Crowds the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving??

[CAmommy]

We are considering a trip which will land us in the parks on Friday, November 19 through Sunday, November 21. Any thoughts on crowd levels?? Is this a bad idea? We hit WDW at the same time last year and Magic Kingdom closed at 7pm for the Mickey Christmas party (HUGE let down for my kids). Should I expect a similar disappointment at DL?

 

[Angrose]

I am also planning on being there that weekend. You are smart to hit the parks Fri to Sun because after Sun it will be a MADHOUSE! My friends were there Sun to Wed last year and she said it was crazy busy. I remember checking Mousewait and it was in the high 90th percentile for wait times, which is very rare. Here are some numbers from Touring Plans that may help you get a sense of what to expect:



You can take this year's predictions with a grain of salt, since I think they are vastly underestimated. I would look at the 2014 actual numbers and possibly expect crowds to be a little higher given the 60th anniversary. So, Friday would definitely be your best day. The weekend days can be great too if you get there at rope drop and take advantage of the first two quiet hours in the parks. Take breaks in the afternoons or do the quieter rides/shows/use FPs that you may have pulled earlier in the day. If you don't have access to EMH or MM then do the opposite parks in the mornings. That would mean DL on Fri, DCA on Sat, and DL on Sun. I think you will be fine!

Oh, and DLR does not currently offer any Christmas parties, but you never know, that could change. You should follow Sherry's Christmas thread for all that info.

 

[CAmommy]

Thanks! I would plan for Sunday to be the day where we would do the low key day of stuff we didn't get to the first two days. I wouldn't dream of going during Thanksgiving normally, but my friend went last year the weekend before and said lines weren't that bad.

 

[Angrose]

We went the Fri to Mon AFTER Thanksgiving last year and we didn't find it too bad either. Yes, it was crowded, but not unmanageable. Fri and Sat were the busiest days. Sunday was awesome. Have fun!

 

[Drusilla99]

We go almost every year the weekend before thanksgiving. Yes it's crowded, but not summer crowded. There is generally some sort of cheer/dance completion in town as I've seen lots of the teams enjoying the parks on those Sundays & Mondays. Park hours weren't shortened last year on the Friday or Saturday for any reason. The parks are decorated for the holidays and everything looks so good, have fun!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We usually go the week of Thanksgiving, but because of expiring APs we went down the Wed, the week before Thanksgiving last year. Wed-Sat was SO nice, but Wed & Thurs did have shorter hours. After that, the crowds really started picking up.

 

[CAmommy]

When did the crowds pick up? On Sunday? Or earlier?

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'd say Sat, but it was manageable. It just got worse from there. Monday was horrible. Which is funny because I've never felt it was bad Thanksgiving week in past years. I don't know if it was actually worse last year or if it felt worse because we had the slow days leading up to it.