How busy is Thanksgiving Week

[King_of_FastPass]

I did a lot of research on this site before going. It seemed like everyone was saying to expect a very busy time.

Monday seemed to be the most crowded of the 4 days I went. A CM told me Tuesday that people were expecting rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, so lot of people came Monday.

Tuesday was not too busy.

Wednesday was very light. Forecast called for rain this day, it only rained for 2 minutes on me this day around 10am.

Thursday wa also pretty light. Especially around dinner time to close.

All the rides in the afternoon of everyday seemed to have lines, but nothing more than 45 minutes.

What was your thoughts on how busy it was? If this was peoples idea of busy, what is non busy days like?

We always rode the non FP rides early in the morning and then rode all the FP rides through out the day.

Star Tours never seemed to have a line, except on Monday. Space Mountain always has 40+ minute waits.

 

[Wendi2000]

This year was very different from the past few years. In the past it has been quite slow on Monday and Tuesday and picks up quite a bit on Wednesday, but this year was the opposite. It was a LOT busier than previous years. Monday and Tuesday were especially busy. Wednesday was much less crowded. We never even go into the parks on Thursday, usually they have the big scrolling signs up all around that warn about how busy it will be and that the gates are likely to close mid-morning. I don't know if those signs were even up this week...

 

[todzwife]

I totally agree with your conclusion and I was honestly surprised how few people were there Wednesday. It was awesome.

I wonder if this was because of the rain or the economy, but either way it was GREAT!

 

[cccdisney]

We were there last Saturday evening, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday. Sunday we just went to DCA and it was a nice crowd level. DL on Monday was very crowded. Tuesday not quite as bad. But honestly it was the crowds that I expected. But of course nothing compares to how bad last March was (week of Easter)
As for crowds: we drove home to the Bay Area on Wednesday. I have never ever seen so many cars on Interstate 5! It took us 9 hours (9am to 6pm!) We made great time going through LA and over the Grapevine but soon after the stop & go traffic started!

 

[silence]

Man, Monday was so busy. We overslept (having been at the park til closing Sunday), so we got to the gates around 10. I have never seen that many people lined up to get in baggage check or the park that far after opening time.

We spent most of the day in DCA and gave up on DL around 5:30. When I turned in the scooter (couldn't walk or stand), they were out of strollers, wheelchairs and scooters. Just CRAZY.

We left, went to Bubba Gumps and took the kiddos to BOLT in Downtown Disney where there was NO ONE.

We went the same days last year and it was so different. Monday was very nice and light crowds. This year was crazy.

 

[King_of_FastPass]

I cant send email until 15 posts, but........

Your profile sounded familiar. Any chance your daughter played for the CH Angels? I was the coach.

 

[Disney Dreams]

I cant send email until 15 posts, but........

Your profile sounded familiar. Any chance your daughter played for the CH Angels? I was the coach.

Just keep posting, you are almost there.

Rain hits in So. Cal. and people go into hiding. This year was not the usual at all.

 

[Sherry E]

There are fewer DLR hotel bookings this year (meaning there is still availability at the hotels even just two weeks away) and there are also not as many PS's being made at the character meals for December as there usually are in other months or other holiday seasons. That is info directly from Central Reservations and the Disneyland Dining people. It could just be that more folks are staying off-property and not in the DLR hotels, and that folks will eat character meals but are not making PS's, or it could be a sign that attendance is down slightly this holiday season, which is what I kind of thought would happen. I was initially scheduled to be there the weekend immediately following Christmas, and it was not my first choice because I know that is a crazy ,busy time. Now I have switched it to the weekend right before Christmas, so I will be interested to see how busy it is, and if it compares to last year (we were there on the same pre-Christmas weekend in 2007).

 

[eeyore3847]

We were there Wed - Friday and the crowds were super light!!! It was wonderful! I think the rain forecast kept a lot of people away!! Not us!! We came prepared for the rain that never really hit hard!!! It was a fab 3 days!!!

Lori

 

[silence]

I cant send email until 15 posts, but........

Your profile sounded familiar. Any chance your daughter played for the CH Angels? I was the coach.

YEP YEP. What a small world.

 

[briarrose]

We were there Sat thru Wed. The parks were empty in the mornings and busier in the afternoons. 10:30 Fantasmic was canceled on Tuesday because of the rain. And Wednesday night we were on SM when it broke down and got to see the inside with the lights on and ride it again. That's my kids favorite part of the trip.

 

[Vanvmom]

We were there Sunday thru Saturday (with exception of the Friday after Thanksgiving - we did Universal Studios that day). To us, none of the days were really very busy. We go Thanksgiving week every year for the past 9 years. This one seemed pretty normal for Thanksgiving week during the daytime, and the bonus was that there were fewer crowds at night time. I did notice that on Monday there were more older teen/young 20s people rushing from place to place & I got ran into a few times, but no big deal or anything. Basically, we really enjoyed ourselves!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

all I can say at this point is wow!!! how lucky you guys were....the pixie dust was sure sprinkled in your direction...I have been going to DL the weekend after Thanksgiving for several years and every single year the parks have been horrendous...I decided this year to wait until the 9th of Dec. to go because of the years prior and to hear this just blows my mind away...I seriously think it is the economy because gas prices are waaaaaaaay down...Im serious Im in shock right now

 

[DangerMouse]

all I can say at this point is wow!!! how lucky you guys were....the pixie dust was sure sprinkled in your direction...I have been going to DL the weekend after Thanksgiving for several years and every single year the parks have been horrendous...I decided this year to wait until the 9th of Dec. to go because of the years prior and to hear this just blows my mind away...I seriously think it is the economy because gas prices are waaaaaaaay down...Im serious Im in shock right now

Love your new siggie and avatar, Lynn.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Love your new siggie and avatar, Lynn.

why thank you Callie

 

[Snoodles74]

We were also there Wed-Sat except for Fri when we went to Knott's (blech, never doing that again). Wed has got to be the most wonderful time I've ever had doing anything! Our whole family loved every moment. We rode everything we wanted and really not much waiting. Thurs was mostly DCA, which was fairly quiet, and DTD. Saturday at D'Land was a lot busier than either of the other days we were there prior, but still very managable. Would go again in a heartbeat!!!

 

[kurtztk]

We were really surprised at how manageable the crowds were. We were there Mon-Fri, and I agree Monday was the busiest (though we were "Dreamed" with fastpasses so that helped a lot). Wed and Thu were just perfect. We went for a couple of hours Friday morning and it seemed mobbed compared to the other days. When we left at 10:30, there were huge lines at all the security tents. Great trip!