Hi Lori,
What a great place to ring in the New Year! My family has done both and I will tell you the benefits of both.
The first New Year's Eve at
Magic Kingdom we had a blast. We made sure we were in the park by 4:00 pm so that we would not be barred due to crowds being to big. Magic Kingdom was crowded! By 10:00 pm, if you went to Main Street, you needed to exit the park.
We stayed in Frontierland and enjoyed the nearly empty rides. We watched the fireworks from this location and then waited until the crowds thinned. However, it was still packed leaving.
In December, we experienced New Year's Eve in
Epcot. The park was not as crowded or at least Epcot has the space to accommodate more people. We had dinner in Epcot and we stayed in the park the entire day as it was crowded. After dinner, we toured the countries to experience the way each country rang in the new year. Japan had a super cool dance party which we really liked.
If you are going with little kids, go to Magic Kingdom. If you have teenagers or adults, than Epcot is the place to be.
Wishing you a magical vacation!
Beth