So glad I called today!!

[MinnieMama09]

Well, we decided (very unexpectedly) this weekend to venture to DL for Thanksgiving this year...so excited! We have never been over a holiday, I know it will be crazy busy, but now that I am teaching again and my DS is in school we had to go on a week we had off. All that to say, I'm glad I decided to call today to reserve our Thanksgiving Day dinner...I think yesterday or today was the first day we could book it, and Storyteller's buffet was already completely booked until 9 pm, which would not work well with my two little ones. We were able to get in at Goofy's though for a 4:00 dinner...any experiences with this for Thanksgiving? It sounds like they have a lot of the traditional foods (which we want), plus a whole lot more. I was considering DLH Ballroom (we are staying at DLH), but it was $71 an adult for the buffet...yikes! That was more than I was expecting, even though I knew it was the priciest. Goofy's is reasonable though ($37/adults, $17/kids).

Any tips or suggestions for spending Thanksgiving and the weekend (we arrive Wed., leave on Sun., with 3 days in the parks)? A little nervous about the crowds but we are super excited regardless!

 

[princesskayla]

Yeah on your trip. Try ridemax for Disneyland. That will help use your time wisely.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Yay ~ you'll have a fantastic time. Don't worry about crowds so long as you don't visit on the days b4 Thanksgiving - we were there last year Thur-Sat and will be there those same days this year!! Our Thanksgiving lunner will be at Mimi's *off site - by HoJo* it's what we did last year, it was yummy and cheaper. Regarding crowds read *this* and *this* the 2nd *this* was 2009, last year was no different and I expect this year to be the same.

 

[MinnieMama09]

Yay ~ you'll have a fantastic time. Don't worry about crowds so long as you don't visit on the days b4 Thanksgiving - we were there last year Thur-Sat and will be there those same days this year!! Our Thanksgiving lunner will be at Mimi's *off site - by HoJo* it's what we did last year, it was yummy and cheaper. Regarding crowds read *this* and *this* the 2nd *this* was 2009, last year was no different and I expect this year to be the same.

Thanks for the links...very helpful info! That's why I love these boards...we had almost booked for the beginning of Thanksgiving week, until I read some old threads and realized it would be much better to go Thurs-Sun! Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

[cmwade77]

Well, we decided (very unexpectedly) this weekend to venture to DL for Thanksgiving this year...so excited! We have never been over a holiday, I know it will be crazy busy, but now that I am teaching again and my DS is in school we had to go on a week we had off. All that to say, I'm glad I decided to call today to reserve our Thanksgiving Day dinner...I think yesterday or today was the first day we could book it, and Storyteller's buffet was already completely booked until 9 pm, which would not work well with my two little ones. We were able to get in at Goofy's though for a 4:00 dinner...any experiences with this for Thanksgiving? It sounds like they have a lot of the traditional foods (which we want), plus a whole lot more. I was considering DLH Ballroom (we are staying at DLH), but it was $71 an adult for the buffet...yikes! That was more than I was expecting, even though I knew it was the priciest. Goofy's is reasonable though ($37/adults, $17/kids).

Any tips or suggestions for spending Thanksgiving and the weekend (we arrive Wed., leave on Sun., with 3 days in the parks)? A little nervous about the crowds but we are super excited regardless!

I highly recommend the buffet in the ballroom, while expensive, it is AMAZING. Goofy's will essentially have mostly what they would have any other day with a couple of traditional items, assuming it works how it has in the past.

All, I have to say is to brace yourself for massive crowds, take your worst nightmare on the crowds and double it. That should be about right for Thanksgiving. Although the first 4 hours or so the day after Thanksgiving are usually pretty light while people are at black Friday sales.

In my experience the busiest days of the year are (busiest to least busy, but still quite busy):
New Year's Eve
Christmas Day
Every other Christmas Eve
4th of July
Thanksgiving Day

 

[DisneyMomma81]

All, I have to say is to brace yourself for massive crowds, take your worst nightmare on the crowds and double it. That should be about right for Thanksgiving. Although the first 4 hours or so the day after Thanksgiving are usually pretty light while people are at black Friday sales.

In my experience the busiest days of the year are (busiest to least busy, but still quite busy):
New Year's Eve
Christmas Day
Every other Christmas Eve
4th of July
Thanksgiving Day

Were you there last year or the year before for Thanksgiving day? I was *last year, and I found the crowds quite mild - talking with a CM later in the day he mentioned "Today's been the quietest day all week." this was Thanksgiving day. Fri and Sat were fantastic as well.


This was 2009 ~

The Thanksgiving week illustrated perfectly how the huge numbers of Annual Passholders have turned half a century of theme park operations on its ear. From Sunday through Wednesday before Thanksgiving, none of the cheaper Annual Passes which make up the bulk of the 925,000 figure were blocked out. Those days were pegged for huge daily Disneyland attendance numbers of 60,000 and above, with AP's making up 35,000 or more of those daily visitors.

For instance, the day before Thanksgiving had an attendance estimate of 61,000 and by the end of the day around 64,000 had shown up. Of that huge number, nearly 40,000 were Annual Passholders, all arriving in their own personal cars and stretching the Resort infrastructure to the breaking point. The park itself was slammed with crowds in the days leading up to Thanksgiving; walkways ground to a standstill, trashcans overflowed, lines were long for everything from E Tickets to bathroom stalls, and the tempers of both the customers and the Cast Members flared at the slightest provocation.

But then Thanksgiving arrived, with all but the Premium Annual Passes were blocked out, and the daily attendance figures plummeted. Even the day after Thanksgiving, which has traditionally been one of the busiest days of the year for decades at Disneyland, barely saw 47,000 people through the gates. By Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, the attendance at Disneyland had slumped to 38,000, ranking as one of the slowest Saturdays of the entire year.

As anyone who was there on Saturday can attest, Disneyland performs beautifully at that easy attendance level, with wait times nearly nonexistent, the Custodial team staying ahead of the curve, and the park open until Midnight and the full roster of holiday entertainment offerings available. This same pattern will play out in December, with the first few Fridays and Sundays dealing with record crowds, but in late December when the blockouts kick in the attendance will decline noticeably. *Taken from *here* Last year was no different.....

ETA ~ I was also there 4th of July weekend 2010 *7/3-7/6* I'd say it might've been even less crowded than Thanksgiving weekend ~ again cause the majority of APs were blocked. We had a fabulous time.