The week of Thanksgiving...should we?

[Zane21]

Am I JUST NUTS to try and do a trip the days before Turkey Day?
It is just so hard to find time with two kids in two different schools with two different schedules...sigh...

I am thinking of arriving the Sunday before Turkey Day and leaving the Friday after Turkey Day...

I checked at they have rooms avail for where we want to stay...

Is Disney OPEN on Turkey Day?

We have not been in almost TWO YEARS and I need to go..so do my sons..ages 12 and 9.

Input anyone?

 

[MattsPrincess]

Yes, Disney is open on Thanksgiving Day.

From what I've seen on here, it's right after Thanksgiving that the crowds start really picking up, and that up until then it's pretty quiet.

 

[canadadisney]

We went the same time 2 years ago. The weekend was busier, after the weekend it was fine. After the weekend most rides were no more than 10-15min wait. Have a plan. Don't let a holiday scare you.

 

[Zane21]

So I am thinking...arrive the Sat night before.. then Sunday ...thru Turkey Day..
so that would be Sun, Mon, Tues, Weds and Turkey Day at the parks..leaving Friday.

The kids would only miss two days of school...(which is the MAIN reason I am thinking this time..) We usually go in late Sept or Mid October...so we are used to NO CROWDS...this could be quite a rude awakening for us.

I figure if we give ourselves 5 full days of park time...we don't need to push anything...

So..what is the weather like then? Swimming?
We are in Northen CALI and there is NO swimming around Turkey Day.

 

[wdwfan22]

I'm not sure about past years, but I know both last year and this year, Thanksgiving day, and the Friday and Saturday after are blocked out for all annual passes except premium annual pass holders. I read that last year crowds were very manageable those days.

I don't have the link right now, but if you read Hydroguy's info on holidays and blockout days, it will give you some good info.

Go and have fun!!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We have been for Thanksgiving week each of the last two years. Our experience was that the Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving were busy but not terrible, Mon-Wed got kind of crazy, and then things settled down again for Thanksgiving-Saturday. Bear in mind that we always go holidays, weekends, and summer, so this is what we are comparing crowds to. It will be crowded but manageable if you get up early, utilize fastpass, have at least a loose plan, and go in with a positive attitude.

I love the Thanksgiving time because it's so festive. Christmas decorations are already up; the holiday parade and fireworks show are running. The park runs at peak hours. There are yummy holiday treats available at the restaurants and shops. Thanksgiving dinner is really nice. I recommend booking your Thanksgiving meal 60 days out or as soon as you have a plan inside those 60 days if you want a table service restaurant because those do often book up.

Weather can be all over the place. It all melds together in my brain, but I do remember experiencing everything from cool days with overcast skies, to a brief light sprinkle, to temps in the 70s, to a couple days in the 80s during our Thanksgiving weeks of the past two years. I know for sure the kids rode Grizzly and played in the water at least one or two of those days.

I'd say go for it!

 

[Jrsy Boy]

We're doing it. DS has the entire Thanksgiving week off for the first time this year so we figured, even if it is busy, it will be warmer than Colorado and being at Disneyland beats being at work anyway.

We swam last year in October and the year before the first week of December. Pack your swimsuits, they don't take up much room.

 

[jennilouwho]

We were there last Thanksgiving. The Monday and Tuesday before were pretty crazy. We weren't there Wed and then Thanksgiving Day and Friday were a lot better because the APs were blocked out...

 

[DL4my2kids]

We try and go every other year and it's always the week of Thanksgiving.

The weekends are always the busiest but it's quite nice during the week.

Last time we went we had Thanksgiving dinner at Ariels and that was nice. Not sure what we will do this year.

The decorations are beautiful and the parade is great.

Go and have a great time.

 

[Zane21]

OK...we are gonna DO IT.

I will book now....

thanks!!

 

[mom2dzb]

We have been for Thanksgiving week each of the last two years. Our experience was that the Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving were busy but not terrible, Mon-Wed got kind of crazy, and then things settled down again for Thanksgiving-Saturday. Bear in mind that we always go holidays, weekends, and summer, so this is what we are comparing crowds to. It will be crowded but manageable if you get up early, utilize fastpass, have at least a loose plan, and go in with a positive attitude.

I love the Thanksgiving time because it's so festive. Christmas decorations are already up; the holiday parade and fireworks show are running. The park runs at peak hours. There are yummy holiday treats available at the restaurants and shops. Thanksgiving dinner is really nice. I recommend booking your Thanksgiving meal 60 days out or as soon as you have a plan inside those 60 days if you want a table service restaurant because those do often book up.

Weather can be all over the place. It all melds together in my brain, but I do remember experiencing everything from cool days with overcast skies, to a brief light sprinkle, to temps in the 70s, to a couple days in the 80s during our Thanksgiving weeks of the past two years. I know for sure the kids rode Grizzly and played in the water at least one or two of those days.

I'd say go for it!

Yay! We'll be arriving at DLR the Wed before and leaving the Monday after Thanksgiving. Can't wait!

I'll need to have decided where to eat for Thanksgiving dinner in 56 days! Any suggestions? What time would you suggest?

Oh . . . and it'll be warm enough to swim?? Even better!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Yay! We'll be arriving at DLR the Wed before and leaving the Monday after Thanksgiving. Can't wait!

I'll need to have decided where to eat for Thanksgiving dinner in 56 days! Any suggestions? What time would you suggest?

We only have experience with Storyteller's Cafe for Thanksgiving dinner (no characters in case you're wondering), and we really enjoyed it (that's why we went back last year). They serve a buffet; I know they offered a separate non-buffet menu as well 2 years ago, can't remember if they did that last year too. Anyway, we go for the buffet. We're not even big eaters, but it seems like for a holiday like Thanksgiving, all-you-can-eat is the way to go. We found the food to be very tasty, and there was a decent variety of traditional choices including turkey and mashed potatoes as well as some more special items. I just love the atmosphere of that restaurant, and it's kind of neat for us since we don't eat there normally but save it instead for this kind of special occasion. I'm sure there are plenty of other good choices as well; this just turned out to be what our family enjoyed.

As for time of day to eat, the good thing about booking as soon as Disney will let you is you have the best chance of getting closest to whatever time your family would like to have their Thanksgiving dinner. I suspect the restaurants will be running pretty full to capacity whichever time you pick. We still felt we got really good, friendly service.

Oh . . . and it'll be warm enough to swim?? Even better!

Well, there are no guarantees and everybody's tolerances are different, but I know DH and the kids went swimming at least one day on each of our Thanksgiving trips of the last two years. Plus, I have a bunch of pictures of the family in shorts during that trip, so at least one or two days were warm enough for that. I also have pictures from the same trips of everyone wearing pants and occasionally sweatshirts. You may as well pack swimsuits and one pair of shorts just in case unless the weather reports near the time are predicting consistently chilly weather.

 

[ThistleMae]

We were there last Thanksgiving. The Monday and Tuesday before were pretty crazy. We weren't there Wed and then Thanksgiving Day and Friday were a lot better because the APs were blocked out...

What do u mean that the AP's were blocked out?

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

All but the highest level AP's are blocked for days around Thanksgiving. We have gone 3 of the last 5 years this week. Same experience as most above. M-W can get downright crowded, turkey day not too bad, and the Friday and weekend felt like normal weekends to us.

 

[ThistleMae]

Thank you so much for your reply. I find it interesting that Thanksgiving is less crowded than M-W. I'm sure we will have a wonderful time. I am used to going off season...so it may seem a bit crowded to me for that reason...but...I'm going with my grandkids this time, so I won't care!

 

[Angrose]

We went last year Fri to Mon right after Thanksgiving. Crowds weren't too bad, like others have said. However, I have heard that the days leading up to Thanksgiving Day can be very crowded. My good friend went Sun to Wed and said it was pretty bad. I checked the Mousewait app and they rated the crowds in the 90s on those days and you hardly ever see that. It was pretty hot that week too, in the 90s before Thanksgiving and in the 70s after, so you could definitely swim.