Thanksgiving Weekend is it really that bad?

[dsneygirl]

We are thinking of coming in on the Sat or Sun after Thanksgiving. Staying for either 4 or 5 nights and then doing the 3 day Wonder. My DH is afraid the Sat.Sun will be a nightmare but the timing is really great for the cruise.

Just give me an idea of what to expect that Sat/Sun.

Thanks

 

[OurDogCisco]

I've been Thanksgiving week. We came the Friday night before Thanksgiving Day and stayed through Monday after Thanksgiving. The slower days were Friday, Sat, Sun & Monday before Thanksgiving. Then, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri & Sat were very busy. We did not do MK those days. But we did MK on Sun and the place was like a GHOST town. We walked onto every ride but it was also cold and rainy. So, I think, Sat would be busy but after that it should be fine.

 

[CarolAnnC]

We have spent a few Thanksgiving holidays at WDW and would not hesitate to do it again. As long as your expectations are realistic you should be fine.

We usually will take in a MVMCP at that time so as to give a better wait time for some of the more popular rides. Make your dining plans early, and you should be fine...

 

[dsneygirl]

We have spent a few Thanksgiving holidays at WDW and would not hesitate to do it again. As long as your expectations are realistic you should be fine.

We usually will take in a MVMCP at that time so as to give a better wait time for some of the more popular rides. Make your dining plans early, and you should be fine...

That's what I was thinking. Go into it knowing Sat and Sun may be crazy but just go with the flow.

 

[ohtarabell]

Was there this year and though not as "dead" as a decade ago, it wasn't bad. The friday before, through monday was not bad at all. Once Tuesday night hit, the place was packed. It was doable if you are an early riser, but very crowded by 11:00 am. Went to Epcot the Sunday after and there was hardly anybody there. I would suspect that Saturday you would be miserable, but after that I think the crowds would be gone (for the most part). As others have mentioned, there doesn't seem to be a time anymore when the parks are empty.

 

[Sooze]

We were just there this year. We arrived the Sunday after Thanksgiving and stayed until Wednesday. We were shocked at how crowded it was. We assumed that Sunday would still be bad, but that most of the crowds would thin out on Monday. Maybe we just picked the same parks as everyone else, but we had long waits and very crowded parks the whole time we were there.

It could also be our incorrect expectations! We had heard that the Monday after Thanksgiving was a very slow day.. and it definitely wasn't!

 

[tea pot]

Yes it is
We were there last year and the parks were packed.
If you need or want to visit at this time a good tip would be to arrive at the parks at rope drop and leave just before noon... good luck

 

[OurDogCisco]

Yes it is
We were there last year and the parks were packed.
If you need or want to visit at this time a good tip would be to arrive at the parks at rope drop and leave just before noon... good luck

That's funny because we were there too last year and it wasn't packed. Did you use a touring program? I think, that makes a huge difference. Also, we did not visit MK from Tues to Sat as I knew they would be packed. But I'm sure it is just me as we only visit summer, Christmas week, New Years' week and Thanksgiving week so, I'm comparing it to very busy times of the year.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

We did the WS portion of Epcot the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year and it didn't seem too bad, but then again, there really aren't a lot of lines to wait in for rides. I agree with the others, Sunday after at the MK was very nice as well. It did close early that day because of MVMCP.

This was our first trip during Thanksgiving and we found it to be very crowded, but we are used to going off season. My son is older now and taking that much time off of school is too hard. We would go again during Thanksgiving, but we will go with the expectation that we will see highlights and not everything. I think the wait times would be overwhelming if we went during the holiday with the expectation of riding every ride in every park.

 

[dsneygirl]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. We just booked Sat-Thur at AKL in a 2 bedroom value (with the rest of the fam) it's a great deal for such low points. We'll see what happens.

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

I just booked our 1st Thanksgiving trip earlier this week too. I'm a little nervous about the crowds (we usually go the 1st week of December when crowds aren't that bad). But we all know ahead of time to expect bigger crowds, and we will just alter our usual plans, maybe take in a MVMCP if one is available. It will just be a nice change of pace to be down at Disney during Thanksgiving!