We did our second Thanksgiving trip this past fall. The first time, we actually arrived on Thanksgiving day!!! We hit DHS and it was fairly crowded, returned to our resort to head out to dinner at Chef Mickey's. The next day, my dad and step-mom drove up from the Ft Lauderdale area. We walked over to Epcot when they got there...man, it was shoulder to shoulder!!! I've never seen Epcot like that!!
This past fall, we arrived the Sunday prior to T-giving Day. The parks got more crowded as we got closer to T-giving. The funny thing was that usually the parks are crazy over that weekend (after T day), this year they weren't. Not sure why.
So...my advice...
The storytellers are fun...they are on a set schedule that you can get as you enter the park. You probably won't get to see them all..I would pick and choose. I like Canada, France, and Norway the best. As far as Candlelight Processional goes....that first night (Friday night after T-day) is going to be crazy crowded. Only you can decide if your family will enjoy it. My family loves it. We do it at least once each trip. But, we only do the dining pkg once...we have to eat anyway, so we choose a performance that we really want to sit down and relax at, then make an ADR for the pkg for that performance. Worst case scenario is that you can always just stand behind the theater area and listen (limited viewing due to people in front of you). I tend to stop and listen as I pass by..just for a minute or two.
As far as planning out your days, I would be very tempted to hit MK on Monday, DHS on Tuesday, and MK again on Wed. Decide what are 'must does' at each park...each family is going to have different 'must does' based on their likes and dislikes. Once you know what you want to do, you can plan your dining ADRs for each day. Try to do at least one table service meal a day...you need to sit down and relax a bit! We usually eat a big breakfast around 10ish, and then dinner around 6. But, we don't have any little ones anymore, so we can graze. You can make ADRs 6 months out...you will need to make your Thanksgiving Day ADR as soon as you possibly can...the more popular restaurants fill up quickly! Then, as long as you have a reservation and tickets, you can book your FP+s 60 days prior. Many of us tend to book FPs for later in the day, trying to get stuff done early in the morning. But, with you not having hoppers, that probably isn't going to matter to you.
Have you done your My Disney Experience accts yet? Each person in your group should have one...then, their tickets will be linked to that account. I made them up for each person in my family. Once I made them up, I sent out requests to each of the family members to link with me....via email on the
MDE accts. Once they accepted, I could then plan for everyone...makes it sooooo much easier.
