Thanksgiving Advice

[pinkgirlmommy]

I am looking at last years Crowd Calendars and looking for advice from those that have been to Disney the week of Thanksgiving to pick my days. I need to pick my days so that I can decide on ADR's by May 21. Crowd calendars are not out this year from Kenny The Pirate or EasyWDW, which are the two that I think are the most reliable.
Does it even really matter when the whole week is supposed to be 10's? Flights aren't out yet and won't be until 3 days before I have to book my ADR's, so I don't know which day we will be able to arrive yet depending on flight costs!
If I can decide on my MK days and where to go on Thanksgiving Day, that would help! I looked at Kenny The Pirates calendar for last year and usually Tuesday is a good day to to go MK, but this particular week last year he has it as "yellow" and has Thanksgiving day as green. I just assumed Thanksgiving would be insane at MK? He also usually suggests not to go to Epcot on Saturdays so I had it for Monday, but this particluar week on Monday last year Epcot is yellow! I am so confused! I like the EasyWDW crowd calendar but it won't be out for a while and he didn't have one for Novermber this past year.
Also, which day would be the best break day, and if we want to go to MK at the end of our trip, which day would be better? Friday or Saturday? I know usually Saturdays are a no for MK, but with the holiday ending and people heading out, I wonder which one is less crowded?
So the question is, which park do we not mind being more crowded in since the later we are there the more crowded it will be, and when do they dwindle down?
This is what I have so far:
Friday 11/17 or Saturday 11/18- Arrival
Saturday, 11/18- (if we arrive Friday night) Hollywood Studios?
Sunday, 11/19- MK (I like to start here but not on Saturdays)
Monday, 11/20- Epcot
Tuesday, 11/21- MK- would this be another good day to go since every day is a 10?
Wednesday 11/22- Break, AK, or Epcot and hop to MK for late night EMH with older daughter. KTP has AK as red.
Thursday 11/23 Thanksgiving Day- AK or HS?
Friday 11/24- AK, Epcot or MK?
Saturday 11/25-? MK

Thanks for any advice!

 

[sharonabe]

We've never been Thanksgiving week, but here are my thoughts.

Thur and Fri will probably be insane at MK. Think about it. Everyone has that Fri off, but not everyone has off the beginning of the week. So, I would be in AK on one of those days. In the past, AK just wasn't the park most people wanted to be in on a holiday. With the opening of Pandora, that could change, but I'd still choose AK for either Thur or Fri. And I think your choice of HS for one of those is decent too, but it is a much smaller park area wise, so might FEEL more crowded. EP has the room to absorb more crowds, so I'm actually leaning more towards EP and AK for Thur/Fri, and I'm not sure it will matter which one you pick. Maybe let what you get for ADRs choose for you. You could just take a break on Thanksgiving day and enjoy the resort pools as well.

Your other days probably don't really matter; it's going to be crowded. Are you park hopping and able to take advantage of early EMH? And don't forget, that late EMH you have planned on Wednesday will make getting up early on Thur very difficult.

 

[scjo68]

I was there Thanksgiving 2013, so it has been several years ago, and may be different now.
We started Thanksgiving day at MK, knowing it would be crowded but wanting to be there at least for a little while. We were surprised how calm it seemed. We were on the (empty) bridge into Liberty Square mid-day, and as another woman passed by, she even commented "it's so peaceful here". As we got into the afternoon, it got more and more crowded, so we left. We spent Thanksgiving evening in Epcot, and it was the least crowded I have ever seen it during Illuminations. I was shocked. The Holidays around the world and Candlelight Processional were not staring until the next day, so I think some people were waiting until then to go to Epcot. We went back on Saturday to do the CP, and Epcot was packed.

 

[pinkgirlmommy]

All good points! Maybe we will start at MK on Thursday and hop to AK. We have AP's for the first time and we have been to WDW 4 times, so I am still trying to figure it all out. That is a good point especially about Friday. I didn't realize the CP package might not already be started. We love that this past year, but I am okay skipping it this year so we may avoid Epcot and probably MK on Saturday, too. If only I didn't need to book my ADR's so soon I could wait for the crowd calendars. At least park hours should be out in the next few days. It looks like we need to do two days or 1 1/2 days at AK so that we can FP both of the Pandora rides, so I will plan to do one of them on Thanksgiving then!

 

[CynBeth]

We have been during Thanksgiving Week a few times and have not had an issue with the crowds. I would definitely go to Epcot on Black Friday or Sat for the CP and Holidays Around the World. We have done AK on Thanksgiving Day followed by an early dinner at Boma. We never go by crowd calendars we pick what days we want to go to the various parks (sometimes our ADRs have changed our plans slightly) and because we usually have 2 days at MK and 2 days at Epcot plus 1 day at AK and 1 day at DHS we usually do just about everything we want plus take time to resort hop to see the deluxe resort decorations. Do what schedule works out best for your family.

 

[erikawolf2004]

I am looking at last years Crowd Calendars and looking for advice from those that have been to Disney the week of Thanksgiving to pick my days. I need to pick my days so that I can decide on ADR's by May 21. Crowd calendars are not out this year from Kenny The Pirate or EasyWDW, which are the two that I think are the most reliable.
Does it even really matter when the whole week is supposed to be 10's? Flights aren't out yet and won't be until 3 days before I have to book my ADR's, so I don't know which day we will be able to arrive yet depending on flight costs!
If I can decide on my MK days and where to go on Thanksgiving Day, that would help! I looked at Kenny The Pirates calendar for last year and usually Tuesday is a good day to to go MK, but this particular week last year he has it as "yellow" and has Thanksgiving day as green. I just assumed Thanksgiving would be insane at MK? He also usually suggests not to go to Epcot on Saturdays so I had it for Monday, but this particluar week on Monday last year Epcot is yellow! I am so confused! I like the EasyWDW crowd calendar but it won't be out for a while and he didn't have one for Novermber this past year.
Also, which day would be the best break day, and if we want to go to MK at the end of our trip, which day would be better? Friday or Saturday? I know usually Saturdays are a no for MK, but with the holiday ending and people heading out, I wonder which one is less crowded?
So the question is, which park do we not mind being more crowded in since the later we are there the more crowded it will be, and when do they dwindle down?
This is what I have so far:
Friday 11/17 or Saturday 11/18- Arrival
Saturday, 11/18- (if we arrive Friday night) Hollywood Studios?
Sunday, 11/19- MK (I like to start here but not on Saturdays)
Monday, 11/20- Epcot
Tuesday, 11/21- MK- would this be another good day to go since every day is a 10?
Wednesday 11/22- Break, AK, or Epcot and hop to MK for late night EMH with older daughter. KTP has AK as red.
Thursday 11/23 Thanksgiving Day- AK or HS?
Friday 11/24- AK, Epcot or MK?
Saturday 11/25-? MK

Thanks for any advice!

We were there almost your exact dates this past Thanksgiving and loved it! The only day we thought was totally nuts was Tuesday at the MK, go figure.
Thanksgiving day was busy at the MK, but we had FP+ and did what we real wanted to do and left.

We did Friday MVMCP, Sat. AK, Sunday Epcot, Monday DHS, T-TH MK (we have three young girls ), Friday and Saturday Epcot to do Holidays around the world. We pretty much went off of easywdw. It was busy as expected, but festive and lots of fun. Have a great time.

P.S. we ate Thanksgiving dinner at Paradiso 37, they had a special Thanksgiving menu and it was soooo good!

 

[pinkgirlmommy]

We were there almost your exact dates this past Thanksgiving and loved it! The only day we thought was totally nuts was Tuesday at the MK, go figure.
Thanksgiving day was busy at the MK, but we had FP+ and did what we real wanted to do and left.

We did Friday MVMCP, Sat. AK, Sunday Epcot, Monday DHS, T-TH MK (we have three young girls ), Friday and Saturday Epcot to do Holidays around the world. We pretty much went off of easywdw. It was busy as expected, but festive and lots of fun. Have a great time.

P.S. we ate Thanksgiving dinner at Paradiso 37, they had a special Thanksgiving menu and it was soooo good!

I love EasyWDW,, but his calendar won't be out until way after I have to book my ADR's. Kenny The Pirate just released his, though. Yay! The only thing I am worried about is that the only day at MK that is green Thanksgiving week is Sunday which we will do for sure, and Thursday or Thanksgiving Day! I thought we were supposed to avoid MK on Thanksgiving Day, so now I am more confused! I don't think we will be able to do MVMCP because we probably won't get in in time. Good to know about Epcot and Holidays around the world starting that weekend. Yeah, we were thinking of going to MK on Tuesday, but it will be our second day there so if it's nuts we will just get out after our FP.

 

[ariane37]

We did Thanksgiving week the past 2 years and would be doing it this year if it wasn't for DS's basketball schedule. It's crowded, yup! But not ridiculously so. We did HS on Thanksgiving last year which started off good, got nuts by 12 and was good again when we returned about 7, and I was getting texts from a friend in the MK telling me how empty it was! If you want to do MK on Thanksgiving you'll most likely be good for awhile, getting there at RD. You may want to plan hopping somewhere else later in case it is too crowded. We also did MK the Sat after Thanksgiving and found it very manageable until about 2ish.
We've spent Black Friday both years in Epcot for the storytellers and while it's certainly not dead it's so enjoyable! Also puts you in the holiday mood
Oh and Trails End Thanksgiving dinner was great!

 

[Darklord77]

We also went the last two Thanksgiving weeks. We went to MK on Tuesday in 2015 and Monday last year. Both times it was very crowded at MK after 10am. Epcot was consistently busy all week when we went in the evening. We went to AK both years on Thanksgiving day and it wasn't bad. However, Pandora might be a crowd game changer for AK this year.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

We went for Thanksgiving last year and there is a big difference between the earlier part of the week and the end of the week. We arrived the Friday before and had an easy time until Wednesday when there was a small increase and then Thursday/T-Day KABOOM everyone arrived. We were in MK that day for our fancy dinner and it was very busy.

 

[ErinsMommy]

We arrived Thanksgiving morning and stayed until Monday and while the parks were busy, I didn't find them packed. We even got very hard to find ADRs about a week prior to our stay (BOG lunch and dinner).

 

[SaintsManiac]

KtP has his crowd calendar out for November. We'll be there 11/17-11/24. Here's our rough plan:

11/17 -- MK (KtP has AM EMH on that day. Party day, so park closes at 7)
11/18--Epcot
11/19--MK
11/20 -- Rest Day??
11/21--HS/MK??
11/22--AK
11/23-- MK AM/hop to Epcot for evening (dinner at Garden Grill)
11/24-- Drive home. Not sure if we'll hit anything in the AM

http://www.kennythepirate.com/2014/...endar-with-dining-and-fastpass-booking-dates/

ETA: I see you know his calendar is out now