11/26-12/1 - How crowded will it be?

[RichNKatHolly]

Just wondering how the crowds are AFTER Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks in advance!!

We have been during "Jersey Week" but had to move it down this year. I didn't find JW crowded at all, but I've read on a few posts to get out before Thanksgiving weekend started. Is it terribly crowded??

 

[danny1649]

At that time of year in 1999 the crowds were large and we had some waits to do attractions.With fast pass now in place you may not have that for a problem.Sunday morning after Thanksgiving we arrived early and had the park about empty until 11.

 

[NJ Cruisers]

Best week of the year!!! The Sat (11/26) and Sun (11/27) may be a little crowded because you have the leftovers from Thanksgiving week, but after that the park is yours. We have done that week for the past 5 years and love it. We are sooooo spoiled that a 20 minute wait is "too long".

Just be prepared for any kind of weather ...we've had 80's (and great for swimming) to somewhere in the 50's on a few days.

 

[cobbler]

The crowds tend to die down starting Monday after Thanksgiving as a lot of people check out on Sunday. I myself check in on that day. We always go the week after Thanksgiving and it is steadily getting more and more busy every year. I don't know if last year was a fluke due to rescheduling of vacations from the hurricanes.

Its still quite slow, the average longest wait is 30 minutes for a standby line with the most was Splash Mtn at 70 minutes. But an hour later it was back down to 20.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I hope its not too crowded. It will be our lst time there this time of year. My dh has a conference at the swan, oh poor him and like 10,000 other people is classes all day while me and the 3 ds will have fun in the parks. We will probably check in the 27. I am preparing for the crowds for the pop warner and the christmas parade taping too. Just waiting to hear what the conference events are.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Thanks all! I guess it just depends on who you ask. HOpefully people may have moved their trips up to take advantage of the free dining?

No biggie, I'm sure we will have a blast!

 

[Hannahsmom]

Best week of the year!!! The Sat (11/26) and Sun (11/27) may be a little crowded because you have the leftovers from Thanksgiving week, but after that the park is yours. We have done that week for the past 5 years and love it. We are sooooo spoiled that a 20 minute wait is "too long".

I don't know if I would call it the "Best week of the Year". I guess it depends on the criteria. If you would rather the weather be warm instead of HOT, then this is a good week. If you prefer park attendance be minimal then this is not the best week of the year.

We went the same time last year, after reading about the low crowds and great weather we decided to get another trip in with our AP. We were totally surprised by the number of people in the park. And everyone we spoke made the trip that week for the same reasons, and they too were not thrilled with the crowd sizes.

If you indeed are looking for a low attendance week the "Best Week of the Year" would be the first full week after Labor Day. But don't tell anyone that, we wouldn't want that gem to get out. Needless to say, we won't be going back at that time of the year. Sure, we enjoyed the Christmas decorations and such, but honestly, I was Christmased out by the time we got home and it was still early Dec. This year we are sticking to September.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

I don't know if I would call it the "Best week of the Year". I guess it depends on the criteria. If you would rather the weather be warm instead of HOT, then this is a good week. If you prefer park attendance be minimal then this is not the best week of the year.

We went the same time last year, after reading about the low crowds and great weather we decided to get another trip in with our AP. We were totally surprised by the number of people in the park. And everyone we spoke made the trip that week for the same reasons, and they too were not thrilled with the crowd sizes.

If you indeed are looking for a low attendance week the "Best Week of the Year" would be the first full week after Labor Day. But don't tell anyone that, we wouldn't want that gem to get out. Needless to say, we won't be going back at that time of the year. Sure, we enjoyed the Christmas decorations and such, but honestly, I was Christmased out by the time we got home and it was still early Dec. This year we are sticking to September.

Thanks for the input. We have our dates booked already and cannot change at this point, but we will go forward with the expection of crowds so we will not be disappointed. I know that a lot of people from these boards are going that week as well.

Maybe I'll have to squeeze in a post labor day trip for next year. I DO NOT like the heat though and I assume it can still be quite steamy in September?

 

[Hannahsmom]

Maybe I'll have to squeeze in a post labor day trip for next year. I DO NOT like the heat though and I assume it can still be quite steamy in September?

True, it is still quite warm, but I think it is all relative. I mean when we leave still chilly 50-70 degree weather in Michigan in May/June, Orlando seems quite Hot. But I guess after "weathering" the hot and sticky summer, the 85-95 degree weather in Orlando in September doesn't seem too bad. Not to mention the fact that I can take the heat a lot better when there are a few thousand less people around me.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Not to mention the fact that I can take the heat a lot better when there are a few thousand less people around me.

'TRUE

 

[Simba's Mom]

Hopefully, it will be just all people running around with lime green ribbons! I'm planning on pretty much avoiding the parks over the weekend (when I'm at POR), then starting with Epcot Sunday afternoon when I check into BCV.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Well I just looked at my dh conference website and they are spreading the actual accomodations out between the swan, dolphin, por, and coronado springs. I want the swan with the 5 of us, love those heavenly beds! It might be crowded because I saw on the other boards its cp, mvmcp, mousefest, and my dh conference is having a big party at the mgm studios on 11/30 from 7:30-11. I better start some serious planning. Its our lst time at the holidays, I am not freaking out because we have ap's so we will just do what we want etc.

 

[mabber]

I don't know if I would call it the "Best week of the Year". I guess it depends on the criteria. If you would rather the weather be warm instead of HOT, then this is a good week. If you prefer park attendance be minimal then this is not the best week of the year.

We went the same time last year, after reading about the low crowds and great weather we decided to get another trip in with our AP. We were totally surprised by the number of people in the park. And everyone we spoke made the trip that week for the same reasons, and they too were not thrilled with the crowd sizes.

If you indeed are looking for a low attendance week the "Best Week of the Year" would be the first full week after Labor Day. But don't tell anyone that, we wouldn't want that gem to get out. Needless to say, we won't be going back at that time of the year. Sure, we enjoyed the Christmas decorations and such, but honestly, I was Christmased out by the time we got home and it was still early Dec. This year we are sticking to September.

Strange! We went the exact same week last year and thought the crowds were very light. We had no long waits at all in any of the parks the Monday-Thursday of the week following Thanksgiving. Plus, the weather was awesome!

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Strange! We went the exact same week last year and thought the crowds were very light. We had no long waits at all in any of the parks the Monday-Thursday of the week following Thanksgiving. Plus, the weather was awesome!

See, it's just who you ask! I know that Disney does get alot of travelers all year long so we'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Hope you all have fun on your trips, crowds or not!!

 

[sunking]

My only experience with Thanksgiving weekend was during our trip in 2001. We arrived the Saturday before Thanksgiving to basically empty parks. The crowds continued to build during the week and peaked the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving Day in MK and it was NUTS. Parks remained crowded thru our departure on Sunday when we left.

Overall, I don't think I would do Disney again during Thanksgiving. Too crowded but it is managable using Fastpass and a little bit of planning.

Have fun!!!!
Sunking

 

[J and R's mom]

We'll be at BCV 11/27-12/2. We had originally planned on going the following week but had to move it up a week due to work schedules.

I've been twice during the first two weeks in December. Once in 2000 and there were more people than I thought would be there but still very managable with very little wait. We went again in 2001 (right after 9/11) and the parks seemed almost empty. Then we went again the week of Thanksgiving 2003 (leaving WDW the Wed BEFORE Thanksgiving Day) and the crowds were decent but started getting crowded by the time we left.

I'm hoping for small crowds and short waits in attraction lines for this upcoming trip as well.

I do think that this time of year is becoming more popular every year (hence larger crowds). Also, DVC is selling ALOT of contracts especially since opening up SSR and MANY DVCers go during the 1st two weeks of Dec and most all DVC resorts are completely booked during that time. That alone might also account for the increased crowds during "off season."

Either way you look at it, though, the crowds will be smaller at this time of year than at any other time of year (if you look at average attendance statistics).

The one thing bothering me is a poster previously saying that her husband's company has a convention going on with over 10,000 employees! That might skew things a bit.

 

[dvcgirl]

Best week of the year!!! The Sat (11/26) and Sun (11/27) may be a little crowded because you have the leftovers from Thanksgiving week, but after that the park is yours. We have done that week for the past 5 years and love it. We are sooooo spoiled that a 20 minute wait is "too long".

Just be prepared for any kind of weather ...we've had 80's (and great for swimming) to somewhere in the 50's on a few days.

The Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest weekends of the year. Definitely more than a little crowded if you ask me. By Tuesday-Wedesday of the week following Thanksgiving things tend to slow down.

 

[dvcgirl]

Thanks for the input. We have our dates booked already and cannot change at this point, but we will go forward with the expection of crowds so we will not be disappointed. I know that a lot of people from these boards are going that week as well.

Maybe I'll have to squeeze in a post labor day trip for next year. I DO NOT like the heat though and I assume it can still be quite steamy in September?

That's always the best attitude to have. You'll definitely have a great time. The decorations are up...it's wonderful. However, I do kind of shake my head when people say TG weekend into the following week is the "best week of the year" with "little crowds". The reality is that you'll find very heavy crowds on Saturday. Heavy crowds Sunday and then they will taper on down until your departure day. If you're looking for really low crowds with the exact same benefits (decorations/shows) simply move your trip to the following week. The difference in those two weeks is incredible.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Thanks all for the great info! We will just go along as planned and hope for the best. We are pretty easy to please and looking forward to the decorations and the 11/29 Christmas Party.

Happy planning everyone!

 

[Hannahsmom]

Strange! We went the exact same week last year and thought the crowds were very light. We had no long waits at all in any of the parks the Monday-Thursday of the week following Thanksgiving. Plus, the weather was awesome

I think it is all in your perspective. As I said in the end of my post, we prefer to go in September. So to us, the crowds were much heavier that week after Thanksgiving, in comparison to September. I will agree that the weather was nice, though.