Disney for Thanksgiving

[Lesley Mahler]

How are the crowds and weather the week of Thanksgiving? Who has gone? Would you do it again, or never again? Also, can you do Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas the week of Thanksgiving?
TIA

 

[PoohHappens]

We are going this year so I do not know the answers to you questions, however from research this is what I know.

MVMCP is not being offered that week, It is on the 21st and then again the next week. We were sad we are going to miss it.

According to historic stuff weather is high 78 low 58 as averages.

Touringplans.com (unofficial guide) rates most of the days 7 or 8 out of 10 for crowd level.

I do not know what Mickey's Twas the night before Christmas is.

Hope some of this helps

 

[minnierocks]

First of all...we LOVE going for Thanksgiving!
Due to school/sports schedules, it is the best time for us to go. The kids only miss three days, and it's not sweltering hot like it is during summer break. IF my children were smaller and they could be out of school for longer periods of time, I would probably go the first of December...but that's just not possible for us.
Is it crowded? Yes, it is...but it is nothing like at Christmas/New Year's. We have found that while the parks are busy, they are more than manageable with a plan. When we go, we get there early, we see our "must see" places and ride the attractions that are at the top of our priority list. We honestly have always been able to do everything we want and then some.
We love that everything is already decorated for Christmas. My one disappointment is that we are never there during MVMCP. We miss it every year! But we did see the Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas last year. This year with all the other Christmas events not starting until Friday, we may miss more than that. I am still hoping for a "soft opening" of the Osbourne Lights.
We think that the weather is perfect...but I have heard of years when it is cold...but we have not experienced that. It has always been high 70's to low 80's with the nights cool. We generally need a light jacket in the early morning and evening, but short sleeves during the day.
Some tips? Make your ADR's early-the restaurants book up fast. Avoid the MK on Thanksgiving-it is VERY busy. Remember that it is vacation-so enjoy yourself and don't try to do it all!
For us...it is a great time to go!

 

[cheerforchelsea]

We LOVE going to WDW for Thanksgiving!!! We have reservations for this year (which will be our 10th year in a row) but still not sure if we will be making the trip or not due to work .... I could just cry...our WDW trips are the one thing that I look forward to

 

[Lesley Mahler]

We LOVE going to WDW for Thanksgiving!!! We have reservations for this year (which will be our 10th year in a row) but still not sure if we will be making the trip or not due to work .... I could just cry...our WDW trips are the one thing that I look forward to

I'm sorry!!! Here's some pixie dust I hope you get to go!!!

 

[Melniko]

This year will be our second Thanksgiving trip - we went last year and although the crowds are pretty heavy (above normal), the Christmas decorations make it all worth it!

 

[momminnie]

We were there last Thanksgiving. It was a little to crowded for us, but if we got the chance to go and that was the only time we could go,I would not turn it down.Decorations were beautiful and so was the weather. They didn't have MVMCP on the nights that we could go.

 

[tigerali]

We were there for our honeymoon during Thanksgiving week in 2006. It was COLD...a cold front came through and it actually snowed in parts of Orlando for the first time in ages! But I would think the normal would be around 60-70 that time of year. As for crowds, the beginning of the week was fine...there were crowds, but they were bearable. The end of the week got more crowded, but still not awful. The longest wait times we saw were around 60-75 minutes all week.

The Xmas decorations are up, but no MVMCP. The Osbourne lights are up that Friday, though, if I remember correctly!

 

[sherreis]

We were there in 2006 as well and it was very cold a couple of days/nights. Luckily, we had jackets with us. I had to go buy gloves. As others have said the crowds were manageable in the early part of the week but got much heavier the closer to Thanksgiving. We spent part of Thanksgiving day in AK. We didn't have to worry about Thanksgiving dinner because we have family in Orlando and we went there for dinner. Make ADRs early for T-day. We have decided we would rather not go during that week if we don't have to. This year we pulled the kids out of school for 3 1/2 days and went in October and loved it. Christmas decorations were out the week of Thanksgiving but it didn't matter in my decision making.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

I just went on the disney world website to look at the park calendars for November to get an idea of how late parks stay open during Thanksgiving week and Epcot's calendar is blank and if you click on a certain date, it says that there are no parades and no firework shows scheduled for these dates. Is Epcot open the week of Thanksgiving? Do they do the fireworks during that week or even on Thanksgiving day? Also, does anyone know if you eat at Le Cellier's on Thanksgiving day for dinner, can you order a steak or do you have to eat the Thanksgiving meal?
TIA

 

[minnierocks]

I'm sure that it's just a glitch...I know that reservations have been down all day for updating. I've called twice. We have been at the parks during Thanksgiving several times and Epcot is definitely open.
It is a very busy week for WDW!
I don't know about Le Cellier, but usually there is a traditional Thanksgiving menu and a limited regular menu at many of the restaurants. We always do H&V for Thanksgiving...and since it's buffet, we have traditional and not-so-traditional fixings!

 

[Lesley Mahler]

I'm sure that it's just a glitch...I know that reservations have been down all day for updating. I've called twice. We have been at the parks during Thanksgiving several times and Epcot is definitely open.
It is a very busy week for WDW!
I don't know about Le Cellier, but usually there is a traditional Thanksgiving menu and a limited regular menu at many of the restaurants. We always do H&V for Thanksgiving...and since it's buffet, we have traditional and not-so-traditional fixings!

Thank you!! Do they do Fantasmic the week of Thanksgiving?

 

[Lesley Mahler]

Thank you!! Do they do Fantasmic the week of Thanksgiving?

One more thing, do you have to get special tickets to see Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas? How often is it offered? Any info on that would be greatly appreciated!!!
TIA

 

[minnierocks]

Thank you!! Do they do Fantasmic the week of Thanksgiving?

You're welcome!
Fantasmic is showing...as a matter of fact, from my spreadsheet that I made for us, it is showing twice on Thanksgiving day. One at 6:30 PM and one at 8 PM. So I am assuming that it might be showing twice all week. As I said, it is a very busy week at all four parks.

 

[minnierocks]

One more thing, do you have to get special tickets to see Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas? How often is it offered? Any info on that would be greatly appreciated!!!
TIA

Last year, they were showing it during the day at MK. We saw it on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It was in the theatre between Buzz Lightyear and COP. I can't remember what time it was showing, but it was during the day. And we did not need a special ticket! Pick up a showtime schedule when entering the park...

 

[Lesley Mahler]

O-kay, so it only shows after Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for your help!!

 

[minnierocks]

O-kay, so it only shows after Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for your help!!

Clarification...We saw it the day after Thanksgiving. I don't know if it was showing the rest of the week. I would check the daily park show schedule to see if it is showing the rest of the week. We just happened to notice it while we were there that day and decided to check it out. Maybe someone else would know if it was showing all week. I do know that it was not listed on the website last year, we only realized it was showing once we were in the parks. Hope that clarifies it for you!

 

[Lesley Mahler]

Clarification...We saw it the day after Thanksgiving. I don't know if it was showing the rest of the week. I would check the daily park show schedule to see if it is showing the rest of the week. We just happened to notice it while we were there that day and decided to check it out. Maybe someone else would know if it was showing all week. I do know that it was not listed on the website last year, we only realized it was showing once we were in the parks. Hope that clarifies it for you!

Thank you!!!