Thanksgiving planning

[mickeyworld]

I will be arriving on the Wednesday evening before thanksgiving and leaving that Sunday. Any advice on how to get the most time in the parks with the least crowds? What parks shoul I go to or avaid on Thanksgiving Day??

 

[yulilin3]

From touringplans
Thu, November 24, 2011 10 out of 10 Best Parks HS AK Worst Park MK
Fri, November 25, 2011 10 out of 10 Best Park AK Worst Park HS
Sat, November 26, 2011 10 out of 10 Best Park MK AK Worst Park EP
Rope Drop is very important, try to be at the park each day at least 30min, before it opens, and remember to use fastpass wisely

 

[loganpaulsmom]

My BIL and SIL's went last year.. They said that Thanksgiving was the worst day and then it got better as the week went on.. Its going to be busy but as previous poster mentioned, get to rope drop, have a plan and you should be ok.. and of course.. have fun!

 

[44disney]

The easywdw website has a lot of detailed info on which park to choose and why.

We will be there the same time, and are planning on spending the day at DHS, then going to 1900 Park Fare for dinner.

As others have mentioned, rope drop is key, as well as good use of the fast passes. We were at WDW for Thanksgiving 2 years ago and found it very crowded but definitely doable, which is why we are going back again this year. On that trip we spent Thanksgiving Day at AK and found it crowded but manageable.

 

[Bearcat Amy]

Will MK be crazy busy the day after Thanksgiving? We would like to get one day at the MK before our cruise. Are we nuts?

 

[softballmom3]

We will also be there Thanksgiving and I am planning on following the advice given on tourningplans.com. I have done this 3 other times and all have worked out well. We were there Easter once and whew it was busy! I am glad I had a plan and followed it to a "t". It helped a lot and although it was crowded it was manageable and enjoyable which I hope this will be also.

We are planning on going to AK on Thanksgiving because we have ressies at Boma that night. Hoping it goes well and hoping for you too .

 

[Porktitioner]

Will MK be crazy busy the day after Thanksgiving? We would like to get one day at the MK before our cruise. Are we nuts?

Touring plans has it listed as "neutral- 9.2/10." MK has EMH on Thanksgiving which usually means it is less crowded the next day. I had no problem getting BBB and CRT reservations- we'll just have to see...

 

[Grumpy175]

We have been visiting over Thanksgiving the past ten years. It is crowded, but we have a great time and generally can do what ever we want. Just remember to laugh and smile. We often take a park break and eat at a resort to avoid some of the crowds

 

[rafiki14]

Last year I spent Thanksgiving Day in Epcot and the day after in Magic Kingdom.

We were able to ride and do nearly everything we wanted, without planning. Just went with the flow getting fast passes when necessary.

Good luck!

 

[poolex3]

We are heading down Thanksgiving week also and will be using Touringplans.com's suggestions. Can't wait!!!!

We have lunch reservations at Whispering Canyon on Thanksgiving and haven't decided if we will try to make it to a park as well. Also have Crystal Palace reservations for 1st thing Friday morning so hopefully that will put us abit ahead of the rope drop crowds as we start our day at Magic Kingdom!

We are staying offsite in a rental home and plan on going back mid day if possible to take a break from the crowds.

 

[Masonmj84]

One interesting thing I noticed on Touringplans is that the Sunday after Thanksgiving has relatively low crowds at MK (while the other parks are still relatively crowded). Crowds, going back several years, are historically very low at MK on that day. Not sure why.

 

[happygirlagain]

We are heading down Thanksgiving week also and will be using Touringplans.com's suggestions. Can't wait!!!!

We have lunch reservations at Whispering Canyon on Thanksgiving and haven't decided if we will try to make it to a park as well. Also have Crystal Palace reservations for 1st thing Friday morning so hopefully that will put us abit ahead of the rope drop crowds as we start our day at Magic Kingdom!

We are staying offsite in a rental home and plan on going back mid day if possible to take a break from the crowds.

We have reservations at 8 on friday after thanksgiving also!

 

[softballmom3]

I have a friend that has gone many of the holidays and she told me every time they have been there Thanksgiving the park actually opened about 1 hr before posted time--or something to that effect. Anyone have this happen to them?

 

[wdwnut61]

One interesting thing I noticed on Touringplans is that the Sunday after Thanksgiving has relatively low crowds at MK (while the other parks are still relatively crowded). Crowds, going back several years, are historically very low at MK on that day. Not sure why.

That's because the Sunday after Thanksgiving is MVMCP night so the park will close at 7:00 pm. Most people don't want to waste a ticket on a day when the park is closing early.

 

[minnierocks]

For every Thanksgiving trip, we spend Thanksgiving at DHS and the day after at MK. We get there early and have never had a problem getting everything done that we want. It is crowded but manageable.