When will the parks & resorts be decorated for the Holidays?

[kg66]

I know all the decorations will be in place for Thanksgiving but are they done all at once or gradually throughout November? Looking to book in November but don't want to be there at Thanksgiving. What do all of you Disney vets recall?

 

[Afabena]

I was there last year Nov 3-9 and Magic Kingdom and HS were decorated. I don’t remember anything at Epcot or AK. Epcot has so much construction I could have missed it.

We stayed at BLT and the Contemporary had the gingerbread display up. The big gingerbread house was also up at the GF.

 

[bama_ed]

I know all the decorations will be in place for Thanksgiving but are they done all at once or gradually throughout November? Looking to book in November but don't want to be there at Thanksgiving. What do all of you Disney vets recall?

The parks are decorated of course (MK for the Christmas party extra ticket and other parks occur gradually) but the resorts are not all done by Thanksgiving. It is a lottery for the resorts to spread the WDW overnight labor around so it happens graduall also. And when it happened last year is no guarantee it will occur the same point in time this year. There have been times the big tree went up the Friday morning after Thanksgiving. Or a week prior.

Don't assume you will see the resorts in Christmas garb before Thanksgiving week. Some things like the ginger bread houses take time but it's catch-as-catch-can. You might, sure, but then again you might not.

Just trying to set expectations and limit disappointments.

Bama Ed

 

[kg66]

Thank you both, this helps my planning! I should have clarified, it's mostly MK that I want to see decorated. Hopefully MVMCP will still happen this year, fingers crossed.

 

[Shellyred8]

As others have mentioned, the parks start getting decorated in early November. When we were there a couple of years ago the resorts didn't start getting decorated until the second weekend in Nov, so we just missed it for that particular trip.

 

[Erica Ladd]

Last year 11/16-19 almost everything was decorated including parks. We stayed at BWI and it was all done. Unless they added even more after we left but I was definitely decorated. Went to storybook dining at WL and it was decorated. So was the poly when we ate at Ohana. DS too with the tree trail

 

[BellaBeast787]

The best time to see everything decorated is the week before thanksgiving. The resorts are typically done up by then.

 

[03GirlsMom]

Our last trip was Thanksgiving week in 2017. The parks were all decorated by that time but we stayed at the WL and those decorations went up Tuesday of that week.

 

[buzznina]

Last year the Gingerbread house in GF opened on the 13th and the tree was up on the 22nd.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'd don't think I would make any plans for specific things happening during the rest of this year and even next year. It could all be extremely different. Everything depends on having CMs to do the job and with nearly every one furloughed right now, who knows who will be coming back? Plus no College Program will leave Disney short handed.

 

[Ricguz]

We were at Disney October 28 to Nov 6th. Halloween decorations were up until Nov 1 then Christmas decorations at MK we’re up starting in Nov 2 and more every day. Nothing at the resorts that early.

 

[buzznina]

The best time to see everything decorated is the week before thanksgiving. The resorts are typically done up by then.

Not necessarily true. I know when we went to GF a few years ago the tree went up the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It looks like, past history, they put it up during the 3rd week of the month, which may or may not be Thanksgiving week.

 

[Denise W]

Not necessarily true. I know when we went to GF a few years ago the tree went up the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It looks like, past history, they put it up during the 3rd week of the month, which may or may not be Thanksgiving week.

Thanksgiving is always the third Thursday of November.
Denise

 

[Erica Ladd]

Fourth

 

[BellaBeast787]

Not necessarily true. I know when we went to GF a few years ago the tree went up the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It looks like, past history, they put it up during the 3rd week of the month, which may or may not be Thanksgiving week.

This was the timeframe since we visited last November of 2019.

 

[Denise W]

Fourth

Sorry you are correct!. My initial google source was wrong and said the third!
Denise

 

[buzznina]

[/QUOTE]
Yeah, since turkey day was late last year on the 28th. In 2018 Thanksgiving was on the 22nd and the tree went up the night of the 20th. It seems that they put the tree's up between the dates of 20-22, so not really just in the 3rd week either.