The Week Of Thanksgiving- Crowds - Planning help

[CheapMom]

I am trying to talk my family into a grand gathering for the week of Thanksgiving. (Sat. before to the Sat. after)
I am normally a value season traveller and I am not sure what to expect as far as crowds... Please give me your opinion of the crowd level during this time.

I am wondering how to plan around the crowds as much as possible. What park would you do on Thurs. (Thanksgiving), and Fri.?
I am worried that it will be too crowded and I don't want to talk my family into going if it is going to be miserable. Especially my brothers family- this would be their first time and I want them to have a perfect time.
There is no way the whole extended family could go during value because of school schedules- college and h.s. students...

Thanks in advance! Cheapmom

 

[JenniferW]

You are in the same position I was last year. We went with extended family where almost everyone had never been to Disney before and we went Sat to Sunday. I've also been to WDW over Tday 3 other times and here are my observations...

You will be disappointed if you expect value season crowds, Tday can be extremely busy and keeping a group together is hard enough as it is.
Earlier in the week the crowds are much less and if you are going with the flow, use Fastpass, get there first thing, etc it can still be lots of fun.

Can't remember exactly if I have MGM and Epcot in the right order but the rest is what we did, and here are my thoughts...

Sat before- nothing as many people were travelling that day. We got settled into our condo and bought groceries and swam in the pool/had dessert as everyone arrived. Had a nice time just visiting

Sunday- MK did the FULL day, it was the least busy of the days we were there and I knew it. That was our best day.

Monday- US/IOA part of each park, this was amazingly non busy at all and we had an excellent day

Tues- MK for the full day, not nearly as nice as Sunday, needed to really plan out your strategies, etc. but less than an hour wait for rides even at the peak

Wed- MGM/some also went to Epcot for part of the day

Thurs- AK busy, but not too bad since we were there first thing. Also, went back to hotel early just to hang out with everyone

Fri- NASA/pool day/ relax I knew this day would be super busy everywhere so we decided to have a down day

Sat- Epcot busy, but the only things that were bad were Test Track, Soarin and Turtle Talk with Crush. if you were there first thing for those not bad.

Sunday- US/IOA again most people left at different times during the day we stayed on until Tuesday and then Monday and Tuesday were without a doubt less busy than the other days.

I subscribed to Tour Guide Mike and felt that it was invaluable since it was a busy time of the year. I made up my own touring plans and everyone just followed me. You also need to make all ressies ahead of time for that time of year. We also had a plan on what time we were leaving and if you want to go, be ready otherwise you wait around.... The first hour we could cover so much and the rest of the days got busy.

If Tday is the only time you can do it, plan accordingly and it will work just not as easily as a quieter time. I would avoid seeing MK anytime Thursday- Sat of the prime Tday. The point of spending time with family was our highlight and people seemed to really enjoy the trip.

My 2 cents also...

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. If you have soem on a budget order out for food and enjoy it together, it doesn't have to all be sit down.

Good luck to whatever you decide.

Jenn

 

[MelanieC]

We always ended up at MK on Thanksgiving and it was definately crowded. I always found that AK on Friday was nice.

Thanksgiving 2004 I found Monday in MK to be worse than Thanksgiving day.

I agree with the other Poster that IOA is pretty slow at that time. Thanksgiving of 2004 we did IOA on Tuesday & Wed and it was empty!

Also- Make sure you book any meals you want on THanksgiving day at the 180 mark. ITs tough to find spots as you get closer.

 

[Fenceman]

We did Thanksgiving last year with 24 and followed a similar schedule compared to JenniferW.

The crowds do increase every day the closer you get to Thanksgiving weekend. We did MK on Sunday before and saw more than we expected to because crowds were not bad.

Our worst day was EPCOT on Thanksgiving. Even though the park does not seem that crowded, it is impossible to see any of the E-Rides unless you get to the park when it opens and load up on fastpasses.

All did have a great time. Make sure you plan very far in advance and get your dinner ressies as soon as you can.

 

[CheapMom]

Thanks so much for your replies- Jennifer- thanks for taking the time to share your experience- it was just what I was looking for.
The good news is- Our whole group won't be sticking together 24/7 at the parks- we are staying together and will probably plan some meals together... but we are going to go off with our own little families a lot of the time.
I think it sounds do-able. I will definately avoid MK and Epcot Thurs. & Fri.

 

[momshark]

Thanksgiving 2004 I found Monday in MK to be worse than Thanksgiving day.

Was this the Monday before or after TDay?

 

[CheapMom]

I just read in AAA Magazine that Monday is the busiest weekday at MK (not Thanksgiving week- just in general) and that Friday is the slowest. I found that surprising.

 

[JenniferW]

I would take whatver anyone says is the busiest or not with a grain of salt. Disney changes it early entry days, late night days, etc so often it's hard to keep track of what is the busiest.

Splitting up will be nice since you all can each do your own thing.

Hope you have a good trip whatever you decide.

Jenn

 

[G's mommy]

We have been Thanksgiving week a couple of times and have always enjoyed it. The crowds start to pick-up on Wed before and last through the weekend, but they are not nearly as bad as Easter or Christmas week. Also, the holiday decorations are going up that week, everything is up by Thanksgiving Day and it gets you in the spirit of the season. The weather is normally great, warm days and little rain. Just plan ahead for dining if you all want to dine together at a sit-down or character meal. You will have a great week!