Thanksgiving Week Strategies

[disneyfreak71]

We are staying off property for Thanksgiving week this year from Saturday the 19th through Monday the 28th. Any tips would be appreciated. We have a 6 day non-hopper ticket.
Has anyone been to MK on Thanksgiving day and how crowded is it? We are hoping for EPCOT Monday, HS Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are open, Friday EPCOT for the opening of FOH, Springs Saturday, and MK Sunday.

TIA!

 

[CarolynFH]

Since you know which parks you want to visit on which days, and you already have your tickets, you should book your park reservations now. MK is the park most likely to book up first for Thanksgiving Day - in the distant past, before New Fantasyland opened, MK generally went to some level of closure (maybe not complete, but one of the lower of the four or five levels) during the day - and it tends to be the most popular park that day. When we visited that week (it's been quite a few years now), we went to Epcot on Thanksgiving Day.

 

[RoseGold]

If it's like last year, they will all be brutally crowded. You need to prioritize what matters to your group and focus on that. Make the park reservations now.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I went last year for the week of Thanksgiving. Monday and Tuesday early will be ok. Then it will start getting crowded. I ended up at DHS for actual Thanksgiving day last year and it was crazy. I took advantage of early entry - left for the middle part of the day - and then went back around 5pm to end the night. Definitely book your park reservations right now if you have tickets. If I remember correctly, by the middle to end of October - most of the parks were sold out for WEdnesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Also, get ready to make those ADRs as soon as possible if you want sit down meals those days.

 

[Lisa P.]

MK has been shoulder-to-shoulder jam-packed on Thanksgiving day by 11 a.m. the two times we did that. Never again. I'd definitely recommend that you front-load MK in your Thanksgiving week trip (Mon or Tue) and keep MK on the last Sunday too, when many vacationers will be heading home.

Epcot and AK seem to handle large crowds better during high attendance periods, IMO. So I'd opt to visit them between Thu and Sat, maybe on Wed. I'd focus on MK and HS (which both "feel" crowded and bustling more easily, with narrower walkways) on Mon, Tue, and Sun, maybe on Wed. JMO.

Since you'll have a DS day (or resort day) planned anyway, consider doing it on Thanksgiving Day, when locals may be celebrating at home with friends and relatives. Tons of people have a mindset of going shopping on Black Friday and that Saturday, so DS will likely be a zoo the entire weekend.

 

[kimberwee]

I am also torn...
Not sure if we should spend DHS on Wednesday or Thursday (after lunch).
Right now, we are planning on Epcot for Wednesday and DHS on Thursday after we eat Thanksgiving lunch at the resort...originally this is because it takes so much longer to get around Epcot...
Now, I am thinking we should maybe do DHS on Wednesday. Both days will probably be insane...

Thoughts?

 

[disneyfreak71]

We may change and do AK Wednesday and DS on Thursday. Chef Art’s sound Delish for Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[JakeAZ]

I was there last Thanksgiving. I wish you the best, but we were on property and it was still very stressful.

Dining reservations were almost impossible to get that week, for the early days in the trip, and that was with the 60 day, full on-site stay, window.

We had a good time, but that was mainly because I put in lots of time and research and the rest of the group just let me take the wheel.

We used the morning of Thanksgiving as a pool day and I just monitored G+ to start accruing passes for when we went into the park (MK) later that day. That is a real nightmare though, due to having to keep an eye on return times while trying to enjoy your morning "off".

I'm sorry to say (since depending on where you are off-site, these may not be available to you), but the best parts of our trip, were Early Entry and Extra PM hours. We absolutely accomplished the most during these times. During the week, any "decent" ride or above, will be commanding wait times with an average of 90 minutes during peak times. 120+ for E ticket.

 

[CynBeth]

The years we are at Disney around that time we always do an AK day on Thanksgiving and have an early dinner 4 pm or 4:30 pm at Boma. They have a nice mix of Thanksgiving items and their regular African faire.