What are the crowds like on Thanksgiving Day?

[noleman]

We are going the week of Thanksgiving (9 whole days...Can't wait!!!!)...Can anyone tell me how bad the crowds are at the Magic Kingdom on Thanksgiving Day? Also, are there any restrictions/ride closures on that day due to the holiday or is it "business as usual". If the crowds are heavy on Thanksgiving Day how are they the day before/after etc...

Thanks,
noleman

 

[jjan]

I'm curious too. We land the day before and we were figuring on avoiding the parks for a day or 2 and do Sea World, Cape Canaveral(Hubby ) shopping and pool time. If there is a halfway decent time to go though, we would love to attempt it.

 

[DISNEY4FUN]

We're getting there late Thanksgiving Day. So we won't go to the parks that day. I have heard it's very crowded. The day after Thanksgiving I plan to resort hop to look at all of the Xmas decorations. I've heard that day is busy also. According to the Unofficial Guide the crowds gradually go down and get better on Sunday. Saturday I plan to go the the morning EMH at AK. Looking at last years hours AK will open at 7AM that day. I figure most won't get up that early so it won't be too crowded. No matter what I plan to have a good time.

 

[poohlover]

we've been twice over the Thanksgiving holiday! We have alwasy done MK in the early morn...sorry we just HAD to...it gets big time busy by about noon/1pm.

We would then go back to our hotel for a rest & spend the eve/night in EPCOT...which BOTH times was EMPTY! It was alwasy fun. HAve a great time!

 

[ShannonRT]

We were at AK for most of Thanksgiving day last year and it wasn't crowded at all. Then we hopped over the MK for dinner at Cindy's around 5 pm I think. We weren't there very long, but it didn't seem too crowded to me. However, the day AFTER Thanksgiving at MK was absolute madness. I would compare it to Spring Break crowds, maybe a little heavier. If your shedule permits, maybe you could go to MK for MVMCP. Last year the first one was the Sunday night after Thanksgiving and it was wonderful! Not crowded at all. Parade is awesome. Best parade I've ever seen at Disney. I think we got more done at MK during the party than we did on Friday.

 

[sarahsmom73]

YAY! We are going to MVMCP the Sunday after Thanksgiving! I can't wait!

 

[Feralpeg]

We ate Thanksgiving dinner last year at Cinderella's Royal Table. We got there before 10am. It was very crowded. Fortunately, we weren't interested in many rides. We wandered around until time for our PS and then we left.

 

[MouseHound]

Yikes! Thanksgiving day last year was really crazy, but I think the Friday after was the worst day. Some attractions had a 1-1/2 hour wait. We actually went to AK on Friday, but by the time we arrived to park at 10 am, we decided to try another park (based solely on where we were directed to park in the AK lot - about as far from the entrance as we could be). Crowds on Thanksgiving week generally build to a peak, gradually getting bigger each day, from Monday to Saturday. Good Luck, and just keep telling yourself that "A bad day at Disney is better than a good day anywhere else".

 

[Kapp]

just horrible

 

[WDW_bn_dt_gb]

We did Thanksgiving Disney style in 2000. Sat, Sun., Monday. and Tues. before Thanksgiving was great. The parks were empty. It started getting crowded on Wed. we were in MK on Thanksgiving Day and it was extremelly crowded. We hoped to another park and it was better. Friday & Sat. were also crowded but we had gotten SO much done at the beginning of our trip it was OK. I love walking into Mk the day after Thanksgiving and seeing all the Christmas decorations. Ya'll are going to have a great time!

 

[exwdwcm]

i remember working at Hollywood and Vine (when it was a regular cafeteria, no characters) on Thanksgiving day and i was cashiering.....i never saw the end of the line all day long, until we were closed.....the people just kept coming and coming, i kept waiting to see the last person in line, but no luck, it wound out the front door, insane! same with Christmas week. it was just nuts. i believe they closed MK down early since it was filled to capacity that day too. this was a few years ago.