Thanksgiving or Jersey week

[planningjollyholiday]

We are taking a 7 night cruise starting November 11th (a saturday). We want to add about 5 park days either before or after the cruise. So we can choose the monday to friday before our cruise which is "jersey week" and the last week of food and wine. Or the saturday to Wednesday after the cruise which is just before thanksgiving. Which time frame will be less crowded? My other option is to do a couple days before the cruise and then a couple days after. Which would you pick?

 

[barbliny]

I would personally rather tour the parks pre-cruise and just chill after 5 days of running around!!

I would conjecture that Jersey week will be less crowded than the days immediately prior to Thanksgiving - with crowds slowly building to very, very crowded on that Wednesday.

Pre-cruise at the parks - food & wine is still in Epcot, 2 MVMCP dates, you'll be exhausted and ready to relax when you hit the cruise ship.
Post-cruise at the parks - NO MVMCP scheduled for the week before Thanksgiving, more holiday decorations throughout the entire resort (pre-cruise will be primarily focused in MK)

 

[JerseyJanice]

If it were me, I'd choose Jersey Week for the Food & Wine Festival alone. I also think it's not that crowded. The airfare scares a lot of people in NJ from coming down.

Plus, there are not any holiday parties during that time which is a nice bonus. Those things mess with your MK schedule and almost force you into buying hoppers.

 

[robndani]

If it were me, I'd choose Jersey Week for the Food & Wine Festival alone. I also think it's not that crowded. The airfare scares a lot of people in NJ from coming down.

Plus, there are not any holiday parties during that time which is a nice bonus. Those things mess with your MK schedule and almost force you into buying hoppers.

There are parties before Nov 11th. We're going on the 9th. I agree about "relaxing" on the cruise after the parks. Sounds like a great trip in the making!

 

[JerseyJanice]

@robndani You're right. It was even sorta mentioned by a PP.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

So i hadn't booked any rooms yet because we have not yet bought flights or finalized our plans yet. Now when i look at the disney website for the time before our cruise there is no availability. After the cruise though there is a little bit of availability. I was set to go before, but now I'm confused. Is it normal for hotels to sell out or is this a sure sign that the parks will be absolutely packed?

 

[SaintsManiac]

So i hadn't booked any rooms yet because we have not yet bought flights or finalized our plans yet. Now when i look at the disney website for the time before our cruise there is no availability. After the cruise though there is a little bit of availability. I was set to go before, but now I'm confused. Is it normal for hotels to sell out or is this a sure sign that the parks will be absolutely packed?

Try calling them. From other reports on various threads it seems the website has been really weird on showing availability.