Crowds week after Thanksgiving

[practicallyperfect77]

I agree. That is frightening to think it would take an hour to get on the ME. We also fly in. We always fly out on the 8am flight from Denver. That is as early as we can get out and unfortunately, that doesn't put us into MCO until 2:30'ish FL time. I'm guessing that is going to be a busy time to be arriving but we don't have a lot of flight options.

I flew on Thanksgiving day and was shocked at how uncrowded everything was. I did miss Thanksgiving with my folks and sisters and their families, but the flight was $38 Thanksgiving day vs $118 the day after. I see my folks and sisters and their families a lot since we all live 30 mins of each other so didn't feel too bad. However, flight arrived at MCO around 10:30...not sure if this is why I lucked out or not. I went to AK that day and was in the park before 1 and this included changing clothes and eating lunch at Pop.

 

[dtr_angel]

We're arriving the same time and I'm nervous as we'll! We normally go in early May. When do the tickets go on sale for CP, we want to see NPH! What about MVMCP? I'm hoping one of those 2 things fall in my birthday which is 12/3 Wednesday

 

[wendow]

We're arriving the same time and I'm nervous as we'll! We normally go in early May. When do the tickets go on sale for CP, we want to see NPH! What about MVMCP? I'm hoping one of those 2 things fall in my birthday which is 12/3 Wednesday

I don't know about the CP. Looking at TP, there is a MVMCP on Nov 30, Dec 2, Dec 4, Dec 5 and Dec 7. So maybe the CP with NPH will fall on your birthday

 

[wendow]

I flew on Thanksgiving day and was shocked at how uncrowded everything was. I did miss Thanksgiving with my folks and sisters and their families, but the flight was $38 Thanksgiving day vs $118 the day after. I see my folks and sisters and their families a lot since we all live 30 mins of each other so didn't feel too bad. However, flight arrived at MCO around 10:30...not sure if this is why I lucked out or not. I went to AK that day and was in the park before 1 and this included changing clothes and eating lunch at Pop.

I'd love to arrive that early in the day!! Getting to MCO at 2:30 and then to the hotel around 4:00 just makes you feel like you lost your whole day. But again, we fly direct flights and the earliest we can get but we have to fly SWA and 8am is their earliest out of here. I haven't checked flight times yet though so maybe they will surprise me this year

 

[alicemouse]

We arrived that exact day last year and stayed until Dec 12. I would say crowds were light to moderate. Walkways and common areas seemed VERY crowded but wait times weren't horrible. The weather was perfect and the holiday festivities are great!! The World Showcase did get a bit crazy when Gary Sinise or NPH was doing the CP, and you might want to avoid MK on parade taping days, but otherwise, it was a great time to visit!

I'll second this opinion. We stayed from Nov. 30 (Saturday after Thanksgiving) through Dec. 10 (Tuesday) last year. The weekend days were particularly crowded, especially at MK, which makes sense, but it was more crowded than I had anticipated on those days. MVMCP was sold out most nights while we were there. We had been told by multiple cast members that it's one of the slowest times to visit and I would say that that statement is not accurate. It was nowhere near as crowded as New Year's Eve, but it's way more crowded than our usual week in late August!

 

[practicallyperfect77]

I'd love to arrive that early in the day!! Getting to MCO at 2:30 and then to the hotel around 4:00 just makes you feel like you lost your whole day. But again, we fly direct flights and the earliest we can get but we have to fly SWA and 8am is their earliest out of here. I haven't checked flight times yet though so maybe they will surprise me this year

Fingers and toes crossed there is an earlier flight for you. I understand the feeling of missing the whole day as well. One good thing about FP+ is you can have rides/shows reserved for your arrival day. Or you can use that arrival day to resort hop and see decorations too. I think I probably spent less than 10 mins in each resort so you could get quite a few in there.

 

[siskaren]

We're arriving the same time and I'm nervous as we'll! We normally go in early May. When do the tickets go on sale for CP, we want to see NPH! What about MVMCP? I'm hoping one of those 2 things fall in my birthday which is 12/3 Wednesday

I've never seen MVMCP take place on Wednesday - they're typically on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

I'm not sure if you know this, but you don't buy tickets to the CP; it's free with your admission to Epcot. However, if you want to make sure you get a seat (and this is definitely going to be the case with NPH), you need to book a CP dinner package. Last year, booking opened on July 9th.

 

[jimandami]

And once again to reiterate that ME is just so variable, we just arrived, scanned our bands, and hopped right on the bus. Left within 3 minutes. Guy sitting with DH is complaining endlessly about waiting half an hour to leave! It really just depends on timing!

 

[totallytigger]

Someone posted that parade taping is on the Saturday after Thanksgiving weekend--it is also on the Friday. We were there this past Dec 6(friday) and they did alot of taping on Main st and also taped performances on Castle stage. Ride lines were fairly short during taping since alot of people went to watch that instead of ride rides.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

We were at WDW this past December from the 2nd to 7th. The first half of the week we experienced moderate to heavy crowds at the parks. The crowd prediction sites were admittedly wrong with the low crowd level predictions and said even they were surprised.

Later in the week things got hectic at our Resort (POP) with a sudden influx of families.. Pop Warner Cheerleading & Cheer-dance families had arrived! lol! Resort Busses got allot more crowded as did the pools & food court. But it was not unbearably crowded, not at all.

Pop Warner 2014 is scheduled at ESPN Wide World of Sports from Dec 6th thru 13th this year. Families will begin arriving several days to a week before those dates.

 

[ses1230]

We went 11/30-12/6/2013. The crowds the first park of the week were very heavy, I'd say through Monday as some pp have said.

The Candlelight Processional was definitely the highlight of the trip. I highly recommend it! We saw NPH in 2013 and Jodi Benson in 2012. It is a moving and beautiful performance.

If you are going to try to see NPH (if he is there on your dates), I would say that the dining package is necessary. The line to get in the theater, even with the dinner package was crazy long.

As for the parade, there was some taping and practices going on on Main Street on Friday as well.

 

[Mommymarie]

I don't know about the CP. Looking at TP, there is a MVMCP on Nov 30, Dec 2, Dec 4, Dec 5 and Dec 7. So maybe the CP with NPH will fall on your birthday

How does anyone know the dates yet for sure? I know they don't release them til May and that you can predict dates by looking for a 7pm close at MK....but that calendar isn't released yet Is this just an estimated guess?

 

[wendow]

Or you can use that arrival day to resort hop and see decorations too. I think I probably spent less than 10 mins in each resort so you could get quite a few in there.

I am thinking this is exactly what we'll do

 

[wendow]

How does anyone know the dates yet for sure? I know they don't release them til May and that you can predict dates by looking for a 7pm close at MK....but that calendar isn't released yet Is this just an estimated guess?

That info came from Touring Plans. I'm sure it's just a guess based on historical data.

 

[dtr_angel]

I don't know about the CP. Looking at TP, there is a MVMCP on Nov 30, Dec 2, Dec 4, Dec 5 and Dec 7. So maybe the CP with NPH will fall on your birthday

oh I didn't know the dates were out yet - thanks!

I've never seen MVMCP take place on Wednesday - they're typically on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

I'm not sure if you know this, but you don't buy tickets to the CP; it's free with your admission to Epcot. However, if you want to make sure you get a seat (and this is definitely going to be the case with NPH), you need to book a CP dinner package. Last year, booking opened on July 9th.

I looked at the dates for the past few years and saw there were no Wednesday parties but I was hoping Oh well, hopefully I'll see NPH narrate the CP on my birthday instead, and we'll do the party a different night. I actually didn't know it was included in admission, but I know we will be doing the dinner package. Thank you!

 

[jimandami]

Just FYI, last year CP packages became available before all the narrators were announced. We booked 2 and then cancelled the one who wasn't NPH.

 

[siskaren]

Just FYI, last year CP packages became available before all the narrators were announced. We booked 2 and then cancelled the one who wasn't NPH.

That always happens. I've only done the CP dining package twice, and one time it wasn't announced at the time I booked (but I wanted a specific date rather than a specific narrator), the other time I was lucky enough to book NPH, but then his dates got changed.

 

[wendow]

Since I had never even heard of the CP until a couple of days ago, I have a newbie question. What makes NPH the popular choice to see? Is it always the same group of narrators?

 

[siskaren]

Since I had never even heard of the CP until a couple of days ago, I have a newbie question. What makes NPH the popular choice to see? Is it always the same group of narrators?

I guess it's just that NPH has a lot of fans; I know I always love to see him host the awards shows. It's not always the same group of narrators, although there are some that always seem to be there - I'd say you can pretty much guarantee NPH, Whoopi Goldberg, Edward James Olmos and Steven Curtis Chapman, for instance. Gary Sinise was the guy who did it on Christmas itself for years (each narrator typically does 3 days), but then he didn't do it for a few years, and then last year he was back, but he did it the first 3 days after Thanksgiving.

 

[W.E.D.]

I think that extra week in November some PPs have mentioned is very important to crowd levels. Our last trip was in '11, during the same period OP is discussing. We had that cushion week before December and WDW was a ghost town. My parents went at the same time last year and they said it was VERY busy.