Thanksgiving Week

[Kimbeachy]

Hello all. I have been to Disney numerous times but it has been several years since I have ventured there during a holiday! We (I) are planning a family trip this Thanksgiving for myself, DH, DD and her DH, His mom and her husband, DiL, and our 2 granddaughters (first trip!) ages 7 and 5. I know planning is going to be the key for this busy holiday week, but any special advice or ways to plan around the crazy time? I know I def need all our dining reservations made and the date by which to do so. I know we need to use extra magic hours and to take advantage or our 3 fastpass' per day. Any other tips? Thanks all!

 

[eerst5]

We went this past Thanksgiving week. The crowds were not bad for us, I think because we stuck by several principles:
1. Only go to the park with the lowest crowd prediction based on easywdw for that day.
2. Get there when it opens. We only once made it for gate opening, but all other days we were within about 10 min of opening, and those first 2 hours are ideal for hitting headliners.
3. We anticipated going back to the hotel and hanging out in the pool at or just after lunch. That kept us away from the big crowds, and I'm sure kept us all happy.
4. The headliners that we didn't do right off I tried hard to get FP+ for in the late morning - easy at MK, harder at EP, HS due to the tiered system, but pick out some headliners when you get to the 60 day mark and set those up at least for EP, HS, and AK, and anything you don't plan for that you want to do try to get in at the start. Both easywdw.com and touringplans.com have suggested order of attractions. Touringplans.com has an app, which was easier for me. But people seem to find easywdw a little more reliable.

It was a little chilly - even being from Maine, it was cooler than we expected. My kids were the only ones in the pool on a couple of days - probably because it was at least warmer than the Atlantic off the Maine coast. But I'd still bring some warm clothes!