Thanksgiving '07 availability

[jgreenedc]

We're thinking about doing Thanksgiving in Disney World next year but would need a grand villa for the whole family to be able to stay together. Does anyone have thoughts on whether we would be able to get one if I book at the 11 month window? My home resort is OKW (does anyone know how many there are in OKW??). Should I book day-by-day, and if so what exactly does this entail? We're thinking of heading down the Sunday before Thanksgiving and leaving the Saturday after.

Also if anyone has any thoughts, positive or negative, about Thanksgiving at Disney I'd appreciate it. As you might guess, I'm a new DVC member - I have not made any reservations yet. Thanks for any help.

 

[RobDoc]

OKW has 27 GVs. For a busy time like Thanksgiving, I would call day-by-day for a GV (not needed for other villa types).

For an arrival the Sunday before Thanksgiving (11/18/07) you can call on Tuesday, December 19, 2006. Just let MS know you will be adding to the reservation (so they won't send out the confirmation letter until your reservation is complete). They will note that and just add dates to the reservation as you call each day. You won't be able to reserve the final night until Tuesday, December 26 (since MS will be closed on Sunday the 24th and Monday - Christmas Day) but you can reserve the other days by calling each day 12/19 - 12/23.

You'll love the GV - they are wonderful accommodations - and Thanksgiving is a great time to be at WDW. The Christmas decorations will be up and everything is beautiful even if the crowds wil be higher.

 

[mtdsnylvr]

We just returned today, Sunday, from Sat-Sat, Thanksgiving week stay at SSR. I think your plan depends on the ages of your family members, what they will want to do, etc. There were some beautiful Disney moments, Candlelight Processional being a highlight. However, my family will not be going back during this time due to crowds. On a number of days, the fast passes for the big attractions were gone by noon, and walk on waits were 100 minutes. This, even though it was unusually cold. Because it was so cold, we would often wait until later in the afternoon/evening to go to the parks, hoping the crowds would let up. We are usually there in March or late May. We've never come close to these kinds of crowds. I felt sorry for people I saw there with the "1st time visitor" buttons on. Many of those were large family gatherings, much like what you are talking about. For what it's worth....

 

[jgreenedc]

Thanks for the info. We spent the Christmas-New Years week at WDW and still managed to get on lots of rides and have a great time, and I don't figure Thanksgiving can be any worse. One last question - I've read about people paying cash for the weekend nights at DVC resorts. Can I do this through the same reservation line where I make my points reservations? Thanks again.

 

[Starr W.]

We just did Thanksgiving and it was not as bad as I thought. (11/19-11/24).
We hit the MK and Epcot on Monday & Tuesday, using Fast Pass were able to ride Soarin(though the times were changing rather quickly while DH was getting the passes.) We're seriously considering going back next year. We rode rides at MK at night instead of watching the parade, hardly any wait, think the cold weather helped too.

 

[bpmorley]

Any Idea about the week after Thanksgiving? maybe that Sunday to Saturday for either a GV or 2bdr at either SSR(home resort) or even at the 7 month window at OKW. Going to take some friends and family. And even if GV are impossible, what about getting a couple studios or 2-1bdr's? any thoughts would be appreciated. We've never booked anything but a studio so we've never had a problem.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'll probably be one of those trying to get a GV for that week too. Our DS plans to get married at WDW Thanksgiving week next year, so we are planning on a GV for that.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks for the info. We spent the Christmas-New Years week at WDW and still managed to get on lots of rides and have a great time, and I don't figure Thanksgiving can be any worse. One last question - I've read about people paying cash for the weekend nights at DVC resorts. Can I do this through the same reservation line where I make my points reservations? Thanks again.

I doubt there will be any member cash reservations during Thanksgiving week. You might be able to get them through CRO, but not the GV unless it is still available after the 11-7 month advantage time. A CRO reservation cannot be linked to a MS reservation.

 

[bpmorley]

I'll probably be one of those trying to get a GV for that week too. Our DS plans to get married at WDW Thanksgiving week next year, so we are planning on a GV for that.

I think I'll reserve a GV at the 11 month mark for SSR and then get on a waitlist for OKW. I love SSR, but at the point I'll have stayed at SSR 3/4 times in 1 year and I like OKW too. just would like to stay somewhere different. But If I can't get OKW I'm fine with that too.

 

[disneydenisel]

We were at WDW 11/18-11/24 and we enjoyed the decorations and parades. I think it is a beautiful time of year to be there. It was cold, and it was crowded. Wednesday and Thursday, the parks were pretty crowded, but Sunday through Tuesday, it wasn't bad at all!

 

[jgreenedc]

Thanks for the info, all. Now the hard part - waiting a year.

 

[bpmorley]

Thanks for the info, all. Now the hard part - waiting a year.

I fell your pain