DJ’s and danced for a little while before moving on to the next place. Pro Tip: (because I’m a pro now since I’ve been once) If you want to do the silent rave, I suggest getting in line at about 6:30/6:45 while the first fireworks show is going on, we got in with the first group and didn’t have to wait in the super long line that formed after that! Thank God for Pam, she is a seasoned veteran of NYE in Epcot and knew all the things to make it the best night ever!
Drinks & Snacks
After the silent rave we walked over to the France Pavilion where Pam and I got the special NYE Grand Marnier Cosmo drink that was in this super cute globe with a glow cube. It was very heavy on the cranberry juice but still tasty and super cute! As we walked through after getting them, all these people kept asking where we got them or saying “I want one of those!”
We all brought sandwiches and snacks with us as Pam had told us the food lines would be super long, she was not wrong! So Pro Tip #2: Eat dinner before you go into the park and bring snacks and food with you so you don’t have to spend all your time waiting in lines for food that’s very expensive!
Partying in Japan & Italy
The next party was in Japan! The Japan Pavilion was much smaller and more tame, if you like it a little loud but not speakers that might blow your clothes off loud, this is the party for you. We didn’t hang out here very long, we were ready to sit down for a bit and eat. We sat at the America Pavilion to eat and chill for a bit because we are old and then kept on moving.
We made our way over to the Italy Pavilion where there was a DJ and huge party! The DJ was up on a riser stage with lights and laser lights going off all around and it was LOUD! Of course, I loved that but if you are not a fan of super loud music you may not enjoy this one. When we were there the DJ played all the good 80’s/90’s jams! I even got to sing and dance to Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance With Somebody!! In case you have no idea why that’s cool, I always used that song at the end of our recital slideshows at my dance studio so the kids knew when “Whitney’s On!” it was time to line up backstage, they would all come backstage and we would sing the chorus at the top of our lungs every time.
We stayed in Italy for a bit and danced and sang like we were 20 and then started walking again. We stopped in Germany because…..Linzer Cookie! The best cookie ever and the line happened to be short. After our cookie we started walking towards what would end up being my favorite party of the night…..the China Pavilion!
Best Party Of The Night
The China Pavilion was INCREDIBLE!!! They had a fire breathing dragon and the DJ was hype! We stayed here the longest and there were some people throwing down on the dance floor at this one. The fire dragon went off every 20 minutes or so, I think and it was super cool. I posted a reel on the blogs social media of one of the times it went off if you want to check it out! The DJ was located right inside the main entrance to the pavilion, you had to enter to the right of that to get into and out of the party. This one was even louder than Italy and much closer quarters than the other parties, that doesn’t bother me but it’s something to keep in mind if you plan to go next year.
This DJ was so fun and really got the crowd involved a bunch. After China, we roamed around and sat some more before grabbing a spot to wait for the NYE countdown and fireworks. I went live on Instagram for that, so definitely go check that out, it was fantastic!!
The Final Countdown
We waited a little later than we probably should have to get a spot for the countdown but it was still a pretty decent spot. We were right in front of the Italy Pavilion to the right of the stage by the America Pavilion. We sat and waited for probably a good hour before the countdown and fireworks started but they were well worth the wait!!
The show started about 5 minutes before midnight and announced the order in which each country in World Showcase rang in the new year. With each country the lights went out everywhere else and they had fireworks go off from that pavilion with music from that country playing. It was very cool to see that all around us! We had been in the UK pavilion right when the new year came in and it was so cool to see all the UK Pavilion cast members countdown and start singing! We saw China ring in theirs as well, but from a distance. One thing I think I would do if we went again would be to look up what time each country rang in the new year and be in those pavilions when it happened.
After they highlighted each country in World Showcase they began a countdown for America. They had projections going on with the barges in World Showcase Lagoon and the excitement during the countdown was amazing! Then, of course, they had fireworks while Auld Lang Syne played and they were FABULOUS!! Short and sweet but really great! The finale was crazy, felt like the fireworks were coming right at us from the sky. Pictures don’t do it justice and honestly neither does my live video but check it out if you want to really see them. After the fireworks we made a b-line for the car because we are old and we were tired and are usually on the couch at midnight on NYE! Hahaha.
Did We Love It?
So long story short….NYE at Epcot was amazing and we were so thankful to get to go and experience it! Last Pro Tip: We made a dining reservation at one of the Boardwalk Inn restaurants so we could park there and not have to fight the parking lot crowds. This was a life saver!! You can park at Boardwalk and walk right into Epcot at the International Gateway entrance between the UK and France Pavilions and walk back out when your ready to go.
The line for the Skyliner when we left was soooo long, I had never seen anything like it! It had switchbacks at the Skyliner entrance and still went all the way back almost to the Yacht Club! So I highly recommend making a dining reservation and not having to use Disney transportation or the main parking lot when doing NYE in Epcot. Again, thank you Pam!
Jay says it was a one and done for him, it was a struggle for him to stay up that long and on his feet. This was the first time in probably over a decade that I got to kiss him at midnight without waking him up first. Hahaha! I would do it a million more times if given the chance and would love to check out magic Kingdom too as it looked like they had some really fun stuff going on too. Plus who can resist a NYE countdown on Cinderella Castle?!
Conclusion
I apologize for the quality of my photos in this post, a lot of them are screenshots from the videos I took and shared on social media. I was just so excited in the moment I forgot to stop and take good quality pictures of everything! Please go and check out the Epcot highlights on Instagram where you can see all the videos of each party and of course the live post of the NYE countdown fireworks.
I guess that’s it for this week. A little different than my usual posts but I was just so excited about it I couldn’t help but share with all of you! I hope you have all had a wonderful start to the new year, ours is starting out a little rocky but maybe that just means we are going to get it out of the way early and have a great rest of the year. Here’s hoping! I pray you all have peace, joy, health and lots of magic this new year and thank you so much for being here and reading along!! Have a magical day!