Thanksgiving

[LVdisneyChick]

I am preparing for pure chaos however I would like some feedback. Who has gone during this weekend and how bad was it. All APs are blocked so hopefully that helps

 

[skiingfast]

It's busy to very busy, in roughly that order as the week goes on. Prepare for the worst. It's a time when you should go for longer than normal, 4 or 5 days so you can get more done. Seriously make use of FastPasses. Show up before the gates open, take a midday break when it's busiest and be there from evening to closing.

 

[gatorfreud]

Exactly.

I found it more crowded than summer, but not as bad as the days just before Xmas.

We went TG in 2008, went in really early and were like - wow, it's not crowded at all! Left after lunch for break, came back after dinner and were like WHOA!!!! HOLY CROWDS!!!! Amazing the difference.

Kim

 

[Eeee-va]

I thought the crowds were fine the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving 2011...not super-light, but not at all what I'd consider "crazy." This was pre-Cars Land so crowds may be a bit bigger this year (certainly Cars Land will be plenty busy).

By Sunday night, crowds were very nice. From the timestamp, I think this was about 8:12 PM, but there was a time zone difference and my camera is a bit off on the timestamps. Fireworks are at 8:45 PM per my times guide and it shows Roger Rabbit as available, but I thought Toontown closed early for fireworks? Anyway, I don't think this is any LATER than 8:12 or so.

I got this FP for Space Mountain at 9:50 PM. I've gone in summer when all the FPs are gone by like 2 PM, so this amazed and delighted me. It's POSSIBLE SM had a breakdown earlier in the day that kept people from getting FPs, but to my recollection the FP line was not longer than usual that night, and you can tell the standby line was fine. So I don't think that was an issue.

I have a really crummy, near-unreadable, wait board picture from about 1 PM Saturday at Disneyland. It looks a lot like the ones I'm seeing for this summer at Disneyland, which is certainly not empty, but is a bit lighter than most folks expected.

Again, with Cars Land in the picture, this year COULD be different, but I'm very happy with the choice we made in 2011.

By practically every account I've heard, the days BEFORE Thanksgiving are a madhouse, so I would avoid those if you have an option. (Though if your options are 5 days, with a couple on or before Thanksgiving, or JUST the Friday-Sunday after Thanksgiving, I'd definitely go more days. )

Have a great trip!

 

[sheetz]

I've also heard that in the last few years the trend has been for it to be most crowded in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, as not only are all APs unblocked but many schools are out as well.

 

[LVdisneyChick]

Thanks for the replies. I am just going to prepare for the worst. We were pretty savvy at touring before Carsland. I am trying to figure how to work that in the mix