WDW at Canadian Thanksgiving!

[princessap]

Has anyone been over our thanksgiving in October...contemplating a trip then to reduce time my dd is out of school...anyone with experience have any thoughts to share?
thanks

 

[minnie mum]

That will be the Columbus day long weekend in the States. That combined with the F&W at Epcot will mean an uptick in the crowds.

 

[C&B Young]

We've been twice in recent years for Canadian Thanksgiving, most recently last year. Agree with Minnie Mum, the days leading up to the long weekend were OK but crowds intensified on the Columbus Day weekend. Good time of year to go otherwise though, you've got F&W and MNSSHP gong on plus weather is great.

 

[NikP]

We have been during this time period a few times. This time of year is getting busier because the sourthern states have a fall break from school that matches up with Columbus Day weekend. When we orginally went his time of year it was really slow.

We would rather just take the kids out one extra day from school and go at the end of September instead of Thanksgiving because of the crowds and the cost of flights seem to be less by avoiding the Thanskgiving/Columbus Day travel period.

 

[GTADisneyGirl]

We're booked to stay at POFQ from Oct 7-14. From what I understand, researching online, is that Columbus Day isn't a holiday for everyone (think Remembrance Day up here). State officials have the day off, but schools do not. I checked the Oscecola (sp? - Kissimmee area) School Board calendar for 2012/2013 and the kids do not have the day off school. My TA also advised that southern state schools don't have their fall break until the last couple weeks in October.

I'm willing to risk it. We got a great deal on flights, car and our stay. Still hoping for dining though!

 

[jenny-pooh]

We went last October. It is a great time to go! Although the Columbus/Thanksgiving weekend was a bit busier, we did not have to wait long at all for any rides. MNSSHP was awesome and I strongly recommend it.

 

[hockey mom]

We have been during that time frame three times now and love it. Great weather and crowds are not to bad.

Dinner at LTT for Thanksgiving is awesome.

 

[wendyt_ca]

We went last Oct during the Canadian Thanksgiving and found it great! The crowds weren't really too bad and the weather was perfect. It's our new favorite time to go. We go then cause it's one less vacation day we need to use to take off work lol.

 

[Ken_Breadbox]

Left Thanksgiving Day in 2010. I'm told the crowds were tame (I'd hate to see that place busy--you had to suck your gut in to turn around in Epcot.) Other than that, though, it was perfect. Weather was ideal: 25-28 with next to no humidity.

 

[Alysa]

We ate at Le Cellier for Thanksgiving dinner and were disappointed that they didn't make any notice of Thanksgiving at all. Still had fun though.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

To have a true Thanksgiving dinner at Disney try Liberty Tree Tavern at MK. They serve turkey and the fixings.

 

[two*little*birds]

As others have posted, it can be a little busy around the weekend of Columbus Day - but we still love October and our kids have 2 weeks off (they're on a modified calendar) so it's the perfect time for us to go.

 

[dmmichelle]

We went last year from Sept. 29-Oct. 10 in 2011 so basically returned on the Canadian Thanksgiving Monday. We had an absolutely great time. Went to MNSSHP which was a LOT of fun and the weather was absolutely beautiful except for one day when it poured rain all day!! Great temps overall though and no humidity. Great for walking but plenty warm for pool days. Keep an eye on the Crowd Calendar - that really helps you plan your days and know which parks to avoid. Our favorite restaurant meals were Whispering Canyon Cafe, Biergarten and Ohanas. Really enjoyed the character breakfast at Cape May Cafe as well which had an excellent breakfast buffet.
This was our third trip as a family and we have kind of decided that will probably be it (our oldest is 14) for a few years but my husband and I would go every year if we could! We just love everything Disney! Every trip can be completely different!
Anyway, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time! Enjoy!!

Michelle

 

[beachwarmer]

I did a week a BLT the week of Thanksgiving. I arrived on day early because if anticipated heavy rain. When I got to WDW at 11:30 pm there were no rooms available on Disney property. I even went to Pop and All Star front desks. There were really nice but all rooms full at ALL Disney hotels. I ended up staying at Waldolf Astoria for the night. The rest of the week was busy busy but a good touring plan got you through.

We has friends from Montreal join us and their DS7 has autism. We tried to get out of the MK before fireworks and watch from our room at Bay Lake. One night the crowd was so big and not enough cast members working that the walkways down mainstreet got blocked ar The Plaza and with a child panic a cast member had to take us behind main street to gets out of the stopped crowd.

It was busy for October, but not Christmas busy. But they do not have Christmas staff levels either.

 

[Evelyne]

been there a couple of times at that period, a little bit crowdy but no huge crowds