Thanksgiving Week...which day to be a "Resort Day"?

[disneyfreak2127]

Since we are now under the 60 day mark, I have been wondering which day to do as a Resort Day?

We are staying at BCV the Saturday before Thanksgiving and leaving late in the evening the day after Thanksgiving. We are arriving early on Saturday (arrive at MCO 9am). Should we do a park day that Saturday or just play it casual and explore the resort and Boardwalk? With all the talk about heavy crowds I am starting to worry about which day to just hang out at BCV? Oh?! I thought I was doing so well with planning. Now it seems I'm starting to second guess myself. HELP!!!

 

[wintergreen]

From what I have read in other posts, it seems like Thanksgiving, itself, may be the busiest day in the parks, particularly the Magic Kingdom. We are going at Thanksgiving, too, but b/c we will be there only a short time, our resort day will be the day we arrive, the day before Thanksgiving. Will brave the crowds on Turkey Day!

P.S. It may also depend on where you plan to have Thanksgiving dinner, in or out of the parks.

 

[missypie]

I am planning a trip for Thanksgiving week, '05. We'll be there the Saturday before Thanksgiving to the day after Thanksgiving. I was thinking that on Thanksgiving Day we would probably visit one park to ride a few rides the first hour or so, then try to hit more parks and resorts to see decorations. We'll have APs, so it will be fine to park hop.

 

[SCgoofy64]

I have been at Thanksgiving time the past few years and I can definitely tell you that the Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before Thanksgiving are pretty good but on Wednesay and the rest of the week was very very busy. I would forget about the Magic Kingdom it was mobbed Wednesday thru Saturday, the other parks were also crowded but manageable. We usually hit the parks hard until Thanksgiving day and then see all the Holiday decorations, Osborne Lights, and use fast pass for some rides.

 

[disneyfreak2127]

We will also have AP's but we will be taking my parents with us who will not. Also, they have never been to WDW and we would really like them to enjoy it with our kids (DD11 & DS4). We have a PS for Garden Grill for Thanksgiving day at 1:30 p.m. Our flight out on Friday after is not until 8:30 p.m. so we will probably check out of our villa and need to do a park. Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated. TIA!!

 

[Jeanny]

we stayed at the Polynesian two years ago and did Epcot on Thanksgiving Day, then resort hopped through Boardwalk, Dolphin, Swan, and the Beach Club. We had a 5:30 pm PS at the California Grill, so we toured the Comptemporary before our dinner... after dinner, we went to the MK for the parade and fireworks.

This year we're doing MGM on Thanksgiving Day as we have a 2:00 pm PS at the Brown Derby... we'll probably go to the MK after dark again because it's SO fun!!

 

[M&J's Mom]

We went last year the same dates you are going except that we arrived on Friday. Our best and least crowded day was Saturday at AK. I would do a park on Saturday if you get there before noon. We tried the EMH at MK on Sunday. I would not recommend it. We were very lucky and got to be the "opening" family. There was a mix up with our tickets and we weren't able to get a fast pass when we tried. We ended up with three fast passes and were able to get several rides done, but the waits for rides by 8:45 were 45min. to an hour. We used Wed. as our resort day. On Thanksgiving, we went toTL which was very crowded by noon. We went back to the resort pool and to MK for dinner. MK was very crowded, but we didn't mind because we'd already been on Sun. Hope this is helpful to you. Enjoy!

 

[SB in KY]

I agree with other posters... do MK as early in your stay as possible. If you arrive on Sat, I would definately do parks on Sat, Sun Mon and Tues. That would let you get in at least 1 visit to all the parks before crowds got too huge. Then by Wed you will be ready for a sleep in, hang out at the resorts and take it easy day. EPCOT on turkey day sounds like your best bet. You can dine, watch a show or 2 do rides with fast passes etc there. Somehow it just never feels quite as mobbed as other parks even when it is full. Then if you want to do the park thing on Friday before you leave you could just hit the things you missed earlier in the week or favorites...you might even skip the parks on Friday (they will be a zoo anyways)...sleep in take your time checking out and have a shopping day at some of the resorts or DTD you might go over to Ft Wilderness and eat and do the petting zoo and horse barn. We often go over to the Sand Trap, over at the golf course for a nice lunch (I can pretty much guarentt you it will be the quietest, calmest place on WDW property that day!!)...one year we went to Ft Wilderness the day after Thanksgiving and rented a golf cart for the day...my then 14 year old got to drive (OK, I know she wasn't supposed to but I was sitting right beside her)...and she spent 4 hours of total bliss driving through every loop of the campground about 5 times. SHe had a ball, it was so quiet and calm it seemed like it was a million miles from the park (and we had had all we needed of crowds and hustle by that time)... play it by ear, that is the nice thing about WDW, there is always something to do, even when the parks are packed (Disney Quest might be an option also).