Thanksgiving week?

[CandyMouse]

We're thinking of going next year during this week, I would love to hear from anybody who has been this week or there now. We've never seen Disneyland during the holidays, but have been during spring break the last few times. So if you can let me know how crowded it is and how soon you made reservations for your motel and anything else I might need to know to plan for next year? We've stayed at Park Vue the last two times 3 yrs ago and we like to get 3 or 4 day hoppers. Also we fly there--how crazy is the holiday travel? Thanks for any info anyone can share! Candy

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We have gone every Thanksgiving for the last 5 years and plan on coming back for the next one. This year feels busier than the rest were, but I think that has to do more with staying off site (we always utilize EMH when eligible, so spend most of the morning ahead of the game) and that DD sprained her ankle and we're using a wheelchair which is a whole new ball game. Onsite, we book as soon as the following year opens for reservations. This year, I booked 2 months out (Doubletree Suites), but there were still rooms available up until I last checked 2 weeks ago. Not sure about across the street.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We are trying to decide if we want to go to DLR during Thanksgiving or Christmas next year. We have never taken a trip during a major holiday before and thought this would be a great time to do it. Our first thoughts were to go for both Christmas and stay through to New Years (yes we are crazy), but I was reading about going during Thanksgiving and it has gotten us thinking that we may want to go at that time instead. It is not only much cheaper to go for Thanksgiving, but the crowds will be much more easier to manage then if we were to go later on (yes, I know it will still be crowded in November, but we are used to going to DLR in June when it is crazy busy as well). As long as the Christmas decorations are up and they serve the specialty Christmas goodies during Thanksgiving, I think we are leaning more towards changing our plans, but then again waking up on Christmas morning and ringing in the New Year at our Happy place is really hard to beat...decisions, decisions.

 

[chickapin parterre]

thanksgiving 2016, 17 and 18 is at earliest dates, hence, there is an extra week of holidays. Whereas 2013 was on the 28t. Ask your guests tomorrow what is the numerical date of thanksgiving, most will sutter before an incorrect answer or the correct answer. So is Thanksgiving a mystery at disneyland. If you research the past three years, you will find reports that it was crowded and stay away at all cost.....so everyone is staying away 2016....then you come back and report wow, Thanksgiving is great, so folks make plans for 2017, or for sure 2018, by then the word is out, Thanksgiving is empty and 2018 will not look anything like 2016 because everyone is showing up, 2019 looking bad,. so 2017 will be great at Disneyland, then it goes back downhill.

Now add to that early date the ROA closure, the 18 month birthday party and the election.....2016 will be empty for a holiday, but 2017 will pick up that slack and will not be as empty as 2016.

 

[SMD]

As long as it doesn't make you connect somewhere with likely weather delays, it's worth flying into SNA. Both last night and this morning there were reports on the local news of it taking 40 minutes to drive a block leading into LAX. Last night the freeways were nothing but non-moving head and tail lights. That's the traffic you'll have to pass through to get to DLR from the airport.

LAUSD has started taking the entire week of Thanksgiving off as do some other local districts. People can go to the parks through Wednesday and still go out of town for Thanksgiving if they want to.

 

[ADLFAN]

A good way to gauge crowds during this week would be to check the app for wait times. Right now, it looks pretty good, with TOT FP'S available for 2:00-3:00 and waits comparable to Spring Break or a three day holiday weekend. So, not too bad!

Have fun planning!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

We just got back. Pros: It's beautifully decorated, weather is cooler, and most attractions are open since it's peak times. Cons: It was literally the most packed I've ever seen it (even worse than when I go for my birthday the last week in December), and it rained more than just the usual sprinkle which didn't ruin anything, but didn't help either. Today's crowds were less intense, but Sunday-Tuesday were a huge mess. Yesterday at one point RSR was up to 165 minutes and Splash mountain was in the 50+ range even though it was cold outside. Today, the FP return line wait time for ToT was 40 minutes.

 

[CandyMouse]

Thanks, it sounds like it won't be too bad! I'm sure we'll enjoy seeing all the decorations and be able to handle the crowds. We've only been during Spring break and Summer and are used to going early and staying late, with a break during the day. Thats why we like to stay across the street. I'm thinking of maybe Wednesday, Thanksgiving and Friday with a 3 day hopper. I know I have a whole year still to plan, but trying to decide if we want to stay at the Park Vue Inn again or try a different motel that might be cheaper but still close. Well thanks again! Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

[chickapin parterre]

We just got back. Pros: It's beautifully decorated, weather is cooler, and most attractions are open since it's peak times. Cons: It was literally the most packed I've ever seen it (even worse than when I go for my birthday the last week in December), and it rained more than just the usual sprinkle which didn't ruin anything, but didn't help either. Today's crowds were less intense, but Sunday-Tuesday were a huge mess. Yesterday at one point RSR was up to 165 minutes and Splash mountain was in the 50+ range even though it was cold outside. Today, the FP return line wait time for ToT was 40 minutes.

thank you, very interesting observation about Christmas week and thanksgiving this year being more crowded than your birthday Christmas vsit

 

[WonkaKid]

I'm going tomorrow. This will be my first major holiday at Disneyland. I hope I don't regret it ;-).

 

[CandyMouse]

I'm going tomorrow. This will be my first major holiday at Disneyland. I hope I don't regret it ;-).

Have fun! Please let me know how it went for you when you get back! Thanks!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We went Sun-Wed this week. NEVER AGAIN. We have been pretty much all other times except xmas and new years week, this was by far the worst we have ever seen it. The line for Pirates was all the way to HM (I have never seen the Pirates line so long). Stand by for HM was 105 minutes at one point. Even Winnie the Pooh was over 30 minutes. One morning Toy Story was over an hour already at 9am. Even lines for lunch around 11:15 were longer than I've ever seen, I think we waited about 30 minutes at Rancho Del Zocalo to order food. Line for the pretzel cart as soon as it opened was about 30 people deep.

I expected it to be busy, that helped with the expectations but really I did not anticipate this. We arrived before park opening, which was good because we were able to get a lot done but we ended up leaving the park in the early evening each night. Pretty much all fast passes were gone and we just didn't want to stand in line for hours.

Also consider the traffic, whether you are driving or flying (you will still have to get to the airport). Our drive home yesterday was 9 hours to Sacramento, which usually takes around 6-7. Bumper to bumper pretty much all the way to Magic Mountain.

 

[goodeats]

The SoCal Select AP was unblocked M-W and many local school districts have the whole week off. This combined with out of state travellers made for large crowds. The reduced traffic flow/capacity at DL made it really difficult to navigate. Not having the train and the FL pathway to Big Thunder really causes more bottlenecks. We were there M-W and found Wednesday to be the least crowded (but still crowded) and DCA was almost always more enjoyable.

ETA - I've been around Christmas before and I would find Monday this week comparable with Christmas week crowds. Wednesday was more like a typical Saturday.

 

[rentayenta]

We arrive Monday and we are preparing for high crowds.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Thank you for everyone reporting, it just didn't add up that the week should be overcrowded. I guess one factor that i didn't consider was that schools are becoming frustrated with kids missing school during thanksgiving so they closed the whole week to not miss out on federal money. This is the new edcuation holidaay discussions happening across the west. The unfortunate indicator is that with the ROA closures and loyal visitors for the 60th, who is that is actually visiting the holidays in 2016??? And will these folks show up for Star Wars in addition to the loyal visitors, what then happens in the park in terms of crowds.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Yes, the shift in dynamics and changes in the fact the parents have more control in school schedules have forced changes, such as many schools not returning from Christmas Break until after Three Kings Day due to unexcused absences, where schools lose money from state and federal funds.

That said, when Star Wars Land opens, the park capacity will be greater due to the expanded size. But then Disney is building the new Parking Structure to meet that demand, and planning the 4th Hotel, along with all the new Hotels being built near Disneyland off-property.

Crowds won't be getting much lower anytime soon.

 

[WonkaKid]

Have fun! Please let me know how it went for you when you get back! Thanks!

Well, it was kind of an odd day. The main areas -- like the main Walt/Mickey hub -- weren't that congested but occasional lines were long. Some FP lines were especially long -- Buzz and Space Mountain in the morning. But overall, not a bad day and not as packed as I'd feared. I'd go again next year. Certainly it wasn't as insane as I've heard Christmas, NYE or July 4th are.

 

[ADLFAN]

Wait times looks super good right now, too. DCA is open til 10 and there is a 15 minute wait for TSMM and 35 for RSR. 13 for TOT!!

DL looks pretty good, too, equivalent to a summer night, but only 5 minutes for Splash, 25 for HMH, 20 for Star Tours.

Maybe everyone's passed out after dinner. I'd love to see some pictures of the Thanksgiving offerings at the resort over on the dining review page! http://www.disboards.com/threads/my-disneyland-dining-reviews-with-pictures.1253888/

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We were in DCA today and it was so nice! It felt empty compared to earlier in the week. One of the CMs told me tomorrow should be nice crowds wise as well. We shall see.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We didn't find DL to be too bad today. It was crowded, but more like summer crowded, not Christmas and NYE crowded. FPs helped keep our ride waits down to a minimum. Don't know about CS lines because we had a TS reservation. CMs were super friendly and nice. Even when they looked tired, if we smiled first, they gave us big smiles in return.