Thanksgiving Crowds? - The DIS Discussion Forums

toniosmom · 11-21-2009, 08:08 AM

Is anyone planning to go to WDW next week? I'm just wondering what the typical crowds are on Thanksgiving week. I'm thinking of possibly doing that next year and was curious about how crowded it might be.

CarolMN · 11-21-2009, 08:42 AM

Moved from DVC Boards

MonkeyPants · 11-21-2009, 10:07 AM

I am going, will arrive on tuesday, this will be my first thanksgiving there, no clue how the crowds wil be. I have seen others post thats its generally quite busy, however no clue what that will mean this year given the state of the economy and whatnot

disnut8 · 11-21-2009, 10:19 AM

I'll be there. I was there last year during this time and I will be there next year during this time.

I don't think you can compare this year with last year or what it's going to be like next year. Generally, we've never really had any crowd issues with the parks over Thanksgiving. We stay offsite and haven't seen any signs of the parking lots closing so there's no capacity issues. Obviously, Magic Kingdom will be the most crowded park, followed by Epcot. That's the norm for any holiday time.

For 2009, I'm anticipating the Thanksgiving crowds to be lower than 2008. That's based on me going for Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day in 2009. I also went for those three holidays in 2008 and the crowds were noticeably lower this year. Much lower. I believe that will continue through the rest of this year.

However, who knows what will happen in 2010. The economy is supposed to turn around and once that does, people will begin to travel more. Families that have denied themselves an away-from-home vacation this year might go big next year and head for Disney World. Then again, families might decide their stay-cation this year was great so why waste the money in 2010? Or, the economy might not do what it's expected.

So don't base 2010 attendance on 2009.

tinkbyday · 11-21-2009, 10:24 AM

It was several years ago when I went during that week - it was fine up until the day before Thanksgiving, then it became very crowded.

I do think, however, if you have a plan, you will be fine.

toniosmom · 11-21-2009, 01:49 PM

Thanks everyone. I may try it out next year. :

)

mdoc · 11-21-2009, 02:10 PM

We're on our way right now (day 2 of our 20+ hour drive), and this will be our third consecutive Thanksgiving week at WDW. Yes, it's crowded. I've heard it's the third most crowded time, after Christmas week and the couple weeks surrounding Easter. However, the hours are longer and there are more shows scheduled than there are at less crowded times, which helps. The big draw for us is that many of the Christmas decorations are up, and by pulling our kids out of school for just a couple days we can get a full week at Disney. Even though it's a crowded time, I think it's manageable with good planning. We alwaysget to do most of what we want to do. The beginning of the week isn't bad - it starts getting busier as the week goes on. The weekend after T'giving is the worst, IMO. This year our last park day will be Friday, and I'm sure it will be by far the busiest day of our stay.

danielle782001 · 11-21-2009, 02:55 PM

We will be arriving next Tuesday and staying through Sunday....I am not as worried about the parks is I am about travelling home on Sunday...I will let you know what we experience.

toniosmom · 11-21-2009, 07:16 PM

I think if we do it, we may spend the beginning of the week doing the parks when it's less crowded and spend the last few days relaxing at the resort.

FSUSammy · 11-21-2009, 10:06 PM

I think your best bet is to repost this question after the holiday is over. We leave Wednesday for our 2nd Thanksgiving at WDW. Went last year and had a blast, despite the crowds. The weather was fantastic and I think that helped people not be so irritable. I'm looking forward to a repeat of nice cool weather for this Thanksgiving too. I wouldn't mind slightly smaller crowds too.

Minniemama350 · 11-21-2009, 10:08 PM

We stopped going at Thanksgiving a few years ago because it just got too crowded. I'd love for the crowd to get a little thinned out so I can come eat Turkey with Mickey again!

Joan S. · 11-21-2009, 10:16 PM

Hi, It will be our FIRST Thanksgiving at WDW !! I am looking forward to ALL the Christmas decorations and NOT having to cook on Thanksgiving Day!! I have already planned to be at the MK when they open and have breakfast at the Bakery. We will stay at the MK until it gets TOO crowded. Then we have a 5:50pm dinner ADR at Citricos.

Joan

willowsnn3 · 11-22-2009, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joan S.

Hi, It will be our FIRST Thanksgiving at WDW !! I am looking forward to ALL the Christmas decorations and NOT having to cook on Thanksgiving Day!! I have already planned to be at the MK when they open and have breakfast at the Bakery. We will stay at the MK until it gets TOO crowded. Then we have a 5:50pm dinner ADR at Citricos.

Joan

Our first Thanksgiving too! Planning all day at MK. Rope drop, quick bkfast/snack @ Bakery, late lunch @ the Plaza & late, late dinner at CRT. A pirate makeover & a BBB in there also, lol.

SuperTink · 11-22-2009, 11:05 AM

All you folks who are going over Thanksgiving have a great time, and please take pics and post them on the Crowd Pictures thread.

Joan S. · 11-22-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willowsnn3

Our first Thanksgiving too! Planning all day at MK. Rope drop, quick bkfast/snack @ Bakery, late lunch @ the Plaza & late, late dinner at CRT. A pirate makeover & a BBB in there also, lol.

Hi, We ALSO have an ADR for lunch Thursday at The Plaza for 12:10. I figure with breakfast around 8am a TURKEY sandwich MIGHT be nice for lunch!!

Joan

11-21-2009, 08:08 AM	#1
toniosmom AKV & BCV Owner Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New Jersey Posts: 632	Thanksgiving Crowds? Is anyone planning to go to WDW next week? I'm just wondering what the typical crowds are on Thanksgiving week. I'm thinking of possibly doing that next year and was curious about how crowded it might be. __________________ Me: DS4: 1974 - Offsite 1976 - Offsite (high school trip) 1997 - Dixie Landings 1998 - Offsite 2008 - All Star Movies -- Bought DVC Membership at AKL-KV while there 2009 - Saratoga Springs - First DVC Vacation!

11-21-2009, 08:42 AM	#2
CarolMN DVC Co-Moderator Join Date: Aug 1999 Posts: 19,862	Moved from DVC Boards __________________ Best Wishes - BWV - Early Morning on May 2, 2008

11-21-2009, 10:07 AM	#3
MonkeyPants DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,934	I am going, will arrive on tuesday, this will be my first thanksgiving there, no clue how the crowds wil be. I have seen others post thats its generally quite busy, however no clue what that will mean this year given the state of the economy and whatnot __________________ SEPT EC: 407 If tomorrow never comes....did you enjoy today?

11-21-2009, 10:24 AM	#5
tinkbyday DIS Veteran Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,000	It was several years ago when I went during that week - it was fine up until the day before Thanksgiving, then it became very crowded. I do think, however, if you have a plan, you will be fine. __________________ Dec 09 YC CL Jan 09 YC Apr '08 WL and POR Jan '07 BWI Nov '05 Swan Oct '03 CBR

11-21-2009, 01:49 PM	#6
toniosmom AKV & BCV Owner Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New Jersey Posts: 632	Thanks everyone. I may try it out next year. :) __________________ Me: DS4: 1974 - Offsite 1976 - Offsite (high school trip) 1997 - Dixie Landings 1998 - Offsite 2008 - All Star Movies -- Bought DVC Membership at AKL-KV while there 2009 - Saratoga Springs - First DVC Vacation!

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11-21-2009, 10:19 AM	#4
disnut8 DIS Veteran Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Brasleton, GA Posts: 10,243	I'll be there. I was there last year during this time and I will be there next year during this time. I don't think you can compare this year with last year or what it's going to be like next year. Generally, we've never really had any crowd issues with the parks over Thanksgiving. We stay offsite and haven't seen any signs of the parking lots closing so there's no capacity issues. Obviously, Magic Kingdom will be the most crowded park, followed by Epcot. That's the norm for any holiday time. For 2009, I'm anticipating the Thanksgiving crowds to be lower than 2008. That's based on me going for Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day in 2009. I also went for those three holidays in 2008 and the crowds were noticeably lower this year. Much lower. I believe that will continue through the rest of this year. However, who knows what will happen in 2010. The economy is supposed to turn around and once that does, people will begin to travel more. Families that have denied themselves an away-from-home vacation this year might go big next year and head for Disney World. Then again, families might decide their stay-cation this year was great so why waste the money in 2010? Or, the economy might not do what it's expected. So don't base 2010 attendance on 2009.

11-21-2009, 02:10 PM	#7
mdoc DIS Veteran Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 851	We're on our way right now (day 2 of our 20+ hour drive), and this will be our third consecutive Thanksgiving week at WDW. Yes, it's crowded. I've heard it's the third most crowded time, after Christmas week and the couple weeks surrounding Easter. However, the hours are longer and there are more shows scheduled than there are at less crowded times, which helps. The big draw for us is that many of the Christmas decorations are up, and by pulling our kids out of school for just a couple days we can get a full week at Disney. Even though it's a crowded time, I think it's manageable with good planning. We alwaysget to do most of what we want to do. The beginning of the week isn't bad - it starts getting busier as the week goes on. The weekend after T'giving is the worst, IMO. This year our last park day will be Friday, and I'm sure it will be by far the busiest day of our stay.

11-21-2009, 02:55 PM	#8
danielle782001 DIS Veteran Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,802	We will be arriving next Tuesday and staying through Sunday....I am not as worried about the parks is I am about travelling home on Sunday...I will let you know what we experience. __________________ DVC Members @ AKL & SSR ? 1975- Off Property August 1988- Off Property July 2001- AKL/WL (Our Honeymoon) December 2005-WL (MVMCP) December 2006- Boardwalk (MVMCP) May 2007- BCV October 2007- WL Happy Birthday AJ! (MNSSHP) January 2008-AKL (P&PP)July 2009 SSR/AKLThanksgiving 2009-AKL July 2010 AKL CL/BLT!!! Me (36) DH (40)DS (7) DS (5)

11-21-2009, 07:16 PM	#9
toniosmom AKV & BCV Owner Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New Jersey Posts: 632	I think if we do it, we may spend the beginning of the week doing the parks when it's less crowded and spend the last few days relaxing at the resort. __________________ Me: DS4: 1974 - Offsite 1976 - Offsite (high school trip) 1997 - Dixie Landings 1998 - Offsite 2008 - All Star Movies -- Bought DVC Membership at AKL-KV while there 2009 - Saratoga Springs - First DVC Vacation!

11-21-2009, 10:06 PM	#10
FSUSammy DIS Veteran Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Pembroke Pines, FL Posts: 634	I think your best bet is to repost this question after the holiday is over. We leave Wednesday for our 2nd Thanksgiving at WDW. Went last year and had a blast, despite the crowds. The weather was fantastic and I think that helped people not be so irritable. I'm looking forward to a repeat of nice cool weather for this Thanksgiving too. I wouldn't mind slightly smaller crowds too. __________________ Me DH DS2 Next Up in 2010: POFQ - Feb, POFQ - May, BCV - Sep, POFQ - Oct, POFQ and CR - Nov Past Trips: CSR - Nov 2009 , WL - Oct 2009, SSR - May 2009 , AKL - March 2009 , POR - Nov 2008 , POFQ - July 2008

11-21-2009, 10:08 PM	#11
Minniemama350 DIS Veteran Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Georgia Posts: 521	We stopped going at Thanksgiving a few years ago because it just got too crowded. I'd love for the crowd to get a little thinned out so I can come eat Turkey with Mickey again!

11-21-2009, 10:16 PM	#12
Joan S. DIS Veteran Needs to 'fess up to DH about the next WDW trip! Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Barrington RI USA Posts: 1,918	Hi, It will be our FIRST Thanksgiving at WDW !! I am looking forward to ALL the Christmas decorations and NOT having to cook on Thanksgiving Day!! I have already planned to be at the MK when they open and have breakfast at the Bakery. We will stay at the MK until it gets TOO crowded. Then we have a 5:50pm dinner ADR at Citricos. Joan __________________

11-22-2009, 11:05 AM	#14
SuperTink Magic Memory Keeper Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 872	All you folks who are going over Thanksgiving have a great time, and please take pics and post them on the Crowd Pictures thread. __________________ Animal Kingdom Lodge, Nov/Dec 2008 Polynesian, Dec. 2006 Wilderness Lodge, April 2001

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