Mid-November Crowds, Activities & Weather

[Terk-1]

Am thinking of changing my visit this year from right after Thanksgiving to the middle of November (like maybe the week before Thanksgiving) to view the parks in a non-holiday mode. When do the decorations start getting put up in the parks? What about the music in the parks (holiday or regular)? How are the crowds? How are the temperatures? Anything special going on during that time of the year? Are the park hours shortened? Any chance of getting a discounted code or AP rate during that time?

 

[Terk-1]

Can anyone help me?

 

[jaysue]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/decorating.htm

This was for 2003 but should give you an idea

thanks
jaysue

 

[Terk-1]

Jaysue, Thanks for the link for the decoration schedule.

Can anyone help me with crowds, weather and the other questions?

 

[ragu]

It is a great time of year to go. We went Nov 14th thru the 21st 2003. The weather was great low to mid 80's. It was sunny all week except for one am. However I went the same time in 2002 and it was unseasonably cool. (So take my weather advice with a grain of salt).

The parks were croweded with foot traffic but we never waited more than 20 mins in a line (TOT excluded because they only had one side working.). By that Friday the last day of our trip the crowds did increase significantly.

I love this time of year. My family and myself will continue this tradtion for a long time to come!

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[toystorymom]

We were at the All Star Movies from Nov 10th to Nov 17th in 2003. It was perfect!! The weather was beautiful, sunny but never too hot. It got a little cool at night (maybe needed a sweatshirt, that's it) but being from Mass. it still felt great to us. The kids went swimming alot. We were even able to go to Typhoon Lagoon.

The crowds were minimal. Many of the rides were walk ons that we could do over and over again. The parks did close early, AK closed at 5, MK and MGM at 7, and Epcot at 7/9. Christmas decorations were starting to go up but there were not too many yet.

The Food and Wine Festival was going on at Epcot during this time.

It was also still value season so the rates were low.

Hope that helps!!

 

[DizBelle]

The week before the week of Thanksgiving is my favorite time to go. The weather is wonderful - I'm in shorts and t-shirts all the time and only add a light jacket for the evening. November is (historically) the month with the least rainfall. And the crowds are much more manageable.

However, the park hours are shorter - they generally close at 7pm. AK closes at 5pm but I think it always does. Christmas decorations are not put up until the week of Thanksgiving so you probably won't see any of those.

This is my number one choice for time of year to go.

Hope this helps!

 

[married2grumpy]

We were in Disney 11/13-11/24/03. The decorations were up at WL and DTD but not in the parks. I was disappointed to see Christmas decorations so early. I couldn't wait to check in at WL to hear the lobby music I heard so much about. Imagine our surprise when we walk in on 11/13 and hear Christmas music and see the decorations. I was not ready to even think about Christmas yet. It did grow on us during our stay but I was disappointed at first.

The weather was nice. It rained only 1 day during our stay. I like the temps to be a little warmer. We had 2 days around low 80's but most days were mid to high 70's. Perfect for touring parks but not my idea of pool weather. The mornings and evenings were chilly.

The Food & Wine festival was just winding down. Not something to enjoy with the kids but great for adults only. The parks were more crowded than I anticipated. I was expecting that to be a slow week. I think the attendance at Disney is up on the whole so maybe it was more crowded than it had been in the past.

We got a great AP rate at the WL for our stay. I don't know if there were any room only codes available for that time of year in 2003.

The park hours were shorter. With kids, we had a hard time finding things to do in the evenings. We went to bed early a lot.
There was nothing special going on that week. The Food & Wine festival had just ended, Jersey week, Soap week and Veterans Day was done. I would imagine that the week before Thanksgiving would be the best time to go in November. That's why we chose it!

 

[jaysue]

Originally posted by Terk-1
Am thinking of changing my visit this year from right after Thanksgiving to the middle of November (like maybe the week before Thanksgiving) to view the parks in a non-holiday mode. When do the decorations start getting put up in the parks? What about the music in the parks (holiday or regular)? How are the crowds? How are the temperatures? Anything special going on during that time of the year? Are the park hours shortened? Any chance of getting a discounted code or AP rate during that time?

Sorry Terk-1 for some reason I focused on the decorating schedule

We went Nov 9-13:

Crowds were farily light - the MK seemed a little more crowded than I thought it would be - maybe tail end of Jersey week + rememberance day holiday but it was still relatively quiet compared to peak times

Temperatures - 2 cold/rainy days - Nov 9/10 then great days on 11/12/13 with high 70's and almost no humidity

Food and Wine festival keeping Epcot WS reasonably busy going on

Park Hours are fairly constant - see link below

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hour...Date=11/30/2003&submit2=Check+Disney+Hours+>>

I think the discounts being offered were package type deals _ I do not recall any room only codes being offered past Nov

thanks
jaysue

 

[Terk-1]

Thanks everyone for your input. I have not made any reservations yet, but now am torn between going before or after Thanksgiving. To see the parks in non-holiday form would be a nice change, since I have seen it that way over the past 2 trips. However, to see everything all decked out would be nice too!

Decisions decisions...... Also, family has still not decided about coming or not, so this may either be with them or another solo trip. This may also decide upon when I go. Another plus for going after Thanksgiving will be to allow me more time to save $$.

If I do go after Thanksgiving again this year, I do not plan on standing around watching them film the Christmas Day parade. That wasted way too much time and was not as fun this past year as it was the year prior. To watch them film the same routine over, and over, and over, and over again, got to be annoying. Actually, where Thanksgiving is early this year, I may miss all of that completely.

What is a must no matter when I go is staying at the Wilderness Lodge.