Thanksgiving Week Crowds

[tink70]

We also loved turtle talk with crush. We had about an hour wait for soarin on friday, but it was worth it.
We packed shorts but never wore them, I was very disapointed with the weather. I also saw predicted temps of 70d. Boy were we surprised!

 

[mrsv98]

DNiece was there from Thurs the week before T'Day until Tues of and she said it was nuts! On the weekend, wait times were 2+ hours and fastpasses were all gone before Noon.

I think to get the "slow" crowds one would expect, you would have to go at least full week before and two weeks before is probably better.

 

[Jabber_Jaws]

Been here at WDW since last is friday and boy oh boy is it busy. Going to be here until thursday hope the crowds lighten up.

 

[jonestavern]

We were aghast at the crowds at AK on Sunday, 19 November.

From the 10th to the 17th, it had been pretty mellow.
Two CMs, one in AK & one in Epcot, said their park attendance estimates had been 20,000 per day & on Sunday that had been upped by 8,000 -10,000 bodies per day for the Thanksgiving week. The same day AK was jamming, Epcot was not half as packed. Apparently, the Nemo stage show was highly publicized & a few of the CMs thought that may have been the reason for the sardine-like conditions at AK~

Jean & Chris

 

[01Sweetpea]

Just back - 11/18-11/25. Little to no waits...most under 30 minutes, up until Wednesday. Lines got progressively worse as the week went on. By Friday they were LOOOONG. We arrived at Epcot around 2pm on the 24th...no fastpasses to be found, and the waits were 2 hours+ long. Luckily, we had been on all the major attractions earlier in the week and were only in Epcot to do the CP.

On Saturday the 25th...the MK was EMPTY the fist few hours in the morning. By 11am we had been on Buzz twice, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain twice, and BTRR twice. By noon the crowds were coming in.

We had planned well, and strategized well and were prepared for the lines.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

We arrived on Nov 16 around 6:00 pm - went to MGM- Ate, walked on Tot saw fantasmic and then the GMR --MGM closed at 8:00pm .

Nov 17- Went to MK- it was empty until about noon. The poc was a 30 minute wait around 1:00- but we did get to see everything. We also went to the MVMCP that night and it was SOLD OUT!! I was so bummed to see that as the crowds in the day were lighter than the ones at night. There was a 20 minute wait for the cookies - So no cookies and hot chocolate for us.

Nov 18- went to Epcot at 10:30 walked on the new NEMO ride- saw Turtle Talk w/ Crush, did Soarin w/FP and Figment ride- left to rest at the resort and swim- Went to Hoo Dee Doo Revue that night and there were empty tables at the 5:00pm show.

Nov 19 AK--- we Got to see everything there that day except Kali Rapids (our choice as it was not that warm) Ak always seems crowded to me so I didn't think the crowds were all that bad. The Safari had a 90 minute wait at 12:00---The Tusker House (which is very good yum!!)was packed at about 12:30. We rode EE twice -15 minute wait about 9:15 and with FP at 11:00 Went to the Nemo Musical for the 3:00 show and got there at 2:50 It was fantastic!!!!

Monday Nov 20- we took the day off and slept!

Tuesday MGM- Very crowded, however, we would of got to see more if we were there at opening. We got there about 10:15 and went to see LMA and got FP for Star Tours and did the back stage tour. Ate lunch and then left at 3:00. We couldn't do anything after lunch unless we wanted to wait in line for 60-90 minutes. The Cm at the Indiania Jones Stunt show told us to get there 45 minutes in advance if we wanted to see the show. (I'll save for February) The FP for RnR and Tot were gone by 2:00. Very crowded I thought

Epcot Wednesday-- TOTALLY INSANE!!! We got to TT at 9:20- 20 minute wait- by the time we got off and got in line again it actually said wait time was 40 minutes but it took 90 minutes. We left and went on MS with FP and then did Soarin with a FP that we got at 9:00. That's all we did by 1:00. Very dissappointing!!! The crowds were horrible. We ate in Norway and left by 3:00.

Thanksgiving Day-- Left to go home but the BW was empty!!! It was a very nice day, it was a lot warmer than Monday, Tues & Wed-

 

[tink70]

We were also there for the MVMCP on the 17th.
I also thought the crowds were crazy.
People kind of drove us crazy this time, alot of cutting off and smoking in places you were not supposed to.
Overall we were happy to get home and aways from all the people!

 

[Michiganfamily]

Hi- I was wondering about that week after Thanksgiving. I'm just trying to get a sense of things. When crowds aren't that bad-- like those weeks after Thanksgiving-- what's average wait time in lines? We would be coming with our 4 and 7 year old so we'd be geared toward the rides for younger kids.

Someone mentioned October and Halloween too- is that a nice time to go?

There's a lot of great information on these boards!

 

[tink70]

October used to be a quiet time, but I have heard that is changing.
If weather does nto matter to you, I have heard that the week after thanksgiving is quiet. We like it warm to enjoy the water parks and pools, so our next visit will probably be in October.

 

[mommiebyrd]

We went over Thanksgiving week and never had to wait more than 20 minutes for anything. We used Tourguide Mike and all his advice was spot on. We arrived and the parks early-got to open both Epcot and Animal Kingdom; we were chosen as the first family into Animal Kingdom and got to ride the first jeep through the Safari-with no one else but our family and a guide! Those who wanted to rode all the big rides, while the more timid of us helped child swapping-or "chicken door" as my youngest started to call it. Diffferent members of our party were fast pass runners and we alway made sure we had a fast pass in hand.
As we were up and at it early, we ate lunch around 11:00 or 11:30 a.m and most of the days left the park in the early afternoons, when they started to get swamped. We went back to the WL where the kids did the afternoon activities there, swam if it was warm enough, or we went to the other resorts to look at the Christmas decorations. We either had an evening dinner/activity planned or went back to the parks at a more leisurely pace.

Thanksgiving was the optimal time for us all to go as one of my children had the whole week off, and the others only had to miss two days of school. My DS, however, started planning and making reservations for us in July and thanks to her super organizational skills, we had the most magical vacation ever.

 

[NancyIL]

We're thinking of mixing Epcot and MK over 3 days - Saturday, Sunday, Monday after Thanksgiving - thought Epcot on the Saturday (as largest capacity) - 1/2 and 1/2 on Sunday, and MK on Monday? Make sense given the circumstances?

Note - first-timer here. Finally got there at 42!

Alec in RI

My daughter and I arrived the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. I was staying 9 nights, but my daughter had just Sat. and Sun. to spend in the parks - so we had to work around holiday crowds. We went to Epcot on Saturday. It was crowded but it is the best park for being able to handle large crowds. Just take advantage of fastpass as much as possible. You might want to get the Candlelight Processional dinner package that night OR make a reservation for a late dinner at Rose and Crown to have a good view of IllumiNations (we did the latter). Holiday IllumiNations is FABULOUS, and in my opinion blows Wishes (at the MK) out of the water!

We went to MGM Sunday morning, took an afternoon break, ate dinner with family members at the Grand Floridian, then ended the evening at the MK during Extra Magic Hour. It was also crowded but not terribly so.

The weekdays after Thanksgiving were a piece of cake, but I thought MVMCP on Tuesday night was quite crowded. I've been to it 5 times now - so think I'll pass on going again.

If I were you I'd plan one evening in MGM to see the Osborne Lights, but do it on Monday during Extra Magic Hour if you're staying onsite. It's just too crowded weekend nights.

 

[vacation dreamer]

Busy! Did I say busy? I meant BUSY!!!

Not packed to the gills, but darned near. It's busy.

If you thought it was not packed to the gills then I would hate it more when it is............Did you say busy? It was more then busy. We will never go again during a holiday. I will take a 3-4 day weekend trip over a holiday week ever again. JMO