Thanksgiving time a nightmare?

[Sammy]

Hi all...

We are 99% sure we want to do Thanksgiving "home" at Disney next year...probably arrive the Sunday before and leave the Friday or Saturday after. Looking for input as to crowds, weather, etc. When do the crowds really pick up that week?

We're at the point where it's not "commando" park touring, so it will be more hanging around the resort, visiting other resorts, walking the Boardwalk, etc......but the kids would still like a <i>little</i> park time!

Any past experiences would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Sammy

 

[CarolynFH]

Thanksgiving week was our second favorite time to go, until our school district took away the Monday & Tuesday holidays that week. So now we just have Spring Break, which fortunately falls in early March and isn't usually very close to Easter. DH & I are looking forward to not coordinating visits with school holidays!

The crowds don't seem to pick up until Wednesday, so if you can get there on Saturday you'll get more done. Thursday is a madhouse at MK, which tends to be closed before lunchtime, but Epcot is not very crowded. We haven't been to AK or MGM on Thursday. We like to have Thanksgiving Dinner in Epcot -- one of my favorites was at Morocco!

The Christmas decorations in the parks and the resorts are also starting to appear that week, which is another reason to go. Be sure to see the Osborne Family Lights, which usually opens either Thanksgiving night or Wednesday night.

Crowds on Friday and Saturday are much heavier than early in the week, so that's a good time to be leaving. Like I said, if you can arrive the Saturday before, you'll have more time without crowds.

Weather is variable. We have been swimming and have bundled up in sweatshirts the same trip. So pack your bathing suits as well as clothes you can layer. The pools are heated to 85 degrees, so they're comfortable as long as you're in the water!

 

[MAC3]

Very interesting, I'm curious as well as we will be going next year too.

How comparable is it to the 4th?

 

[CarolynFH]

I haven't been for 4th of July, but I have been to WDW in mid-June, and it was way more crowded than Thanksgiving, so I would think the 4th would be even more. And the heat was brutal. So we'll stick with the fall and spring unless there's some reason (like bringing another family whose school schedule doesn't coordinate with ours) that we have to be there in the summer.

 

[ryanmilla]

This is an interesting thread for me, in that I am heading down there THIS Thanksgiving. Our trip is planned from the Sunday before to the Sunday after. I have heard as well that up until Wed. the crowds are minimal, but after that it gets pretty crowded. My parents, who are joining us (this is the first time I am bring them, rather than the other way around), told me when we went when I was a child, that Thanksgiving was empty. But that was a LONG time ago and I have heard things have changed.

I will be more than happy to report back on how things were on our trip. One thing I wish I would have done already is stayed one night more. The Christmas parade and party on Main street starts Sunday evening at 7pm. Our flight leaves at 7:30pm. If I could do it over again, I would have booked us one more night and left the next morning. At least we will be able to see the Osborne Family Lights and Candle Light procession.

 

[TENNDVC]

We have been going every year for five years now. The crowds do get heavier starting on Wednesday. It is our favorite trip to Disney as the weather is great and we get the extra perk of seeing the Xmas decorations up. Enjoy!

 

[joepoe]

We are arriving on Saturday, and plan to get the parks out of the way by Wednesday. Maybe Sea World on Wednesday, it is bound to be less crowded. Thursday is golf in the am and dinner at Chef Mickeys, and maybe we can see Wishes from somewhere in the Contemporary without going to the park, which should be a madhouse.

Friday I think Epcot, I dont think it will be that bad, and then we depart Saturday.

I have also heard that T-Giving can be empty at the MK, as well. SOunds like conflicting reports. ANyone else been there?

 

[mickeyc]

We were at Disney last year and did not think it was too crowded. We enjoyed the candlelight processional at EPCOT and the other parks.

Although we arrive at Orlando on Sunday we don't usually do any parks until after Thanksgiving. We do not go to the park on Thanksgiving day instead we have a family dinner with relatives at our condo.

We are looking forward to our trip this year.


Enjoy!

 

[janette]

We were there Thankgiving 2003. I've been in June and it was much more crowded Thanksgiving. The weekend before wasn't bad the crowd arrived about Wednesday.

We do like the xmas decorations and my kids have usually been scheduled off that week so unless they are in school we are planning on going next Thanksgiving.

Just plan on the crowds, we decided to do some of the things we'd never done. Made a trip to conservation station at AK, Hall of Presidents etc that are a little lonb but nice to do.

As long as you aren't trying to see / do everything it is a nice time to be there

 

[RuthnPaul]

Originally posted by MAC3
How comparable is it to the 4th?

MAC3, we just returned from WDW and were told by several cast members that July 4 was the busiest day at the parks last year!

 

[wilderness01]

Turkey Day + MK = crazy busy! I agree the crowds arrived on Wed.

 

[AZKathy]

Originally posted by joepoe

I have also heard that T-Giving can be empty at the MK, as well. SOunds like conflicting reports. ANyone else been there?

We have done MK on Thanksgiving Day and it was a zoo! We won't ever try MK on that day again!

We are going the Friday before to the Sunday after. We plan on hanging low over the Thanksgiving weekend by doing resort hopping and part of our group doing Kennedy on one of the days. We are doing the CP on Friday, the 26th.

 

[MAC3]

Originally posted by RuthnPaul
MAC3, we just returned from WDW and were told by several cast members that July 4 was the busiest day at the parks last year!

We missed the 4th there this year as we went in April instead. But in 2002 we actually went into Epcot on the 4th, I couldn't wait to leave. It was awful. It was then DH & I decided we would never go into a park on the 4th again even though we go at this time every year.

Instead we hang by the pool and have a nice relaxing day.

But I'm curious as to how when the crowds thin out? We will leave on Thanksgiving day and plan on staying until Tuesday or Wednesday. We don't have to do everything, but I'd like to do the majors.

 

[Sammy]

Thanks for all the great replies! It looks like we'll be ok for visiting the parks anytime between Sunday and Wednesday. Then if we hang low Thursday and Friday, we should be able to avoid the craziness. Sounds like good days to sit by the pool.

Does anyone feel "weird" having Thanksgiving at Disney? I mean, for me in NH, it's the time of year for pumpkins, fall leaves, crisp air, big dinner with the family, etc. I'm hoping it won't feel too bizarre to be in sunny Florida with Mickey!

Sammy

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Sammy
...(snip)...Does anyone feel "weird" having Thanksgiving at Disney? I mean, for me in NH, it's the time of year for pumpkins, fall leaves, crisp air, big dinner with the family, etc. I'm hoping it won't feel too bizarre to be in sunny Florida with Mickey!

Sammy

Same for us in Minnesota. That said, it can't feel any "weirder" (is that even a word, LOL) than Christmas time at Disney. For us in Minnesota, that means snow, walking on lakes, very "crisp" air and big family dinners with ethnic dishes, Santa Claus, etc. But we still love December at Disney!

Best wishes -

 

[BillPA]

We do Thanksgiving at home, and then Friday morning we hop a plane and check in to the VWL. That weekend the crowds will be heavy, we tend to visit the hotels to see the Christmas decorations, EPCOT is usually not too bad, but MK is just too crowded for us. We wait until Monday to go there and just about have the park to ourselves. Last year it was chilly at night, in the high 30s and with Florida's dampness that was cool. Day times were mid 70s, just about perfect. The 2 years before it was in the mid to upper 80s, a little too big of a temperature change coming from the northern area where it was in the 20s. This has become our favorite time to visit WDW, you should have a great trip.

And if you can book it, try the sleigh ride at WL.

 

[mb168]

Disney trips are something DW and I have started doing since 2001. We were there for Labor Day that year, did a DVC tour and saw VWL at that time, and then BAM, 9/11 happened and we know what happened to travel then. My wife is a radio contest junkie and she won a pair of single day tickets in October I think, so we decided to go that Thanksgiving, left that Thursday after lunch. Spent the Friday at EPCOT and saw the tree lighting for the first time, Disney at Christmas was something I'd always wanted to do, as a kid we only went in the heat of the summer. It was great, crowds were light, DD was nice, but thats all we did because we were only in one park for one day, didn't own DVC yet either, stayed offsite. So in the following months we started going more often, bought DVC summer '02, and go 5+ times a year now. After staying in VWL we thought, "Man would that be a cool place to spend Christmas." So we booked 11 months out at our home, BCV then changed at 7 months to VWL and went last year. Booked Thur-Sun but Wed afternoon we couldn't stand it anymore and I went online and reserved a Holiday Inn with the last Priority Club points I had and went down that night, go tin about 11:30. Got Up Thanksgiving Day and was at MK when it opened and MAN, what a crowd. A far cry from what we had in '01. We went to MGM and EPCOT and crowds were pretty tight everywhere from what I recall. Even DD was tough to move in. One of the neat things though is to see the parade with all of the bands at MK, a must see if you like parades. Fortunately by then we were no longer park commandos either so we weren't stressed trying to do everything everyday and we took our 4 month old DD for her first trip then so we weren't able to ride the rides we used to be able to anyway, it was more just to see everything at Chirstmas. One funny thing is, I booked the trip 11 months in advance but I didn't think until the week before we left to make a PS for Thanksgiving dinner. Tried everywhere and we ended up eating at Boma. We joked all day about our "traditional African Thanksgiving dinner."

Anyway, was it worth it? Absoultely. Disney is one of my favorite places to be and we had a great time last year, its a great time of year to be in Disney, weather and all. Would I do it again? NO. If we get the urge to go back at Christmas time we'll go the beginning of Dec. We live close enough to take Thursday and Friday off and go for a long weekend trip. I want to see the Osborne lights this year since they're back. But, I've been there, done that, on Thanksgiving.

Try it, you definitely won't be "sorry" u went, especially if you aren't gonna storm the parks daily and plan to actually enjoy the rest of the World.

 

[janette]

Originally posted by MAC3
But I'm curious as to how when the crowds thin out? We will leave on Thanksgiving day and plan on staying until Tuesday or Wednesday. We don't have to do everything, but I'd like to do the majors.

We stayed until Monday morning and the crowds started to get better on Sunday. The following week is really nice. We'll start going in the 1st two weeks of Dec when we don't have school to deal with.

 

[newholiday]

The Fri wk after Thanksgiving 2002 was very cold - we were in our jeans and winter coats!

 

[MAC3]

Thanks for your responses everyone. Sorry to hijack your thread Sammy.