Jersey week or thanksgiving 2017? Plus advice on Wishes

[Hayley1230]

Hi everyone, this is my first post.
We have booked a Disney Western Caribbean cruise departing 11 Nov 2017-18 Nov. It will be our first cruise and we want to add on a few days in Disney world too (I have never been). We will be traveling with our two daughters aged 2.5 and 5 and are from Liverpool, England.
Original plan was to spend Saturday 18 - Monday 20 Nov in the parks after the cruise but now I have seen it is Thanksgiving and I am worried about the crowds, especially with such a short time and 2 little ones in tow!
Decided to swop to visit Disney first but would only have 2 park days Thursday 9 Nov and Friday 10. But now I see this is jersey week so may have the same crowd problems! Also Wishes is not on either of those nights! Based on last years calender they will both be party nights so MK will shut at 7pm. Not sure i can justify the cost of the party with 2 little ones who will have been at the park since 8am.

We would be in time for wishes on Wednesday night so considering California Grill but not sure if this view compares to MK?

Can anyone give any advice on which week I should choose?
Thanks x

 

[Dis703]

Thanksgiving isn't until the 23rd and usually the crowds would be at the busiest Weds-Saturday. I wouldn't anticipate major crowds by that Monday. I'd stick with your original plans personally. It's the end of the week that is busiest for Jersey week as well so the 9th 10th would be the most crowded.

 

[Dis703]

Okay, I took a peak at the historical crowds on touring plans because I was curious myself which would be the busier option. The Friday of Jersey week and the Monday of Thankgiving were both listed as a 10 for pretty much all parks. Day before wasn't as bad but still pretty busy. Seems almost a wash between the two but if the party nights are going to be an issue for the earlier Nov dates I'd still say stick with Thanksgiving week. Just make sure you go into it with a plan, FP, etc.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would do the parks after the cruise. Personally, I couldn't imagine flying from the UK and hitting the ground running with only two days in the parks with two small children. If doing the parks after the cruise means more time (even just one more day), I would do it then. We've done WDW both pre- and post-cruise and while I enjoyed both, I really enjoyed the post-cruise stay most. We were relaxed from the cruise and ready to go to the parks. We've been there the weekend before Thanksgiving and it really wasn't bad at all. We actually did the party that weekend and my DS (who was 7 at the time) was exhausted by fireworks time, so, I too would think twice about spending extra on party tickets. We did really enjoy the Wishes Dessert Party with Plaza Viewing, however. If you want to consider something special for the fireworks, you might want to consider that as it will be cheaper than the party. The view from Cali Grill is also spectacular!

 

[Hayley1230]

Thank you for your help everyone. I did look at crowd calendars and the week before seemed a lot less busy but I don't think I was allowing for jersey week not being the same dates each year so may have been just a normal week I was looking at!
Think I am leaning towards the week of thanksgiving now as will allow some extra park time and will get to see Wishes in the park which I was really looking forward to!
Also we will have seen some characters on the cruise so should be able to skip a lot of them at the parks. Rides will of course be limited by the age of my daughters too so will probably be skipping a lot of these. It's a good job I have 10 months left to plan

 

[scrapquitler]

Hi everyone, this is my first post.
We have booked a Disney Western Caribbean cruise departing 11 Nov 2017-18 Nov. It will be our first cruise and we want to add on a few days in Disney world too (I have never been). We will be traveling with our two daughters aged 2.5 and 5 and are from Liverpool, England.
Original plan was to spend Saturday 18 - Monday 20 Nov in the parks after the cruise but now I have seen it is Thanksgiving and I am worried about the crowds, especially with such a short time and 2 little ones in tow!
Decided to swop to visit Disney first but would only have 2 park days Thursday 9 Nov and Friday 10. But now I see this is jersey week so may have the same crowd problems! Also Wishes is not on either of those nights! Based on last years calender they will both be party nights so MK will shut at 7pm. Not sure i can justify the cost of the party with 2 little ones who will have been at the park since 8am.

We would be in time for wishes on Wednesday night so considering California Grill but not sure if this view compares to MK?

Can anyone give any advice on which week I should choose?
Thanks x

Jersey Week is not as busy as Thanksgiving, but your dates are before Thanksgiving. You'll be there as the crowds are building, Wednesday 22nd and the weekend following will the busier time.

 

[Hayley1230]

Jersey Week is not as busy as Thanksgiving, but your dates are before Thanksgiving. You'll be there as the crowds are building, Wednesday 22nd and the weekend following will the busier time.

Thank you - hopefully this weekend won't be too bad! It's a shame the cruise isn't timed slightly different - the parks look quiet the week we are cruising!

 

[Gracie09]

Jersey Week is not as busy as Thanksgiving, but your dates are before Thanksgiving. You'll be there as the crowds are building, Wednesday 22nd and the weekend following will the busier time.

This. I've been both weeks and it's not even close. One centers around one state when a fraction (and a small fraction at that) take their kids out of school for a trip and other is around a national holiday that 90% of the country has off and even the small fraction that goes to Disney is a larger actual number

 

[ariane37]

We haven't been during Jersey Week but have been Thanksgiving week the last 2 years (and would do it again this year if it weren't for older DS's basketball schedule!). It's crowded Thanksgiving week yes; but as others have said that Saturday through Monday are not the worst days and aren't unbearably crowded, or at least haven't been the last 2 years. So I would also stick with your original plan

 

[CandiceF]

We went this year from November 13-21 and noticed that the crowds picked up significantly on Sunday 20th and Monday the 21st. We went in 2014 for Jersey week (not from Jersey and didn't know about it until we got home) and it didn't feel that crowded at all! As long as you are prepared for crowds and plan your FP+ you will have fun!

 

[Hayley1230]

Thanks everyone! Still not totally decided but leaning towards the start of thanksgiving week as it gives us an extra day to work with and jet lag should be gone. I will make sure I get a really good plan in place either way so hopefully will still get to see the things we want and not have to try and wrestle with 2 children in an hour long queue