Honest Opinions...Thanksgiving Week

[amyngary]

We have been over New Years and Thanksgiving both. We have also been on the least-crowded weeks. New Year's week was nuts, but it was very cool to see Disney's masterful crowd control in action. I didn't even know that they had separate plans for busy times, so that was inspiring for me. And since we usually go at least once/year, I'm OK with missing some of our favorite rides. In fact, I am working on planning a last-minute Thanksgiving trip right now, so obviously I'm OK with it. Yes, I still love the least-crowded trips since we get to walk on all of the E-ticket rides. However, there's more magic on the crowded trips - Disney adds more activities and extras when it gets extra crowded. So I just adjust everyone's expectations that we may ONLY get to ride things for which we have FP+. We never do "commando" type touring, so we just soak in the experience more when we don't get to ride as many rides.

I hope that helps.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We either go over Thanksgiving or Christmas and I really enjoy Thanksgiving more than Christmas due to the lower crowds. My only complaint is that the Holidays Around the World doesn't start until Black Friday. I have always found Epcot with the storytellers and the Candlelight Processional to be amazing. I would highly avoid MK on Thanksgiving (we are going to AK this year on Thanksgiving) and also Epcot on Black Friday as everyone will be at Epcot. Other than that, I don't think the crowds are too bad.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We normally either do Thanksgiving or Mardi Gras breaks most years. Thanksgiving is busy, no doubt about it, but totally doable. I wouldn't recommend it for afrist trip, but given you know the lay of the land ect, i think you will be fine.

 

[stinkpickle]

We either go over Thanksgiving or Christmas and I really enjoy Thanksgiving more than Christmas due to the lower crowds. My only complaint is that the Holidays Around the World doesn't start until Black Friday. I have always found Epcot with the storytellers and the Candlelight Processional to be amazing. I would highly avoid MK on Thanksgiving (we are going to AK this year on Thanksgiving) and also Epcot on Black Friday as everyone will be at Epcot. Other than that, I don't think the crowds are too bad.

Agreed. I've heard that AK is the park to visit on Thanksgiving Day.

 

[chocolateavocado]

We went to WDW for Thanksgiving last year & loved it!! The resorts and parks were beautifully decorated. We spent Thanksgiving Day in MK and had dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. We had a blast! Can't wait to go back for Thanksgiving next year 2017!

 

[Nhebron]

How bad do you think Epcot will be on Black Friday. I have my whole planned there currently. Planning to do MK on Saturday. Should I switch?

 

[ariane37]

How bad do you think Epcot will be on Black Friday. I have my whole planned there currently. Planning to do MK on Saturday. Should I switch?

We were in Epcot on Black Friday last year from about 2:30 until close. We were only in WS so I can't comment on FW, but it was fine. It was busy since the storytellers started and also the first Candlelight Processional but you could move comfortably and we easily found good spots to watch the storytellers.

 

[Nhebron]

We were in Epcot on Black Friday last year from about 2:30 until close. We were only in WS so I can't comment on FW, but it was fine. It was busy since the storytellers started and also the first Candlelight Processional but you could move comfortably and we easily found good spots to watch the storytellers.

Thanks! I didn't want to reschedule my ADRs.

 

[dprincessmom]

Thank you all for your input. We have a couple of treatments, an MRI and a follow up doctor visit in the next 10 days. If all this goes as planned, we just might do it.

Sounds like if we did MK on Tuesday, Epcot Wed, AK or HS Thursday/Friday we should be ok.

Would love to do Disneyland as was suggested for the park size, but since I am about 4 hours away and get FL resident ticket prices we can't pass that up right now. DL is on the bucket list for certain and I can't wait to start planning that trip.

Still on the fence about on site vs off site. We had a taste of this on a quick trip earlier this month (one night at MNSSHP and one day at Blizzard Beach). I missed the convenience of hopping the bus and magic bands, but since Hubby didn't go to the parks with us, having a room with room service at zero cost to us (we used points) was peace of mind to me.

 

[js]

Good luck with your doctor visits.

My honest opinion, since you asked, is if yr dh is on board and you can go then it's a no brainer. Go and have fun!

 

[CynBeth]

Thank you all for your input. We have a couple of treatments, an MRI and a follow up doctor visit in the next 10 days. If all this goes as planned, we just might do it.

Sounds like if we did MK on Tuesday, Epcot Wed, AK or HS Thursday/Friday we should be ok.

Would love to do Disneyland as was suggested for the park size, but since I am about 4 hours away and get FL resident ticket prices we can't pass that up right now. DL is on the bucket list for certain and I can't wait to start planning that trip.

Still on the fence about on site vs off site. We had a taste of this on a quick trip earlier this month (one night at MNSSHP and one day at Blizzard Beach). I missed the convenience of hopping the bus and magic bands, but since Hubby didn't go to the parks with us, having a room with room service at zero cost to us (we used points) was peace of mind to me.

I would do EP on Fri so you see the storytellers.

 

[ariane37]

Thank you all for your input. We have a couple of treatments, an MRI and a follow up doctor visit in the next 10 days. If all this goes as planned, we just might do it.

Sounds like if we did MK on Tuesday, Epcot Wed, AK or HS Thursday/Friday we should be ok.

Would love to do Disneyland as was suggested for the park size, but since I am about 4 hours away and get FL resident ticket prices we can't pass that up right now. DL is on the bucket list for certain and I can't wait to start planning that trip.

Still on the fence about on site vs off site. We had a taste of this on a quick trip earlier this month (one night at MNSSHP and one day at Blizzard Beach). I missed the convenience of hopping the bus and magic bands, but since Hubby didn't go to the parks with us, having a room with room service at zero cost to us (we used points) was peace of mind to me.

I would do EP on Fri so you see the storytellers.

I agree with CynBeth, the Holiday Storytellers begin in Epcot on Black Friday and are great to see. If that interests you at all, maybe switch your Epcot day to Friday

 

[PrincessV]

I'm at WDW Thanksgiving weekend nearly every year - it's our unofficial-official start of the holiday season! It's definitely gotten more crowded over the years, but it's totally do-able. Plan on areas of congestion as you walk around and probably not getting to all the things you want to do. FP+ will help, as will rope drop and/or late nights.

 

[2pinwheels]

We did it last year. We were not turned off. We are going again this year.

If something is too crowded for your state of mind at any moment, walk to something else. That's my strategy.

Sometimes the crew is ready to wait. Sometimes not. Being flexible makes it all work out.

The crowds did not seem bad overall.

MK on T-day got crowded in the afternoon. We did rope drop and were done by the time they arrived. I'm planning a resort day this time on T-day.

 

[disneyseniors]

Hi OP: I guess I go against the crowd with this one. Background: 2 seniors who do Disney every year. We make it a point to go when you can avoid the big crowds. 2 years ago, our daughter, soninlaw, 3 grandkids were able to go Thanksgiving week. So, we decided to change our plans from 2 weeks before TG to that week. It was okay up until 3 days before TG day, still crowded, but doable. As we got closer to TG, the crowds were unbearable TO US. We don't enjoy trying to walk in MK shoulder to shoulder. It was so crowded one day that we got to exit via the backstage route behind Crystal Palace. Have never done that before. Honestly you couldn't walk down Main Street, it was so crowded.
We vowed never, never to go that time of year again. Just because it didn't work out for us, doesn't mean it won't for your family. Lots to consider such as the cost, availability, school dates, etc. If it was between TG week and never again, I would probably go the week preceding and leave 2 days before TG. But big crowds bother us, and we are retired so we tend to go on unpopular dates, which works for us. Either way, you will enjoy it, it's WDW

 

[sharadoc]

If you've gone during the summer, you won't notice a considerable difference. But there's so much more to do! The castle lighting, candlelight processional, storytellers (starting Black Friday) and all the decorations make it so nice!

We can't take DD out of school anymore and she has all of Thanksgiving week off, so we're doing it again this year. The only really bad thing we've encountered in our other two Thanksgiving trips is the crowds at dinner. one year we ate at Trail's End and we had to park at Wilderness Lodge and be bussed over there. That didn't make me too happy, but I understand the parking lot is definitely small at Fort Wilderness.

We love the holiday decorations. We'll miss Osbourne Lights!