THANKSGIVING 2013 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
Update October 23: New extended operating hours and 8a openings.
Thanksgiving week at Walt Disney World is busy–particularly Wednesday through Saturday.
While not as crowded as some other holiday weeks–Easter and Christmas, for example–it can be very challenging, and the material below gives some hints on how to deal with it.
WALT DISNEY WORLD 2013 THANKSGIVING WEEK ITINERARY AND DINING
Park schedules indicate that this site’s Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary works for Thanksgiving Week, but you will need to arrive at MK and AK an hour earlier than it indicates.
Moreover, a couple of other things are worth noting.
First, this itinerary has you largely off on Thanksgiving itself, and with the only formal meal a morning brunch. Your meals otherwise are in your hotel food court.
If you are looking for something both more formal but fun in your Thanksgiving dinner (not necessarily in menu, but in ambiance and waiters and such), then consider
- Reserving the Liberty Tree Tavern at the Magic Kingdom Thursday, or
- Changing your Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort from lunch Tuesday to dinner Thursday, or
- Moving your Hoop Dee Doo Revue reservations from Tuesday evening to Thursday evening
The first option means both another table service meal and another day of park tickets; the other two don’t cost any more, as they are just moving items already in the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary to another day, and are at resort hotels, not parks.
Note that to get a sit-down meal on Thanksgiving it’s critical that you make your dining reservations well in advance. See this for more.
DISNEY WORLD OPERATING HOURS DURING THE 2013 THANKSGIVING WEEK
Starting the day after Thanksgiving, Epcot is open thirty minutes later, and a special Christmas version of Illuminations is shown nightly at 9.30p rather than 9p. Adjust your Friday itinerary for this change in times.
The Candlelight Processional also begins the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Moreover, Disney has changed the operating hours of the parks to accommodate the crowds.
This includes 8a openings all week at the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom. Disney may also add additional Extra Magic Hours and more 8a openings.
These changes mean that some of your days need to start one or even two hours earlier than the itinerary suggests.
You can get updated park operating hours when you arrive at Walt Disney World. If you want to know what’s up before then, check the park calendars a day or so before you depart for Florida, and then while you are there as well.
Click the links for park calendars
And Disney veterans–please feel free to add more suggestions for Thanksgiving dinner at Walt Disney World to the comment box below!
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125 Comments on "Thanksgiving 2013 at Walt Disney World"
Thanks for your information. Going to Disney for the first time from November 28 to December 2. We will do MK the 28th, AK 29th and Universal Studios 30th. We have a 5 year old kid. Some of my family will take the 29th for shopping day. So i decided to take my son to Animal Kingdom, just me and the kid. o you have any suggestions for my itinerary. Thanks
Hi Cindy, all my itineraries are 6-8 days…suggest looking at EasyWDW.com and Touringplans.com for one and two day itineraries!!
So helpful! Thank you! Going to Disney (first trip) on 25th and 26th but have 2 college kids and one high school. After reading your information, going to Epcot on 25th and MK on 26th. Any suggestions on how to form an itinerary for those two days? (Son is military – military tips?)
Gracie, MK closes early both days (whihc much lowers crowds), but the 21st, it opens an hour early to WDW hotel guests. This will make it a little more crowded after 9a than it will be the 22nd…The 21st will be OK–especially if you are a WDW resort guest and can take advantage of the early hours–it’s just that the 22nd is better.
Thanksgiving crowds will being to pour in the 23rd…I don’t track Universal or Sea World closely enough to have a good idea of when to go there over a holiday week….