n00b with questions

[DharmaLou]

Hi! I'm a DLR AP and know that park like the back of my hand. I've only been to WDW 3 times, the most recent being 8 years ago. We are planning our first family trip for 2019 because we want to stay away from DLR until the Galaxy's Edge crowds die down (ok, maybe just for a year, the crowds could take forever) so we are tentatively planning Thanksgiving 2019, which I know is forever away but I'm a planner and want to have my ducks in a row. I will have 10 million questions as time goes by, but here are some initial ones.

1. Thanksgiving time. We have gone to DLR several times over Thankgsiving, and while it's very busy, if you plan smart it's very manageable. What are Thanksgiving crowds like at WDW?

2. For a family who has never gone (I have, but have never been to AK - DH and DD have not been to WDW ever) how many days do you suggest?

3. Are there rental car facilities anywhere on property like DLR has an Alamo office? We would like to take a day or two to go off property to the ocean, Cape Canaveral, see around Orlando possibly Gainesville. We don't want to rent a car the whole time if we don't have to.

Thanks for your help!

 

[loves to dive]

Can't answer #1 as we have never been at Thanksgiving, we have been every other time of the year. I will say that even at Christmas (we go the week before Christmas) when the crowds are pretty high it is manageable if you plan carefully and know it's going to be crowded.

#2 I would say you would need at least 5 park days, a day per park then an extra couple of days to go back to the parks you didn't get enough of. We always do park hoppers so on those extra days we could actually do half days at the parks we want to repeat and still have some rest time each day.

#3 I drive down but I do know there are rental car facilities at the Swan/Dolphin which are in the Epcot resort area. Not technically Disney resorts but they sit smack dab in the middle of between HS and Epcot.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We always arrive the Saturday after TG, so can’t speak to crowds before or on TG but on the Saturday after it’s a little crowded and starts dying down the Sunday after. I would recommend at least 7park days,especially since you’re flying so far and adding days doesn’t cost much. That gives you plenty of time to see everything.

 

[Best Aunt]

3. Are there rental car facilities anywhere on property like DLR has an Alamo office? We would like to take a day or two to go off property to the ocean, Cape Canaveral, see around Orlando possibly Gainesville. We don't want to rent a car the whole time if we don't have to.

The Dolphin hotel (in the Epcot resort area) has rental car facilities.

There is also a Car Care Center:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/car-rental-services/

My best advice is - post specific questions in the appropriate forum. For example, if you have a question about transportation, separate it from your other questions and post it in the Transportation forum. The Disney World Tips forum doesn't get a lot of people reading the posts.

 

[Callist]

1) Can't speak to Thanksgiving crowds as I've never been during that time, sorry

2) Depending on your time constraints and budget, of course, you can easily spend two days in the Magic Kingdom. EPCOT can be one longish day or two shorter days, same for Animal Kingdom. Disney Studio is a short park, don't plan on more than a day here. Also, the heat shouldn't be bad around Thanksgiving but be aware that there is NO shade in this park, so sunscreen it up. If your party is the sort to GO GO GO and loves rides, then you can do each park in one long day, but plan at least one day of rest! If you want a more relaxed approach, two days at MK, EP, and AK will work well.

3) If you like quiet beaches that aren't built up, there's a really nice one at Canaveral National Seashore. If you're planning to tour the Kennedy Space Center, that is easily an entire day. Definitely buy the extra ticket to go to the Saturn V Center. I found a good write up here https://wdwprepschool.com/adding-kennedy-space-center-to-a-disney-world-trip/ although I think this person got the Saturn V Center mixed up with the Astronaut Hall of Fame, which I am fairly certain is another attraction. Also read the comments - there's one travel option that no longer seems to work.