Thanksgiving Week 2016 Particularly 11/22 @ MK

[5DisneyNuts]

We have been coming this week for years and found this year to be the most crowded, to the point we were considering not coming back this week in the future. All the parks were more crowded but particularly the Magic Kingdom.

I am curious if anyone was in MK on Tuesday 11/22. We found it to be a disaster. 7DMT, Space Mountain, were down in the morning. Peter Pan, BTRR, were down too, along with Laugh Floor and Indy Speedway.

This created a huge mess since when the rides are down a FP+ is good anywhere/anytime and that created a free for all. FP lines were 40-60 mins on ALL headliner rides. At a certain point they closed the standby lines and only took FP+.

It was a mess. Anyone else there that day? Would love to hear your thoughts.

We found DHS and Epcot more crowded than normal too, but nothing was like the MK.

 

[lovethattink]

I was at AK on 11/20 and didn't think it was too crowded there. But you are not alone with your thoughts about MK. I wanted to meet friends there one day, but they said it was super crowded. More than they'd seen any Thanksgiving week.

I remember arriving Thanksgiving Day 1998 and the following days, WDW became a ghost town. Those days are long gone.

 

[Wish Upon A Starbucks]

We were in MK Tuesday 11/22 too and I agree there were a lot of rides that went down and long lines. We skipped BTMRR and Space because the FP lines were too long after they came back up. Luckily we hit rope drop and got a lot done then and we baby swapped SDMT and Splash. Another problem we saw was they were letting people in early for their FPs. At Pirates we heard them tell the people in front of us they were three hours early but they let them in. So I agree with you that it was very crowded and even FP lines were long at times. But we expected all this for two days before thanksgiving and we still had a wonderful day. And we had the bonus of seeing inside Space with the lights on from the People Mover so that was fun!

 

[cgattis]

Sorry to hear that We were there Sunday 11/20 and did rope drop to about 8:00. Just couldn't make it til close. It was plenty crowded but we made good use of rope drop and afternoon FP. We came back the afternoon of 11/22 and yes, it was nuts. Now I know why! (I don't think Laugh Floor ever opened ) We had just planned to use our FP, fill in with stuff we always skip, and leave by 7 for a 7:30 Cali Grill res. By 6, we were ready to get out of there! It was our first Thanksgiving, and while the weather was spectacular, the crowds (which we expected) still made me question whether we'd try it again.

We really didn't mind the ride lines so much--with rope drop and FP, they could be managed, and we had time to chat in line. But the lines for QS and snacks ate up SO much time! If we did this week again, I think we'd have to pack lunches, at least some days, to get around that. With holiday pricing at TS, doing two TS per day is not an option!!

But overall, we still had a great time and got to do most everything we wanted in the time we planned.

 

[Delilah1310]

We spent 11/22 at Epcot and DHS, so i can't comment on MK that day.
but the next day, Wednesday 11/23 at MK was as crowded as you describe ... a CM told us they were expecting 76,000 people at MK alone that day (average is 52,000, I'm told).
BTM was down for a while in the AM ... when it came back up the FastPass line was all the way back down the bridge and just steps away from Pecos Bills, and I am not exaggerating in the least.

It was VERY busy pre-thanksgiving. I agree with @cgattis post above ... with rope drop and FP, the ride lines were manageable.
But when the rides go down, it throws things out of whack and then there is a domino effect of backed-up lines for hours.

Still we had one of our best trips ever for a variety of reasons despite the long lines and crowds! )

 

[stinkpickle]

Yeah, the weekend leading into the Thanksgiving week was quite dramatic. Friday was nice, Saturday was busier but still nice, Sunday was crowded, and Monday was packed. Next year, I will be skipping Sunday and Monday.

 

[cgattis]

Was anyone here in MK on Thanksgiving Day? As we were leaving WL around 2:00, the MK lot wasn't nearly full. I was surprised to see that--I expected it to be full like it was when we were there in August.

 

[ArielSRL]

Was anyone here in MK on Thanksgiving Day? As we were leaving WL around 2:00, the MK lot wasn't nearly full. I was surprised to see that--I expected it to be full like it was when we were there in August.

@ariane37 was supposed to be....but they are still there so it may take her a few days to respond.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Thanks for the replies.

We had a great trip too even with the crowds. Saw lots of unhappy people though. Really makes me wonder if Disney went too hard on the discounts during such a historically busy time of year.
Hopefully with the new additions in the other parks the crowds will be more evenly distributed eventually.

 

[PRenee]

We ALWAYS do this week and this past time was crazy busy. We have never seen it like this before and we have been this same week 6 times! We left saying never again for this week. We make my daughter miss 2.5 days of school and would rather just take her out in February and miss 3 days of school. It's pretty much the same days of her missing school and the parks aren't crowded. We have never seen this many people as we did this past visit. We did have fun and made it a happy trip but we also saw so many unhappy people. It was kinda sad when it's suppose to be a happy time.

We made a GREAT choice not to do MK on Thanksgiving. The line for the bus was very long (we heard) at POFQ. We also heard the crowds were horrible.

 

[CamperMouse]

We were in MK on the 22nd. Yes, it was crowded. We were baffled by the extra long line at the People Mover. Even the Carousel of Progress was packed. We must have been lucky to ride Mine Train and Big Thunder with FP before the long waits or shut downs.

 

[PRenee]

We were in MK on the 22nd. Yes, it was crowded. We were baffled by the extra long line at the People Mover. Even the Carousel of Progress was packed. We must have been lucky to ride Mine Train and Big Thunder with FP before the long waits or shut downs.

YES the People Mover line has never been that long ever. I was like what? LOL

 

[5DisneyNuts]

People Mover and crowd at Carousel had us laughing!

 

[skuttle]

Was anyone here in MK on Thanksgiving Day? As we were leaving WL around 2:00, the MK lot wasn't nearly full. I was surprised to see that--I expected it to be full like it was when we were there in August.

We were and didn't find it bad at all, at least not as bad as expected! We were there at rope drop and knocked out almost all of fantasyland in about and hour and a half. 7DMT was down at opening, so our FP turned into the any ride/any time FP. Grabbed some waffles at sleepy hallow then did a few things in that area (muppets, haunted mansion and river boat). We used our FP around lunch time for splash and BTMRR with little wait. BTMRR was down later in the day. Did lunch at pecos bill which wasn't bad at all.

We left MK around 2 or 3pm and went back to the contemporary for a break. Returner to MK around 5pm. Grabbed dinner at caseys, watched the castle lighting. Caseys was the worst experience crowd-wise for us due to people sitting at tables with no food. Used our 7DMT FP, then spent some time in Tomorrowland doing most things there with little wait. We were on the rockets during wishes.

we eventually made our way back to splash mountain for a few rides before closing.

We also did MK on the Sunday (Nov. 20th) before thanksgiving and didn't find it bad that day either.

DH and I were wondering if we just got lucky, planned really well, or if crowds weren't as bad as we were expecting. It was a great trip and we never felt the crowds were unbearable. Our week sounds very different from others on here!

 

[bellefan7757]

We were in MK last week on Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday (Thanksgiving Day). Both Saturday and Tuesday were packed - shoulder to shoulder! We expected Saturday to be crowded, but were surprised on Tuesday. We were also pleasantly surprised that Thursday was noticeably less crowded than the other two days, especially since it is historically the busiest park on Thanksgiving. I'm glad to know that I was not the only one who was puzzled! The weather was amazing and we had a great time!

 

[ariane37]

We just got home about 40 minutes ago We did MK on the 19th, 22nd, and today. The 19th wasn't bad but I agree with everyone that the 22nd was ridiculous! However today was absolutely fantastic It did get crowded around 1:00 but still they were the lowest crowds we'd seen during our whole trip. Coincidentally we were planning to go to MK on Thanksgiving as @ArielSRL mentioned but ended up at HS instead which was jam-packed; a friend was in MK, sent me a picture of her and her daughter on Main St. and it looked practically empty behind them lol.
We did Thanksgiving week last year and were pleasantly surprised with the crowds which is one reason we returned this year. Unfortunately while we still had a good trip we found the crowds to be at least 50% heavier.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

Here now and I can't believe the crowds. I expected people but this was a shocker. 120 minute wait times for mine train, 70 minutes for tomorrowland speedway(?!?!?!). Maybe it's just me. I normally don't come this week, but I'm used to it being dead in the fall/winter. I'm sure it's due to the holiday.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Thanks for all the reporting everyone. We'll be there next year and I fully expect insane crowds. Good tip on the food lines, too.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Back home last night We went to MK yesterday and I agree it wasn't too bad.

Going Thanksgiving week for so many years I expect crazy crowds and 120 minute waits or longer for the headliners, but this year was different.

I'm going to chalk Tuesday up to being an anomaly because the system broke down with all the closures. That happening screwed the whole time management of FP and the CMs were doing their best with unhappy families. I saw them honoring early and late (by hours) FPs as a PP said.

I'm glad a few were able to manage successfully!!

We take an off day on Thanksgiving, hang around the resort, play mini golf and stroll to dinner in EPCOT and watch Reflections of Earth. EPCOT was about the same. We rode Frozen too with a FP (standby was 110). Very cute.

EPCOT was worse Friday with the start of Holidays Around the World, but that is a must do for us so we plan accordingly. We were able to do everything we wanted there using FP so that was a more typical experience of what we are used to. Frozen, Test Track and Soarin had very long standby waits. World Showcase was mobbed. Quite a few food booths set up like what they have during Food and Wine, but on a smaller scale. The holiday version of RoE is incredible. Steven Chapman did a nice job at the Candlelight Processional, also a beautiful show.

DHS was shoulder to shoulder. We went there last Saturday. Again, I wasn't surprised since the park is now half the size. We got there late which makes it more difficult to schedule the shows. FP worked well there. TSM was up to 120 mins at times, RnRC and ToT typically 60-75 minutes. I decided not to do the JBJB dessert party. We walked past and the area by the theater looked very pretty and lines had maybe 4 -5 people. As yulilin3 has said, people start waiting for the show more than an hour before. I was excited to see it so DH and I hung out about 60 mins before show time while DSs went to Launch Bay. They traded successfully with the Jawas, very funny. JBJB was well done and a cute holiday show. CM crowd management and crowd interaction were above and beyond. We weren't familiar with the elves and not huge fans of Nightmare, so it missed the mark for us somewhat. We made it to Fantasmic, after it started. I wouldn't wait that long to see JBJB again and if I had to choose would pick Fantasmic.

Didn't make it to AK so can't comment. We were going to go late afternoon Wednesday for RoL but since that didn't open, we went back to DHS to see IJ, ride a few more things and see Fantasmic from the start. As we were going from TSM to ToT, the crowds were packing in for JBJB. That was about 90 minutes before showtime. If that show is a must do, I would consider doing the dessert party and enjoying some snacks and drinks. That concrete is hard on the bottom after an hour in the cold

If the crowds stay at this level, Thanksgiving week is not for the faint of heart. You must have a plan which many didn't (lots of 1st visit pins and crying kids) and reservations for dining. Plan on doing QS off times or the lines will be long. IMO, some days approached Christmas week crowds. (I've never been in the summer).

Weather was perfect, decorations beautiful, and overall anytime in Disney is a win. We are very grateful we could be be there at all.

Before our trip this year, I saw posts that seemed to downplay the Thanksgiving week crowds, so wanted to comment on our experiences and hear what others had to say to help future guests know what they are in for.

 

[karensi]

Thank you all for your posts about Thanksgiving week. This is just what I was looking for. We are planning on going next year during Thanksgiving week, actually will be there Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) thru Saturday.
Because of the crowds we are thinking of doing just 2 parks and relaxing at our timeshare the other days.
I'm interested in any other thoughts/experiences you might want to share.
Just wondering also, if you were in the parks on Thanksgiving Day, where did you eat? How was the wait time? I was thinking of Liberty Tree Tavern but don't know if it will be worth the wait even with an ADR.
Thanks again!