How busy is end of November at WDW?

[Booknut]

Hi all,

Well, after much subtle pleading and cajoling I think I have convinced DH that we just couldnt' possibly survive without going back to WDW this year

That said, we are hoping to go in November, from the 23rd to the 7th of December. We are also hoping to stay on-site for 1 week and only do a villa for 1 week.

Is this a super busy time of year? It's the week just after Thanksgiving and is priced as 'low season' so I was wondering if the parks might be as quiet as they are in September (which is when we went last year and it was not crowded at all!).

Would love your opinions/advice, thanks!

Eloise

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Hi there

As long as you miss Thanksgiving then the crowds should be quite light - we have been a couple of times at this time of year & you can get to a MVMCP one night - which is great. You also get all the Christmas extras, we are travelling on the 9th December.

That said on touring plans it does say Thanksgiving is on the 23rd November - so I would check this.

Also WDW does hold Pop Warner at this time of year so you do get a few cheerleaders around the parks & staying in the hotels - but it doesn't normally affect things too much.

If you need anything else just ask. Thanks.

 

[Scottish-Helen]

Thanksgiving is the 23rd November. On my first visit to Florida we went over Thanksgiving, I wasn't aware of this holiday. From the Thanksgiving thursday over the weekend the parks were mobbed and then from the monday they were really quiet. I think as long as you aware of this holiday then you can plan accordingly eg if you were looking to do Discovery Cove you could do one of the days of the Thanksgiving weekend as they limit the number of visitors to 1000 (or something like that) per day. Get to the parks early in the morning and use fastpass. After the first few days of your trip you will be able to do the parks with not too many crowds at all.

The best thing is you get all the fantastic Christmas decorations up and the best sales of the year start on Black Friday (day after thanksgiving).

 

[kristieuk]

As others have said, you would get there for Thanksgiving Weekend which is one of the busiest times of the year - it's the longest public holiday the Americans get, because taking in the weekend, it's a four day break and all the parks will undoubtedly be packed to full capacity.

After this weekend, you should find it very quiet. We have been many times at the end Nov / beg Dec and it's a great time to go to enjoy the Christmas decorations and low crowds.

You could either put back your dates by a couple of days, or as Helen says, plan accordingly so you're not doing any parks except DC until the following week.

Good luck!

 

[LindseyUK]

Hi,

We arrived late on Thanksgiving day itself in 2001- we didn't visit a park until the Sunday which was Seaworld and I don't recall it being too busy although it was probably a different story over at MK! After that, as the others have said, the parks are very quiet and I think it's an ideal time to go.

 

[edenlee]

You will hit the busey thanksgiving holiday when the numbers are reported to be very high. With careful planning and a good guidebook you should be OK

 

[carolfoy]

Thanksgiving week means huge queues, most upwards of 90 minutes for the best rides, the week before - Bliss! no queues, no crowds but 'seasonal only' rides and shows etc not open.