Thanksgiving and thanksgiving weekend crowds

[pd1138]

Hi, we are flying in thanksgiving morning this year and staying 9 days. Our first thanksgiving in disney! I was wondering are the parks crazy busy that day and the Friday after? Right now I am thinking we would do an early thanksgiving dinner at whispering canyon and pop into either Magic Kingdom or Epcot afterwards and on Friday either do a pool day if it's warm enough or tour the resorts if it's cooler. I do not have any experience with this holiday and disney so any tips would be appreciated!

So excited to finally join the boards!

 

[kmb584]

Hi, we are flying in thanksgiving morning this year and staying 9 days. Our first thanksgiving in disney! I was wondering are the parks crazy busy that day and the Friday after? Right now I am thinking we would do an early thanksgiving dinner at whispering canyon and pop into either Magic Kingdom or Epcot afterwards and on Friday either do a pool day if it's warm enough or tour the resorts if it's cooler. I do not have any experience with this holiday and disney so any tips would be appreciated!

So excited to finally join the boards!

They are busy on Thanksgiving (8/10 on crowd calendars) and Black Friday (7/10) but as the week progresses there will be a marked drop in attendance (4-5/10). Just pack your patience for those first couple of days and you'll be set.

 

[AprilJ26]

We've been mid-March once, late May once, and Thanksgiving week twice! We are currently booked for our third Thanksgiving at Disney! It is our FAVORITE week to go! Crowds are no larger than the other times we've gone, weather is much nicer, and the Christmas decorations are up! Perfect for getting us in the Christmas spirit!

 

[scjo68]

We took our first Thanksgiving trip last year. We were there Thanksgiving eve till Sunday morning Thanksgiving weekend- so the busiest time. I was actually surprised that the crowds were manageable. It was crowded, but not the utter gridlock I pictured. In fact we were at Epcot on Thanksgiving night and it was the least empty I can remember ever seeing it during Illuminations. This is comparing it to January. I think the Epcot Holiday events were starting the next day, so that's what people were waiting for. We were there Saturday, the second day of CP and Holiday Storytellers, and that day was packed. Huge difference! But we were able to enjoy ourselves. We did have the CP package, and were glad we did.

Overall, we really enjoyed Thanksgiving at WDW. I absolutely would do it again, except that it was so much more expensive than we were used to. We usually go during value season. I was not able to get any discounts at all on our room, and airfare was very high (when you fly on the busiest ravel day of the year....). .

So, enjoy your trip!!

 

[heybravo626]

We are also doing Thanksgiving to complete the holiday trilogy for the year since we also did Christmas and Easter. The crowds at Thanksgiving won’t be much off the summer peak those first few days. If you do want to do the parks, we have found that the holidays are manageable if you are early. Hopping resorts to check out Christmas decorations is a great idea. If it was me (we are early & take a mid-day break people) and I was staying 9 days knowing the first few days would be crowded , I would use the higher crowd days of Friday and Saturday to hit a park early and then take a break to swim and/or check out some resorts. Then you can go back into a park later to use FP+ (or use in early afternoon and tour resorts in the evening). Just one option. There are many that can work.

As far as the swimming, we have done many Nov/Dec/JAN/Feb/Mar trips and it’s hit or miss as far as how comfortable it will be to swim. My kids don’t seem to mind in any case

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

Over the course of 18 trips we have been at all different times of the year. We've been in late Jan., Feb. and Mar. for Mardi Gras, June, July, Aug., in Oct. for Halloween, Nov. for Thanksgiving, several different weeks in Dec., and even Christmas week. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times to visit, and we have spent 3 Thanksgivings in WDW.

These days there doesn't seem to be a real slow period anymore. It's pretty busy most of the time. Our Thanksgiving trips have been comparable with early summer, and perhaps Mardi Gras. We actually found Mardi Gras of 2013 to be more crowded than Thanksgiving of 2013. The weather is usually perfect, and the Christmas decorations really add another element to the parks and resorts. I have always found Thanksgiving week crowds to be totally over hyped by many. Some claim it's one of the busiest weeks of the year, but we've never found it to be bad at all. Enjoy!!!!

 

[AprilJ26]

I must also add that we got a code in the mail for free dining Thanksgiving week! Not like the public offer, this one actually lets us check in on Saturday, 11/22! We just got it a week ago.

 

[SnowWhite607]

I must also add that we got a code in the mail for free dining Thanksgiving week! Not like the public offer, this one actually lets us check in on Saturday, 11/22! We just got it a week ago.

We got the same offer and are going for our first Thanksgiving! We will be there from Noy 22-28. Never been for Thanksgiving so the crowds are kind of worrying me. But since we will be there the Sat before until the Friday after, I expect crowds at least Thurs and Fri but hopefully the beginning of our trip wont be too bad.

I have been in March for Mardi Gras and also in summer.

 

[pd1138]

Thanks!!! Now I am super excited about going that week! I think we will do Epcot thanksgiving night as pp mentioned Epcot wasn't too bad on a previous thanksgiving. Our ADR is for a 3pm dinner at whispering canyon ( the best I could do since that day was at the beginning of our 180+9 reservation period. I guess all the good thanksgiving times were taken by those staying earlier in the week . Good news is I was able to score BOG for later in our week. We have gone in May, August, and September so I can't wait to experience Disney during the holidays ( and a little cooler!!) Since we will be there a fair amount of days I think we will do rope drop Saturday and see how far we get and maybe plan for resort sightseeing on the Friday after Thanksgiving!

Congrats to all who received pin codes for free dining that week. I was bummed when the public offer excluded the dates. Now I have fingers crossed for a room discount!

 

[Surfinpiratee]

Ahhh I'm all excited now!! There's a chance I might be going that week, so I'm pumped!!

 

[Chief Powhatan]

You picked a great time to go. Don't be afraid to go to the parks on Friday or Saturday. Even though crowds will be heavy, you can still get things done. People will start to head home on Sunday, so you will definitely see a difference beginning that afternoon.

 

[hop2disney]

We too will be heading down for our second Thansgiving. Thursday and Friday, can be busy, but the Christmas decor and the fact you are at Disney, make up for any crowds!

 

[danjoan14]

Going to the Magic for our first Thanksgiving. Planning on going to HS for the Osbourne lights with dinner at 50's Prime Time on Thanksgiving. Also going to MVMCP on Sunday 11/30. Hoping for low crowds with people heading home on the Sunday.

 

[Bellanota]

We only go the week of Thanksgiving. Planning on making it a bi-yearly thing for my and my DD.

I love that Christmas is already up. Thanksgiving dinner is uniquie (this year we are at BoG) and she doesnt miss that much school compared to rest of the year. We normally leave the Saturday after Thanksgiving so I cant speak for the week after but the week prior and up to the day its not too bad at all.

 

[ariane37]

In 2012 we got down there around 8pm Thanksgiving day and stayed 10 days, first time that late in Nov. It was GREAT Black Fri. we met our friends at EPCOT. It was crowded - we were used to Oct. and early Nov. crowds - but not unbearable or even unpleasant. We still got to do everything we wanted w/o crazy waits. That's the day CP and the holiday storytellers start so that's probably always crowded that day. Sat. we toured the resorts and hit HS around dinnertime, really wasn't that bad! I do think resort time/touring resorts/mini golf is a good idea though, especially since you have a good # of days. By Sunday night the crowds had thinned out and by Monday it was *NICE*. Same for the rest of the week.

Tried talking DH into Thanksgiving again this year but he wants to try Aug. instead

 

[danjoan14]

Tried talking DH into Thanksgiving again this year but he wants to try Aug. instead

We were there in August last year. Crowd level wasn't bad. We were able to get on the best rides using the fast past system. Had no problems getting our ADR's as well. If you don't mind the heat, it's not a bad thing. IMHO, Disney does a great job keeping you cool. We all love the heat, so it wasn't a problem for us. Take plenty of breaks, drinks, and go slow.

 

[ariane37]

We were there in August last year. Crowd level wasn't bad. We were able to get on the best rides using the fast past system. Had no problems getting our ADR's as well. If you don't mind the heat, it's not a bad thing. IMHO, Disney does a great job keeping you cool. We all love the heat, so it wasn't a problem for us. Take plenty of breaks, drinks, and go slow.

Thanks Yeah this trip is going to be a bit different for us. My first summer trip since college (1991) and I do NOT enjoy the heat lol! So I've planned accordingly-pool breaks in the middle of the day and such-and we don't plan on doing as much as we usually do. And that's ok since we go so often.
I found it very easy to get the ADR's we wanted too, and I only did them at about 3 months out and I've tweaked them many times since!