Pros and Cons of Thanksgiving Week vs. Week Before Christmas

[Piglet99645]

Hey y'all.

I'm excited about my girls' weekend with my best friend coming up in September. Meanwhile, my kids are way overdue for a trip, and I'd like to start planning.

So JUST HOW BAD is Thanksgiving week? Traveling Sunday-Saturday isn't bad in terms of flights from my home, and even hotels seem reasonable. And Alaska Airlines has 5 day parkhoppers for the price of 4 with a package. Moneywise it's a good time for me, as well as school vacation (kids will only miss 3 days) and it's also my son's 15th birthday in there.

But how horribly busy is it really going to be? We've been several times.

The pros:

My kids "get it." They know the system. They are good travelers and will be happy to be there. The weather won't be too hot (we are from Alaska). I'm guessing the ride closures won't be bad, and they will be heavily staffed for the season. The holiday decorations will be up.

Tell me the cons of Thanksgiving week.

EDITED TO ASK for comparisons of Thanksgiving week to the week leading up to Christmas day (Dec 18-24).

Thanks.

P.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Take a look at the block out days for SoCal and Deluxe APs for the week. I think you will find that due to those blackouts, Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday will be crazy, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday will just be busy. If you come mentally prepared, I think you can have a great time. -- Suzanne

 

[stardusty21]

I went last year during Thanksgiving week with my 18 year old daughter (arrived Friday before Thanksgiving, left Thanksgiving day). We thought we had seen the parks crowded before but apparently we hadn't. The only time that it was manageable was the first hour or two in the morning. We said never again.

 

[Piglet99645]

Thanks for the responses. Is that week worse than any random 5 days in December over the holiday break?

 

[chickapin parterre]

this is the last year for awhile that there is no week after Thanksgiving as that week will be returning in 2016. so there is that missing holiday week that have retailers fretting and Disneyland crowded. the coming El Nino, so the earlier to celebrate Christmas overlay, the better chance to avoid what ever will happen in California, be it mist or torrents, December could be wet. thanksgiving not so wet

pros - grandparents lost vacation money for extended family in stock market correction, so family plans on hold this holiday season
-folks believe that el nino is going to happen and cancel holiday plans

 

[chickapin parterre]

yes thanksgiving week is worse, schools out for the entire week, national holiday, pre-school families can leave the week after thanksgiving, less wind chance.

best week for fear of crowds would be the Monday after candlelight, no college kids, folks wanting a time in the park on the 25th, schedules in the park.


18-24th will be just as bad as Thanksgiving. The beauty of Thanksgiving is that it seems to be more of a family visit week than Christmas week, so crowds are spread out over the Thanksgiving week, Thursday actually being manageable. Up to our last visit in 08, wednesday nights were the worse, TD the best, monday/tuesday manageable

 

[KalamityJane]

Can you get out in the first 3 weeks of December OR the week between the Avengers race (I think it's the weekend of the 14th?) and the week of Thanksgiving? (looked at a calendar - week of Nov 15-21)

 

[Jerryp49]

We went Thanksgiving week once, NEVER AGAIN. You spend more time waiting in line than doing things.90 min wait for Indy at 10:30 am . The line for food was incredibly long. Really uncomfortable, too crowded to walk around. Try the week after Thanksgiving and before the Candlelight .

 

[Piglet99645]

Super helpful. Thanks all. Sounds like this might not be as fun as I'd like.

I hate having to work around school vacations, but I have one that never catches up if I pull him out of school.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'm going to be the dissenting opinion in that it's busy, but manageable if done right. Start early (rope drop or EMH/MM depending on your circumstances) and you end up ahead of the game. Nighttime entertainment may make the evenings busier than have been in past years, but I still think it will be fine. Utilize FP where you can, take afternoon breaks or see the shows. We have done Thanksgiving for the last 3 years with plans to return this year and we've always had a blast!

 

[Imdboss]

We went Thanksgiving week in 2013 and we didn't think it was too bad. Maybe it's because I read so many horrible things about that week including DL hitting max capacity on Thanksgiving Day that we were pleasantly surprised to find that not all the wait times weren't 1-2 hours long as expected and Thanksgiving Day was nowhere near capacity. It was pretty mellow in the morning and it did get busier in the afternoon but not unmanageable by any means.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We've done Thanksgiving week for the last six years. It is certainly not unmanageable, but it can get very, very busy. If you start early in the morning and go in with a good attitude and reasonable expectations, you should be fine. Walkways will get crowded. Ride lines will get long in the middle of the afternoon. People will start sitting and standing for nighttime shows really early. If you expect these things, then you find the best ways to cope and make the most of it. I really like going that time of year despite the crowds because the parks are festive, the hours are long, and the weather is often pleasant. We don't pull the kids out of school, so it's holidays or summer for us, so maybe we've just gotten used to it.

 

[jnfr2424]

Ok I'm getting nervous it's my first trip to DL - my family visiting from the Sunday after Thanksgiving until the Wednesday I'm assuming I need to be in the parks early but will they be so full to capacity?

 

[Angrose]

Ok I'm getting nervous it's my first trip to DL - my family visiting from the Sunday after Thanksgiving until the Wednesday I'm assuming I need to be in the parks early but will they be so full to capacity?

The Sunday after Thanksgiving and that week after shouldn't be bad at all, and definitely not even close to capacity. The really busy days of Thanksgiving week are the Sun, Mon, Tue before Thanksgiving and then the Friday and Saturday afterwards can be pretty busy too. We went the Friday to Monday after Thanksgiving and those first two days were busy and then Sunday and Monday were not too bad.

 

[Jerryp49]

Ok I'm getting nervous it's my first trip to DL - my family visiting from the Sunday after Thanksgiving until the Wednesday I'm assuming I need to be in the parks early but will they be so full to capacity?

No, that`s perfect .Sunday after Thanksgiving may be crowded but the next 3 days ( Nov 30 , Dec 1 and 2 ) you will most likely see very lite crowds, kids are back in school.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

id try and go first couple weeks dec and just say sorry school. even when my son was in school we told his teacher early on he will be out for a week at the time and they always said ok and we always got him caught up sometimes before we left with work he had due that week.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Wednesday will be super in the park, folks left Thanksgiving on Mon tues, folks coming in thurs and Friday for Candlelight. I only thought it was crowded on Monday and Tuesday because of mind set that it would be empty. If I had a planned on it being manageable, then I would have never noticed the crowds on Monday and tuesday.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

We have done Thanksgiving week a few times the past few years, we have found the crowds to get fairly manageable later in the week. Do what Longtimedisneylurker said, go early, rest, be prepared for some crowds, have a good time.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

The Sunday after Thanksgiving and that week after shouldn't be bad at all, and definitely not even close to capacity. The really busy days of Thanksgiving week are the Sun, Mon, Tue before Thanksgiving and then the Friday and Saturday afterwards can be pretty busy too. We went the Friday to Monday after Thanksgiving and those first two days were busy and then Sunday and Monday were not too bad.

You should be fine! My husband and I do our annual DL trip exactly during this week every year and the Sunday after Thanksgiving is moderately crowded but not *crazy*. A lot of out-of-town tourists are going home that day. Then Monday gets better, and Tuesday/Wednesday are very good. Expect light crowds in the morning and normal buildup throughout the day with longer lines by afternoon/evening.

The worst days on our trip are the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, when the lines will get very long and the park feels very crowded. We're thankful we've seen and done it all so we can plan on resting more those days!