Finalizing Thanksgiving Week Itinerary (Thoughts?)

[SDA]

Here is my itinerary for Thanksgiving Week - LL's have already been purchased and reservations are made. Am I missing anything? Does the schedule look doable. We are pretty flexible on plans and understand things may have to shift, but I wanted something to shoot for:

Saturday: Arrive
Sunday: Cape May Brunch | Event in Orlando

Monday - EPCOT:
9:15 LL Nemo (9:15-10:15) - burner to hopefully book Frozen
10:15 Journey of Water
10:30 LL Soarin' (10:35-11:35)
11:00 Living w Land | Awesome Planet
11:45 Mexico (Lunch)
1:15 LL Guardians (1:10-2:10)
1:45 Spaceship Earth
2:30 LL Test Track (2:10-3:10)
3:00 World Celebration - VISA Photo Op
3:15 Disney Pixar Short
3:45 Starting in Canada - spend about 30 min in each Pavilion (skipping US); will have already done Mexico and will do Norway after dinner
6:55 Dinner Reservation Via Napoli (likely just getting pizza - estimating 1.0 hour)
8:00 **Possibly Frozen (if we got LL after Nemo)
8:30 Find spot for Luminous
9:00 Luminous
Extended Hours
9:30 Frozen if didn't ride earlier/Remy if not
10:30 Remy

Tuesday - MK and MVMCP
10:00 Arrive MK
10:30 LL Space Mountain (10:15-11:15)
11:00 Monsters Inc Laugh Floor | People Mover
11:30 LL TRON (11:10-12:10)
12:00 Snack | Rides in Fantasyland or Philharmagic (check wait times)
12:45 LL Seven Dwarfs (12:35-1:35)
1:15 Rapunzel's Bathroom
1:30 LL Haunted Mansion (1:30-2:30)
2:00 Christmas Shop | Dole Whip
2:45 LL Pirates of Caribbean (2:45-3:45)
3:15 TBD - Magic Carpets or Shops
3:45 Reservation Beak and Barrel
4:30 Get Party Band | Jingle Cruise
6:00 Head to Main St/Shopping/Cookies
7:10 Reservation The Plaza
7:45 Tomorrow Land Cookies & Space Mountain w overlay; maybe TRON again
8:30 Fantasyland Cookies & lower wait rides missed the first time
9:30 Be in spot for fireworks (left of castle)
10:00 Fireworks
10:30 Spot for parade (somewhere between Frontierland & Castle section of route)
11:00 Parade
11:30 Adventureland Cookies
11:55 Mickey's Show

Wednesday: Sleep In - Water Park if warm enough - dinner at resort

Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Hollywood Studios - PREMIER PASS
8:30-10:30 Rock & Roller, TOT, Sunset Blvd, Star Tours, Vacation Fun
10:30 Indiana Jones (10:45 start time)
11:30 MM Runaway | Olaf Meet & Greet VISA
12:00 Reservation Brown Derby (Fantasmic Package)
1:30 Frozen Show
2:00 Pixar Plaza | Toy Story
4:00 Galaxy's Edge
5:30 First Order
6:00 Reservation Oga's
6:45 Additional time in Galaxy's Edge or elsewhere
7:30 Maybe Villians Show (7:50)
9:00 In line for Fantasmic
9:30 Fantasmic (right now this is listed as the only show time)

Friday - Animal Kingdom
8:30 LL Safari (8:05-9:05) - try to book Na'vi after this
9:00 Rafiki's Planet Watch
10:00 Gorilla Falls
10:45 LL Lion King (11:00)
11:45 Flamingo Exhibit
12:00 Zootopia
12:30 Yak & Yeti
1:00 Maharajah Jungle Trek
1:45 Feathered Friends
2:30 LL Everest (2:00-3:00)
3:30 Finding Nemo
4:00 LL Flights of Passage (4:00-5:00)
4:30 Na'vi River (hopefully have LL)
5:00 Pongu-Pongu - Walk around
5:45 Jump on FOP again?

Saturday - Leave

 

[Marthasor]

Here is my itinerary for Thanksgiving Week - LL's have already been purchased and reservations are made. Am I missing anything? Does the schedule look doable. We are pretty flexible on plans and understand things may have to shift, but I wanted something to shoot for:

Saturday: Arrive
Sunday: Cape May Brunch | Event in Orlando

Monday - EPCOT:
9:15 LL Nemo (9:15-10:15) - burner to hopefully book Frozen
10:15 Journey of Water
10:30 LL Soarin' (10:35-11:35)
11:00 Living w Land | Awesome Planet
11:45 Mexico (Lunch)
1:15 LL Guardians (1:10-2:10)
1:45 Spaceship Earth
2:30 LL Test Track (2:10-3:10)
3:00 World Celebration - VISA Photo Op
3:15 Disney Pixar Short
3:45 Starting in Canada - spend about 30 min in each Pavilion (skipping US); will have already done Mexico and will do Norway after dinner
6:55 Dinner Reservation Via Napoli (likely just getting pizza - estimating 1.0 hour)
8:00 **Possibly Frozen (if we got LL after Nemo)
8:30 Find spot for Luminous
9:00 Luminous
Extended Hours
9:30 Frozen if didn't ride earlier/Remy if not
10:30 Remy

Tuesday - MK and MVMCP
10:00 Arrive MK
10:30 LL Space Mountain (10:15-11:15)
11:00 Monsters Inc Laugh Floor | People Mover
11:30 LL TRON (11:10-12:10)
12:00 Snack | Rides in Fantasyland or Philharmagic (check wait times)
12:45 LL Seven Dwarfs (12:35-1:35)
1:15 Rapunzel's Bathroom
1:30 LL Haunted Mansion (1:30-2:30)
2:00 Christmas Shop | Dole Whip
2:45 LL Pirates of Caribbean (2:45-3:45)
3:15 TBD - Magic Carpets or Shops
3:45 Reservation Beak and Barrel
4:30 Get Party Band | Jingle Cruise
6:00 Head to Main St/Shopping/Cookies
7:10 Reservation The Plaza
7:45 Tomorrow Land Cookies & Space Mountain w overlay; maybe TRON again
8:30 Fantasyland Cookies & lower wait rides missed the first time
9:30 Be in spot for fireworks (left of castle)
10:00 Fireworks
10:30 Spot for parade (somewhere between Frontierland & Castle section of route)
11:00 Parade
11:30 Adventureland Cookies
11:55 Mickey's Show

Wednesday: Sleep In - Water Park if warm enough - dinner at resort

Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Hollywood Studios - PREMIER PASS
8:30-10:30 Rock & Roller, TOT, Sunset Blvd, Star Tours, Vacation Fun
10:30 Indiana Jones (10:45 start time)
11:30 MM Runaway | Olaf Meet & Greet VISA
12:00 Reservation Brown Derby (Fantasmic Package)
1:30 Frozen Show
2:00 Pixar Plaza | Toy Story
4:00 Galaxy's Edge
5:30 First Order
6:00 Reservation Oga's
6:45 Additional time in Galaxy's Edge or elsewhere
7:30 Maybe Villians Show (7:50)
9:00 In line for Fantasmic
9:30 Fantasmic (right now this is listed as the only show time)

Friday - Animal Kingdom
8:30 LL Safari (8:05-9:05) - try to book Na'vi after this
9:00 Rafiki's Planet Watch
10:00 Gorilla Falls
10:45 LL Lion King (11:00)
11:45 Flamingo Exhibit
12:00 Zootopia
12:30 Yak & Yeti
1:00 Maharajah Jungle Trek
1:45 Feathered Friends
2:30 LL Everest (2:00-3:00)
3:30 Finding Nemo
4:00 LL Flights of Passage (4:00-5:00)
4:30 Na'vi River (hopefully have LL)
5:00 Pongu-Pongu - Walk around
5:45 Jump on FOP again?

Saturday - Leave

EP - I would not do GotG and TT right after lunch . . . perhaps do Spaceship Earth after lunch followed by TT and GoTG.

MK - you mention cookies prior to 7 pm, but no party related activities/snacks will be available until the party officially starts. I would not eat at The Plaza during party time. If you really want a TS, I would consider doing it between 4 - 7 pm and be out by 7 pm to enjoy the party.

DHS - If there is only one show, I would consider lining up earlier than 30 minutes prior.

AK - I would do Gorilla Falls after the Safari as the Safari exit path leads directly to Gorilla Falls - if you do Planet Watch first, you will have to backtrack. Finding Nemo is about 40 minutes long, so riding FoP and then riding Nav'i around 4:30 pm isn't very realistic given the walk between attractions and how long FoP takes even with LL. If it were me, after Pongu Pongu, I would try to enjoy some of the holiday offerings at AK - the puppet and the tree awakenings in the evening.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Also, keep in mind that with holiday crowds, it just takes longer to walk between attractions, too.

 

[SDA]

EP - I would not do GotG and TT right after lunch . . . perhaps do Spaceship Earth after lunch followed by TT and GoTG.

MK - you mention cookies prior to 7 pm, but no party related activities/snacks will be available until the party officially starts. I would not eat at The Plaza during party time. If you really want a TS, I would consider doing it between 4 - 7 pm and be out by 7 pm to enjoy the party.

DHS - If there is only one show, I would consider lining up earlier than 30 minutes prior.

AK - I would do Gorilla Falls after the Safari as the Safari exit path leads directly to Gorilla Falls - if you do Planet Watch first, you will have to backtrack. Finding Nemo is about 40 minutes long, so riding FoP and then riding Nav'i around 4:30 pm isn't very realistic given the walk between attractions and how long FoP takes even with LL. If it were me, after Pongu Pongu, I would try to enjoy some of the holiday offerings at AK - the puppet and the tree awakenings in the evening.

Thanks!

EP will move Spaceship Earth and then we can work our way back - great call
MK plan to get the Main St cookies right at 7 then dinner reservation. Unfortunately 7:10 was the only res I could get. I’m not completely set on it, but grabbed one in case we really needed to sit and eat for a bit. We may end up skipping.
DHS we have the Fantasmic Dining package so I think we can get there 30 min and be ok, but please let me know if I am mistaken!
AK - the site said 25min for Nemo, so I should plan for 40. Yes I don’t want to cut into my Pandora time. I will have to play with that a bit. Good idea about making time for AK holiday offerings I will have to research more!

 

[CynBeth]

If you can I would switch AK and Epcot as unless something has changed the storytellers and Candlelight Processional do not begin until Black Friday.

 

[Dave006]

Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Hollywood Studios - PREMIER PASS

Are you planning to purchase you HS Premier Pass (LLPP) tomorrow or are you planning to wait a few days?

This is only the second year for LLPP, and more guests know about it now it was very new last year since it only launched on Oct. 30, 2024. For example MK LLMP has already sold out for Sunday the 22 - 23rd. I would expect HS to sell out a couple days Thanksgiving week.

Friday - Animal Kingdom

12:30 Yak & Yeti
1:00 Maharajah Jungle Trek

Are you planning to eat at the Y&Y restaurant or just the Y&Y Local Food Cafes? Either way 30 minutes seems like a very short time.

Dav

 

[cc1013]

Love your planning. I think the crowds may prevent you from achieving everything in the schedule, so you may want to prioritize your list in case things need to removed.

My family and I will be there at the same time and we purchased our premier passes for Thanksgiving day at HS this morning!

 

[SDA]

Are you planning to purchase you HS Premier Pass (LLPP) tomorrow or are you planning to wait a few days?

This is only the second year for LLPP, and more guests know about it now it was very new last year since it only launched on Oct. 30, 2024. For example MK LLMP has already sold out for Sunday the 22 - 23rd. I would expect HS to sell out a couple days Thanksgiving week.


Are you planning to eat at the Y&Y restaurant or just the Y&Y Local Food Cafes? Either way 30 minutes seems like a very short time.

Dav

Yes all LL purchases were made at 7 am yesterday so anything I have noted requiring some type of res is secured! Yay!

My thought is the YY Quick Service and order food in the app prior to getting to the restaurant. I have just realized that AK is open until 7 instead of 6 as I had previously thought so I am going to adjust some of this a bit.

 

[SDA]

If you can I would switch AK and Epcot as unless something has changed the storytellers and Candlelight Processional do not begin until Black Friday.

We are actually avoiding Epcot on Friday for this reason. Had heard the crowds are insane on the first night. Seems like such a lovely event though!

 

[SDA]

Love your planning. I think the crowds may prevent you from achieving everything in the schedule, so you may want to prioritize your list in case things need to removed.

My family and I will be there at the same time and we purchased our premier passes for Thanksgiving day at HS this morning!

Yes! Our LLs are our main focuses and we were able to get those yesterday as we check in on Sat. I’m so glad I decided to splurge on the LLPP for Thanksgiving!

Curious as to other ways to adjust my expectations for the crowds. Someone has mentioned it may take longer to walk from point A to point B; I assume even with LL we may have 20 min wait - should I be prepared to expect longer there? Just trying to get my head around how crazy it is going to be!!

 

[cc1013]

Yes! Our LLs are our main focuses and we were able to get those yesterday as we check in on Sat. I’m so glad I decided to splurge on the LLPP for Thanksgiving!

Curious as to other ways to adjust my expectations for the crowds. Someone has mentioned it may take longer to walk from point A to point B; I assume even with LL we may have 20 min wait - should I be prepared to expect longer there? Just trying to get my head around how crazy it is going to be!!

We are checking in on Saturday too! Can I ask where you are staying? We are doing club level at Beach Club. We used a bounce back offer from our trip last year.

Depending on your group, how you can dodge crowds and move quickly, that may not be an issue. When we went between Xmas and NY last year, getting through the crowds, particularly at MK took a little longer than I would have expected. We are a group of 5 with the youngest in middle school, so no strollers and no mobility issues. The crowds will also make bathroom and food lines a little longer too. Just pack some patience and it will be great!

Some rides, particularly those with pre shows (like Guardians) will definitely have a wait longer than 20min. Other ones that I recall waiting longer were Flights of Passage, Tron, Tower of Terror, Soarin’ and MM Runaway Railway.

Your plan has me even more excited for our trip! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SDA]

We are checking in on Saturday too! Can I ask where you are staying? We are doing club level at Beach Club. We used a bounce back offer from our trip last year.

Depending on your group, how you can dodge crowds and move quickly, that may not be an issue. When we went between Xmas and NY last year, getting through the crowds, particularly at MK took a little longer than I would have expected. We are a group of 5 with the youngest in middle school, so no strollers and no mobility issues. The crowds will also make bathroom and food lines a little longer too. Just pack some patience and it will be great!

Some rides, particularly those with pre shows (like Guardians) will definitely have a wait longer than 20min. Other ones that I recall waiting longer were Flights of Passage, Tron, Tower of Terror, Soarin’ and MM Runaway Railway.

Your plan has me even more excited for our trip! Thanks for sharing!

We are at Swan! My husband and I haven't been to Disney since middle school age and it is the first trip for our 13 yo daughter - just the 3 of us!

I hadn't thought about pre-shows - I had been googling ride times and must have only been getting the actual live ride time on some of these, that is so helpful. I'll go back and build in some extra time for that and bathroom/food lines. I'm sure we still won't be able to do all that is on there, but it is helping me decide with crowds and limited time what not to even try and do this trip. Fortunately both husband and daughter "just want to be surprised" so I don't think they'll be stressing over what they don't know that they are missing. On the flip side that means I have all the stress and then they'll ask - why aren't we doing that if they do notice we have missed something! Haha.