Please tell me about mid-November :)

[Mrs~Incredible]

Looking to book our next trip - thinking about the week just before Tgiving (Nov 11-18) - this would be after Jersey Week. We have been in Sept, Oct, and May before, but never November.

1. I know the Nov. weather can be variable - chilly or even hot. For a 6 year old fish (AKA my daughter), do you think swimming outside in heated pools is likely? Have any of you done that?

2. Crowds - I am assuming higher than September, probably closer to early May. Thoughts?

3. Christmas stuff - this may be what I am most excited about. We have never done a party (MNSSHP or MVMCP) - any suggestions/thoughts on MVMCP? I expect it to be an expensive ticket - do you think it is "worth it"? What day of the week is best to go?

4. Do all of the parks have decorations up by then?

5. Jingle Bell Bam at HS - was this good?

Any other thoughts/suggestions related to this time of year?

Thank you so much, friends!!

 

[luvgoing2disney]

The only thing I can tell you is that we will be there with you. This will be our first visit during this time of the year so looking forward to seeing the responses!

 

[ErinsMommy]

Looking to book our next trip - thinking about the week just before Tgiving (Nov 11-18) - this would be after Jersey Week. We have been in Sept, Oct, and May before, but never November.

1. I know the Nov. weather can be variable - chilly or even hot. For a 6 year old fish (AKA my daughter), do you think swimming outside in heated pools is likely? Have any of you done that?

2. Crowds - I am assuming higher than September, probably closer to early May. Thoughts?

3. Christmas stuff - this may be what I am most excited about. We have never done a party (MNSSHP or MVMCP) - any suggestions/thoughts on MVMCP? I expect it to be an expensive ticket - do you think it is "worth it"? What day of the week is best to go?

4. Do all of the parks have decorations up by then?

5. Jingle Bell Bam at HS - was this good?

Any other thoughts/suggestions related to this time of year?

Thank you so much, friends!!

We took my daughter pretty much this exact time for her birthday:
1. <Corrected> My DD and DH used the pool a couple of times (I was thinking of an earlier trip) but we were told it was a warm year in 2015 - we went to the party in short sleeves and spent most of our days in t-shirts and shorts.
2. Crowds were pretty good - my daughter had no problem this week at all
3. We did the MVMCP and the rides were pretty much all walk-on (we missed all the parades that year).
4. Yes beautifully decorated as was the Contemporary Resort where we were staying and DD saw the "Frozen" display.
5. We saw it this past November and LOVED it. Very cute!

 

[a742246]

I would expect to see at least 4 of those 7 days

Looking to book our next trip - thinking about the week just before Tgiving (Nov 11-18) - this would be after Jersey Week. We have been in Sept, Oct, and May before, but never November.

1. I know the Nov. weather can be variable - chilly or even hot. For a 6 year old fish (AKA my daughter), do you think swimming outside in heated pools is likely? Have any of you done that?

2. Crowds - I am assuming higher than September, probably closer to early May. Thoughts?

3. Christmas stuff - this may be what I am most excited about. We have never done a party (MNSSHP or MVMCP) - any suggestions/thoughts on MVMCP? I expect it to be an expensive ticket - do you think it is "worth it"? What day of the week is best to go?

4. Do all of the parks have decorations up by then?

5. Jingle Bell Bam at HS - was this good?

Any other thoughts/suggestions related to this time of year?

Thank you so much, friends!!

You should be able to swim most days!

Crowds are good, avoid MK on weekends, though!

MVMCP is expensive ($80) if you can afford it in your budget then go, if your budget is tight I would avoid it. It's good but not great!

The decorations usually starts going up around 11/15 or so.

Jingle Bell Bam was very good, I would get a FassPass for it , or get there at least an hour early, so that you get an center section.

We will be there 11/9 to 11/16! It is a great time to go to WDW. You will have a great time!

 

[100acreHiker]

You will likely swim. You can't count on it, but 4/5 years we managed to, even in December. There will be SOME decorations, definitely in MK as the Christmas Party is happening, but not likely in most resorts yet; in our experience, most resort decorations start to go up just before Thanksgiving. We didn't love Jingle Bam! I was sore about missing the Star Wars fireworks show and really wanted them to continue that through the holiday season, and Jingle Bam felt a little too kiddie to us (we do have kids, but it just felt too young to even my 8 year old). I like the Christmas party but it's gotten very expensive this past year and there's little there for us that we can't see or do during the day since we're not huge into meet and greets. Also, unless you can stay till the bitter end, it may not be worth your time. Basically, my kids pooped out after the parade and I felt like I spent $300 to see a parade. Then it started to rain, and no one was in the mood, so we called it a day. Not a bad experience, but we just didn't get our money's worth. YMMV, of course!

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

You will likely swim. You can't count on it, but 4/5 years we managed to, even in December. There will be SOME decorations, definitely in MK as the Christmas Party is happening, but not likely in most resorts yet; in our experience, most resort decorations start to go up just before Thanksgiving. We didn't love Jingle Bam! I was sore about missing the Star Wars fireworks show and really wanted them to continue that through the holiday season, and Jingle Bam felt a little too kiddie to us (we do have kids, but it just felt too young to even my 8 year old). I like the Christmas party but it's gotten very expensive this past year and there's little there for us that we can't see or do during the day since we're not huge into meet and greets. Also, unless you can stay till the bitter end, it may not be worth your time. Basically, my kids pooped out after the parade and I felt like I spent $300 to see a parade. Then it started to rain, and no one was in the mood, so we called it a day. Not a bad experience, but we just didn't get our money's worth. YMMV, of course!

Wait- hold the phone! Jingle bam is INSTEAD of Star Wars fireworks?
Me no likey. And hubby will definitely not like that. SW fireworks was a definite highlight for us last trip!

 

[disneyseniors]

We have gone exclusively the first part of November for years. The weather was always good, warm and nice. Crowds were moderate. I wouldn't worry about Jersey week, as we never saw a difference in the first two weeks. One thing to think about. Usually the first full week of November is Pop Warner cheerleading and possibly football?, and it is very crowded. We avoid that week like the plague. Read other posts on here about Pop Warner week!
The decorations were up mostly. Some at the resorts were not up yet. We love the atmosphere this time of year.
However, due to circumstances, we had to change our reservation of last November to February this year. We just got back, and loved this time of year too. I don't know what we will do next year, but are leaning towards February!

Oops, I just realized and am editing the above about Pop Warner. They are the first full week of December, not Nov. So sorry, don't know why I did that? Maybe because we used to go to WDW the first 2 weeks of December, and stopped because of PW. Now we have been going the first 2 weeks of November, and other than Jersey week, it was fine. Sorry for the confusion!!!!

 

[stinkpickle]

We've gone the week before Thanksgiving several times, including last year.

Weather can be all over the place, but it's generally nice. It's been nice enough to swim every trip. We've encountered a couple cold snaps, though (lows dipping down into the 30s).

Crowds are usually low during the week, especially after F&W ends. The weekends can be busy, though. 2017 will probably be similar to 2016, because Jersey Week and Veterans Day will affect the first weekend, while Thanksgiving will affect the second one. There's usually a private party at MK on that Thursday, and the park closes at 4:30, but that's the best day to visit crowd wise. Park hoppers are also handy because of the Christmas parties.

There are a lot of decorations up. I don't know if all of them are up, because that's the closest we get to Christmas.

BTW, we will be there 11/11-11/18, also.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We almost always go over Thanksgiving or Christmas. I have been once during the the first few days in November for the Food & Wine Festival. The decorations will be up in MK before you arrive. The decorations in the parks should be up during your stay. Most of the resort decorations should be up by the last few days of your trip. I would suggest going to the Grand Floridian to look at the life size gingerbread house and the huge tree in the lobby. The MVMCP is good, but is expensive. If you have never seen the Christmas parade or fireworks, then I would definitely say do it and enjoy those parts of the party. You should be able to swim. We were there over Thanksgiving last year and the weather was very nice. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 60s. The only problem with going before Thanksgiving is that you will not get to experience Holidays Around the World in Epcot, which I think is one of the best parts of the holidays at Disney now that the Osborne Lights are no longer on property. The crowds should die down after your first weekend as that is the end of the F&W, so I would avoid Epcot until Monday or Tuesday. Also, you may run the risk of the Christmas parade taping being over your stay. Previously, they always had it after Thanksgiving, but last year the taping was before Thanksgiving.

 

[100acreHiker]

Wait- hold the phone! Jingle bam is INSTEAD of Star Wars fireworks?
Me no likey. And hubby will definitely not like that. SW fireworks was a definite highlight for us last trip!

It's true and it was superbly disappointing to me. We love star wars and the videos I'd seen of the fireworks shows were awesome and then they took it away for the holiday season and replaced it with Jingle Bam!. It makes me very sad, because the holiday season is when we go, so I feel like I will never get to see the Star Wars Show. I get that they wanted to do something special for the holidays now that Osborne Lights are no more, but the new show just didn't work for us and we were heartbroken to not get a chance to see the SW show.

 

[SUSIEQ]

We go this week every year.............because it's my Birthday week!
GREAT time to go! See ya there!

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

1. I know the Nov. weather can be variable - chilly or even hot. For a 6 year old fish (AKA my daughter), do you think swimming outside in heated pools is likely? Have any of you done that?

We went in December 2015 and swam a couple of days and could have everyday. I have been in November but so many years ago any of my crowd info would be lacking.

 

[Satchmo128]

We have been in November a few times over the last few years. We stay away from Epcot (especially on the weekends) until F&WF is over and then it is practically a ghost town in that park. Weather is usually mild, crowds thin out after Veteran's Day, then they build back up as you get closer to Thanksgiving. It is one of our favorite times to go, honestly! Have a great trip!

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Before we moved down to Florida permanently, all of our Disney vacations were in mid-November - it's AWESOME! Beautiful weather, low rain chances, still able to swim but not swelter & the crowds were always extremely manageable. Me thinks you'll love it

 

[Santa]

Looking to book our next trip - thinking about the week just before Tgiving (Nov 11-18) - this would be after Jersey Week. We have been in Sept, Oct, and May before, but never November.

1. I know the Nov. weather can be variable - chilly or even hot. For a 6 year old fish (AKA my daughter), do you think swimming outside in heated pools is likely? Have any of you done that?

2. Crowds - I am assuming higher than September, probably closer to early May. Thoughts?

3. Christmas stuff - this may be what I am most excited about. We have never done a party (MNSSHP or MVMCP) - any suggestions/thoughts on MVMCP? I expect it to be an expensive ticket - do you think it is "worth it"? What day of the week is best to go?

4. Do all of the parks have decorations up by then?

5. Jingle Bell Bam at HS - was this good?

Any other thoughts/suggestions related to this time of year?

Thank you so much, friends!!

It has been a few years but we feel the week before Thanksgiving is the best time to go. All our trips listed for November in my signature line were the week before Thanksgiving. Yea, we like that time of year a little.

1. Weather - We have had beautiful weather for most of our trips in November except once, cold & rainy all week. We made the best of it.

2. Crowds have varied year to year, never a problem for us.

3. MVMCP - Have done this several times in previous years, mid-week is your best option.

4. Park decorations as stated above will be up. Most resorts will be done or almost done as well.

5. Have not seen Jingle Bell Jam at HS.
Week before Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year to visit WDW hands down!