Need some help on November Dates

[SKShields]

Hi There! I got a great phone call from my mom this weekend - she wants to go to DL this year!!! This is fantastic because my husband and i weren't planning on going back until february of 2012. But with mom wanting to go in november, i might be able to push the trip with my husband until after Carsland opens in DCA.

So here's my question: my mom was thinking 1st week of november, but i was figuring some rides might be down, like space to take off the halloween overlay and ITASW to put up the xmas overlay. So i was thinking November 16-19, flying in the morning of the 16th, leaving the evening of the 19th. This would be the weekend before thanksgiving, so i'm hoping that all of the xmas stuff will be up and running, i would LOVE for her to see DL in it's Holiday glory. Any thoughts on how crowds might be? thanks for all the help!!

 

[jenniferrose]

I have gone both of those weeks and I would say the earlier week is going to have less crowds but the later week will still not be too crazy. The crowds wont pick up until Friday night which should be the first night of the holiday parade. (except that could change... last year they did it the week before so I could be wrong). Be prepared for shorter park hours and closures, which is seems you know.

 

[Disneyhenry]

The week before Thanksgiving will be great! Less crowded by far and the Christmas decorations will be up, Have fun!

 

[Sherry E]

The holiday season this year will probably begin on 11/11/11 or possibly 11/18/11 (next year will likely either start on 11/9 or 11/16) - either way you will likely be there in time to enjoy it!

The only thing I will forewarn you about is that even though the holiday season will officially begin by a certain date, only about 85% of it is in full swing before Thanksgiving weekend. For some reason, DLR begins their season on whichever date they choose each year, but the 3 hotels are not decorated until after Thanksgiving is over, which means 3 out of the 5 Santas at DLR do not appear until then as well. Any appearances by strolling carolers will not happen at the hotels until after all the decor is up as well. And there are a couple of holiday food items that seem to not come out until later in the holiday season (like tamales, for example). Downtown Disney, also, is lacking some of its holiday decor pre-Thanksgiving.

To many people, not having the hotels decorated when they visit DLR for the holidays is no big deal. I think that the GCH atmosphere and ambiance during the season is really nice, and a big highlight is enjoying the carolers by the tree in the huge lobby.

But other than those things, mostly everything will be up and in full swing. You will have a wonderful time!

Crowd-wise, if the season begins on 11/18, any opening weekend of a special season such as Halloween or the holidays will draw many more people out to see all the decor and sample the treats. So I would expect it to be more crowded on the opening weekend and less crowded earlier in November. Some folks say that the week leading up to Thanksgiving is very busy, but I don't know...

I was at DLR last year on 11/13 - the day after the holiday season began - and I felt that it was so busy it may as well have been a December day. I was actually a bit surprised. Things could change this year and next year, though. You never know what will happen.

 

[SKShields]

Thank you so much for the info, i think we'll definitely go with those dates! My mom hasn't been to DL in a long time and i'm so excited to share this with her