Week Before Thanksgiving

[Red_Rider]

I'm actually ok with the wide range in weather, we are from Massachusetts and I'm ok with slightly cooler weather!

Are the last few days of food and wine very busy? I'm trying to decide if we should avoid Epcot the first couple of days we are there.

 

[MommaBerd]

I'm actually ok with the wide range in weather, we are from Massachusetts and I'm ok with slightly cooler weather!

Are the last few days of food and wine very busy? I'm trying to decide if we should avoid Epcot the first couple of days we are there.

I've been reading up on this - F&W weekends are always very crowded and the last weekend will probably see a bit higher crowds. BUT, remember that WS doesn't open until 11:00. So, you could definitely rope drop FW and even do a few countries (and sample a few booths) before the crowds start descending on WS. We have PHs, so we'll probably go for two mornings and then wait for F&W to be over before we go in the evening. Or, we may go the evening of the last day since it is a Monday.

 

[mjmgsssp]

I tend to avoid Epcot on the weekends during F&W. Monday the 14th, here I come!

 

[chigirl]

I went in 2014 for my birthday, 11/16-11/21 and it was FREEZING!!! We are from Chicago, so we know cold. The days were ok, like 55-60, but it got down to the low 30s at night. So cold, that when it fake snowed during Osborne Lights, alot of people thought it was real. But I used to go to WDW as a kid during that time and it was hot, so who knows? Just check a weather app and pack accordingly.

As far as crowds go, it was fine...we did rope drop most days. It seemed a tiny bit more crowded than our typical September trips, but 100% manageable...Fantasyland had long waits, but everything else was 15 minutes. We didnt go to AK on that trip, so cant speak to that, but Epcot was empty. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge and that was empty.
On an up note, it really FELT like CHRISTMAS during the MVMCP on 11/20 due to the cold!!!

 

[fischfam]

Historically, the week before Thanksgiving has been a great time to go. We have gone that week for the last 3 years. Last year our dates were November 10-22. We always return home the Sunday before Thanksgiving, so I am not confusing the dates. 2013 and 2014 were great. We have been every month of the year and decided this was our favorite time. Weather, crowds, everything was great. Crowd calendars always showed low crowds. As long as we avoided F&W on the weekend we had a great time.

Then came 2015. Our first day was MK and it was difficult to move around it was so crowded. We figured there were a lot of locals since it was Veterans Day and it would get better. When the weekend came we thought maybe people stayed from Veterans Day through the weekend, it will be better on Monday. It never go better. We could not believe the jump in crowds from just a year before. We are not amateurs either. We do MK on party days, we get to the parks early, I research the best parks for each day, etc. It was so crowded it cut into our enjoyment. Even the kids were tired of all the people.

We have done at least one trip a year for the past 14 years, but half way through our trip we decided we would not be returning for awhile. The crowds were not the only reason, but it did put us over the edge.

It seems like there is no good time to go anymore so the week before Thanksgiving may be just as good/bad as any other week. If you have never been or have not been in awhile you may not think the crowds are that bad. There will always be people who will come here and say "I have no idea what they are talking about, we were there the same time and did not experience that". Everyone's concept of "crowded" is different. Also, 2015 was not the same as the years before. There are a lot of different views in this thread so I wanted to offer mine.

Eta I need to take out my tickers. They are old!

 

[mom2rtk]

it will be interesting to hear feedback on the week before Thanksgiving this year. I think anyone considering a trip to WDW any time in the near future did it last year to say good-bye to the Osborne Lights. I'm predicting crowds will be down this year.

 

[jhammond3966]

I'm actually ok with the wide range in weather, we are from Massachusetts and I'm ok with slightly cooler weather!

Are the last few days of food and wine very busy? I'm trying to decide if we should avoid Epcot the first couple of days we are there.

F&W seems to always be busy. I was trying to decide if to go for the last few days or the last day as the first day of our trip, and then just decided to start our trip the day after F&W. We have elementary age kids and while F&W seemed interesting to my wife and I, spending a lot of time in multiple food/booze lines was not ideal for the kids so last year we wandered WS early, had lunch, came back for dinner out in WS and then moved up to the front of the park after that. That seemed to work well as future world was less crowded after dark as most people were in WS. The groups of people who go to F&W to booze it up get obnoxious and WS is no longer a serene place to wander (certainly in the evening hours). Morning was best, through early afternoon was fine, after dinner there were a fair number of drunkards. If you want to do some of the F&W with minimal hassle, just go early.