Thanksgiving Week

[luckywife]

We are planning a trip during Thanksgiving week. I'm expecting it to be crowded, but what else can you share with me about visiting this time of year? Any suggestions about where we could have Thanksgiving dinner? I'm hoping the Christmas decorations will be up by then but have heard they won't be until the following week.


Thanks!

 

[geenerbell]

We are hoping to eat at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom. If that's not available we'll try Crystal Palace or 1900 Park Fare.

 

[tinkatheart111]

We went that week in '06 and it was fantastic. The decorations were up already. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Shutters at CBR. We really enjoyed it. It was busy on Thanksgiving and the day after but before hand it wasn't too bad. I think the next time we go back will be that same week. Have a wonderful time!

 

[BradyBz12]

MK should be fully decorated in time for the first MVMCP on 11/10 (incl. Castle Dreamlights) Only exception may be the big tree - which last year didn't go up until 12/8 after the Christmas parade taping.

All the other decorations should be up by Thanksgiving and the official holiday kickoff date for Osborne lights, Candlelight Proc., etc., was actually just released as 11/27.

More info HERE

 

[luckywife]

Thanks so much for the info. I was hoping we'd be able to see the Osborne Lights, I'm really looking forward to that.

 

[Minnie824]

Very crowded! Go first thing in the morning to the popular rides. We went to 1900 Park Fare for Thanksgiving dinner and everyone loved it! We would definitely do that again. Have fun! oh, I also wouldn't suggest shopping at DD on thanksgiving...it was crazy!!

 

[Magalex]

We are thinking Thanksgiving time(after this last trip this month in June). Had fun but would like to experience WDW in cooler weather. Do any of the parks close due to large crowds? Or is it just crowded(no problem with that just experienced crowds the second week of June). What is the weather like at that time period?

 

[tinkbyday]

We went that week one year and it was great until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving - then - oh my goodness - it was so crowded in Epcot - I had to leave the park- I couldn't take it!!! I mean, we couldn't move - and people were pushing, UGH!!

My suggestion would just be to enjoy everything you want to do before Thanskgiving day - there are so many other things to enjoy!

We did go to MK on Thanksgiving day for ADR's at Liberty Tree - that meal is their whole specialty and the food was really great back then - that used to be our every trip must do - sadly, the last time we ate there it wasn't as good - hopefully just an off day!

 

[joleen76]

We have gone the last two Thanksgivings and had an awesome time. My advice would be to avoid MK & EPCOT like the plague...go to them the day after Thanksgiving. We generally go to AK or DS on Thanksgiving day and then eat a very late dinner at EPCOT while everyone else is fighting for Illum. spots. We also choose a non-traditional meal on T-day since most of the rest. have their menu's tilted toward T-day fair all week. In 07 we ate at 9 Dragons and last year Teppan Edo. Was great to get a break from turkey and stuffing!

JMO Hope this helps.

 

[broberts]

We went last year and loved it. LTT was awesome. I plan on booking this for our December trip before MVMCP. I was disappointed that Osbourne didn't start until the day before we left (Friday after Thanks) and we were so wiped out that we didn't make it. The crowds weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be, but we tried to take advantage of the Early EMH's and fastpasses. It was crowded, but manageable.

 

[OurDogCisco]

We went last November and the crowds weren't too bad up the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We took advantage of MVMCP on the Friday before Thanksgiving week. Then, we went to MK on Wednesday before T-Day and it was a mob scene. It was VERY crowded. We ended up going back the following Sunday and the place was desserted. Very nice. We avoided parks on Thanksgiving Day and went resort hopping to see all the Christmas decorations. We ate at Captain's Grill at the Yacht Club for dinner. It was an okay meal. Not my favorite but a good buffet for T-Day.

We stayed 11 nights so, that gave us a lot of flexibility in park planning.

 

[palavra]

We will be there at Thanksgiving this year. Of the 4 parks, which is the most likely to be the least crowded on Thanksgiving day? We will not have park hoppers, so we have to stay in one park. I really wanted to go to Epcot that day, but if it's going to be a mob scene, we'll gladly go to another park.

Also, we will be there on the opening day of Osbourne lights. We really want to see this. Is DHS crowded the whole day or just in the evening on that day?

 

[Jestocost]

With regard to Thanksgiving dinner, you should know that many of the restaurants have limited fixed-price menus for the night and do NOT offer their full menus or a la carte options. We did Artist Point at WL, for example, and a three-course (I think) meal was $54 for an adult. It was a really good dinner and we enjoyed it a great deal, but if someone was expecting the full menu, had a favorite item that wasn't on the Thanksgiving menu or didn't want to spend $54 per person, they would have been disappointed. As a result, it pays to check out what the restaurant is offering.
Here's a link to information on 2008 Thanksgiving Dining at WDW.

You really should look at the 2008 info for 2009 planning too, since I believe Disney didn't come out with the official 2008 dining info until well after the 90-day mark for ADRs. As a result, there's a good chance you'll have to make 2009 Thanksgiving ADRs before the 2009 info is out.