Thanksgiving in the parks.

[MICKEY1024]

Does anything special happen in the parks for thanksgiving? Or do they have any special merchandise (pictures if you have them?)

What are you recommendations for thanksgiving day in Disney?

 

[CynBeth]

Nothing special except that restaurants offer Thanksgiving food. Four years ago we did AK on Thanksgiving Day and the crowds were not bad. Not sure if that will change with the evening shows. Last year we went and left the day open except for our dinner ADR. We ended up going to MK but we had already been earlier in the week so were able to be there with no expectations and left in time for our dinner at Boma.

 

[beck00]

We had the best trip last Thanksgiving! We arrived the Thursday prior to the holiday week and traveled home the Friday after. We did AK that day with breakfast at Tusker House and dinner at 'Ohana to wrap up the trip. There were Christmas decorations up the whole time we were there. Grand Floridian had their gingerbread house & tree up, and each park had its tree up. A non-traditional Thanksgiving for us for sure, but a wonderful way to kick off the Christmas season!

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I have been for both Christmas and thanksgiving in and I would recommend not being at the MK on thanksgiving. It will be crowded. We have done AK before and it is not too crowded.

 

[disnut8]

Does anything special happen in the parks for thanksgiving? Or do they have any special merchandise (pictures if you have them?)

What are you recommendations for thanksgiving day in Disney?

If you want a Thanksgiving dinner, make your ADR now. We find Epcot around World Showcase on Thanksgiving evening to be, um, interesting. Lots of folks are going there for dinner or, there are a lot of people because of having the day off on Friday.

My recommendation is to make a Thanksgiving Day lunch reservation. Somewhere that has a lunch/dinner menu or a buffet. Our favorite is the Biergarten as they have the regular German foods but also a full selection of turkey, stuffing, etc. for the holiday. You can make the reservation for a late in the lunch pricing as you can and then sit back and relax for your meal.

 

[570traveler]

Been there twice at Thanksgiving and going again this year! It's so much nicer than the summer. Larger crowds on most days but so much cooler. All the parks and hotels are decorated for Christmas and it really gets you in the spirit! We've eaten at Liberty Tree Tavern and Garden Grill. This year it's Garden Grill again. My husband likes a traditional Thanksgiving meal so I'm playing it safe. If you are planning on eating at a sit down meal, I'd suggest you book sooner than later.

 

[Klayfish]

We were there for Thanksgiving last year. I don't recall them doing anything special in the parks. Magic Kingdom is doable in the morning, but gets really crowded by lunch. We left at lunch, went to another park (AK if I remember) and went back to our condo by 4pm.

 

[ariane37]

We did Thanksgiving last year and are going again this year; had a wonderful trip last year. Nothing "special" other than what pp's have mentioned regarding the parks and resorts being decorated. Taking a tour of the MK resorts and, IMO especially the EPCOT area resorts is lots of fun as the holiday décor is beautiful.

Due to the dreaded stomach bug our Thanksgiving day plans got altered last year, but DH and older DS did AK. They arrived mid-day and said the crowds were extremely manageable. On Black Friday we did MK from RD until about 2pm and only found the crowds to begin building around 1ish. We then headed to EPCOT until about 8pm and caught a few of the Holiday Storytellers, which are awesome but only begin the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[laughinplace199]

We went for Thanksgiving four years ago and are going again this year. Last time, we spent Thanksgiving day at Epcot. Since Epcot is such a big park that it never really felt crowded, so I think we'll do that again this year. We're doing Boma for Thanksgiving dinner. The last time we did this, they had their regular buffet, plus turkey, stuffing, etc - it was the best of both worlds! I hope they still do it that way.

 

[disnut8]

Does anything special happen in the parks for thanksgiving? Or do they have any special merchandise (pictures if you have them?)

What are you recommendations for thanksgiving day in Disney?

In my opinion, Thanksgiving is an overlooked holiday in this country. There's already Halloween candy out and after the schools start back in, that's all that will be out. Before Halloween is even here, Christmas stuff will be out. Forgotten is Thanksgiving. And that's why I love going to Disney World for Thanksgiving. Especially Epcot. Nothing for Christmas (except that music) will be going on until the day after Thanksgiving. So, while nothing special happens at Disney World, just being there makes me appreciate the holiday and why it is here.

 

[CynBeth]

We went for Thanksgiving four years ago and are going again this year. Last time, we spent Thanksgiving day at Epcot. Since Epcot is such a big park that it never really felt crowded, so I think we'll do that again this year. We're doing Boma for Thanksgiving dinner. The last time we did this, they had their regular buffet, plus turkey, stuffing, etc - it was the best of both worlds! I hope they still do it that way.

It was that way at Boma last year and we loved it!