Celebrating the end of what’s been a tumultuous and challenging year may sound like an exciting prospect, but many places will not be ringing in the new year like they usually do because of COVID-19 restrictions.
While Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Icon Park will not be hosting their traditional fireworks extravaganzas, other parks and attractions across Central Florida will. Here’s where you can safely watch fireworks in Central Florida.
New Year's Eve festivities will be different this year around the world (NCD)
SeaWorld
SeaWorld will be hosting multiple countdowns and fireworks displays at 6:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and midnight, allowing guests of all ages to ring in the start of a new year.
Every hour from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sesame Street Land will host a special New Year’s Eve countdown celebration and a physically distanced DJ dance party.
We’re giving 2021 a wondrous welcome with bold fireworks, festive entertainment, and more. 🎆 Don't miss out on the...
Celebrating 2021 The Auckland Harbour Bridge lights during Auckland New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Fiona Goodall/Getty Images for Auckland Unlimi)
Celebrating 2021 People cross the Southbank Pedestrian Bridge Southbank as people are seen drinking at a bar during New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Celebrations look different this year as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks from the SkyTower and a light display from the Harbour Bridge during Auckland New Year's Eve celebrations on January 01, 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand. (David Rowland/Getty Images for Auckland Unlimi)
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks from the SkyTower during Auckland New Year's Eve celebrations on January 01, 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand. (David Rowland/Getty Images for Auckland Unlimi)
Celebrating 2021 People take photos along Princess Bridge during New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Celebrations look different this year as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 A light display from the Harbour Bridge during Auckland New Year's Eve celebrations on January 01, 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand. (David Rowland/Getty Images for Auckland Unlimi)
Celebrating 2021 People seen having their photo taken in front of a neon Happy New Year sign as people wearing masks walk past during New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Celebrations look different this year as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 People are seen clapping along with a Street Performer during New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Celebrations look different this year as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 People cross Shibuya crossing on January 1, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. As Covid-19 coronavirus infections continue to fluctuate nationwide, Japanese authorities have urged people to avoid gathering in large numbers as they celebrate New Year’s Eve. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 People watch a drone show during New Year's Eve celebrations at a park on January 1, 2021 in Manila, Philippines. Philippine authorities have urged the public to avoid big gatherings and even threatened to jail violators during New Year's Eve as the country continues to grapple with the rising number of coronavirus cases. (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks light up the Taiwan skyline and Taipei 101 during New Years Eve celebrations on January 01, 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Gene Wang/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 People wearing facemasks to protect against COVID-19 watch a drone show during New Year's Eve celebrations at a park on January 1, 2021 in Manila, Philippines. Philippine authorities have urged the public to avoid big gatherings and even threatened to jail violators during New Year's Eve as the country continues to grapple with the rising number of coronavirus cases. (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks light up the Taiwan skyline and Taipei 101 during New Years Eve celebrations on January 01, 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Gene Wang/Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 A fireworks display is seen over the Sydney Opera House during New Year's Eve celebrations on January 01, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Celebrations look different this year as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Wendell Teodoro @ZEDUCE//Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 Dancers perform during celebrations to mark the New Year, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Jon Chol Jin/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks light the sky during New Year's celebrations at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. (Michael Sohn/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 A view of an empty Cathedral Square shortly after midnight during the New Year's celebrations in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Mindaugas Kulbis/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks explode over the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Athens, Greece. (Petros Giannakouris/Associated Press)
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks light up the sky over the Kremlin and an almost empty Red Square and Spasskaya Tower during New Year's celebrations in Moscow. (Pavel Golovkin/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 Madrid's Puerta del Sol plaza was empty before the New Year's celebrations. (Manu Fernandez/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 Fireworks go off near the Colosseum in Rome as New Year's Day arrives in Italy. (Andrew Medichini/Associated Press)
Celebrating 2021 A woman poses by holiday season decorations near the parliament as a city clock shows midnight in Bucharest, Romania. (Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 People holding cellphones stand by their windows in Lisbon, Portugal, to ring in the news year. Public celebrations and the traditional new year fireworks were canceled and a curfew was imposed to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus. (Armando Franca/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 Thousands of people attend a music concert to celebrate New Year's in the Mbare suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe.
, (Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 Police officers stand along a mostly empty Seventh Avenue during what would normally be a Times Square packed with people in New York City. (Craig Ruttle/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 The streets of Cape Town, South Africa, are deserted as 2021 makes its debut. (Xabiso Mkhabela/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Celebrating 2021 The iconic Christ the Redeemer statue is lit up during a New Years' celebration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Bruna Prado/Associated Press )
Celebrating 2021 Buildings are lit up with decorations to ring in 2021 in Brussels, Belgium. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
New Year's 2021 celebrated around world Guatemalan tourists Alejandra Paiz, left, and Argelia Gordillo wear festive glasses as the pair and their sons mark New Year's Eve at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, just after midnight on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Although Mexico City cancelled its annual New Year's celebration to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of people came out in small groups to mark midnight with selfies and video calls from the iconic city landmark. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP)
New Year's 2021 celebrated around world A group of people celebrate the start of the New Year as they look across from the embankment towards the London Eye ferris wheel by the River Thames in London, Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. The London Eye is one of the traditional sites for New Year's Eve firework display, but it has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions in place to try and stop its spread. (Matt Dunham/AP)
New Year's 2021 celebrated around world A couple takes a selfie along the Las Vegas Strip as they celebrate New Year's Eve Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, in Las Vegas. (David Becker/AP)
New Year's 2021 celebrated around world A Lebanese woman wears a protective mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as she celebrates the New Year outside a pub, in Beirut, Lebanon, early Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Lebanon ended the year with more than 3,500 newly registered infections of coronavirus and 12 new deaths as its health minister appealed to Lebanese to take precautions while celebrating to avoid what he called wasting sacrifices made in combatting the virus. (Hussein Malla/AP)
New Year's 2021 celebrated around world In stark contrast to previous years only a few people braved chilly temperatures to take the traditional New Year's dip in the North Sea, in Scheveningen, on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, after coronavirus restrictions canceled celebrations and gatherings throughout The Netherlands. As the world said goodbye to 2020, a year ruined by the coronavirus, there were countdowns and live performances, but no massed jubilant crowds in traditional gathering spots. (Peter Dejong/AP)
Avalon Park
Avalon Park in Orlando will host free fireworks at midnight.
Walt Disney World
Although Disney World isn’t doing its usual fireworks display, hotel guests will be able to see a pre-recorded fireworks show from the comfort and safety of their rooms.
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