Thanksgiving Week

[michygoomy]

How bad is Thanksgiving Week? We've done summers (typically June or August) and New Years (NYE + a few days) and manage to do everything we want with proper planning. Is thanksgiving going to be better/worse/about the same?

 

[summerskye]

From past trips, I can say it's busy. But with a plan, its doable. We like it much better than dealing with the heat and humidity of the summer. We have a 10 day trip planned from the Fri before thru the Sun after. The holiday spirit makes it a wonderful experience.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

My family has been going Thanksgiving week since the 70's.
Personally my last Thanksgiving trip was in 2012.
My parents still go over Thanksgiving every year.
If it were too busy they'd stop so to me the answer is its still a decent time go go as far as crowds and weather are concerned.

 

[intertile]

We go every year at Thanksgiving. We love the decorations and spirit. We added a 2nd trip this year for 4th of July week. With the exception of 4th of July in magic kingdom(worst crowds I've ever experienced) and toy story land opening day(we avoided HS), I didn't find the parks that crowded. Water parks were a mess, but the theme parks were not nearly as packed as Thanksgiving week.
As PP said if you plan your days, everything is doable. You also have the added benefit of better weather. The days are warm 70-80s with little to no humidity, and the evenings are in the upper 50s to upper 60s. That allows us to enjoy the parks throughout the day comfortably, whereas in July we would go to the parks early morning and then again late in the afternoon to avoid the sweltering heat and humidity.
Also rarely rains for us during Thanksgiving...last week it rained every day for an hour or 2.

Eta:
I just noticed you've been during new years...Thanksgiving will be similar or better both in terms of crowds and weather

 

[CynBeth]

From past trips, I can say it's busy. But with a plan, its doable. We like it much better than dealing with the heat and humidity of the summer. We have a 10 day trip planned from the Fri before thru the Sun after. The holiday spirit makes it a wonderful experience.

We will be there then as well!

 

[TNMickey6924]

Went last year during Thanksgiving. I didn’t think it was bad at all. Weather was fantastic and loved that everything was decorated for the holidays. As long as you utilize fast pass and make dining reservations, you should be fine. I wouldn’t hesitate to go this time of year again.

 

[SaintsManiac]

It’s busy. Have a good plan, make your dining and FPS and understand that lines will be 30 minutes for just about everything. We had a great time last year. Weather was perfect and Epcot on Thanksgiving was so much fun.

 

[mrsR123]

I have done two Thanksgiving trips in conjunction with high school marching band trips for my kids. I don’t chaperone, I stay at OKW, and we attend band events a la carte. We have also done NYE twice and New Year’s Day arrivals two other times.
I have found Thanksgiving to be less crowded than NYE. The FoF parade on Black Friday was a sea of humanity, but as others have said, it’s definitely doable with a good plan and reasonable expectations. Go and have fun!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We arrive the Saturday after TG every year. On Sunday, crowds start thinning out, and it’s usually a great time to go. Can’t speak to crowds during TG though.

 

[prisjoyce]

We have been there at Thanksgiving several times. and we enjoy it! We usually arrive the Fri before Thanksgiving & leave the Fri after; it does get busier as the week goes on. The holiday touches add a little festiveness to the trip.

MK will be very busy on Thanksgiving Day, so we usually go to AK or HS that day.

Make your dining reservations asap, try to get some morning touring in, and do some smart planning for Wed, Thanksgiving Th and Fri, and you will have a great time!

 

[Bete]

Thanksgiving is better than New Year's Eve time. June time is probably better than Thanksgiving.

It comes down to good planning and doing all your fastpasses early, as well as, ADRs.

Utilize the dinner/show packages for Fantasmic, River of Lights, and Candlelight Processional.

Use early entry if you are onsite with magical hours.

Realize you will have longer waits and that you won't accomplish as much.

 

[sharadoc]

We've done 4 trips in the last 8 years over Thanksgiving. Last one was 2016. We got to do everything we wanted ONCE. The crowds were definitely there. My biggest concern was the tourists from other countries who didn't realize that it was a holiday week in the US, I felt really bad for them. Literally, FP machines had a 20 minute or more wait line.

 

[HollywoodTowerHotel]

Many tip sites will tell you to never go to Disney whenever kids have off from school, but those are the only times I can go! Being a teacher, I am tied to taking vacations at those busy times and have experienced many of them: Thanksgiving, spring break, MLK Weekend, July 4, summers, etc.

Although it's been a few years since I went to Disney on Thanksgiving (the first being my honeymoon!), I found it totally doable and enjoyable. The weather was beautiful, the decorations were delightful, and the crowds were manageable with a good plan. Compared to the summer and spring break, I did not notice a big difference in the crowd levels and MLK weekend seemed even busier to me!

That being said, I did not attempt to go to MK on Thanksgiving day and spent the day at other parks instead. I have eaten Thanksgiving dinner at 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's, and Whispering Canyon Cafe, so even those experiences were outside the parks. My dream meal for Thanksgiving would be Liberty Tree Tavern of course, but I don't think that will ever happen!

We are actually considering a trip over Thanksgiving this year - just started mulling it over. Knowing that our planning is WAY BEHIND, does anyone have suggestions for a good meal for Thanksgiving and it might still be possible to snag an ADR this late?

OP, good luck with your decision!

 

[summerskye]

We are actually considering a trip over Thanksgiving this year - just started mulling it over. Knowing that our planning is WAY BEHIND, does anyone have suggestions for a good meal for Thanksgiving and it might still be possible to snag an ADR this late?

OP, good luck with your decision!

A turkey leg and cold beer. lol

 

[Polish Hammer]

Been there several times over Thanksgiving. We usually get there the Thursday before and return on Thanksgiving. That way we get a few days to hit each park before the mad rush comes on Sunday or Monday. The airports always seemed a breeze for us on the holiday itself, everyone travels to their destinations the day before and return in the days after.

 

[cgattis]

Many tip sites will tell you to never go to Disney whenever kids have off from school, but those are the only times I can go! Being a teacher, I am tied to taking vacations at those busy times and have experienced many of them: Thanksgiving, spring break, MLK Weekend, July 4, summers, etc.

Although it's been a few years since I went to Disney on Thanksgiving (the first being my honeymoon!), I found it totally doable and enjoyable. The weather was beautiful, the decorations were delightful, and the crowds were manageable with a good plan. Compared to the summer and spring break, I did not notice a big difference in the crowd levels and MLK weekend seemed even busier to me!

That being said, I did not attempt to go to MK on Thanksgiving day and spent the day at other parks instead. I have eaten Thanksgiving dinner at 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's, and Whispering Canyon Cafe, so even those experiences were outside the parks. My dream meal for Thanksgiving would be Liberty Tree Tavern of course, but I don't think that will ever happen!

We are actually considering a trip over Thanksgiving this year - just started mulling it over. Knowing that our planning is WAY BEHIND, does anyone have suggestions for a good meal for Thanksgiving and it might still be possible to snag an ADR this late?

OP, good luck with your decision!

We had our Thanksgiving meal at Whispering Canyon, as we stayed at WL and checked out that day to go over to the beach. It was good. We waffled between that and Trails End. Maybe you could still get one of those if that sounds good.

 

[cgattis]

It’s busy. Have a good plan, make your dining and FPS and understand that lines will be 30 minutes for just about everything. We had a great time last year. Weather was perfect and Epcot on Thanksgiving was so much fun.

Ditto this. Plus, we saw the line for the People Mover wrap almost 360 degrees around the base! LOL The little guy with the "end of line" sign had never seen it that long. But if moved quickly. Weather was spectacular and it was a great trip.

 

[gharter]

We have done Thanksgiving week a couple of years and it was not as busy as expected. Having survived New Jersey week in earlier November, Thanksgiving week was quiet.

 

[CynBeth]

We had our Thanksgiving meal at Whispering Canyon, as we stayed at WL and checked out that day to go over to the beach. It was good. We waffled between that and Trails End. Maybe you could still get one of those if that sounds good.

I would not recommend Trail’s End. The one time we went for Thanksgiving dinner we were taken much later than our ADR. It was so crowded everyone was on top of each other and they kept running out of things and were not being replaced very quickly. Not sure if there would be an opening at this point but we have done Boma for our last few trips and we had a great experience at Thanksgiving dinner there.

 

[CynBeth]

Good luck!