Thanksgiving....too crowded???

[rileyroosmom]

Just tried to book a trip 11/24 - 11/28. Everything is booked (except the suite at the CR for over $700/night!) I'm thinking maybe this trip isn't such a good idea afterall, the crowds are scaring me off. Anyone know how the Thanksgiving crowds rate compared to say the spring break crowds. BTW, I did go to WDW in 1991 at Thanksgiving and the place was empty...what gives?

 

[WDWPARADISE]

Hi,

We were going Nov 25-Nov 28 and except for AS-SPORTS and MUSIC CSR-Standard was all that we were able to choose from. However after looking at the potential crowd and all. I think even though it will be $50 a night more, we will change our trip to Jan or Feb, 05 when it is a little less crowded and when we can enjoy WDW more.

 

[Stitch's mom]

My neighbors went two years ago and the parks were PACKED. They rode only 4 rides all day at MK due to the long lines not from the lack of trying. I have deduced that if you pay a lot for the room then it is going to be crowded. They can ask a lot and get a lot for the rooms.

 

[colleen costello]

Hi there. If you decide to travel this week, simply go with a realistic expectation of what it will be like. We traveled last year and took it easy and had a ball. We arrived the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I had been warned that the parks would get more crowded as the holiday approached, so we planned our park days early. Monday we went to the Magic Kingdom and that afternoon it was the most crowded I have ever seen it. My Mom was in a wheelchair and I literally could not push her in Fantasyland. It was a sea of people. We left and didn't return til much later that night and it was better. After that we decided to resort-hop, swim and relax! Epcot was never that crowded.

The weather was gorgeous and the kids swam every afternoon. The Xmas decorations were all up and we enjoyed visiting the resorts and seeing all the trimmings. We had some wonderful meals as I had made PS's early. We opted for Thanksgiving dinner at a resort and chose Boma, which was wonderful as always, The decorations at the Animal Kingdom Lodge were lovely and unique.

Leaving Florida on the Saturday after Thanksgiving was an experience. There was a line of traffic heading North on the turnpike that looked like when the weather channel shows people evacuating before a hurricane! We stopped around Ocala at a McDonald's and even this was jam-packed. A nice woman in the restroom told me not to fret, that the next day, Sunday, would be MUCH WORSE!

Moral of story? We had a ball. The decorations are wonderful and being together with my parents was great. The weather was lovely, not so hot as summer. But it is definitely very crowded. If your trips are really park-oriented, another time might be better. If you can "go with the flow" and do a lot of resort and shopping and dining activities, you might really enjoy this time at WDW. Another plus was that we stayed at Old Key West, a very relaxing resort that never feels "jammed" because it is spread out. Choose your lodging wisely!

Hope this helps. Also -- another nice thing is this week is great for capturing the PERFECT CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY CARD PHOTO! I got a great one of the kids at Epcot, in front of a sea of poinsettias. That alone was worth the trip!

 

[Melora]

We're arriving the day after Thanksgiving and staying for 10 days... The first day at the parks will be Saturday..... do the crowds subsist after Thanksgiving day?

 

[Charleston Zurg]

We went down the week of Thanksgiving three years ago. We were there Sat-Wed before Thanksgiving. Then went to Universal. There were no lines at all and the weaterh was great. Warm enough to swim in teh day, maybe a light jacket in the evening. We were able to ride ToT four times in about one hour. I know that things change and a long time has passed, buT I am just letting ou know our experience.

 

[AimeeM]

rileyroosmom -
2 years ago we made plans for our first trip at thanksgiving. I ran into the same problem.. when I gave them my dates, thanksgiving day through the following wednesday, i was told all of the all stars were completely booked. I found out by asking questions that only thanksgiving NIGHT was completely booked, not any of the other days of our trip. We ended up staying at PO RS on our first night, and then we transferred over to All Stars. To stay at PO RS, it would have added about 300 or so dollars, and its just not worth it for us as we are never in our rooms once we leave for the parks! Im not sure which hotel/hotels you are interested in, but call back and ask which days of your stay IS there availability, and then find out where else you can stay for the booked other days! We had 2 rooms at all star sports, but squeezed in one room at PO RS just for the night. It had a trundle, and the baby was an infant, so it was fine for the night.

 

[rileyroosmom]

Was able to book through Expedia CSR (2 rooms) at $85 a night. Not too bad I thought

 

[AimeeM]

Thats not a bad price at all. Im wondering what the value price is.. 49 a night?

This will be our 2nd trip at thanksgiving. We went 2 years ago and thought it was great. I went expecting mass crowds, and it really wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be. We arrived on Thanksgiving day and went to Epcot around 5-5:30. we walked right on to spaceship earth. We hung around future world until our PS at 8pm at the Garden Grill (that was a disaster, never schedule a really late PS for thanksgiving) We basically avoided MK until Monday except for hopping over to see Spectro on Saturday. IM used to NO crowds in January, and Thanksgiving wasnt too bad. We did the MVMCP on the first night it was happening and found that day to be really crowded, but it was still awesome! Snow on Main Street... need I say more??? We went to the special holiday version of Donalds Breakfastosauras with Santa Goofey and we really enjoyed it. It got us into AK early, and gave us a head start there!! Im so excited to get back there this Thanksgiving!! 89 more days!! All I need now are the hours to be posted!!!

 

[tink2]

I've been three times Thanksgiving week. In 99 it was pretty good- crowds but very managable. 01 was just after 9/11- dead. Last year was very crowded! I talked to a cm and they said it seems to become more crowded every year. We changed our whole plan b/c of crowds. It is crowded, but if you go understanding that and plan accordingly- you can still get a lot done. We used EE most days and ended up hopping to a different park by lunch- ee parks were packed. Use fastpass as often as possible. Make ps for the whole week!
Good luck and have a magical turkey day!!!

 

[spiceycat]

this is the last year that Thanksgiving is in the off season - next year it will be in the regular season - more money. I am expecting it to end up in the holiday season....

lots of schools are now closed for this entire week - so more families can travel to WDW on Thanksgiving. - even if you only have 3 days - add in the weekend - and that 5 days....

so the more schools that have off then the more Thanksgiving gets crowded.

Christmas is too packed for family travel - my opinion - Thanksgiving is fast becoming as bad....in 5 years at this rate it will be....

 

[AimeeM]

Awwwww....they are making thanksgiving regular season? boooo My kids have SIX days off over thanksgiving, and my husband hunts from the friday after until tuesday... makes a GREAT time for me and the kids to make that 2nd trip to WDW. I hope its not TOO crowded this year.. maybe everyone else will leave on Friday the 26th ( just kidding.. well . sorta..lol)

 

[WDWHound]

Our Experience is that the crowds drop drastically on the Sunday after Thanksgiving as everyone goes to the airport to fly home. After that, the parks are not crowded at all.

 

[bexareaglecheryl]

We plan to arrive Thursday evening 11-18. We are planning:
MK-Friday 11-19
AK-Saturday 11-20 Fantasmic that evening at MGM
MGM Sunday 11-21
Epcot Monday 11-22
Universal IOA Tues11-23 and Wed 11-23
Park Hopping on Wed or Thurs 11-23 11-24
Shopping/Pirate Cruise/Thanksgiving lunch at WCC 11-24

Does this sound like a good plan? We're going to try to get in the majority of the park visiting before Tuesday when I think the majority of the crowds will start to hit peak.

Let me know what you previous Thanksgiving visitors think. Would love to hear.
Cheryl

 

[rockomomma]

I have ressies at CR tower. I had them complimentary held until today when I had to put my deposit $ down. This is for 11/25-11/29.

I also had ressies at Poly, CR garden & CSR. I just cancelled all of them today because DH said we would have enough $$ to stay at CR tower. So maybe other people were doing what I was doing & holding several rooms & waiting until deposit $ was due???

 

[Greg K.]

My wife and I decided, on a whim, to try and book a trip for T'giving week. All the DVC resorts were booked, but we were able to get a room at Coronado Springs, using our DVC points. So far, so good.

Then, there was the air fare! Yikes! We were looking at over $400 pp, RT. Finally, this morning, (9/3) Delta Song had some better rates posted on Travelocity -- $327 pp. So I booked that.

I'm not as worried about the crowds. We've been in July, and they were heavy, but bearable. I've found the best strategy, whenever you go, is built around early mornings. Arrive early, get in as much as you can before lunch, and then scoot.

 

[goofy4tink]

We arrive on T-day. We won't even venture into a park that day!!! Eat at CM's and then hang out at BW for the evening!!! Maybe AK on Friday. Epcot on Sat and MGM on Sunday. Hoping that by Sunday evening a lot of folks will be on the way home and we can head out to MK in the afternoon. Monday and Tuesday should be okay and we leave 12/1, Wed., in the afternoon. Know it's gonna be crowded, we'll just have to adjust. I'm so glad I was able to get BWV tho. Really surprised me after reading of all the non-availability everywhere. But, m wait-list came through. Being at BW is great in that you have lots to do if you decide not to go to a park.

 

[Toesmom1]

We went 1 year NEVER again. We had 3 kids with us couldn't do a thing was a waste of money & time. The park is packed early on Thanksgiving day & all weekend. I won't go spring break either.