Is Disney World Busy During Thanksgiving Week?

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We deliver strollers and mobility scooters across Orlando through the whole holiday period, to resorts in Lake Buena Vista, hotels on International Drive and vacation homes in Kissimmee and Celebration. Thanksgiving is the week our calendar fills earliest, and the calls we cannot help with are almost always the ones that come in during that week rather than before it.

How busy is Disney World at Thanksgiving?

Busy enough that it changes how you should plan the day, rather than busy enough to ruin it. The parks are full, the paths move slowly, and the queues at the headline rides are at their longest for the autumn.

The pattern we see on the ground is that the days build. The start of the week is manageable, Thanksgiving Day itself is often a little calmer inside the parks because a lot of families are at a meal for part of it, and then the weekend afterwards is the hardest part of the whole week.

What is the busiest day of Thanksgiving week?

The weekend after Thanksgiving is usually the heaviest, with the Saturday the day most people regret. Everybody who came for the holiday is still there, a second wave has arrived for the weekend, and nobody has gone home yet.

If your dates are flexible even by a day or two, arriving early in the week and leaving before that final weekend is the single best decision available to you. If they are not flexible, plan the lightest day of your trip for that Saturday and do something that is not a park.

Does a crowded week change what you should bring?

Yes, and in the opposite direction to what people assume. Families often think a busy week means less walking because you spend more time in queues. What actually happens is that you are on your feet longer for fewer rides.

A normal park day already runs 8 to 12 miles of walking, which we go through in how many miles you walk at Disney World. Add holiday crowds and the same distance takes longer, with more standing in between. That is harder on a four year old, and considerably harder on anyone with a knee, hip or back that already complains.

For children, a City Mini GT2 Single or the City Mini GT2 Double gives them somewhere to sit during the slow shuffle between lands, and somewhere to sleep in the afternoon. All of ours clear Disney's size rule, which caps strollers at 31 inches wide and 52 inches long and does not permit stroller wagons at all.

For adults who cannot do a crowded 10 mile day, a mobility scooter is the difference between coming and staying at the hotel. The GoGo Sport covers a full park day for most riders, the Elite Traveller about half a day, and the Pride Victory is the one for the longest days.

What should you book early for Thanksgiving week?

Anything with a fixed quantity, because that is what runs out. Restaurants are the obvious one. The less obvious one is equipment.

Park stroller and scooter rentals are first come first served, and on a Thanksgiving morning they go. We also run out, which is the honest part of this: we have a set number of each model, and the holiday weeks are when the calendar closes. Families who book in October get what they asked for. Families who call on the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week often get a choice between what is left and nothing.

A short list worth sorting before you fly:

• Sit down meals, particularly anything on Thanksgiving Day itself
• Strollers and mobility scooters, for the whole stay rather than day by day
• Car seats if you are flying in and driving, since hire desks run short the same week
• Your park days, with the lightest one placed on the weekend after the holiday

Is Thanksgiving week still worth it?

It is, and the families who enjoy it most are the ones who plan a shorter day rather than a bigger one. Two solid park days and a genuine rest day beats five days of pushing through, especially with young children or grandparents in the group.

The weather helps. Late November in Orlando is usually the most comfortable it gets all year, which takes the heat problem off the table and leaves you only the crowd problem. For the rest of the day to day planning, how to survive a full park day with little kids covers the rhythm that works.

We deliver free to your hotel, resort or vacation home anywhere in Orlando, Kissimmee, Lake Buena Vista or Celebration, and everything stays with you for the whole trip rather than going back at a gate each evening.

Disney World at Thanksgiving, Frequently Asked Questions

Is Disney World busy during Thanksgiving week?

Yes. Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest weeks of the year at Disney World, and the heaviest days are usually the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the Sunday after.

Is Thanksgiving Day itself busy at Disney World?

Thanksgiving Day is often slightly calmer in the parks than the days either side of it, because many families are at a meal for part of the day. The weekend after is usually the hardest.

What should I book early for Thanksgiving week in Orlando?

Anything with a fixed quantity. Sit down meals, any paid add on, and rental equipment like strollers and mobility scooters, because the supply is finite and Thanksgiving week empties it.

Is a stroller worth it on a crowded week?

More than on a quiet week. Crowds mean longer queues, more standing and slower walking, so a child on foot is on their feet far longer than the distance suggests.