How bad is air travel on

[discott71]

the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We've never traveled during the holidays and are considering arriving to Disney on this day.

TIA

 

[Robo]

the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We've never traveled during the holidays and are considering arriving to Disney on this day.

TIA

Saturday is pretty busy.

Sunday is worse.

 

[Pills]

Book early. We went to my in-laws' house for TG this year, and spent way more than normal on the tickets. I re-checked after we booked, and they just kept going up.

Stay on top of places like Orbitz and Kayak.com. If you can go via JetBlue, they should have November available in a few weeks (I called them last week - we're going to WDW on November 9).

 

[thegib95]

I try to avoid the airports at all cost right after Thanksgiving. IMHO they are mad houses.

 

[discott71]

Saturday is pretty busy.

Sunday is worse.

ok. - definitely won't do Sunday then. If we go for Saturday what's the best strategy? Earliest flight possible?

 

[discott71]

Saturday is pretty busy.

Sunday is worse.

I try to avoid the airports at all cost right after Thanksgiving. IMHO they are mad houses.

My husband hates large crowds - ugh!

 

[richmo]

Saturday after Thanksgiving actually isn't too bad. Sunday is a mess.

 

[Hannathy]

Saturday is doable, busy but doable. Sunday is (or until recently was) the BUSIEST day to fly in the year. So does that tell you something ? Sunday is a zoo! lines everywhere, wall to wall people, people at the counters waiting to pounce on standby slots and then because it is the end of November you throw in bad weather in 75 % of the country! Add a little extra de-icing time at one airport and then it just snowballs -snicker-affecting the schedule at 15 airports!!!

I avoid Sunday at almost all costs!

 

[Nadjalu]

We actually left for WDW on that sunday of last year, it wasn't as bad as I thought.
And we flew out of Detroit Metro, so no rinky dink airport. Yes it was the most crowded I have ever seen but we were through the line and security roughly 40 mins. We did fly first class which is less busy but still, not a lot of glitches.

 

[henrylovespooh]

Peak Thanksgiving travel days are the Wednesday before T-day and the Sunday after. Saturday is pretty crowded too, but not as bad as the other two days.

 

[MHSweb79]

I second the poster who said try to book early. You won't be seeing many airfare deals during Thanksgiving week, even on Saturday.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

If you are flying non-stop it's ok.
We few the sat. after in 2008
We few on delta and had a 1 stop with a plan change.
the plan landed and we sat for 2 1/2 hours on the runway!!!!

Running through the airport we almost missed our next flight.
We saw the door closeing as we turned the corner.
Do NOT get a lay over flight if you can get a non-stop.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

We ledt Saturday last year(at 7:30am) and had NO trouble what so ever.It was not busy at all.

 

[wdwfan1]

We have flown on that day many times and did not have a problem. However, we do get the first flight out and we dont fly from the major airports in the area (JFK and LGA).

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

We flew out of Indy the day after thanksgiving this last year at 700am and it wasn't bad at all, I think it was the least busy I have ever seen the airport. Plus we got great fares, the cheapest in five years. This year I can't leave at 7 due to work, but we are planning on flying out the day after again...everyone must have been shopping..lol.

 

[Goldenbear6]

the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We've never traveled during the holidays and are considering arriving to Disney on this day.

TIA

If you are going to do this, take the earliest flight available. This will be the least crowded. Good Luck.

 

[SuperTink]

We took the earliest flight on that day at had no problem. Magical Express was really crowded, though.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this to our transportation board in case the folks over there have more input.

 

[Missytara]

For several years, I traveled the Sunday after Thanksgiving. A few years ago, I inquired at the resort as to the difference between coming down on Saturday and Sunday. It seemed just as good to come down on Saturday. I was told 2/3 of the people are actually checking out on Saturday, to get an extra at home with the kids before going back to school.

Here is what I found....

Saturday fares are slightly higher than normal; however much lower on Saturday, than on Sunday.

I booked very early (in April) and got an airfare of $89.00 going down and $59.00 coming back. (BTW, I checked Airtran yesterday and they are almost posting the airfare for that time period - they are very close).

I fly out of BWI at 7:00 am, so I have never hit any traffic coming to the airport. I have always been no more than fourth or fifth in the line at the Check-in for Airtran.

Parking can be an issue at the airport, because most people are not arriving back at BWI until late Saturday/all day Sunday. However, at BWI, if the extended stay parking is full, they will let you park in the garage for the same price as the extended stay lot.

When you arrive at MCO, mid-morning, it is starting to get a bit busy, but not too bad.

The wait for ME is very short, because they don't even wait to fill the buses. We arrived at the check-in, they waived us through, and put us on a bus and we maybe waited 5 minutes. The bus was not even half full. They are so busy just trying to get people back to the airport.

Once you arrive at the resort, it is fairly busy, as I arrive just as the RAC counter is winding down. Check-in takes about ten minutes or so. Now, many rooms are not ready; I have been told I can take the next available room, but I always tell them ahead of time, I would rather wait for the water view room I paid for and I don't care if it takes all day. I leave my carry-on at Guest Services and go on my way. It is around 11:00 am.

On Saturday/Sunday, avoid MK and DHS. Both very crowded with the locals. So is DTD. I arrive just as the countries are opening at Epcot, so I do the front part of Epcot. No waits, except TT and Soarin'. With the exception of Soarin', I don't need to get back to the front part of Epcot, so I do it on the first day.

Sunday, I do AK, and it is basically practically empty.

Make sure you have ADR's at least for that first weekend; many places are crowded - especially DHS, MK, and DTD - places are booked solid and say it can be up to a 1-1/2 to 2 hour wait for a table.

Hope that helps!

 

[cg1200]

This thread is a little scary. We decided to take the plunge and book a trip for this Thanksgiving. We leave on the Tues before Thanksgiving but we are coming back on the Sunday after. I figured it would be a zoo but with my kids all in school it just got too hard pulling them out for a week.

I was planning on springing for a private taxi to avoid DME congestion to help save on time. None of the carriers I would use have any fares posted yet for Thanksgiving. Keeping my fingers crossed for something reasonable.