Has anyone visited during Thanksgiving? Crowds? Expectations?

[Cheryl3]

Last year I visited during the week of July 4th and the week between Christmas and New Years. Both were super super crowded with the December week being the most crowded.

We're planning a trip over Thanksgiving and I have no idea what to expect. Has anyone visited during this time? Can you comment on the crowds? Advice?

Thank you!

 

[itchin2go]

Did it last year. I was SO worried...

The trip was great. Crowd-wise, it did not feel perceptibly different than our previous trips in January or October. That convinced me that it is true what they say: A good touring plan is more important than picking the right day. We did rope drop every day other than Thanksgiving Day, and we got so much done before lunch time.

We did MK and Epcot earlier in the week before the crowds got bad. We did DHS on Thanksgiving evening - ate at Brown Derby and saw Osborne Lights after. LOVED Osborne lights. I followed the best days on the crowd calendar on easywdw.com, if that helps.

Happy to answer any other questions! We wouldn't hesitate to go back at that time of year.

Edited to add: I will say - make your Thanksgiving day/evening dining reservations as soon as humanly possible because they booked up fast.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

The week before Thanksgiving is relatively quiet. The closer you get to the holiday, the busier it gets. Crowd calendars look to be 8's and 9s that week. So less than 4th of July and Christmas but not slow by any means.

 

[luvmy2babies]

We did although it's been a few years. It was 2010, our first trip.

Found out at school orientation at the end of August my daughter had the entire week of the holiday off from school. I'd been widowed for 6 months and was planning to go within the year so I had been on here doing research. Went home that night and on a whim, booked a package and meal reservations as soon as I had the children in bed. Was surprised at what I could get 3 months out.

It was overall really wonderful even the 9.5/10 day we spent at Epcot. We also did DHS on Thanksgiving and found it and the other days really manageable. I enjoyed the weather, the decorations were beautiful and after 3 subsequent summer trips (2012, 2013, 2014) I'm probably booking in a couple of weeks for the same week this year.

 

[Cheryl3]

Thanks all! I feel better. We'll be there the Tues before Thanksgiving and not leaving until the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. Safe to assume the crowds will lessen after Saturday?

 

[nalajms]

We were there last year. Friday/Saturday before Thanksgiving, most rides at MK were 10-20min max (except 7D and Elsa/Anna). Sunday before Thanksgiving, you can notice the increased crowds. By Tuesday, it was crowded with 40+min wait for MK rides. Of course no where near July 4 and after Christmas.

 

[libertybelle08]

We've done Thanksgiving in the World twice (2009, 2014). We were in the parks from the Sunday before Thanksgiving to the Friday after. We definitely noticed the crowds growing as the holiday approached. I'm a teacher and can only go when school is out, so all I know is crowded parks--Thanksgiving was no different than other times! But being there during Thanksgiving has a lot of upside as the holiday decorations are up and all the holiday stuff in Epcot starts the Friday after Thanksgiving. We love the Candlelight Processional and this past year I enjoyed checking out the storytellers in the World Showcase. Many restaurants have a traditional Thanksgiving meal, too.

 

[ariane37]

Thanks all! I feel better. We'll be there the Tues before Thanksgiving and not leaving until the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. Safe to assume the crowds will lessen after Saturday?

We went down on Thanksgiving day 2012 and stayed for 10 days and yes, crowds got significantly less starting that Sunday
FYI, we're going down this year the Fri. before Thanksgiving until the Sat. after

 

[tabistar]

We were there this past Thanksgiving, Saturday through Friday. Use the crowd calendars to plan your park days and utilize your fastpasses and you should be fine! We didn't even do rope drop most days (but did get there within the hour), and we have young kids so we limited our late nights, and we were still fine with the crowd levels. We'll be going back the same week in 2016

 

[picprincess]

My sister and I took our kids last Thanksgiving and LOVED it! I'll link my blog posts about the trip if you're interested. We were there the Saturday before Thanksgiving until the Friday after.

Arrival Day: MK evening
HS
EPCOT
MK
MK
AK
Departure Day: MK morning

 

[tabistar]

My sister and I took our kids last Thanksgiving and LOVED it! I'll link my blog posts about the trip if you're interested. We were there the Saturday before Thanksgiving until the Friday after.

Arrival Day: MK evening
HS
EPCOT
MK
MK
AK
Departure Day: MK morning

That was our park schedule, too, except arrival day we just did DTD and departure day we went back to HS for TSMM again. It worked out great!

 

[MickeyMouseLvr]

We were there Thanksgiving 2011 and 2013 the parks were busy, but not so much it caused any issues. Also, loved the Christmas decorations and activities. We never did rope drop and still got done all the things we wanted to do. We will definitely go that week again!

 

[jinsally]

My sister and I took our kids last Thanksgiving and LOVED it! I'll link my blog posts about the trip if you're interested. We were there the Saturday before Thanksgiving until the Friday after.

Arrival Day: MK evening
HS
EPCOT
MK
MK
AK
Departure Day: MK morning

Quick Question:

On your Departure Day, did you do rope drop at MK? How was the crowd level on Black Friday? I'm planning to do MK all day on Black Friday this year and plan to go at rope drop. Crowd Calendar says 9/10 for that day but recommended park is MK (reason I chose it). What time did you leave the park and how did it look when you left?

Thanks!!

 

[picprincess]

Quick Question:

On your Departure Day, did you do rope drop at MK? How was the crowd level on Black Friday? I'm planning to do MK all day on Black Friday this year and plan to go at rope drop. Crowd Calendar says 9/10 for that day but recommended park is MK (reason I chose it). What time did you leave the park and how did it look when you left?

Thanks!!

Yes, we did rope drop and were at the front of the crowd. We spent most of the morning meeting characters that we had missed on our previous MK days mostly due to rain. We used our FP's and rode a few non-headline rides. The crowds seemed manageable that morning and we left after lunch...probably around 1 or so. It definitely was crowded as we were leaving, but I didn't look at any of the wait times for the main rides.