Enjoy An Orlando Happy New Year!

December in Orlando is a truly magical time of year. It is packed with festive attractions and Yuletide splendour galore, and the theme parks are all dressed in their seasonal finery.

If you’ve been reading our recent blogs (like Busch Gardens’ Christmas Town and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party), you’ll already know how detailed and excitement-packed these extra programmes can be.

And it stands to reason, if Orlando can stage a great Christmas show, then New Year’s Eve will be pretty spectacular, too, with live entertainment, great food and fireworks. Lots of fireworks.

So let’s walk you through all the entertainment on offer for this classic annual party, as there is a LOT in store if you’re looking to see in the new year in style.

New Year at Walt Disney World

As ever, we’ll start our round-up of all the best December 31 opportunities at the House of Mouse, where things definitely go into a midnight countdown, along with several stupendous fireworks shows.

Three of the four theme parks are open until midnight (Disney’s Animal Kingdom being the exception, with a more regular 8pm closing) and both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot have major pyrotechnic events to usher in the New Year.

Arguably the biggest is over the Seven Seas Lagoon and Magic Kingdom itself at the appropriate hour, as an absolute barrage of rockets and shells are launched amid the midnight countdown.

Epcot boasts the most party style, though, with the daily Harmonious night-time show at 6.30pm, live music and other festivities around World Showcase all evening, and then another stunning fireworks-and-projection show on the main lagoon from 11.54pm, building to the big countdown for 2023.

Many of Disney’s restaurants and bars also turn on a party atmosphere for the evening, especially at Disney Springs and in the Deluxe resorts. Look out in particular for the dazzling New Year’s Eve Gala at The Edison at Disney Springs, as this is a special ticketed event that really revs up the night-time vibe with plentiful food and drink, a spectacular show and a live band and DJ.

Be aware this is one of the most popular, if not THE busiest, days and nights of the year at Walt Disney World, hence you need to be at your chosen park early in the morning (especially for the Magic Kingdom), as they often reach capacity by mid-day. Be ready to spend a long day there, but you can take advantage of the handy lockers for rent if you don’t want to carry too much around with you.

Universal Orlando at New Year

If you’re looking for that really late-night party action, Universal Orlando is definitely the place to be, with a wide variety of events and activities on offer.

Just to start with, the Universal Studios park is open until 1am, with a special fireworks and special effects show on the main lagoon at midnight. The party action at CityWalk also lasts into the wee small hours, with several venues offering live entertainment for the evening, notably at the Hard Rock Café and Pat O’Brien’s, the latter featuring its duelling piano players until 2am.

Universal really turns up the party vibe at its resorts, where you’ll find plenty of excitement with New Year’s Eve buffets, fixed-price menus and specially-ticketed events.

Each of the Hard Rock Hotel (with a Rock In 2023 Lobby Party 6pm-1am), Royal Pacific Resort (featuring a New Year’s Eve Luau at 6pm), Sapphire Falls Resort (Strong Water Tavern Party 10pm-2am) and Aventura Hotel (NYE Celebration 8pm-1am) offer specific parties that can be pre-booked.

The biggest festivity, though, is the ultra-spectacular Party on the Piazza at the Portofino Bay Hotel (8.30pm-12.30am), which takes place on the resort’s splendid Harbor Piazza, with gourmet foods (served until 11pm), desserts, beer and wine, a live DJ and dancing. The countdown to midnight includes a live performance by the Portofino Bay opera singers, along with a sparkling wine toast.

SeaWorld is another source of classic NYE excitement, packing the evening full of live entertainment, shows and special food, all building towards the midnight fireworks extravaganza as the clock strikes 12, and with the park closing at 1am.

Elsewhere in Orlando at New Year

Big New Year’s events aren’t hard to find in a city like Orlando, and you don’t need to focus purely on the theme parks, as good as they are!

For an upscale occasion, the swish Alfond Inn hotel in lovely Winter Park features a lavish New Year’s Eve Gala (8pm-12.15am), with live entertainment, a premium open bar, chef-attended food stations and a champagne toast.

ICON Park is another great hangout for the evening, with The Wheel fully lit up for the occasion and all its attractions open until late, while Spanish restaurant Tapa Toro features live Flamenco dancing along with delectable food from 9pm to 1.30am.

Equally, The Pointe Orlando can offer NYE entertainment at Taverna Opa, where the Greek style is in full force, accompanied by its classic menu items, belly dancing and live music.

You can also light up the night at Old Town in Kissimmee, where their free, all-ages event starts as the sun goes down with the classic car show and live music, and continues to a firework fiesta at midnight, as well as offering the centre’s array of year-round attractions all evening.

And finally…

As with our Christmas Tips blog, the message about being patient with the crowds and the l-o-n-g queues at most of the attractions are especially true for this day and evening in the parks.

Leaving somewhere like the Magic Kingdom can also take around an hour at the end of the night, so try to take it easy and just enjoy the night-time vibe as you wait for the monorail or ferryboat back to the Ticket & Transportation Center.

And, whatever you decide to do, be sure to do it safely (the local police are especially hot on drinking and driving at this time of year) and make it a memorable occasion, with the best wishes of all of us at Debbie’s Villas for a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Have you enjoyed an Orlando New Year’s Eve before? Tell us about it on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages… and don’t forget to interact with us on Pinterest, too!.