Disneyland crowds during Thanksgiving?

[debraxh]

Does anyone know how typically crowded it is the weekend just after Thanksgiving? I thought maybe everyone would be shopping and the parks would be nearly empty

We're planning a trip to southern CA and was wondering if we should add a couple of days to visit the parks...

Thanks!

 

[Rose Pink]

I've heard that Thanksgiving morning isn't bad but it just gets worse from there. I think it depends on how much you are bothered by crowds. I hate them. What might seem overly burdensome to me may be perfectly acceptable to others. Also, if you've been to Disneyland many times, you may not mind waiting in lines because you've already experienced the rides before and know which ones are important to you and which you can skip. If it is a rare trip or you've never been before, I wouldn't waste the money to just ride a few rides and spend all day waiting in one line after another. There are some tricks/strategies such as fast pass that have been recently discussed here at tug if you do decide to go.

 

[Luanne]

Went once the day after Thanksgiving (and this was years ago). While the morning was bearable by afternoon we could barely move through the park. Very, very crowded.

 

[ricoba]

As others have stated, Thanksgiving weekend will be very crowded.

It can also be kind of cool that time of year here in LA. I was down at Disney a couple of years ago for a conference just prior to Thanksgiving and the Santa Ana winds were blowing, which kept it very cold all day.

 

[barndweller]

We went over Thanksgiving weekend one time several years ago. Thanksgiving Day we had the park all to ourselves. The next day it was packed shoulder to shoulder by about 10am. A cast member told us that the attendance on the Friday & Saturday is always record setting. I can believe it! We thought it was more crowded than the one time we made the mistake of going in August. It wasn't a "magical" experience.

 

[smsavage]

FWIW we've had better luck going there over Veteran's Day earlier in November. Disneyland is decorated for the holidays in early November and the crowds are bearable. Something to consider anyway.

 

[debraxh]

Thanks everyone, I'm glad I asked. The week we have is a Fri-Fri and I thought it would be easy to add a couple of days and save some travel time & expense.

Anyone been there president's day weekend? Friends have gone during that week and recommend it because it's not too crowded, but neither family has been there for the weekend. DD really wants to see CA since we haven't been down there since it opened, and I was hoping to fit it in sometime this year. Also, DH doesn't have much vacation time which is why I'm trying to use a weekend and/or holiday, but that's probably just a bad idea!

 

[barndweller]

Hey Deb
If you are going to be in So. Ca. for the week, why not go to DL/CA one of the weekdays you are booked? Some timeshare locations are only an hour or so away. Or spend Thanksgiving Day there like we did & have the parks virtually to yourselves. CA doesn't have all that much to do that you need several days for a visit.

Our favorite time for Disney is 1st week of December. All the decorations are beautiful, weather is usually very nice and crowds are low. We usually do a cheater 4 day weekend taking Thursday & Friday off from work ( BR=before retirement)

 

[IreneLF]

Deb, Can't speak for DL but can for WDW and would think they are similar (?). Thanksgiving Day, Fri /Sat/ Sun following are packed, but then it drops off. If you can go to the park post holiday, that should be a MUCH better deal.

 

[debraxh]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I guess I should have mentioned that our week is in Palm Springs. According to Mapquest it's about a 90 min. drive which isn't all that bad if we just went for one day to see CA. However if we drive from home to Palm Springs, we may not want to spend even more time in the car! If we fly, the drive one day wouldn't seem that bad.

I was hoping that Fri/Sat/Sun after Thanksgiving might not be too crowded, but sounds like it's a zoo! Looks like President's day weekend is super busy too and not any better of an alterative.

I can deal with crowds to a certain extent and expect to wait in line, but I can't stand it when it's so crowded that it's difficult to just walk around. Maybe we'll just go some other time and leave DH home since I have plenty of vacation time

 

[ricoba]

If by CA you mean California Adventure, there are usually far less crowds there than at Disneyland. It would still be crowded, but not as crowded as Disneyland.

 

[JohnnyO]

We were at Disneyland today...the sun was shining, it was warm, and there were few people at Disneyland Park. The lines were about 5 minutes for almost every ride while you could just walk on several without any wait.

It must have really been light over at DCA.

 

[guitarlars]

Day after Thanksgiving is one of Disney's busiest

We were there last year the day after Thanksgiving. They stopped ticket sales at about 1:00 and the park was very crowded.

As the evening went on the crowd lessened and we went on every attraction we desired.

We were told that the day after Thanksgiving is one of, if not the busiest days there.

One secret - later in the evening just before the rides start closing we went on Space Mountain - it showed an hour wait but we walked right in without any wait at all. I suspect they throw up long waits to discourage people near the end of the night. At least for that ride the wait time was not even close to reality (actual wait time was however long it takes to wind your way to the loading area).

Lars