DVC Thanksgiving Week: Sold Out! :(

[WOW]

I am finding more and more that WDW is getting harder and harder to book. We used to be able to do somewhat last minute, but from what I see on this board, that is getting almost impossible. I guess we are all loving the DVC and WDW resorts and that is a good thing.

Fortunately we booked earlier that we usually do, but due to schedules, etc. we didn't book our airfare from Newark until just recently and boy were we surprised....the airfare is really getting expensive.....We kinda knew that it would be higher the closer you get, but we were surprised at how high.

 

[pumpkinboy]

We have never been at Christmas, but go quite often at Thanksgiving. Crowds are high, but not as high as Spring Break, which is another time we have gone. We have found, however, that if you get to the parks before they open, the crowds do not get unmanageable until about lunch time.

Amen! That last sentence is something we live by in our WDW adventures. Arrive before opening, leave at lunch and you'll have pleasant touring your whole trip. We also like to head back when all the commando tourists' children have had their meltdowns dragging their families out of the park (around 4-5ish) and doing some nice relaxed late afternoon touring.

I'm looking forward to just taking it easy that weekend after Thxgiving at BWV, having done much of our touring the prior weekend. How have you experienced T'giving WDW visitors found the waterparks that weekend after T'giving? We don't fly out until Monday morning and DD loves the waterparks (tho I realize it'll be down to only Typhoon Lagoon at that point)?

 

[Cruelladeville]

I decided to visit at Thanksgiving at the last minute, by DVC standards, 6 months ago. I got 1 night, and waitlisted for the rest of my vacation. At 31 days before Thanksgiving, I got my last night, finally. That was at SSR, where I was most likely to get my waitlist, due to the size. There was nothing for cash on-property, anywhere, at any resort. When I called two weeks ago, CRO had exactly 3 rooms available on-property: a one bedroom suite at Grand Floridian for $1074 per night, a VP suite at Yacht Club for $1900 per night, and a Presidential Suite at $2100 per night at Beach Club. I didn't reserve any of them for Thanksgiving, needless to say.

 

[Deb & Bill]

... How have you experienced T'giving WDW visitors found the waterparks that weekend after T'giving? We don't fly out until Monday morning and DD loves the waterparks (tho I realize it'll be down to only Typhoon Lagoon at that point)?

It kind of depends on the weather. If it is cooler, you won't have any problems at the waterpark. But if it is warmer, more people will be there. We've never had any problems when only one water park is open (around Nov 1 to Feb 28). And TL is my favorite of the two. We'll try to hit TL at least once.

 

[DenverVal]

I have heard mixed reviews on the crowd meter during Thanksgiving week. Some say it is manageable while others say it is a nightmare. Which week is busier, Christmas or Thanksgiving?

Christmas is busier. We have been to WDW at Thanksgiving several times since 2002, and every year it gets busier, but none of those crowds compares to the day after Christmas at MK in 2001. It was an early opening, and we got there early, and got a lot of rides in by lunchtime, which is when it became stroller gridlock in Fantasyland, and lines became awful, we got fastpasses for Space Mountain at noon that had return times of 9:30pm.

For either time, start early, break midday, and return later. That midday break is a great time to do a VMK quest, if you're a player.

We are returning at Thanksgiving this year too, and booked our home resort at the 11 month mark to be sure we had reservations, and switched to VWL at the 7 month mark. We were waitlisted for several of the nights, and we were juggling whether it would be a studio or a 1BR; we had enough points for a studio, but would have to borrow points for the 1BR, and once borrowed, they're committed. We were only waitlisted a week or two when all our nights in the 1BR became available.