Tell me about Thanksgiving

[DisneyGal24]

We have booked a trip for Nov 22-29. We've been in February and June so other than crowds I am not sure what to expect. Can you guys share your experiences? Thanks!

 

[DisneyGal24]

I am curious what the weather is like, if Christmas decorations are up, things like that. Can't wait to hear from the DISers!

 

[alayne]

I love the week of Thanksgiving. Weather is unpredictable. The first year we went everyone was cold (except me) and the next year we went it was 1/2 and 1/2. I have seen people post that they wore shorts and t-shirts and others who have had to purchase gloves and sweaters. Weather during that time is a hit or miss.

Decorations are all out and it really gets you into the Holiday mood. We loved having Thanksgiving diner at Teppen Edo one year and then Liberty Tree the next.

The crowds are large but if you plan it can be done. My family is really laid back when we go to Disney. We do what we can but don't stress if we miss something.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[DisneyGal24]

I love the week of Thanksgiving. Weather is unpredictable. The first year we went everyone was cold (except me) and the next year we went it was 1/2 and 1/2. I have seen people post that they wore shorts and t-shirts and others who have had to purchase gloves and sweaters. Weather during that time is a hit or miss. Decorations are all out and it really gets you into the Holiday mood. We loved having Thanksgiving diner at Teppen Edo one year and then Liberty Tree the next. The crowds are large but if you plan it can be done. My family is really laid back when we go to Disney. We do what we can but don't stress if we miss something. Hope this helps a little.

This does help! Thanks. Did you swim? We are so used to going when it's hot and swim everyday. Did you go at RD?

 

[biondagirl]

We went in 2010 and it was in the 80's the first three days we were there (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) and then the temps dropped into the 50's. At night it was down right cold. Now, I am cold when it's 70 degrees. But, my husband isn't And he was freezing, too. I wish I had more jeans with me. However. . .I am trying to talk husband into going this Thanksgiving. I don't think he'll go along with it, but it's worth a shot.

The parks will be decorated for Christmas. The Christmas party will be going on, so some nights the Magic Kingdom will close early.

But, luckily (IMO) you'll miss the taping of the ABC Disney Christmas show. The year we were here they were filming on December 1 or 2 and Main Street was packed! We had to go behind the stores on Main Street to get to Tomorrowland.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We went Thanksgiving week 2009. I found the crowds to be about the same as we were used to in June. Lighter early in the week, heavier as Thanksgiving weekend approached. The best part was how nice the weather was. Crowds are much more bearable if you aren't dripping sweat! We will be back this year for Thanksgiving as well.

All the Christmas decorations were up, Everything was beautiful!

 

[DisneyGal24]

We went Thanksgiving week 2009. I found the crowds to be about the same as we were used to in June. Lighter early in the week, heavier as Thanksgiving weekend approached. The best part was how nice the weather was. Crowds are much more bearable if you aren't dripping sweat! We will be back this year for Thanksgiving as well. All the Christmas decorations were up, Everything was beautiful!

Awesome! I was hoping crowds would be similar to what we are used to. Any special things that will be going on that we don't usually get to experience in June?

 

[DisneyGal24]

Looking forward to seeing the Christmas decorations! Will they have the lights at HS?

 

[imthemamahere]

As for experiences you don't get in June - if you want to pay the extra $$, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party runs on several nights the week of Thanksgiving. We did a Disney trip just after Thanksgiving 2011 and over Thanksgiving 2012 and enjoyed the Christmas party both times. Lots of fun!

 

[emilykarpinski]

My family and I have been several times for thanksgiving and love it and are also going for the same week as you this year! As another poster said the weather is very up in the air. We've been times when it's in the 80's and other times when we've had to wear pants and sweatshirts, so until a week or two before you can't really tell. And in turn that will probably determine if you swim, we've had times when its hot and all we'd wanted to do was jump in after the parks and times when it was barely warm enough to jump in and jump out. What is nice though is there aren't a ton of the afternoon rain showers like you get in the summer. The decorations are gorgeous as usual and hopefully the lights at HS will be up, there is some dispute about if they'll go up this year because of the work they'll be doing there but I can't see them not putting them up they bring so many extra people to the park. And in response to the post about MVMCP unfortunately you wouldn't be able to attend on your trip, they typically only have it the friday before thanksgiving week and the sunday at the end of thanksgiving week.

 

[DisneyGal24]

As for experiences you don't get in June - if you want to pay the extra $$, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party runs on several nights the week of Thanksgiving. We did a Disney trip just after Thanksgiving 2011 and over Thanksgiving 2012 and enjoyed the Christmas party both times. Lots of fun!

DH was hoping for this but it looks like we will just miss it!

 

[SA mom]

We went at Thanksgiving a few years ago. We were in MK on Thanksgiving Day. It was at capacity and it was very difficult to move around. And we loved every minute of it! The rest of the week was pretty easy going. The decorations were amazing and we loved the characters in their holiday costumes.

You should have a plan and be ready to abandon it if necessary.

 

[mrsR123]

We were just there for Thanksgiving in conjunction with DS16's marching band trip. We stayed at OKW and met up with the band for performances and when it was convenient.

I was pleasantly surprised at how manageable the parks were. We were at MK on Wed, DHS and Epcot on Thanksgiving, MK on Black Friday, and Epcot on Saturday. I did not hear of any park closures during our stay. We rode a lot of rides, but those were the heady days of double and -gasp- triple dipping fastpasses. Those days are gone.

It was very cold for Florida this year. We're used to cold, but fall jackets and gloves weren't quite comfortable for evening fireworks viewing, etc. especially because it was quite windy. My DH and DS14 drank a lot of hot chocolate!

The Cinderella castle lights were up, the holiday Celebrate the Memories show began, the Osbourne lights were in full swing, and the parks and resorts were fully decked out. We had a terrific trip.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We went this past Thanksgiving too and we loved it! The crowds even on Thanksgiving day at MK were manageable. I was actually shocked. we really enjoyed the parks being open later. I remember being on a bus a couple of nights after 1:00am! We opened and closed them each day. It was great!

That was our first experience with going over Thanksgiving and I would do it again in a heart beat. Like the poster before me said, we were able to use fast pass plus along with paper hooper passes so that helped. By this next Thanksgiving there will be more options with FP +.

We found the weather to be cool most days. I think we wore shorts once or twice during the day. The other days we wore jeans, and I even bought a cute fleece Disney jacket to wear because it was cold and windy. It only rained once on us all week, and that was at 1:00 am, leaving MK. C

 

[drstrangelove]

We have booked a trip for Nov 22-29. We've been in February and June so other than crowds I am not sure what to expect. Can you guys share your experiences? Thanks!

Thanksgiving is a GREAT time to go. Been twice and had great weather. Temps in the 70s, but in the 50s at night.

The lights and decorations were up when we were there for Thanksgiving. We did the Osborn lights and got great pics on Main Street. '

One comment, if you want a nice Thanksgivign dinner, book a res early. They fill up FAST. We waiting until August and most of the good times were filled. Liberty Tree does a great dinner most years. they will announce specific plans later in the year, but make a res where you want to be early.

Enjoy the trip.

 

[summerskye]

Looking forward to seeing the Christmas decorations! Will they have the lights at HS?

Yes. All of the decorations will be up. It is a wonderful time to visit. The parks do get more busy as the week goes by. We are going to be there from the 21st - 30th. My wife is a principal and we have 2 kids. School schedule dictates when we can travel. We usually go this time of year. The weather can be unpredictable. We have had everything from cold to hot. Usually it is somewhere in between. Warm days / cool nights. 2 years ago it was warm enough that the kids went swimming on Thanksgiving day. It was out day off from the parks.

 

[summerskye]

As for experiences you don't get in June - if you want to pay the extra $$, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party runs on several nights the week of Thanksgiving. We did a Disney trip just after Thanksgiving 2011 and over Thanksgiving 2012 and enjoyed the Christmas party both times. Lots of fun!

Actually, they do not run the MVMCP during the week of Thanksgiving. It is already so busy that they can't afford to close the park down early for the party. They usually have it the weeks before and after Thanksgiving. I believe Friday the 21st is a MVMCP night this year.

 

[DisneyGal24]

You should have a plan and be ready to abandon it if necessary.

Shouldn't have a problem doing that. We usually hit rope drop and stay until early afternoon.