Thanksgiving week how busy?

[tigger334]

I am just planning a trip for the whole family (7 of us) and they want to go this Thanksgiving. How busy will the parks be the week of Thanksgiving? Are we totally crazy!

TIA

 

[MS_mom_1965]

VERY, VERY crowded. But you may as well come on down, all the rest of us will be there too!

 

[AuntBot]

Extremely busy! We were there a couple of years ago. The closer you get to Thanksgiving, the worse it gets. That being said, the weather is lovely and we had a great time.

 

[Renee1061]

We'll be there, too. But we are leaving Thanksgiving Day, so I'm hoping we will miss the worst crowds.

 

[Jestocost]

I've been at Christmas and during the height of the summer, and Thanksgiving Day at Epcot was the busiest I've ever seen a park. Granted, we came in off of the Disney Cruise and didn't get there until around 10:30 a.m., but FPs for TT already were gone for the day, you could barely walk through Mexico, etc.

Amusingly, the weekend was much less busy thanks to a cold front that passed through on Friday evening. Saturday's high was 23 degrees colder than Friday and temps got down into the mid 40s.

I guess that's a long way of saying that it's a busy time of year, but the weather can be questionable and crowds may be much lighter if it's cold, rainy, etc.

 

[WDW4ever]

We'll be there for Thanksgiving too! We'll be at CSR Wed-Saturday, then moving into a time share for the following week until Dec. 2nd.

I've never been there over the actual Thanksgiving holiday so it will be an adventure, but we have been there the week after and for us the parks haven't been too busy then.

 

[MS_mom_1965]

I've been at Thanksgiving before, and it was pretty bad, so I'm expecting the worse.

I'm hoping for rain, and bringing a poncho! Maybe everyone else will leave!

 

[Magic Maker]

Well, I just don't know what to think! My boss was there last year during the week leading up to Thanksgiving, and he said it was relatively uncrowded until Thanksgiving Day...So, we scheduled our vacay for Nov. 17-23. Now, my beloved and trusted DIS'ers tell me crowds will be hellish...Ack!!!

 

[Cindy'sCastle]

Tigger334,

We have went every year during Thanksgiving for the past 4 years. This year we're going in August for a little change. But I know for me the best time is definitely during Thanksgiving. The week leading up to turkey day has been really nice. The crowds were not bad at all. On Thanksgiving Day, I would try to avoid MK. We did MK our 1st time during the holiday and regretted it. 2 years ago we went to Epcot on Thanksgiving and it was not crowded at all. I guess it just depends on the year. We always left the day after Thanksgiving so I'm not sure how the crowds are after that. But you can't beat the weather, it is so nice at that time. And the lights are up for Christmas so you get to enjoy that too. Have a wonderful trip.

Cindy

 

[mareed]

I agree that it will be pretty crowded, but still great! We'll also be there and have been twice at Thanksgiving before, so obviously it wasn't bad enough to keep us away. I've notice several others here with Thanksgiving trips, and thought I'd point out that a Photopass CD sharing for Nov. has been set up, and I'm group leader for a group over Thanksgiving, so if any of you are interested in going in on a Photopass CD, take a look at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1529394.

 

[Magic Maker]

Tigger334,

We have went every year during Thanksgiving for the past 4 years. This year we're going in August for a little change. But I know for me the best time is definitely during Thanksgiving. The week leading up to turkey day has been really nice. The crowds were not bad at all. On Thanksgiving Day, I would try to avoid MK. We did MK our 1st time during the holiday and regretted it. 2 years ago we went to Epcot on Thanksgiving and it was not crowded at all. I guess it just depends on the year. We always left the day after Thanksgiving so I'm not sure how the crowds are after that. But you can't beat the weather, it is so nice at that time. And the lights are up for Christmas so you get to enjoy that too. Have a wonderful trip.

Cindy

I cannot tell you how much better that makes me feel. We are going the week leading up to Thanksgiving, and it's the first trip for my husband and daughter, so I really wanted them to experience the World without crazy crowd levels!

 

[MS_mom_1965]

The UG website lists those days leading up to Thanksgiving as a crowd level of 9 (out of a possible 10). Do you feel that's inaccurate?

 

[1sttriptoWDW]

Our family is taking our first trip to WDW the week of Thanksgiving. There are 8 of us going and we're all rookies! Didn't realize Thanksgiving is considered the 2nd busiest time of the year. I hope I didn't make a mistake. I could use a magical vacation!!

BTW...I'd appreciate any advice on 'must-see' and "must-do's". My children are 4 and 6. Everyone else is over 20. I do not know where to begin. Who knew that vacation planning could be so stressful?

Thanks

 

[mareed]

Our family is taking our first trip to WDW the week of Thanksgiving. There are 8 of us going and we're all rookies! Didn't realize Thanksgiving is considered the 2nd busiest time of the year. I hope I didn't make a mistake. I could use a magical vacation!!

BTW...I'd appreciate any advice on 'must-see' and "must-do's". My children are 4 and 6. Everyone else is over 20. I do not know where to begin. Who knew that vacation planning could be so stressful?

Thanks

Must do? Sign up for TourGuideMike. You've got time to plan, and the info there will help a lot! I've even toured at XMAS and done just fine, so you'll be OK too and have a great trip.

 

[fitzperry]

Well, I just don't know what to think! My boss was there last year during the week leading up to Thanksgiving, and he said it was relatively uncrowded until Thanksgiving Day...So, we scheduled our vacay for Nov. 17-23. Now, my beloved and trusted DIS'ers tell me crowds will be hellish...Ack!!!

Perhaps your boss was really at Disneyland Paris? The crowds definitely got worse as the holiday approached, but I thought the parks were very crowded the entire week. I guess people have different ideas about the definition of crowded. I've responded to several T-giving week threads where I seemed to be the lone voice saying it was very busy.

The UG website lists those days leading up to Thanksgiving as a crowd level of 9 (out of a possible 10). Do you feel that's inaccurate?

IIRC, last year those days were listed as 7, and I thought 8 would have been more appropriate, so 9 may not be too far off the mark.

 

[elan]

Must do? Sign up for TourGuideMike. You've got time to plan, and the info there will help a lot! I've even toured at XMAS and done just fine, so you'll be OK too and have a great trip.

I agree. This will be our 4th tday trip since 2002. Last year was the first I used TGM. We had a great vacation. Saw and did lots.

Can't wait only 111 days to go.

 

[MinnieGi]

We'll be there too for Thanksgiving week!! We are expecting big crowds. But I am also using TGM for touring. I've used TGM before with great success.

 

[MS_mom_1965]

After reading all the rave reviews on here for TGM, I also signed up at his site yesterday. I already have the UG and have read it cover-to-cover, and have their site too. (I know, I'm obsessed with planning).

Anyway, the last time we went to DW was also at Thanksgiving, and it was VERY crowded to us. For our upcoming trip, we are staying at a DW resort so we could use EMH, and get back to the hotel for breaks quicker and easier. However, I noticed TGM doesn't really seem to be a fan of EMH. Those of you who have used his plans before, did you use EMH?

I thought I could do the morning EMH park, then leave and go to his suggested afternoon park for the day. Is that logical, or is that going against his advice?

 

[ocalla]

We will also be there for Thanksgiving for the first time. We always go during VERY SLOW times, just walk on any ride you want. I am getting a little nervous about the crowds, but I think by knowing it will be busy will help me with the shock.

I was wondering while planning the trip here, what day is best for Thanksgiving Day? I see that MK is open early, so I thought we would go there, but I worry that everyone else will be there that day because it closes so late.

 

[fitzperry]

I was wondering while planning the trip here, what day is best for Thanksgiving Day? I see that MK is open early, so I thought we would go there, but I worry that everyone else will be there that day because it closes so late.

We went to AK last year on Thanksgiving day, and it was crowded but doable. IIRC our friends we were traveling with went to MGM and thought pretty much the same thing. Then we all had dinner at Olivia's at OKW. If you haven't already, you'll need to make dinner reservations asap. My guess is that the MK is probably mobbed because everyone wants to go to "Disney World" on the holiday. I also figured that Epcot would be crazy because of all the dining options.