Please Help Hydroguy!!

[Willow25]

Hello

We are traveling from Australia in early December and after researching flight costs it is actually cheapest for us to fly into LA at the end of November. After reading the AP blockouts thread it appears to me that to truly avoid crowds we should actually aim to be there during thanksgiving. Am I right???

 

[QueenDoOver]

Well, I'm not Hydroguy, but I do know that the week of Thanksgiving will be busy, and then starting the Monday following Thanksgiving you will be "off season" and off crowds and without long hours and probably with limited entertainment schedules as well until the Friday before Christmas when things will ramp up again. It is a great time to go.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hello

We are traveling from Australia in early December and after researching flight costs it is actually cheapest for us to fly into LA at the end of November. After reading the AP blockouts thread it appears to me that to truly avoid crowds we should actually aim to be there during thanksgiving. Am I right???

The AP blockouts are really only an issue at certain times - not all the time.

First, Saturdays are blocked year round and tend to be better than Sunday which are usually not.

And second, the AP issue is more prevalent during the following times:

o When something new or significantly refurbed opens

o Before and after an extended blockout

o When some special seasonal offering is happening

Specifically around Thanksgiving week, that has had some crowd pattern changes in recent years. So it is hard to predict. Last year it was reported the few days after TG were moderate for crowds. Traditionally the days after TG were very crowded. This change in trend was caused by AP blockouts.

So in answer to your question, if you follow what happened last year you would have a better experience if you went the days after TG.

 

[Eeee-va]

I could be wrong but I THINK Los Angeles-area schools get off the week of Thanksgiving, which means there are a lot of locals who will be visiting the parks.

If you are able to come in on, say, Sunday 11/28 or later, I'd give that a try. I recall the week after Thanksgiving being quite nice in 2009, but I could be remembering wrong.

 

[jennilouwho]

The Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving last year were crazy busy. Thanksgiving day and the days following were much better. I wasn't there Wednesday, I did hear the crowds eased up a bit. That said, if you plan well you can still see a lot. We got quite a bit done Monday and Tuesday by getting there at opening and utilizing fastpass as much as we could.

 

[pixiewings71]

We went last year for Tgiving, we drove down after work on Wednesday and were in the parks Thurs-Sun, it was pretty slow because most AP's (except Premium which we had) were blocked. We had a GREAT Tgiving holiday last year.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

The Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving last year were crazy busy. Thanksgiving day and the days following were much better. I wasn't there Wednesday, I did hear the crowds eased up a bit. That said, if you plan well you can still see a lot. We got quite a bit done Monday and Tuesday by getting there at opening and utilizing fastpass as much as we could.

I would second this. We were actually there for all of Thanksgiving week the last two years. Two years ago the Sunday was fairly nice, and then it got crazy busy Mon-Wed, then settled down a bit for Thanksgiving Day. Last year the Sunday before Thanksgiving felt just as busy as Mon-Wed. Thanksgiving seemed "light" in comparison. Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving somehow also felt better than the 4 days leading up to Thanksgiving. By getting up early and utilizing fastpass, you can still get tons done. The atmosphere is very festive and the weather was really nice overall the last couple years, a couple sprinkles here and there one or two days, but that was about the worst of it.

The Monday after Thanksgiving things settle down quite a bit and park hours are a bit reduced I believe. If you don't mind experiencing some crowds and want to have the maximum park hours, you would do fine to arrive around Thanksgiving. How many days do you plan on for Disney? You could start on Thanksgiving or soon after when the hours are still long and entertainment offerings are at their maximum (and the crowds a little heavier) and finish your stay during the first part of the week after Thanksgiving when hours are shorter but the crowds are gone. Then you get both kinds of experiences.