Thinking Of Going Nov. 2008 Thanksgiving

[BRER DAD]

Im wondering if anyone can help. My family and I are thinking of going the last week of Nov. 2008. This will put us there for thanksgiving. I have never been to WDW during this time and have never seen the decorations for Christmas. Im wondering if anyone can give me as much info as they can about this time of year. Stuff like crowds, weather, things to see, things to avoid, ect..... We usally go in Aug. so this would be a big change for us. Feel free to PM me if you would like. Any info would be great......Thanx!!

 

[Nicole220]

We went during Thanksgiving week last year. The crowds were okay in the first part of the week, and started to pick up once Thanksgiving day came. The weather was super cold. I don't think it was normal for that time of year. It was in the 50s every day.

The decorations around the parks and resorts are amazing! You'll love the atmosphere!

 

[Tinkerbella16]

Last year our last day at the World, happend to be when everyone for Thanksgiving week started pouring in...It got so crowded. IMHO it was very crowded, since the whole week were there, it was not crowded and we walked on almost every ride. Yes, it was pretty chilly.

 

[dixiepixie]

I would highly recommend visiting WDW during Thanksgiving Week. My family and I have traveled there during TW 5 times and are heading down for the 6th in 4 weeks. We'll be there Nov. 15 to Nov. 24.

I can not even imagine going at any other time of year. The parks are open longer, everything is decorated for Christmas, and the crowds are not that bad. At least we have never had any problems with them. I would say they are "manageable" at least.

Magic Kingdom is the most crowded on Thanksgiving Day. With the Pop Warner Football players, and the dancers and cheerleaders having competition, they usually head to MK on TD. But we have gotten around this by having a character breakfast that morning, then heading to MGM (Disney Studios) for the afternoon. In 2005 MGM was practically empty when we were there. Then we go back to the resort for a little rest and head over to MK for the evening as it is usually open later.

We have never waited more than 45 minutes in line during this time, except for Soarin' in 2005, waited 90 minutes. But it was brand new and everyone wanted to ride.

This year we'll have 8 days at the parks, so we can spread out and make sure we still get to do everything we want to without letting crowds get us down. And we can still have time to rest and not get worn down.

 

[BRER DAD]

Thanx so much. Im really up in the air on what to do. I want to see the Christmas Decorations at lest once in my lifetime with my kids. Im worried about the weather being cold, but I live in N.Y. so even 50's in Nov. is warm to me.

 

[DisneyGigi]

We went Thanksgiving week in 2000 while the temps were great.. 80s, the crowds were a nightmare! MK closed at capacity at around 9:30 AM. The decorations are beautiful but we didn't get to do hardly anything because of the crowds and long waits.

 

[Tiggerfanatic]

We were there last year over Thanksgiving. The crowds were high, but I'd imagine not as bad as August would be. With EHM and Fastpass, it's manageable. It was VERY cold on Tuesday and Wednesday, but warmed up every day, and when we left on Monday, it was on it's way to 90. The best advice I could give you is make your ADR's as soon as you can, especially if you want something specific for Thanksgiving day.

 

[dixiepixie]

Was there in 2000 also, didn't have any problem with crowds. We spent all day at MK on Thanksgiving day and really didn't have very bad lines at all. We didn't make any dinner reservations for Thanksgiving Day then because it had been awhile since our last trip at that time (1995), so we weren't sure how crowds would be. No problems in '95, but just wanted to be prepared. We rode everything we wanted to, with no problems, and had a very nice "family style" traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Cosmic Rays Cafe.

We have had Thanksgiving Day dinner at Crystal Palace and also Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge. WC was great. We had a very large crowd, 13 of us. They were very accomodating and our waitress was very interactive as was another waiter, who kept coming over to give us a "hard time", his name was TINY and he was terrific!

I agree that you need to have your plann of where to dine, especially on TD, and make PS arrangemens asap.

 

[dixiepixie]

Also, we have always had wonderful weather while we were there, on all trips. Hardly evven any rain. I do remember a few little showers in 2005. But we were on Kali River Rapids in AK and wet anyway, we were actually leaving to go back to our resort after the ride, so it didn't bother us. And in 2004 there was one pretty big rain storm one night of our stay. We were at MGM and just got on ToT and the RnR and by the time we were through riding the rain had passed, leaving us the rest of a great evening and some very nice puddles to splash in.

Most of the times we have been there it is warm, but not hot, during the day. Shorts, t-shirts, even long sleeved t's, during the day. Then cooler, but not cold at night. Could still wear shorts at night, but sometimes needed a sweatshirt to go over the t's.

Still wouldn't visit any other time of the year. Thanksgiving is just the best to us!

 

[bcuinohio]

See you there

My family and I are going at the same time. My kids only have school on Moday that week so they will only miss one day of school. We will be arriving the Sauturday before Thanksgiving. I am hoping that the crowd isn't too bad for the first few days. I am not sure when the best time to start looking for flights is. It is too soon now but I want to lock something in before the flights start to fill up.

 

[BRER DAD]

Thanx so much for all the info, it really helps. Im still not sure what we are going to do:shrug:. I really want to see the Christmas decorations. I was thinking of doing dinner on TD at Liberty Tree Tavern as this place always reminds me of Thanksgiving anyway. The only reason im thinking of this week is because the kids are out of school most of the week and of course the Christmas decorations.