Bound for the Citrus Bowl? Start the Party Early at WDW
Bound for the Citrus Bowl? Walt Disney World Resort Fills the Skies - and Stages - In a Gala New Year's Eve Celebration Including 100 Years of Magic
Orlando's Citrus Bowl hosts a major college football matchup Jan. 1 between the University of Michigan and the University of Tennessee.
Fans bound for the game can start the partying early -- on New Year's Eve at Walt Disney World Resort. To ring in 2002, Disney World will offer a dazzling display of entertainment, parades and fireworks -- anchored by the Vacation Kingdom's ongoing 100 Years of Magic celebration.
At Downtown Disney Pleasure Island, it's New Year's Eve every night. But on Dec. 31, the party will be even more spectacular. Cyndi Lauper headlines the entertainment lineup for this high-energy street party. Other live music includes The Joyce Cooling Group at the Pleasure Island Jazz Company and The Devonshires at the Pleasure Island Hub Stage.
Tickets for the Pleasure Island New Year's Eve package are $65 per person, plus tax, and include all live concerts, dessert, a champagne toast at midnight when fireworks fill the skies and no-cover admission to all eight unique nightclubs. The party runs from 8 p.m. Dec. 31 and goes nonstop until 2 a.m. Jan. 1, 2002.
Other New Year's happenings include dancing, live musical performances and an incredible 11:50 p.m. fireworks finale at the Disney-MGM Studios (open until 1 a.m.). Disney-MGM Studios is centerpiece of Disney's 100 Years of Magic celebration. Epcot, with plenty of room for New Year's revelers, hosts a DJ dance party at Innoventions; a Laser Light Dance Party in Italy; Johnny Ferreira and The Swing Machine at the American Gardens Theatre; Rico Monaco and Sol Sons and the Barrio Boyzz alternating on the Fountain Stage (Future World) and a Video Dance Party in Japan.
Epcot guests will count down to the magical hour with a special 11:45 p.m. performance of "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth," Epcot's dazzling lights, laser and fireworks show bursting above World Showcase Lagoon. So families can help ring in the new year, a special fireworks show has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
On the big night, the Magic Kingdom features 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. performances of its dazzling "SpectroMagic" parade plus midnight "Fantasy in the Sky" fireworks.
One-day admission to any of four Walt Disney World theme parks is $48 adults, $38 children ages 3-9, plus tax.
What makes the year-end celebration even more spectacular: guests will be able to enjoy all that's new for Disney's yearlong 100 Years of Magic celebration. Marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Walt Disney, all four theme parks feature new parades, attractions and live entertainment. The 100 Years of Magic celebration is now through Dec. 31, 2002.
--posted December 14, 2001
Source: Walt Disney World Press Release