Never been to the fort-tell me about Thanksgiving Week?

[barefootMom]

Hi -I think we are about to book Thanksgiving week at FW in a cabin and am wondering if people ever cook their own Thanksgiving dinners? or is there a good place to go for a sort of traditional Thanksgiving dinner? Also, are the decorations for the holidays up by then? Finally, our girls will want to use the pools no matter what the temperatures, do the pools get really busy or maybe not so much that time of year? Any help/advice would be great!!

 

[freshlybarked]

Never been either, but we will be this Thanksgiving. I'm sure plenty of people cook Thanksgiving dinner in the cabins because plenty do it at their campsites. There are also dine out options. I'm going to try to get reservations at Liberty Tree. I hear they do a nice dinner. Several other places also have special meals for turkey day. Yes, lots of decorations will be up. I think Mickey's Christmas Party is going at that time and the Osborne Lights are up. Your fellow campers will have stuff up also. I hear from the day before Thanksgiving through that weekend will be busy, but we usually go in the summer due to work schedules so it is always a mad house then. I can't imagine that week being any worse than 4th of July or Memorial Day weekend.

 

[BradyBz12]

Also, are the decorations for the holidays up by then?

Absolutely everything is usually in full swing the Friday after Thanksgiving, if not sooner. Last year the parks were all decorated well before that week - the resorts were a little slower to catch up. MVMCP and Osborne both started 11/10, although the year before Osborne didn't start until the Friday after Thanksgiving - not sure about this year yet.

They don't usually hold MVMCP during the Thanksgiving holiday week but they should resume the Sunday night after Thanksgiving.

Have a great trip!

 

[YensidCamper]

We will be there also at Thanksgiving. The last time were there at this time was 1998 and we stayed at the POFQ. I remember the days being nice and warm and nights being very cool. At that time we were sans kids and young and did not get back from DTD/PI until early in the mornings. We froze at a bus stop on night. Is swimming really an option during the days?

 

[fldisneymommyto2]

It is a terrible time to go.. Don't do it!!!!!!
Actually.. we go every year!!! The parks do get a little busy... but we enjoy our tradition!!!

 

[Firescooby]

We'll be there from November 17-24. When do the crowds hit?

 

[bama_ed]

Barefoot,

We went this past Thanksgiving week to the Fort and cooked a Thanksgiving meal. We were in a pop-up camper and brought a table top roaster oven and cooked a 22 pound turkey. The Fort was mostly full when we checked in on Sunday and definitely full by the day before Tgiving.

We bought all our stuff at local grocery stores there so I think you should be able to pull this off especially in a cabin. Pies came from the Winn Dixie deli, instant mash potatoes and sweet potato casseroles, dressing, some wine, it was all delicious. I would recommend buying your groceries early in the week as by the time we went on Wednesday they were out of some items. Plus we brought our carving knives and large cutting boards from home. We actually cooked our turkey on Friday (why is another story) but we ate outdoors on our site and it was sunny and about 65F. Ultimately we served 14 people. All with paper plates and plastic silverware to minimize cleanup.

As far as decorations go, the theme parks are set up already (the MK especially for the MVMCP). We saw progress every day at the Fort. First there was nothing. Then each day you'll see some decorations go up on light posts, at Pioneer Hall, at the Trading Posts, then finally the tree go up in front of Trails End. The gingerbread house is already up at the Grand Floridian.

As far as Thanksgiving meals, the resorts do offer Traditional Thankgiving type meals. The price though will make you especially if your kids have to pay as adults like mine do. Even Trails End puts turkey and dressing on their Thanksgiving meal. The up-charge is significant IMO during this holiday time.

But for a real experience I'd encourage you to do it in the cabin. Keep it simple (paper/plastic), keep it easy (deli pies and instant sides). I couldn't find a fresh turkey so got it on day 1 and had to let it thaw in a cooler over several days so it would be ready. If you have some helpers who are good in the kitchen and can share the load it will be something to remember. A little pre-planning makes it work.

As far as the pools go they are heated so it takes a few minutes to adjust but we were fine. We also went back and forth to the hot tub to help warm up after standing in line for the slide sometimes. Since the Fort is full the pool is usually active but it just depends on the weather you have. Last year was warm and muggy first part of the week, then a day of rain came through, then cooler and sunny the rest of the way. I'd also encourage you to go see the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord Palms which is Christmas-themed and just across I-4 from Disney. It's something different which is a nice change from the theme parks. The DIS has a write-up and pictures from past years and if you need the link I can post it here.

Good luck and post pictures after you get back so we can see how it went.

Bama ED

 

[CampingBandit]

We were there too - It was an amazing holiday experience...
I was very impressed with all the decorations at the sites and also the elaborate T-day celebrations the various campsites had - some had quite the spreads.
We had turkey-walking tacos. Kept is easy, but we had turkey

The pool was not crowded at all, but the temps were on the chilly side some of the time.

 

[YensidCamper]

Thanks for letting me know about the pools. We can't wait to get there. I hope the weather will be nice. We arrive on Saturday AM and plan on hitting the parks early in the week and then enjoying the Fort more later in the week as the parks crowd up. Is there a definite you wouldn't try to do because of the crowds. I assume the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving are the worst. We are used to spring break and summer crowds so I don't know if this time of year would seem any worse to us.

 

[bama_ed]

Yensid,

All I can tell you is what happened to us in our limited experience last year.

First we only went to the theme parks on one day which was Monday of Tgiving week and the it was the Magic Kingdom. I would highly recommend using the touring plan that best fits you and your family that is listed in the book "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". They are summarized in the back of the book. Our public library had several copies and I got it and photocopied the plan page before we left.

It ABSOLUTELY helped us get on the rides with the shortest lines possible and of course we worked in Fastpasses as well. In fact it worked so good I felt like I was surfing in front of a really big wave because when we would get in a line it would be short, we'd ride the ride, and when we got off the line had gotten so much longer. I felt like everyone was following me! We rode Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Pooh, Peter Pan, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mtn, Pirates, had lunch, Splash Mtn, and Jungle Cruise all before 130pm. Of course you need to take the first boat to the MK (leaves the FW dock about 30-40 minutes before opening) to be there when they open the gates.

I'm not into a highly scheduled day in the theme park but we knocked out the biggies then had time to drift around. Country Bears, Tom Sawyer Island, ride the train, HoP, browse the shops on Main Street, etc. Space Mountain had JUST reopened after its long refurbishment and the listed wait time was over 2 hours! The folks who publish the Unofficial Guide also have a website that lists estimated wait times/crowds in the Disney Parks and it will show what to expect. Here is the link http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14. Use it along with the weather forecast, family wants, etc to make at least an informed decision of what day/what park/what rides. The plans all focus on the fact that the extra hour days (EMH and whatever the evening one is called) actually create bigger crowds and longer lines so they nearly always avoid the park that has the extra hours any given day.

I'm on vacation to relax so I choose the lowest stress route to visiting the theme parks. If you are a theme park warrior, an uber-Disney fan who has to ride every ride and checks them off the list as you do, my advice is not for you. I can't tell you about the crowds later in the week because we didn't go. But the Monday afternoon at MK was hot and crowded.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Bama ED

 

[justcynn]

we are arriving Thanksgiving day and staying 10 nights at the Fort - from everything I have read - it should be a great time to visit - I can't wait!

 

[bama_ed]

Justcynn,

Good for you. We look forward to a trip report with pictures in late November!

Bama ED

 

[Tri-circle-D]

The TCD gang usually makes it to the Fort for at least part of Thanksgiving week every year.

Here's an old, but good TR from Thanksgiving 2007:

Thanksgiving 2007 @ The Fort

One cool thing that happens every Thanksgiving week is a group of TiPi enthusiasts set up their TiPis in the group camping area. Check out post #7 in the trip report link above for more information about that.

Thanksgiving week is a great time to visit the Fort!

TCD

 

[BradyBz12]

We'll be there through Thanksgiving week this year. Maybe we'll get lucky and spy TCD out on one of his super sleuth scouting missions!

 

[FWFans]

We spent Thanksgiving week at the fort last year. We have been to the fort and WDW many times in the past. I found the first half of the week to be average as far as crowds were concerned. We went on Thanksgiving morning to MK and the crowds were unbelievable . We quickly returned the campground and returned to epcot later that afternoon then to the MK for the evening hours. We smoked a turkey at the site Thanksgiving morning. I fixed all of the other dishes prior to leaving home and froze them in freezer bags so all I had to do was warm them up and serve. I also cooked other meals prior to leaving home so that we wouldn't have too much to do in order to eat. We will be back again this Thanksgiving with extended family .

 

[Tri-circle-D]

We'll be there through Thanksgiving week this year. Maybe we'll get lucky and spy TCD out on one of his super sleuth scouting missions!

We shall see. Thanksgiving is a bit earlier than you usually go, isn't it?

TCD

 

[BradyBz12]

We shall see. Thanksgiving is a bit earlier than you usually go, isn't it?

TCD

We used to come in the weekend after, but actually last year we were really early (Nov 1), since we squeezed in our '08 and '09 trips on one set of APs.

We're trying to do the same this year (buying new APs to use for 2 annual trips) and not get home too close to Christmas (done that - too crazy), so we're moving things up a bit this year.

Good news is we're sneaking in for the last weekend of F&W!

 

[YensidCamper]

Thanks to Bama-Ed, TCD, DaveinTN, and others for all the information on Thanksgiving at the Fort. I can't wait to get there and I hope to see as many of you there that I can.

 

[lledman]

We are arriving on Thanksgiving day and while I don’t have my menu planned yet I do want to do a semi-traditional meal once we get the camper set up. I was thinking either sliced deli meat rolled and heated with gravy (so it doesn’t dry out) or maybe turkey breasts instead of a whole bird, or chicken on the grill, or maybe even just baked ham, maybe a combination of several. Instant potatoes and stuffing along with canned vegetables and brown & serve rolls will compliment. Since we plan to arrive around lunch time that means dinner will have to be simple as I won’t have all day to slave over a meal. I'd love to do a special character meal for the holiday but since we are camping I can save a ton of money (remember there is a holiday sur-charge on top of the normal prices) and do something myself - after all dinner at Fort Wilderness is pretty special on it's own.

 

[fldisneymommyto2]

Honey Baked Ham makes a good turkey breast that we usually bring at Thanksgiving.. it is already sliced too!