Back from Thanksgiving Trip - Thoughts

[ej119]

I never do these type of posts, but leading up to my Thanksgiving trip, I spent a lot of time on the boards prepping myself for crowd levels and everything else, so I wanted to give back a little. Happy to answer any questions that come up.

Technically, I went after Thanksgiving -- arriving Friday, 11/25 and leaving late Saturday, 11/26. This was also my first solo trip.

So here it goes:

1. Crowds -- Crowd-levels were both what I expected and completely not what I expected. I thought the Friday after Thanksgiving crowds were crazy!! I got into the Parks around 2:30pm and almost every FastPass in DCA was gone for the day. RSR was closed all day on Friday too. However, I did get over to DL and there were still plenty of FastPasses available and even the wait for some attractions were completely reasonable. I got into the Parks (starting with DCA again) before 8am on Saturday and was able to hit everything I wanted to do in both Parks and really took advantage of park hopping, checking the app and running back and forth. Rain started early afternoon on Saturday and I don't think it thinned out the crowds much as I've seen in the past. Pretty much all bars and restaurants were just packed for the rest of the day and evening.
2. Holiday Magic -- I'm a first time AP and since I've never been to DLR during the Christmas season, this was my entire reason for the trip. I loved the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay in the Haunted Mansion and the Jingle Cruise was cute. The Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks were great as was the World of Color - Seasons of Light show -- the latter really highlighted how subpar the WOC 60th anniversary show was. My only major disappointment was the DL Christmas Parade. I typically like the parades, but I thought the song just repeated ad nauseum and it was very poorly timed between floats/acts. I ended up leaving once I spotted Santa in the distance. Also, I was able to see both the fireworks and World of Color in the same night by going to the 10:15 WOC showing.
3. Festival of Holidays -- I won't say I was disappointed in this DCA event, but I don't think this Food & Wine festival-light really worked out too well. The entertainment was good, but the theming of the food booths just didn't seem consistent. I kept trying to figure out what they were: international holiday treats? Local holiday favorites? It just seemed a little too random and although there were a couple of delicious items, I look forward to the return of F&W to DCA next year (fingers crossed).

I'm so happy I got to make it to DLR during the holidays! Overall it was great and I would definitely go back. And although crowded, I thought the post-Thanksgiving crowds were pretty manageable by going in with reasonable expectations. Perhaps I'd try a different weekend next time though.

 

[chickapin parterre]

thank you for writing, your contributions will help with the next two years. my question is, that arriving at 2:30, how did that compare to your other 2:30 arrivials thru out the year. And then on saturday morning it read like you had great time, was your list of events small and varied or you had a tight minimal schedule that was easy to accomplish?

 

[cptmemo]

Any must try food items from the festival of holiday? I did see they have my go to cheap wine for only slightly less than a bottle

 

[Miggee]

I was there monday-Friday, and with exception of the actual thanksgiving day being very crowded, the rest (mon/tues/wed/friday) were insanely crowded, just packed with people everywhere, FP were hard to come by and difficult to get a sit down dinner if you didnt have reservations. regardless of it all, me and my kids had a great time and CMs went out of their way to make our week magical!

 

[Piglet99645]

I'm curious how disruptive the Star Wars construction is -- aside from the obvious closures on that side of the park. Is it well-hidden? Is the magic impacted significantly? TIA!

 

[WonkaKid]

I'm curious how disruptive the Star Wars construction is -- aside from the obvious closures on that side of the park. Is it well-hidden? Is the magic impacted significantly? TIA!

The construction is very easy to overlook. Indeed, DL does a good job of camouflaging it. You'll certainly see the construction if you look. But with a little effort, it's exceptionally easy to ignore.

As an aside. I was there on Thanksgiving and crowds were well below what I expected. It wasn't a light day but definitely not nearly as crazy as I'd feared. Certainly don't let the fear of crowds dissuade you.

 

[Rabb it]

Very cool report, glad you had a good time!

 

[ej119]

thank you for writing, your contributions will help with the next two years. my question is, that arriving at 2:30, how did that compare to your other 2:30 arrivials thru out the year. And then on saturday morning it read like you had great time, was your list of events small and varied or you had a tight minimal schedule that was easy to accomplish?

I suppose on the plus side, this is one of my only successful 2:30pm arrivals this year -- almost every other trip my flight has been delayed! Although, when arriving in a Park in the afternoon/early evening, this was the first time I saw all FastPasses in DCA gone. But DLR was manageable.

Mornings, for me, are still the secret of DLR. Even during peak times -- Thanksgiving, MLK -- I have been able to whiz through the Parks! Once, I did every single dark ride in Fantasyland in less than an hour. This time, I did accomplish everything I wanted to, which was Tower of Terror, Soarin, Radiator Springs.

 

[ej119]

Any must try food items from the festival of holiday? I did see they have my go to cheap wine for only slightly less than a bottle

There is only one item I went back for seconds of, and that's the Brisket Potato Croquette at Nosh and Nibbles! The woman serving it really sold me on it and it was as delicious as she promised. She even remembered me when I went back for more on Saturday.

Drinks-wise, I was disappointed with the lack of wine options. But the Pomegranate Margarita at Abuelita's Kitchen was great and in a normal sized cup, so it lasted me through 3 food tastings.

 

[ej119]

I was there monday-Friday, and with exception of the actual thanksgiving day being very crowded, the rest (mon/tues/wed/friday) were insanely crowded, just packed with people everywhere, FP were hard to come by and difficult to get a sit down dinner if you didnt have reservations. regardless of it all, me and my kids had a great time and CMs went out of their way to make our week magical!

I'm glad you also had a good time! Your point about dining reservations is a good one: the Podcast frequently discusses how easy it is to get tables or reservations at DLR. But for big event/holiday weekends -- especially D23 Expo -- I found making advanced reservations a must have for even Downtown Disney.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

There is only one item I went back for seconds of, and that's the Brisket Potato Croquette at Nosh and Nibbles!

I like that one, too! I saw a video review and the reviewer didn't like it, but my husband and I both enjoyed it. You do have to like horseradish, though...