Is Thanks Giving going to make the parks busy?

[Supercod]

Hi, I am from the UK, going to Disney 22nd November for 11 nights, I understand Thanks Giving is one of these days, and was wondering if the park gets busy with people enjoying the holiday or do most US people spend that holiday at home so won’t make any difference to crowd levels?

By the way I been to Disney during “Spring Break” before and that was busy but still ok, I take it as November is not peak session it shouldn’t be that busy overall?

 

[Feralpeg]

My family went to MK last year on Thanksgiving. I won't do that again. It was very crowded. I would imagine, however, that MK is the worst for crowds. Try one of the other parks that day and you should be fine.

 

[bizeemom4]

Touringplans.com is showing crowds for the Thanksgiving weekend on a scale of 1-10. For the dates of:
11/22 - 6
11/23 - 7
11/24 - 8
11/25 - 6
then all 4's (with the exception of 12/2 which is listed as a 6. That sounds manageable.

We will be there from 11/21 - 12/4. Can't wait! We're skipping a park on the actual holiday of 11/24 due to the predicted crowd level. Although we've been to WDW for July 4th (another big holiday) and we managed the crowds just fine. I wouldn't worry if you are prepared and follow all the advice on here.

 

[justus3]

We went Thanksgiving last year. Did AK day of Thanksgiving, crowds not bad at all. However, the day before Thanksgiving and day after very crowded at MK and MGM. I think that MGM was actually the most crowded park our entire trip. Wait time RnR somthing like 75 minutes.

 

[Eljay]

Here's the story. Thanksgiving always falls on the last Thursday of November, the 24th this year.
Since schools are closed on Thanksgiving Day and the following day (Friday), obviously Saturday & Sunday as well, many families like to go to WDW for the 4 day weekend. It has evolved to become one of the busiest weekends of the year at Disney!!!
There is a very bright side to this though, the absolute slowest time of the year immediately follows this weekend! You will see the crowds drop off dramatically as of Monday, the 28th. That trend will continue into the first 2-3 weeks of December, until the kids are released from school for the Christmas vacation.

Another wonderful benefit that you will have from going at that particular time, is that Christmas decorations will seemingly "magically" appear overnight after Thanksgiving!

As someone advised earlier, stay away from the Magic Kingdom during that peak time. Epcot is always a good choice during those busy days, since it seems to be able to handle huge crowds better than the other parks.

Maybe resort hopping would be a fun activity on the busy days.

I see that you are from Scotland! You MUST check out a show or 2 by Off Kilter when you are at Epcot!
They are an AWESOME Celtic rock band with an award winning bagpiper that has been performing on a stage in front of the Canadian pavilion for 8 years! Be sure to request Scotland The Brave!
You can check the entertainment schedule for Off Kilter's show times.

ENJOY!

 

[Supercod]

Excellent, thanks for the feedback.. I am looking forward to it, so from what you say I think we will find it busy first few days and then dead as door nail the last days Been getting loads of great tips on how to plan the trip, my only big mistake is I should have got stuck into planning 100 days before the trip so I could be ready to call for this 90 days before hand stuff.

 

[xoxpluto88]

wait so the decorations don't go up until the day AFTER thanksgiving??? we will be there from nov. 18 - nov. 27.....thanks for any responses

 

[Eljay]

XOXPluto88, of course it's a monumental job to do all of the decorating for Christmas at WDW and you do see it coming in stages, but after Thanksgiving they seem to bring in a million elves at night to make it happen!

Supercod, I just noticed that you are staying at the AKL. You're going to love it! They will have a magnificent Christmas tree in the lobby that is decorated with African ornaments.

 

[xoxpluto88]

ooooo ok thank you so much Eljay

 

[Supercod]

Supercod, I just noticed that you are staying at the AKL. You're going to love it! They will have a magnificent Christmas tree in the lobby that is decorated with African ornaments.

Thanks, I am really excited now, best idea I had was joining this forum yesterday and posting has now turned me in to a manic planner with all the tips I have had. For example today I booked Wishes Cruise for the 26th November (Illuminations Cruise was all booked out) and I found out you can get Concierge Rooms at AKL, still waiting to get more info about that, I call Disney UK but they are sleeping plus I been getting great advice here so probably get my answer before it's time for bed

Christmas thing sounds like it be wonderful, we leave on the 3rd of December so I think we might save the Christmas Night thing at MK for the 2nd of December, something to remember our trip by.

 

[Eljay]

Supercod, have you considered taking a WDW tour? There are several offered. I personally recommend the "Around The World On A Segway" tour.
A tour might be a good thing to do on the very busy days around Thanksgiving, since you have a guide with access to shortcuts.
If you book a tour, be sure to ask about possible discounts that might be available to you.
Here's the info.....
http://allearsnet.com/btp/tours.htm