Before or After Thanksgiving?

DisneyFan1003

DisneyFan1003

Active Member
My wife and I are mapping out our next few trips to balance out our DVC points and, because she's a college professor and in the middle of her PhD program, timing is everything. We recently found out that she'll be on sabbatical during the fall of 2011 and we'd like to take our daughter for her 2nd birthday (Nov. 10, 2011). We're not sure if early to mid November would be better than late November (after Thanksgiving)/early December. That's one of the only blocks of time we've never been down there. Thoughts?

Thanks!
 
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travelgip

travelgip

Active Member
Less crowds in early November - but I agree with the previous poster - after Thanksgiving go for the Christmas stuff. Also, you and your daughter will absolutely love the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party which starts right after Thanksgiving also.:xmas:
 
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DisneyFan1003

DisneyFan1003

Active Member
Original Poster
travelgip said:
Less crowds in early November - but I agree with the previous poster - after Thanksgiving go for the Christmas stuff. Also, you and your daughter will absolutely love the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party which starts right after Thanksgiving also.:xmas:
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Oooooh...we hadn't even thought about the Christmas party....we always go right after Christmas, so we miss it! She'll be two, so I'm assuming the perfect age for that event. Thanks for the tip!
 
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wolf359

wolf359

Well-Known Member
I've been both the week before and the week after Thanksgiving, and I remember crowds being similar, which was pretty light.

The weather that time of year is also quite nice, if all other things were equal I'd say it doesn't matter, but like others have mentioned the Christmas decorations REALLY make a big difference. Early December is one of my favorite times to go.
 
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M

majorrfb

Member
After Thanksgiving

travelgip said:
Less crowds in early November - but I agree with the previous poster - after Thanksgiving go for the Christmas stuff. Also, you and your daughter will absolutely love the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party which starts right after Thanksgiving also.:xmas:
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We are set to go for Dec. 5, this is our 3rd December trip in as many years. We love the parks decked out for Christmas and the crowds are light to moderate. MVMCP is a miss for us this year. We were a little disappointed the first two years. We prefer the Halloween Party. In all fairness, this is what makes the world go around. Have a great time! :wave::xmas::sohappy:
 
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DisneyWeather!

DisneyWeather!

New Member
Conflicting opinions on the crowd sizes above. My research suggests that the weeks after Thanksgiving are some of the smallest crowds of the entire year. We were there in 07 during that time (end Nov. Begin Dec), and we vowed we would never go at another time! Our desire for a longer trip and my teacher's schedule prevented us from going then last year, but as previous posters have said, the Christmas decorations and the Party are a fantastic bonus that really helps get you into the Christmas spirit! It appeared the weather during those weeks was a bit cold last year but I was observing from NJ. I have to do everything I can to talk my wife out of that time period for next fall (again the desire for the longer trip and the teacher schedule). Definitely go after Turkey Day.
 
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G

grumpy 07

Member
I've been at the world for both weeks. The crowds are very similar (small) and the weather is ideal for walking the parks all day. As far as mickey's christmas party, the first date for this season is november 8. So if you go before thanksgiving or after, you can still enjoy the christmas party.
 
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mickeysshoes

mickeysshoes

Well-Known Member
We are not DVC but from reading other threads here the week after is a hard time to get booked so make sure you plan early if that is the week you go with.
 
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DisneyFan1003

DisneyFan1003

Active Member
Original Poster
mickeysshoes said:
We are not DVC but from reading other threads here the week after is a hard time to get booked so make sure you plan early if that is the week you go with.
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Good to know...thanks! We'll probably snag a villa at our home resort when the 11 month window opens and then check availablilty at other resorts at the 7 month window...
 
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1

10011971

New Member
I know this thread is kind of old, but we are going to Disney the week after Thanksgiving and I have a question. We usually go the week between Christmas and New Years, but the crowds are crazy - shoulder to shoulder on Main Street, long lines for rides, etc. This year we decided to go right after Thanksgiving to avoid those crowds. The crowd levels for that week have been described as light to moderate, but how much less than the week between Xmas and New Years? I'm trying to plan our days and wondering if we will be moving along alot quicker than what we are used to. Thanks!
 
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ryguy

ryguy

Well-Known Member
Like 70% lighter, between xmas and new years is the most crowded time of year. You will love the first week of December. The only thing that gets a little crowded is the Osbourne lights. Have fun.
 
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J

JohnLocke

Member
I've been during Thanksgiving once and during Christmas twice, so I can't completely answer you question, but for me, the crowds around Christmas, with the exception of Christmas day the first year we went during that time period, were much better than the ones during Thanksgiving week. I think if you can go about two weeks after Thanksgiving it would probably be an almost perfect time, because as everyone else said, you get all the Christmas decorations as well.
 
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Dukeblue1227

Dukeblue1227

Well-Known Member
10011971 said:
I know this thread is kind of old, but we are going to Disney the week after Thanksgiving and I have a question. We usually go the week between Christmas and New Years, but the crowds are crazy - shoulder to shoulder on Main Street, long lines for rides, etc. This year we decided to go right after Thanksgiving to avoid those crowds. The crowd levels for that week have been described as light to moderate, but how much less than the week between Xmas and New Years? I'm trying to plan our days and wondering if we will be moving along alot quicker than what we are used to. Thanks!
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I was debating this week but it may not work.

Can someone shed some light on what the week of December 12th to the 18th might be like? So like 2 weeks before Christmas?

Sorry not trying to beat a deadhorse here but... trying to decide whether to take a somewhat inconvenient trip with timing and work-wise the week after Thanksgiving, or to take what would be more relaxed, timed better, two weeks before Christmas.

The priority it just not to go when Crowds are going to be insane. Standard crowded is fine, doesn't need to be empty... but don't want it to be a zoo.

Anyone shed some light and I apologize again if I'm at all beating on a deadhorse here.

Thanks so much!!
 
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J

JohnLocke

Member
Dukeblue1227 said:
I was debating this week but it may not work.

Can someone shed some light on what the week of December 12th to the 18th might be like? So like 2 weeks before Christmas?

Sorry not trying to beat a deadhorse here but... trying to decide whether to take a somewhat inconvenient trip with timing and work-wise the week after Thanksgiving, or to take what would be more relaxed, timed better, two weeks before Christmas.

The priority it just not to go when Crowds are going to be insane. Standard crowded is fine, doesn't need to be empty... but don't want it to be a zoo.

Anyone shed some light and I apologize again if I'm at all beating on a deadhorse here.

Thanks so much!!
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I've never been there during your time frame, but I would assume the crowd levels are really nice. We've gone over Christmas two of the last four years and the days leading up to Christmas Day have never been bad at all. Most of the time crowds are fairly light, and since you're looking to go a full week or two before that, I would expect it would be even better since most schools will be in session.
 
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