Unnerved by the crowd reports....

[ZIPBAGS]

I leave on the 17th and stay until the morning of the 22nd. I will be there between Soap Weekend and Thanksgiving. I am starting to get a little nervous about the crowds due to the hurricanes. But, I hope that by the time I go it will be less crowded. I do plan on going to the MK on Thurs Nov.18 as to avoid the crowds that might be arriving on the weekend for Thanksgiving week.

 

[Gaiusrex]

Soap Weekend is the weekend before you go. The first couple days you're there should be good. There is some football game thing going on during that time called The Florida Classic. I think they're suppose to be in Mk on Friday.

Thursday is the night for the Spectro parade, so get to MK early. The crowd should build during the day. The weekend might be somewhat crowded, but It'll be nothing camoared to what the NEXT weekend will be like.

Have fun. Remember, you can't control the crowds MK will be open untill 12:00a on Sunday. If it gets busy, use fastpass, eat during off times, get to the parks early (if possible with girls!), and think about trying to get on the rides during parades and shows. I really don't think it'll be extremely crowded. Have fun.

 

[WDSearcher]

Honestly, the only thing to do is "prepare for the worst and hope for the best."

You're probably not going to cancel your vacation because you're worried about the crowds, and no amount of worry is going to change the crowd level. So ... just make up a plan that will get you to your favorite rides and attractions first and be ready for more crowded conditions than you're used to.

That way, if it's crowded, you're ready, and if it's not, then you're pleasantly surprised.

 

[Jestocost]

We're just back from five days at WDW (Wednesday through Sunday) and my take is that the only crowd problems are relative to what may be typical for this time of year, not relative to peak season crowds. Other than a Saturday night logjam in the World Showcase at Epcot (thanks to the Food & Wine Festival) and a Friday afternoon gridlock in Fantasyland at the MK (lots of families with little kids who aren't in school), crowds were much more manageable than our previous visits over Thanksgiving 2003 and in July 2002.

We had great luck with early morning trips (avoiding EMH parks) every day at every park (5-10 minute waits at all of the top rides, except for the Safari at AK) and early afternoons were pretty slick too (Wednesday, for example, we did Space Mountain twice with no waits either time). No problems getting into any park show by arriving just 15 minutes before showtime, either.

Those experiences were even in spite of great weather (all sun, temps in the 80s) and Jersey Week.

Compare/contrast with up to 90-100 minute waits at the big rides over Thanksgiving and in July, and 60 minute waits common at the second tier rides.

 

[kilee]

I really don't think the crowd levels will be too bad. I'd prepare for moderate crowds and go with the flow. Use FP to your advantage and if possible EMH. HAVE A GREAT TRIP!

 

[cruise-o-matic]

We just retuned this weekend too.

Spent Thursday AM at MGM and FP times for ToT and RNRRC were not bad. Thursday PM at Epcot and the lines were short at almost all the food/wine stations.

Friday AM at MK was nice too. No wait at HM and short FP times at SpM. Returned Friday PM around 6 and made PS for the Plaza on the bus ride over. It got a little cool and the park was clearing about then. Walked on POTC, JC and HM. Watched Wishes from the Train Station (Great View!) and was on the bus about 10 minutes later.

Sat PM went back to Epcot and had no problem getting decent seats for Eddie Money. The F/W lines were a lot longer than Thu night though. Left about 8:50 and hopped the monorail to MK and back to see some of Illuminations from the monorail. Then back to MK for Wishes.

Sun AM, back to MGM and walked on ToT twice while waiting for FP time for RNRRC.

Best time of the year to go. Low humidity, decent temperature and manageable crowds.