OK now I have 4 different reservations.. Thanksgiving crowds?

[southjerseymom]

So I have a new total of 4 ressies lol. Made one last night for check in Thanksgiving Day. Hoping for cheap flights. Staying until the next Saturday December 2nd. Anyone want to post about crowds etc? We have been enough times that we know where what we want to do. Is Thanksgiving weekend a total bust crowd wise? We go hard and are usually hit the parks late and stay for the extra magic hours. 2 am is not a biggie lol. But seriously - I don't know how some people wait in line for 2hrs etc for rides. We do single rider and whatever else we can do to speed up the process. So really looking for any feedback as to whether DW is just too crowded on Thanksgiving.

 

[Kirk]

I use Touring Plans for it's Crowd Calendar. Looks like 8-10 out of 10 for most the week. I love that time of the year in the parks though!

 

[ottawamom]

I was there last year arrived Nov 26 (Sat) and stayed until December 3. The crowds Saturday night in Mk were crazy(10's) but we had FP for the rides we wanted to do so all was good. Sunday was still busy but manageable. The rest of the week was a great time to visit. Rides were not walk on but I don't like to wait more than 15 min for any ride and I don't think we did.

It's a great time to go!

 

[southjerseymom]

Thanks for your replies. DH works on Thanksgiving and since my Mom passed it is not the same. Brothers and sisters having grandchildren and it just gets harder to do the "traditonal" Thanksgiving my Mom loved so much. DH would come down after the weekend so it would just be my super DIS loving teens and me. Maybe starting our own tradition.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have been during Thanksgiving week. It is crazy busy in the MK and Epcot on Thanksgiving and through the weekend, until Sunday afternoon. I would go again in a heartbeat though. WE don't make traditional thanksgiving meal ADR's though, but find it fun to do something way different. The luau is about as far from a normal holiday meal, and that was a favorite of ours.

I understand starting a new tradition and figure you have one of the best reasons to do just that.

 

[Klayfish]

It's Thanksgiving. It's busy. If you don't mind the crowd, go. If crowds bother you, don't go.

 

[melanielll]

I have been on Christmas Day a few times. And on both the week before Christmas and the week in between Christmas and New Years. Those times, the crowds are enormous. But - there is something different about being there then that makes it enjoyable in a different kind of way than lower crowds. First - the parks are fully staffed and the parks make extra efforts to move things along. Things open earlier, every cashier's station is operating and there are more CMs directing people. The hotels (we stay the The Contemporary) have cookies and warm beverages in the lobby. Almost everyone is in better spirits.

I think you should at least try it. For us, the holiday trips are special. I have spent many Thanksgivings at my in-laws' house. A three hour wait to ride The Mine Train followed by crushing crowds beats that any day. Also - get there when the park opens and be smart with your time and fast passes. On Christmas Days that we have been there we rode everything we wanted to multiple times and never waited longer than 20 minutes for anything.

 

[laughinplace199]

We've gone during Thanksgiving, once this past November and once 5 years ago. It was much more crowded this time than it was 5 years ago, but still manageable. We're early risers, so we are at the parks when they open and stay until early afternoon. Then we go back to the resort to relax and then back to the parks after dinner. EMH and FP+ both help. If possible, go to MVMCP on the Sunday after Thanksgiving - we did this on both Thanksgiving trips and were able to walk on to everything!

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I have gone the fri after Thanksgiving lots of times. Like most weeks, busier each year, but you can manage it with the go early or stay late. We stay late, park hop, do mini golf, sit down meals to get out of crowds.. By Sunday eve it is much better.

 

[sharadoc]

We've done it a few times, just did it this past Thanksgiving week, left on Saturday after Thanksgiving. We planned meals, even counter service, so we were fully prepared. Got all our FastPasses at 180 days so we were able to do everything ONCE! Don't expect to ride things multiple times. Also, take advantage of any late EMH, especially MK nights. People go home after fireworks so many rides have little or no lines.

We went to Hollywood Studios on Thanksgiving, it was great. I don't think I would do MK on Thanksgiving unless it was the only day I could do it.

The first week of December is usually terrific.

This past year was a little disappointing in terms of decorations and special Christmas events. Without Osborne Lights, it felt pretty empty. Plus each country in Epcot didn't have the little pop up stores. I'm not sure if it felt as festive as it has in the past, but it was definitely more crowded so that may have had something to do with it as well.

It's definitely a great way to start a new family tradition. Depending on what time you like to eat, I highly recommend the brunch at Captain's Grille for Thanksgiving dinner. They have breakfast/brunch items, plus full turkey and ham dinner stuff. Boma at Animal Kingdom was also great. They have a very interesting menu, plus turkey dinner with all the fixings.

Enjoy!

 

[SaintsManiac]

We are doing our first Thanksgiving this year. I can't wait!! Epcot on Thanksgiving day

 

[haPevraftr]

You will be fine. I teach so we have only done WDW on Christmas, Spring Break/Easter, and Thanksgiving. In our opinion, Thanksgiving break is comparable to a non Easter Spring break week (first week of April). It will be busy but it sounds like you know how to plan so you should be in great shape. We would go back for Thanksgiving without hesitation, we just prefer the weather in April.

 

[janicept]

Thanksgiving plus the Friday and Saturday after will be super busy but crowds start to decrease on Sunday and the following week. I go at this time myself for the past 10 years I think. If you get APs and don't go at rope drop just check the ride times before you decide which park you want to go to. If you have regular tickets and limited number of days I wouldn't go before Sunday or Monday when the crowds go down.