What park on Thanksgiving Day?

[Christine & family]

Hi everyone, We are heading to Disney the Saturday before Thanksgiving and staying until the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I've heard MK gets really crowded on Thanksgiving Day so I'm wondering what park you would recommend that day? We are a family of four with two DS's ages 8 and 12.

Any other Thanksgiving week tips? Thanks! I love this board!!!

 

[crow11ad]

Well more than likely that MK will be packed. From what I can tell...all holiday days, MK is packed....

 

[TXMommy]

We were at the MK on Thanksgiving Day 2002 and it was definitely packed!

 

[Toesmom1]

Were there Thanksgiving day 2002 also with kids never again on a holiday. Can't ride a thing crowds so bad we just left. I would bet other parks busy too.

 

[Luv2Travel]

We will be there at the same time you are. Our plan is to do MGM on the arriving Saturday (or maybe MK), Epcot on Sunday, MK on Monday, AK on Tuesday, and then maybe a little more MK. We are heading over to US & IOA on Wednesday and Turkey Day, because I've read that those parks are not as crowded on Thanksgiving. If they are, then we'll have our front of the line access by staying on site. But to answer your question, if we were staying at WDW for Thanksgiving, then we would definitely do Epcot on Thanksgiving. It's a bigger park and can hold larger crowds more easily. I would do has much MK at the beginning of my trip and do the other parks and shopping around the end of your trip. Hope you have a great holiday!

 

[MickeyisanNDfan]

I guess crowded is all in the eye of the beholder. We were there Thanksgiving 2002 and went to the MK and didn't think it was too crowded. In fact that evening we were able to ride Splash Mountain 3x in a row with out even getting off. We are going again this Thanksgiving, our 3rd at WDW and most likely will just go to what ever park we feel like on Thanksgiving.

 

[tink2]

We've been 3 times during Thanksgiving week. Last year the whole week was more crowded than we had experienced our previous trips. A cm told us each year tends to be more people for that week. On the good side, if you have a plan, you can get everything done you want to. I would do MK as early in the week as possible- not during the weekend though. I was crowded every day last year, but tends to get more crowded as the week progresses. MK on turkey day is a madhouse, however, we went b/c my mom likes the 'tradition' of it. (My family, my brothers' families, and my parents all went together this year). Anyway, we said if we ever go back during Thanksgiving, we wouldn't do MK on turkey day. I've also heard that MK is extremely busy the Friday after Thanksgiving too- but we've never tried it. We did MK on Monday, EE for MGM Tuesday and hopped to Epcot after EE, EE at Epcot Wed and hopped to MGM, MK Thursday, and EE at AK Fri and hopped to MGM. We got a lot done during EE, but the crowds at the EE parks were huge by 10-11. So, we ended up hopping away from the EE parks by lunch. Use FastPass and the info on these boards and you will be fine. Be sure to make ps though, we saw people being turned away from restaurants all week.
Have a magical turkey day!!!

 

[siac]

MK really crowded on thanksgiving day.
Epcot will be my option for this day.We will be there at the same time Nov18-28.

 

[tomi]

I see that you are from New Hampshire. We are from Maine and going the same time. We are anxiously waiting for Southwest to open up their dates for November. Do you have flights yet? I would agree that you should stay away from MK on Thanksgiving.

 

[720L]

Anybody have suggestions on where to eat Thanksgiving Day? And how soon do we need to make reservations?

 

[Mimi Q]

720L, There are several places-at the parks and resorts- that offer traditional Thanksgiving fare. I have heard good things about the Liberty Tree Tavern at MK. You can make PS 90 days in advance for it. My family has been at WDW during the Thanksgiving week twice, and we have eaten dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue both times. Not a traditional holiday meal, but a fun show and good meal. You can make a PS for the HDDR up to 2 years in advance.

Here is a link to Deb Wills' site that outlines the different Thanksgiving meal options for 2003. Hope this helps.
http://allearsnet.com/menu/men_thks.htm

 

[Christine & family]

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the great advice. Tomi - I sent you an email. Southwest opened their November flights yesterday and we quickly made our reservations. With kids, we always prefer to fly nonstop and they definitely have the best prices based on what's out there now.

We always go the first week of December so I'm sure this will be a big change for us, but with DS starting jr. high this year, we wanted to minimize out of school time. Sounds like preparation, fast pass, and priority seating are the way to go! I've already "set the expectation" with my family about the crowds. We'll just focus on soaking up the atmosphere and less on trying to do every ride!!

Have a good day!