Thanksgiving week at WDW

[travelfanatic]

Trying to see what we should expect. This will be our first Thanksgiving trip and I have to make ADR's soon so I need some advice on what to do and what not to do. TIA!

 

[travelfanatic]

Bump... Anyone have any advice? Would love some ideas on best place to eat for Thanksgiving and which parks to avoid Thanksgiving day!

 

[Postal68]

Expect wall to wall crowds. One of the busiest times of the year at the World

 

[siskaren]

http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/11-november-2013-crowd-calendar/

 

[Doug7856]

A few years ago we had Thanksgiving Dinner at Ohana. The food was traditional Thanksgiving and quite good. We enjoyed that. This year we're going to try Cape May.

I highly recommend using Josh's schedule at easyWDW.com for the week. He was spot on last time. Plan for early mornings in the park, leave during the afternoons and return for nighttime entertainment. We avoid the parks from 1 pm to 5 pm and have had an enjoyable time. We generally found the week to be similar to a busy July week but without the heat and humidity -- not nearly as busy as Christmas week or Easter week.

We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios for Thanksgiving Day. We avoided the Magic Kingdom that day.

Whatever you decide to do, you'll be at Walt Disney World!

 

[44disney]

We have been the week of Thanksgiving twice (2 and 5 years ago). I completely agree that reviewing Josh's recommendations on easywdw will really help you avoid some of the crowds by knowing which parks should be the busiest.

5 years ago we went to the AK on Thanksgiving and found it very doable. 2 years ago we did DHS and it was also doable although it did feel more crowded than the AK. We didn't really do a Thanksgiving meal the 1st time but last time we ate at 1900 Park Faire at the Grand Floridian and really enjoyed it. We were ready to leave DHS by 4 or so anyway, so we took the bus to the GF and looked at the amazing Christmas decorations for a bit before our dinner. The buffet did include turkey and other traditional Thanksgiving foods, as well as other items. Then we took the monorail to the MK so we could hop on a bus back to our resort.

My one piece of advice for that week is to arrive prior to rope drop -- even with large crowds you can still get so much done in the first few hours of the day.

Enjoy!

 

[Missytara]

I arrive the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it is still very busy. What to expect?

It is the third busiest holiday, next to Xmas and Spring break. It is a school holiday..... a no brainer on how busy it is going to be.

 

[Sphinx610]

Trying to see what we should expect. This will be our first Thanksgiving trip and I have to make ADR's soon so I need some advice on what to do and what not to do. TIA!

Hi! I went this past Thanksgiving week. We arrived Sat bf T-day and left following Sat morn. As mentioned, it is very very busy. One of the top3 busiest times of the year.If you are a vet it won't phase u too much bc you will know how to navigate the crowds n make the most of your day. Let us know if you need advice...

Try to make rope drop. It gets busy quick and the extra time helps. (I wish I could get my hubby to realize that!) It gets increasingly busier as the week goes on and stays busy til sat after. By Sunday it's empty. I agree with the pp who said follow Josh's schedule on easywdw. He's pretty accurate. And free! Yey Josh!

We did AK on Thanksgiving day. It was very busy ur no where near MK crowds. Stay out of MK on turkey day! Plan it for another day. We did MK on Friday after and it was crowded but manageable.

There won't be any table service at the better restaurants, will be all ADR only. So yes, make those ADRs exactly at your 180 day mark. ESP for T- giving! I've been over thanks week 2x. The first time we ate at Ft Wilderness Lodge and it was fantastic! Last year we ate at Raglan Rd in DTD. Also good but different type food. They did have a thanksgiving style dinner but we all opted out! Haha

Overall it was a great trip. We got to see a lot of what we wanted to do, got great pics and got to see Osborn lights! Yey! That's a cant miss...

Hope that helps, let us k ow if you want more specific info!!!

 

[Kay2397]

Is thanksgiving busier than Presidents week? I am trying to compare and figure out what to expect.

 

[Missytara]

Is thanksgiving busier than Presidents week? I am trying to compare and figure out what to expect.

Yes.

In order.....

Christmas
Spring break
Thanksgiving.

Any other school holiday after that.

 

[OurDogCisco]

We are going Thanksgiving too. This will be our 2nd trip during Thanksgiving. Our first trip we arrived the Friday before T-Day and left the Monday after T-day. But that was back when we could pull our kids out of school and it wouldn't do too much damage to their grades. We've also gone Christmas through New Years's Day. Also, we've been twice during 4th of July week. This time we'll be going Saturday to Sunday so, right in the thick of the crowds. On our last trip we did MVMCP on the Friday before. So, we took a red-eye Thursday night (we are coming from the West Coast). Slept in on Friday and then, hung out at the resort and did the MVMCP that night. We visited all the parks multiple times during our trip. I would say as we approached Thanksgiving Day the parks got busier each day. We did not go to the park on T-Day. We had dinner at Captain Grille's (I don't recommend not very good) and earlier in the day visited downtown Disney and some of the hotels. Friday and Saturday were CRAZY busy. Then, on Sunday it was so DEAD I swear you could hear a pin drop in MK. It was so quite. I agree with everyone else to definitely utilized rope drop and we definitely took advantage of AM EMH. Most people didn't make it to rope drop so that gave us an extra hour head start. Back then, we could use our fast passes later in the day which was great. Since that is not an option anymore I'm not sure how it will work out. Finally, we did more sit down lunches than dinner. We did counter service for dinner. We would book a lunch around 1 or 2 pm. Then, after lunch either go back to the resort to swim (depended on the weather) or keep touring the park. I'm not a huge fan of hunting for a table at the counter service places. Or we would tour a park and then, break around 10 to 11 am for BRUNCH and then, have either another sitdown in the evening for dinner or do counter service. The lines can be long at the counter service and usually by that point we didn't have the patience for it. But we are funny that way. I love all the decorations so, don't forget to take time to see tour.

 

[troll buster]

We have been going thanksgiving week for the past 5 years and it is not that busy. It gets busier thanksgiving day and after but nothing to be worried about. The longest we ever waited for a ride was 40 min. Its an awesome time to go! Last year we had thanksgiving dinner at coral reef. Traditional meal or full menu. It was great! I'm thinking of going there again this year or Liberty tree tavern. Decisions:

 

[mch521]

We have been going thanksgiving week for the past 5 years and it is not that busy. It gets busier thanksgiving day and after but nothing to be worried about. The longest we ever waited for a ride was 40 min. Its an awesome time to go! Last year we had thanksgiving dinner at coral reef. Traditional meal or full menu. It was great! I'm thinking of going there again this year or Liberty tree tavern. Decisions:

What kind of food, if you can remember was served at Coral Reef on Thanksgiving? We are booked there this year & were just wondering what to expect?

 

[momofkids]

The 180 day window is open for ADRs already. You should get making reservations now. We were there over Thanksgiving last year as well. We followed easywdw recommendations. They were awesome! The parks didn't seem nearly as crowded as I expected. We are arriving on Thanksgiving this year to take advantage of the lower crowds after the holiday.

I do think the parks may be a bit more crowded this year due to the Fantasyland expansion. Many people on the boards have noted higher than expected crowds this year.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

Expect wall to wall crowds. One of the busiest times of the year at the World

We have been during Thanksgiving several times, and we have never, EVER, seen "wall to wall crowds". It's busy alright but I have always found this week to be highly exaggerated. We were just there during Mardi Gras leading up to Presidents Day weekend, and saw worse crowds that week than we have ever had for Thanksgiving. I have found Thanksgiving comparable to summer crowds, but not nearly as crowded as Christmas, 4th of July, or Easter. Maybe I was just extremely lucky the years we did Thanksgiving.

 

[troll buster]

What kind of food, if you can remember was served at Coral Reef on Thanksgiving? We are booked there this year & were just wondering what to expect?

They had their regular menu and also a traditional dinner. Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry relish, green beans (i think) and the pumpkin pie was awesome!

 

[troll buster]

Expect wall to wall crowds. One of the busiest times of the year at the World

Its not that bad. Christmas week is bad!

 

[SoonerSean]

Expect wall to wall crowds. One of the busiest times of the year at the World

This will be our 4th Thanksgiving at DW and I wouldn't say it's been more crowded than the spring/summer times we've been. The worst I ever saw it was around Christmas and on New Years Eve when MK hit capacity in the afternoon and they were turning people away.

We will do lunch again at 50's PTC... they always serve turkey and the fixins. It's a family tradition when we're able to make the trip. We'll be there from the Sat before until the Sat after.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We are strongly considering Thanksgiving week for our 2014 or 2015 trip and would like to do MVMCP on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I have read that it is very busy that week, but not as bad as Christmas/New Year's week or Easter and that MK should be avoided Thanksgiving Day and that Saturday after Thanksgiving. I am going to have to check out Josh's Thanksgiving recommendations. We used the easy WDW crowd calendar and park recommendations on our last two trips.

 

[meredith1]

I have been planning the MVMCP for the Tuesday after Thanksgiving-Dec. 3. I wonder if the Sunday (Dec. 1) would be a better option as for as crowds go? Anybody have an idea?