Week after Thanksgiving

[Aubsmama]

We are planning a trip for 2018. The plan is to go the week after Thanksgiving and hope we get free dining. We've never been during the holiday season. Our party will consist of me, my husband,my parents and 2 daughters (ages 6 & 11). Any suggestions on where to stay? And, is this a good time to go (crowd and weather wise)?

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

It's a great time to go! The Christmas decorations will all be up in the parks and hotels - really beautiful and fun to see all the different Disney touches!
What is your budget for your resort?
WL is fantastic if you are looking at deluxe - more affordable that the monorail resorts and the lodge looks really great all decorated for the holidays - big fire in the fireplace and good places to eat..watercraft to MK and to Contemporary where you can catch the monorail. There is a very nice pool and the new Geyser Point restaurant is very good. You can also walk or take the watercraft over to Ft. Wilderness and walk around and/or eat...some of the campers decorate for Christmas which is fun to see.
Of course, the monorail hotels are all wonderful - that goes as a given Just depends on your budget...make sure to see the giant gingerbread house at the GF!
If you are looking at moderates, POR is terrific - really pretty landscaping, nice lobby with a good bar that has entertainment for the whole family, good food court, watercraft to Disney Springs and the buses seem to do a decent job getting you to and from the parks. There is a great main pool and 5 quiet pools.
If a value resort is what you are interested in, POP is a great choice - designated buses and lakeview standard rooms --easy walk over the bridge to AoA (which would also be a good choice). Both POP and AoA have good food courts. They have double beds instead of queen. The pools do not have slides.

When you make your reservation, ask for connecting rooms and they will note that on your reservation - no guarantee but we have always been able to get that when we checked in.

The weather can be chilly but we are usually at WDW sometime during the month of November and, in recent years, the weather has been mild during the day and you need a light sweater/jacket at night.
The crowds should be lower after Thanksgiving

Lots to think about - good luck with your decision!

 

[Aubsmama]

Thank you! Budget is still up in the air. My top pick would be Poly or WL. second choice Beach/Boardwalk and then probably POR. We've never stayed deluxe before. A lot would probably depend on if we can get a good discount.

It looks like everything books quickly. I looked for rooms for same week 2017 just to compare price and everything is booked! So I guess as soon as we can book 2018, I will and then hope for discount!

 

[ToddlerMom311]

Since you are planning so far in advance you may want to at least consider renting DVC points. You won't be able to get free dining, but you will save 50% or more at a deluxe. And with a party that large you would probably appreciate the comfort and full kitchen you can get with a 2BR villa. That's what we are doing this year the week after Thanksgiving- so excited to be there for that week!

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Since you are planning so far in advance you may want to at least consider renting DVC points. You won't be able to get free dining, but you will save 50% or more at a deluxe. And with a party that large you would probably appreciate the comfort and full kitchen you can get with a 2BR villa. That's what we are doing this year the week after Thanksgiving- so excited to be there for that week!

Keep in mind renting DVC saves money on the room but wouldn't allow any discounts like free dining. Also, this would be the busiest demand time for DVC so you would likely need to rent at the 11 month mark.

 

[stinkpickle]

If you end up getting two rooms, you might get a better deal using room-only discounts instead of free dining.

 

[Tonberry]

We stayed at the Poly for our Late November / early December trip. The look and feel with all the Christmas decorations out was absolutely amazing.
We were also lucky with some great weather. Upper 70's to low 80's for most of the week with low humidity. But it did get chilly at night.
The crowds are pretty low during that week. We went to MK on a Tuesday (December 1st I think). Small World, Carousel, Haunted Mansion, Tea Cups, and Dumbo were all walk ons with no wait at all.
Splash, Big Thunder, Barnstormer, Speedway, and Pirates were only 15 minutes. Space was 30 minutes, 7DMT was 45 minutes.
The weekends are a different story. The crowds came back big time.
Our kids still talk about this trip, and I have to admit, it was my favorite trip to Disney ever.

 

[rosiebean]

We went the week after Thanksgiving last year, and it was fabulous! The weather was wonderful...70s/60s during the day (with low humidity, which makes a HUGE difference!), cool at night but not chilly. Most days, it was warm enough to swim if that's your thing. Crowds were low during the week, much higher on weekends.

We stayed at BC and just loved the Christmas decorations at BC, and at YC and at BWI. We also LOVE the location there, with access to two theme parks, and because we had park hoppers and it's really easy to skip over to Epcot at night to eat "around the world" after a day elsewhere. The quick walk back to our room after Illuminations was amazing. I've stayed at YC as well, and recommend it as much as BC.

We had time to visit several resorts during our stay, and GF was particularly gorgeous. Poly was nice too, and crowds were so low that four of us walked into a half empty Trader Sam's around 5:30 the Tuesday after Christmas. Personally, if discounts worked out, I'd do a room only one at a Boardwalk area resort or monorail one. Either way, the Monday through Friday morning (Friday afternoon was much busier) after Thanksgiving was really a great low-crowd, great-weather experience last year.