Thanksgiving week itinerary

[pinkxray]

We will be in WDW Nov 24-30. Staying at Universal Nov. 22-24

We are now under 100 days and I am drawing a huge blank when trying to plan our trip. Parties/no parties? Spread out park days/ avoid parks Thanksgiving weekend? Does anyone mind sharing their plans for the week? I would like to purchase our park tickets soon but can’t decide what to do. Is Animal Kingdom worth spending an extra day on a ticket when so much is closed?

We have been to Disney multiple times in Nov. and Dec, but never Thanksgiving week. I work in a hospital and it took me 15 years to get this week off, so much likely won’t happen again. We have done Jollywood nights 1 time, and MVMCP 3 times so I’m leaning towards skipping the parties in favor of hitting other parks for full days. We are morning people, not night people. It is Dh, myself, DS10, DD8.

Must dos are Epcot Festival of the Holidays with Candlelight processional and Fantasmic since the kids haven’t seen it yet. Also thinking about heading to a park Thanksgiving morning, do any parks have any special that day?

 

[DL1WDW2]

I can tell you the important Thanksgiving Universal must dos!
First and most important USO does not print map guides anymore.
So be prepared with your online trip planning .
My first trip I arrived early evening to go to Islandsof Adventure and Seussland was decorated with so many lights . You can meet the Grinch in the Dr.Seuss Bookstore and then take the jolly trolley over the area to set the lighting from above .. The lines will be long . And of course there is a Grinch Wholidays Stage Show live performance acting out the story of Grinchmas as he steals the gifts and learns a lesson from CindyLou.
I learned to love the Grinch .
Next at the other UStudios park for their nightly parade that is beautifully decorated with Universal characters you will love the Macys Day Parade.
I would wait near the Department Store were their Xmas Tree is waiting for Santa to light the Xmas lights at the end of the Parade.
This year I will be returning to EPIC early December weekend to check out the new decorations inside Helios Resort and EPIC !
I hope you have already purchased your EPIC tickets because Universal is being very strict about capacity . They have been expanding so keep checking back in case more tickets go on sale.
I will try to remember to return to give you more tips for EPIC since it is all NEW! I will tell you the fountains as you relax at Helios view are almost as beautiful as the Bellagio in Las Vegas ! Helios has an upper rooftop Bar to make reservations for the nighttime view!
Helios is a grand resort and EPIC is EPIC !
Where will you be staying ? Loews Resorts owns the Universal Resorts and you will not be dis-satisfied with anyplace you choose.

 

[teach22180]

Here are a couple thoughts:
1. My favorite land in AK is Africa, and that's not closed. The dinosaur ride will still be open too.
2. I don't know about Thanksgiving activities, but Liberty Tree Tavern in MK serves a yummy Thanksgiving meal.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Hi! Went last Thanksgiving and am going again this Thanksgiving. I check in on Nov. 23 and leave Nov. 29. I'm happy to talk about last Thanksgiving week if you want to chat. For this year, my plans (right now) are: (Also - I'm an AP holder so that might make a difference if you are doing date based tickets and I travel solo so I don't have to worry about what anyone else wants or how they do the parks) I also make it a point to go back to the hotel for rest/pool every afternoon.
Saturday, Nov. 23 - arrive, settle in hotel, rest (I drive down and it takes about 12 hours)
Sunday, Nov. 24 - MK. Maybe hop somewhere else for the evening (I believe that is a party night). Or maybe Disney Springs
Monday, Nov. 25 - AK. I know Dinoland is mostly closed but I can't miss the safari and the Lion King show. Plus, I wouldn't hate one more ride on Dinosaur itself. Plus - lunch at Flame Tree. Yummm...pulled pork sandwich!! Hop somewhere for the evening (maybe back to MK to catch the new parade)
Tuesday, Nov. 26 - I am doing MVMCP that night. I have learned my lesson about what I can realistically do during the day so I sleep in, go to the pool, and head to the park around 4:30-5 for the party.
Wednesday, Nov. 27 - DHS. I plan to do Hollywood and Vine for breakfast for Fantasmic seating because the parks will be BUSY by now.
Thursday, Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving) - I plan to do Crystal Palace for Thanksgiving this year. Last year, I tried to get Liberty Tree at my 60 plus 4 and it was already gone. I did get Diamond Horseshoe which is the same menu but the service wasn't great.
Friday, Nov. 29 - Epcot for Festival of the Holidays. Since it is the first day of it, it tends to be a bit busy but totally worth it.
Saturday, Nov. 30 - check out and make the sad, long drive home

Please, DM me if you want to chat about past experiences or anything else!

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

Thanksgiving week is our favorite time to go to WDW! The weather is amazing and everything is decorated for the holidays.

Concerning AK, I would definitely say it's worth a day. Because it closes earlier than the other parks, put that day in the middle of your trip so you can enjoy some down time later at your resort and rest up.

For Thanksgiving day itself, many of the restaurants on property will offer a special meal. It's usually announced closer to the day, but you can google which ones typically offer it. I find that non park restaurants serve the best meal. Think Boma, Whispering Canyon. Depending on what time of day you like to eat that meal, it could be a nice mid day break. Liberty Tree Tavern is always talked up for having a great themed meal, but that place is 200% crazy on that day and tends to run behind schedule because of that. We did it once and never again! Instead, try to snag a reservation on another day and enjoy 2 Turkey Day meals!

We've been to every park except HS on Thanksgiving day and had equally good experiences. No one really does a themed experience, but EPCOT has the American pavilion. You said you're morning people so that's good, that makes a huge difference. It was fun to see everyone's special shirts. All week it's Christmas then BAM it's Fall for one more day. Love it. We got to see Josh Gad at Candlelight processional last year and it was beautiful. We thought it was worth it doing a CP package to get a guaranteed seat.

One more - make sure you go to MK on a party day if you've decided against going to MVMCP yourself. Crowds are way down on those days, especially in in the mornings.

 

[juxtapose]

We arrive the Sunday before Thanksgiving and leave for a cruise the Saturday after, kids are 13 and 10. So far, we have the MK Christmas party booked for Friday. We then plan on doing only 2 park days, we usually do more but with higher crowds we all like a break. We will get park hoppers for Tuesday and Thursday and do MK then Epcot on Tuesday and then AK then MK on Thursday. We plan on booking the fireworks dessert party on Thursday. My main recommendation is to go on a party day to MK even if you are not going to the party for lower crowds.

We are skipping DHS as we were just at Disneyland and Star Wars is the only part of DHS we really like.