DH is fed up with "off" season - he wants to go Thanksgiving week!

[Harambe]

We just got back from the World. We went right after Ivan and right before Jeanne. Somehow we squeezed out four beautiful sunny days.

DH doesn't like going during the slow times. He feels Disney slows down also. There are less CM's, more waiting in line (say, at a shop or counter service restaurant). Less frequent buses. No Fast Passes. They make you wait at rides like Tough to be a Bug and Philharmagic until the que area is completely full. Resort pools close early, bla bla bla!

Does anyone else feel this way? I guess I can see his point, but I enjoy the low crowds at the parks. We discussed next year's trip and he wants to go Thanksgiving week! I see that this November's hours show the parks open later, but is it wall to wall people?

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We went during Thanksgiving week 2 years ago and will never do it again. It was wall to wall people from Wed-Sun. We will always go back when the crowds are light from now on, it is so much more fun to not have to deal with the crowds.

 

[kilee]

Right around Thanksgiving is going to be peak season crowds. It is a very busy time. Not only that but it is one of the busiest week's to fly and drive. Meaning airfare (if you fly) will come at a premium. If you drive it will mean more traffic and a possibly longer drive to contend with.

 

[CarolA]

I have always gotten FPs at the slow season. Maybe your issue was more due to Hurricanes (ie cast members needing off to deal with thier personal lives)

There will be even MORE lines at Thanksgiving, but.... Yes, their may be more CMs but there are also more guests it averages out.

 

[oogieboogie]

I would never do Thanksgiving week again. Too crowded and if you don't have Fastpasses you have to wait and wait and wait in the neverending lines.

OTH, DH and I both love the off-seasons. Sure the times are shorter but you can do so much more in less time. This last trip 9/10-9/19, we were able to do Buzz Lightyear 6 times in a row, Peter Pan 3 times in a row, without even getting off the ride! You could never do that during peak times.

Also, we've used the pools at the resort till 11pm or midnight even. Just because there aren't any lifeguards and the slide is closed at night, doesn't mean you can't use the pools!

I've never had had to wait more than 5 minutes for a show. We would just walk up with less than 5 minutes to show start time and still be able to get great seats. Never had to wait long for counter services/shopping either.

I think value season is perfect for our family, cause it lets us relax more and just take things as they come. No plan, no rushing, no waiting. I think the longest we've waited in line was for Fantasmic for 20 minutes, and that was due to technical difficulty that they wouldn't let us in the theatre. In fact, we're thinking of another trip in January 2005 if codes come out!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I would never want to go during peak season.

I usually go at off season or value season and have never had a problem with fast passes, or long lines. Maybe you just hit a bad week this last time.

Also, airfare tends to be very expensive during peak times. My cousin took her two daughters during Christmas last year and she said never again will she go during peak season.

 

[tink2]

We have done Thanksgiving week three times and are going during early Dec. this year (5th-11th). We went Thanksgiving week in 1999, 2001 and last year. Last year was the busiest we had seen. NOw, 2001 was just after 9/11, so that really doesn't count. It was packed last year- all week! We got everything done b/c of planning and fastpass, but it was extremely crowded. If I could go during off-season compared to Thanksgiving, I would. Yes, it is neat to be in a hustle and bustle of it all, but that 'neat' factor only lasted about a couple of hours for me last year. We may have to do turkey week again later- I'm a teacher and children in school- but we are thrilled to be able to go at a non-peak time this year!

 

[TINKER04]

We just got back on Saturday & can say we had no waits at all! It was great! When we went to see the parade at MK we sat under the awning of the train station and no one sat across the street in the circle ....I couldn't believe how empty it was. Yet there were still alot of people there, just not as crowded as I have seen in before. I would go again in Sept. even with the threat of a hurricane.

Rebecca

 

[bexareaglecheryl]

We're planning on going to WDW on Nov. 18 and getting a lot done on Fri/Sat/Sun before the crowds start to hit peak. This was not my choice of times to go, my extended family chose it and I have warned them that there will be crowds. What if you got there the Wed of the week before Thanksgiving and staying through till the actual day. This way you could get a little more hustle and then as the days progressed you'd be in the middle of the hustle. Would he go for that?

While we're there Thanksgiving Day is the day before we leave. We have no parks planned for that day - just THanksgiving meal at Whispering Canyon Cafe and shopping! (and my sister's kids are doing the Pirate Cruise).

 

[disneyjulie]

been there 3 times thanksgiving till week after parks are dead by sunday most people go sat to sat so saturday it starts to die down!
Love this time of year get to see the christmas decorations.

 

[Harambe]

We were looking at coming down the Friday before Thanksgiving week, but from a lot of your replies, the whole week is busy beforehand.

What to do, what to do . . .

Thanks!

 

[drusba]

To a great extent it is a matter of perspective. If all you've done is off-season, then Thanksgiving is going to seem like you've died and gone to hell with crowds. We have been Easter time and Christmas (and many other times of the year). Having done both of those before going at Thanskgiving, we found Thanksgiving to feel like a casual stroll in the park with hardly any crowds -- Christmas and Easter crowds just dwarf all others and make you appreciate any other time of year. I do not recommend that any newcomer go during a holiday time. However, veterans who do not have "see everything and do every ride," can easily survive. If your objective is to actually do all the attractions then you need to reformulate your objective. We follow one cardinal rule: we will never wait more than 25 minutes for any attraction, parade, show, etc. no matter how desirable it is; if that requires using only fastpass for things or missing things so be it although usually you can find times of day when many things are well under that time.