Considering canceling and could use some reality checks/advice

[KrazeeK120]

Oh yeah, totally forgot about weather at the Canyon! I was there the week of July 4th. It was 110 in Vegas, and 66 at the Canyon! I really didn’t do proper research before going there and was generally unprepared for the trip. I can’t even imagine how chilly it must get there in the winter!

 

[fely1st]

I'm always worried abut crowds and vacations not being the way I planned them, so I total understand your thoughts. But, some of my best memories are paying sorcerer in heavy rain or do monorail resort hopping, visit the campground and so on. Most are memories of things that don't depends on crowds at all. WDW has so much to do, if one park is crowded, go some here else. If it is a dream vacation,then go. You are at Disney! We often have to go in busy times because I have to follow german school holidays and can't go at slow times at all, but even with supercrowded parks we did all the rides we wanted, mostly in the morning, and always found some quiet place to enjoy. So if Disney is what you dream of, go and have fun.

 

[vacamom4]

Go, you earned it. Make your ADRs and FPs. Early morning and late nights should have less people. Try to just relax and enjoy it. Spend time enjoying your resort, you pay a lot for that too. If it gets too crowded take time to explore other resorts and enjoy some of the activities and snacks there.

 

[stsomewhere]

What about a Disney cruise? or another cruise line?

My husband and I went for Thanksgiving a few years ago. We did not think that the crowds were bad at all. We thought that Epcot was the most crowded with the holiday presenters in the Worldshowcase

 

[Mome Rath]

Hi everyone! I have a current one week reservation to stay at CSR the week of Thanksgiving, with my husband, 14 yr old daughter and 11 year old son. We have been on a tight budget for the past few years, paying down debt. Before that, we took two wonderful trips to WDW, in November, two years in a row.

This is a dream trip, and sort of long-awaited reward for reaching our financial goals.

Congrats on reaching your goals, that's awesome!

If any part of the hesitation is because of the money, I'm one that says even Disney is not worth the stress of worrying over money, so I think that would be the deciding factor for me, and yes, it's important hubby is wanting to spend the money on it as well. You may just have to get out of "money pinching mode" from being in it so long, which just means biting the bullet and taking the trip if it is indeed in the budget. If you can afford it, I'd go. If you can't afford it, go somewhere that won't feel so expensive.

Maybe that's why I'm worried about it so much. I have been reading threads about how terrible the crowds were last Thanksgiving. I mean, like 4 hour lines just to walk around the the Avatar lands, and even a stand-by line for Carousel of Progress! At first, I was like "no biggie" because I'm a huge planner. I will make all my fpasses and ADR in time, etc. I am even considering purchasing Touring Plans for extra help.

I expect crowds. I know it can be bad. But now I'm afraid that being shoulder to shoulder with a sea of humanity is going to suck all the magic and fun out of our trip. I'm afraid kids will be cranky and fussing, husband will be regretful about the money spent, and I'll just feel like it's all my fault (bc that's what moms and trip-planners do, right).

I got up early this am and started looking at other family vacation options (a Grand Canyon trip is one we've also wanted to do). It doesn't seem nearly as exciting, but then again, the deserts of Arizona are pretty wide open spaces...

What would you do?

I'm with others on the Grand Canyon; everyone should go see it at least once in their lives, but it should probably be a part of a bigger National Parks trip, or road trip. I love Disney, but I love seeing something new in my country just as much. So, it really is personal preference but do something the family wants to do, as a fam. If it's Disney, go for it!

As for the crowds at Disney... I've been during New Year's Eve when you could pretty much lift up your feet and be transported along lol, now that I'm older, I don't choose to go during those specific times when it's that crowded, BUT it is one of my favorite memories because I was with my brother and the rest of the fam. I'm so glad to have those memories! And, that type of crowd isn't everywhere and it isn't all the time even on New Year's (in your case, Thanksgiving). My advice is always have an "out" when one of the kids or one of the adults has a frustration meltdown. Whether that's heading back to the hotel, or going to a different park, or simply going to a particular spot and chilling out, whatever fits your family, but have a plan. The other piece of advice is the opposite, don't get so hung up on planning that you feel devastated if something doesn't work out at the time you want it too. Yes, during any holiday you're going to have more people and that may mean skipping a few things you had thought you were going to do... but that's fine, it really is. lol

Focus on 1) your family and 2) hitting your financial goals and 3) Celebrate those two things. The rest is gravy.

 

[wgeo]

As for the Grand Canyon - we loved it with our tween kids, they loved it too. We were there for 3 nights and wished we had one more night - I can't imagine being done in 3 hours? But we went in June, I'm not so sure a thanksgiving trip would be the same.

As for Disney at Thanksgiving - it has everything to do with the mindset of your family going in. If all of you are prepared for crowds and have some strategies to deal with it, you can still have an amazing, and most likely very memorable trip. Do you normally do ADRs? Maybe you book a few extra this week - or you pick some new and different quick services that you make a point of trying. Plan for some down time perhaps that gets you away from the crowds - something like swimming at the resort - or maybe mini golf. Your attitude and expectations will really set the tone for the trip, even if its packed.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We took two separate trips to wdw in 2017: one for 19 days (late June to mid-July), and one for 7 days over thanksgiving (plus two at Uni).

- We went to AK several times on both trips, and never once saw waits to get into Pandora (or Windtraders; waited maybe 5-10 min to order food at Satuli Canteen)

- there were often long standby waits for FOP, but we were successful in getting FP+; the waits for the FP+ line was minimal each time (less than 5 min)

- DD and I rode FOP standby just before park closing one night on our Thanksgiving trip. I can’t remember the posted wait time (90 min maybe?), but actual wait time was around 45 min. It’s an interesting queue, so it wasn’t terrible

- the beginning of thanksgiving week (Sun-early Tues?) didn’t seem very crowded, but eventually the week seemed to get more crowded than what we experienced in July
(Note that we only went into the parks for a couple hours on July 3 and 4, otherwise hung around the Poly; and the most crowded I’ve seen any of the wdw parks lately was in May 2015 during the 24-hour day)

- over thanksgiving week, crowds still weren’t unmanageable. We had all our FP+ booked (and were able to get everything we wanted; I honestly don’t remember about fourth+ FP+, since we’ve never been ones to scour the app for more). Without a doubt, the most crowded we experienced any park during thanksgiving week was world showcase on the first night of the candlelight processional. It was pretty shoulder-to-shoulder outside the America pavilion bathrooms (they had a Santa and Mrs. Claus M&G there), and the line for the CP dining package seemed endless (we got in line half an hr before showtime and were waiting in front of Morocco; the standby line was longer). It didn’t seem like everyone would fit, but there’s a surprising amount of seating

- we had a great time on both our summer and Thanksgiving trips, and have the same time periods booked for 2018. We actually prefer the scalding heat to the weather in November, but the parks were beautiful with all the decorations, we loved going to a signature (Yachtsman) for Thanksgiving dinner instead of cooking/cleaning all day at home, and we had a great time at both the Candlelight Processional (I’m not religious but it’s very moving) and the Christmas party.

ETA: I say how crowds seemed bc I don’t have any hard data, just our own perceptions. But at any given moment, we could have just been in the “right” or “wrong” places.

 

[LSUmiss]

Gosh darn those pesky schools ensuring your daughter gets the best education possible with the limited funding they have.

That’s not likely why they care. In many places it’s tied to $$ they get as a district. So they care about $$$ like every other institution & business.

 

[CarolynFH]

Other posters have suggested looking at value resorts as alternative to CSR. If you do, be aware that Pop should have completed renovation by then - and the rooms will have two queen beds (one of which is a Murphy bed) instead of doubles like the other values do, if bed size is an issue. Check the Pop & Pop Renovations threads on the resorts board for more information.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

We went over Thanksgiving last year. Absolutely, it was busy. The most crowded day seemed like the Sunday before Thanksgiving though. Thanksgiving in MK was pretty nice. We got two day of fast passes, in addition to our scheduled 3, before hopping to Epcot for dinner. We rode Finding Nemo at park close and were the only people on the ride.

I agree with other posters. Make your dining reservations 180 days in advance, especially if you want somewhere specific for Thanksgiving. Book your fast passes too, so you know you have three rides per day. Park hours will be longer, and there will not be Christmas parties closing MK early.

I am thinking about going back again this year...

 

[Louie7080]

Gosh darn those pesky schools ensuring your daughter gets the best education possible with the limited funding they have.

It is primarily the parent's job to ensure their kids get a good education. All kids are different, some can miss school and have no problem catching up. It should be a parent's call. A school system should be resposible to the community not the other way around. Some parents are not good ones but that shouldn't impact parents who work with their kids to learn. You want to give too much power to the government.

 

[mshanson3121]

Hi everyone! I have a current one week reservation to stay at CSR the week of Thanksgiving, with my husband, 14 yr old daughter and 11 year old son. We have been on a tight budget for the past few years, paying down debt. Before that, we took two wonderful trips to WDW, in November, two years in a row.

This is a dream trip, and sort of long-awaited reward for reaching our financial goals. Maybe that's why I'm worried about it so much. I have been reading threads about how terrible the crowds were last Thanksgiving. I mean, like 4 hour lines just to walk around the the Avatar lands, and even a stand-by line for Carousel of Progress! At first, I was like "no biggie" because I'm a huge planner. I will make all my fpasses and ADR in time, etc. I am even considering purchasing Touring Plans for extra help.

I expect crowds. I know it can be bad. But now I'm afraid that being shoulder to shoulder with a sea of humanity is going to suck all the magic and fun out of our trip. I'm afraid kids will be cranky and fussing, husband will be regretful about the money spent, and I'll just feel like it's all my fault (bc that's what moms and trip-planners do, right).

I got up early this am and started looking at other family vacation options (a Grand Canyon trip is one we've also wanted to do). It doesn't seem nearly as exciting, but then again, the deserts of Arizona are pretty wide open spaces...

What would you do?

Honestly, I've been struggling with the same question for our upcoming trip. Largely because we only have 3-4 park days, and it's a LOT of money for our budget, to spend on only a few days in a theme park, especially if we're going to be experiencing 30+ minute waits for everything due to crowds, breakdowns etc... It's so easy for other people to sit back and say, "Oh you'll be fine, just make the most of it." But, for us, having a child with ASD losing her mind in meltdowns because of the crowds, waits, disappointment over unfulfilled fixations etc... is hard to just "suck up" and roll with. So like you, I'm thinking of other things we could do with our money that would be less crowded etc... One day I'm sure I'm going to pull the plug and go somewhere else, but then the other days... well, it's Disney, lol, and the kids love it. But I'll fully admit to being worried. It will be 3.5 years since our last trip, and the things I've read over the last couple years on this board make me worried that we're in for a rude awakening. But... who knows. So, I get the struggle! You're not alone!

That all said, having read the replies:


Have you considered going during summer break instead? Recent years seem to indicate that crowds are spreading out more, and that summer isn't as busy as it once way, especially August. Yes, it's hot and humid, but if you live in Alabama anyways, you should be able to handle it. Plus, at Disney, there's AC everywhere. Even many ride queues are air conditioned, and they have lots of places to take an air conditioned break. Plan your dies accordingly, can help, too. Plus the summer nights in the park are beautiful.


As for going somewhere else, to me that's just as valid an option. To us, Disney is not, and never will be the end all, be all, and while I love it and want to see it again, there are also many other things I want to see, and quite honestly, I think it's important to do vacations other than "Disney", to show children different parts of the country, world etc... Vacation doesn't have to include thrill rides to be exciting. We have hiked mountains, swam in creeks and rivers and lakes, played on beaches, gone on scenic drives, strolled quaint Main streets, gone sailing, whale watching, ziplining, toured aquariums, nature preserves, zoo, visited historical settlement villages and more. And they were all "exciting" and enjoyable, all in their own way. And they're all equally cherished memories. Quite honestly, the memories of Disney don't stand out as better than any of them. Just equally valuable.

So really, I think it boils down to, where do you think you will enjoy yourself more as a family at this particular time? What do you all want to do the most? Do you truly feel that if you run into heavy crowds, it might put a damper on the vacation for you (and it is 100% valid and okay for you to feel that it might)? If so, are you comfortable spending that hard earned money on that "risk"? Or, do you think you will be able to find enough other things to do that will still leave you feeling you "did" Disney and got your money's worth?

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We went over Thanksgiving last year. Absolutely, it was busy. The most crowded day seemed like the Sunday before Thanksgiving though. Thanksgiving in MK was pretty nice. We got two day of fast passes, in addition to our scheduled 3, before hopping to Epcot for dinner. We rode Finding Nemo at park close and were the only people on the ride.

I agree with other posters. Make your dining reservations 180 days in advance, especially if you want somewhere specific for Thanksgiving. Book your fast passes too, so you know you have three rides per day. Park hours will be longer, and there will not be Christmas parties closing MK early.

I am thinking about going back again this year...

We had no trouble booking all the restaurants we wanted (including BOG lunch and dinner, ‘ohana, akershus, etc) at our 180+10 for Thanksgiving week. However, there was a possibility that my FIL would be in Orlando for Thanksgiving Day (turns out he wasn’t there), and when I tried to find an ADR so that he could join us (I think I tried sometime in late Sept or early Oct), I was unsuccessful. So I agree with your recommendation that 180 day booking is important, especially for Thanksgiving Day.

There weren’t Christmas parties during Thanksgiving week, but there was one Nov 26 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the party we went to). It actually would’ve been nice (for us) if there had been a party during the week, bc DD missed a day of school so we could attend.

 

[kniquy]

I am not sure what your exact dates are or if your kids are missing school because of this trip, but if it were me i would push the trip a little later so that you could be there the mon and tuesday after thanksgiving with hopefully lower crowds and maybe slightly less expensive rooms for the last few nights. I think many people will pull their kids out of school prior to turkey day, but less apt to do so after. With older kids it makes it real difficult on them to miss too many days of school.

-If you are keeping your dates as is, just really utilize the plan of going to the parks for the morning rope drop, eat lunch either in the park or at the resort and then relax for the afternoon, going back to the park in the evening. You kids at their age should be able to handle some late nights.
-Go with the attitude that it will be busy and you will have to wait for things. Use the FP earlier in the day and then try to get 4th and 5th FP in the evening.
-Do not underestimate leaving the parks in the afternoon - that is when people staying off site will traditionally be at the park. It will be a well needed break from the craziness.
-Maybe plan for a dessert party at MK to see HEA - this will help avoid the crowds for fireworks time.
-We survived NYE and the days after and it was busy but not bad and we scrambled to plan 2 months out. You have plenty of time to plan a well thought out plan.
-Getting the touring plans subscription might be helpful with planning you days and estimating wait times.
-If MVMCP is going on then go to MK that day and hopefully you have budgeted for park hoppers -kind of essential for party season- then you can go to a different park for the evening. MK typically has lower crowds on a party night because most people want to spend the whole day at the park. Thus this makes non-party days VERY busy -- so avoid MK on non party days.
-Maybe for thanksgiving you just plan a dinner at a park, your 3 FP and what ever else you can get on with less than 30 minute waits go for it.
-Look at planning some other non-park fun. Disney Springs, renting a boat to go out on from the Polynesian. There

What it all boils down to is that you will be there with your family. I was having a lot of stress planning our upcoming April trip, trying to pack in WAY too much, especially considering our 5DD -- she would have never survived what i planned. I then took a step back and realized that we want to have an enjoyable time at our own pace, enjoying our TS meals and enjoying the rides that we can get on. What ever we HAVE to do i got FP for, what ever else we must do we will try to hit at rope drop and then everything else is left to the wind and we will see what happens. My point is -- lowering MY expectations has helped plan a more relaxed trip.

 

[bumbershoot]

We live in Arizona. I think the Grand canyon at TG can have some bad winter weather. Check weather history before changing. Weather there is drastically different than the dessert areas of Phoenix and Tuscon. I would do WDW the week after TG or second week in Dec if there is any possible way to swing it with school.

Only time I’ve ever been there was thanksgiving and it snowed.

Schools in the UK have started fining parents £120 (around $167) per unauthorised absence (£60 per parent) unrelated to health concerns/family emergency.

I love that idea. Shows where the priority is, and gives the parents the ability to make the decision.

I met an American who lives in Holland (I think) who said that there’s a similar system there, and if you have a school child going on a flight during school time you actually pay the fine there. Or maybe you have to prove you’ve paid the fine there? Anyway, it’s integrated.

 

[Lisa LSR]

We live in Arizona. I think the Grand canyon at TG can have some bad winter weather. Check weather history before changing. Weather there is drastically different than the dessert areas of Phoenix and Tuscon. I would do WDW the week after TG or second week in Dec if there is any possible way to swing it with school.

Very good advice! I went once in May and it was chilly at night. I would probably plan a Grand Canyon trip in the summer. Then, of course, I have crowds to work around. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Lisa LSR]

I am not sure what your exact dates are or if your kids are missing school because of this trip, but if it were me i would push the trip a little later so that you could be there the mon and tuesday after thanksgiving with hopefully lower crowds and maybe slightly less expensive rooms for the last few nights. I think many people will pull their kids out of school prior to turkey day, but less apt to do so after. With older kids it makes it real difficult on them to miss too many days of school.

I love this idea! I guess I didn't consider it because I was focused on trying to get free dining. If it looks like that isn't going to work out, it may be worth considering taking them out of school on the backend of the trip, rather than the front. Great idea! Thanks!

 

[Lisa LSR]

Oh yeah, totally forgot about weather at the Canyon! I was there the week of July 4th. It was 110 in Vegas, and 66 at the Canyon! I really didn’t do proper research before going there and was generally unprepared for the trip. I can’t even imagine how chilly it must get there in the winter!

Yes, my little Alabama raised kids would be popsicles!

 

[Lisa LSR]

We had no trouble booking all the restaurants we wanted (including BOG lunch and dinner, ‘ohana, akershus, etc) at our 180+10 for Thanksgiving week. However, there was a possibility that my FIL would be in Orlando for Thanksgiving Day (turns out he wasn’t there), and when I tried to find an ADR so that he could join us (I think I tried sometime in late Sept or early Oct), I was unsuccessful. So I agree with your recommendation that 180 day booking is important, especially for Thanksgiving Day.

There weren’t Christmas parties during Thanksgiving week, but there was one Nov 26 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the party we went to). It actually would’ve been nice (for us) if there had been a party during the week, bc DD missed a day of school so we could attend.

I hope we can get everything for FP and ADR that we want also! I'm still trying to figure out what park(s) to go to each day! It makes me feel better that you had good luck.

 

[BayouQueen]

We do a lot of different kinds of vacations -- cruises, skiing, Hawaii, etc. etc. I've found that there is no risk-free vacation out there. You can run into rotten weather or bad conditions on any kind of getaway, and you just have to shrug the bad stuff off and enjoy what there is to enjoy. Odds are, your family will have a fabulous time at a WDW vacation. I'd just rely on the odds in favor and fully mentally commit to this vacation and use all the planning methods you've learned here on the Dis. And if it doesn't meet expectations, well, it won't be your destination choice in the future.