Our family of 4 has been over Thanksgiving several times. As others have mentioned, the crowds will be lighter the weekend before and then only increase from there. We’ve never let crowds get us down and have had awesome trips every single time! A little research and planning goes a long way too! We usually stay at YC or BC and absolutely love that area. Park hopper tickets are always a good plan.
Dining: Book as soon as possible! Everyone in our family picks a meal they’d like and that’s where I start with reservations. We have teens & love eating in Epcot- this year’s trip included Le Cellier (ADR go quick!), Teppan Edo (always a fave and these go quick too), La Hacienda de San Angel, Biergarten (great Thanksgiving meal spot, btw; we had a late lunch). If you don’t get your ideal time, keep checking...or, adjust your plan to fit your meal. example: we adjusted our Wednesday evening reservation at La Hacienda de San Angel to 4:30pm (rather than 7:45pm); enjoyed our meal and the sunset; then leisurely made our way to MK and had tons of fun and snacks during late hours. We also picked up a last minute reservation at Rose & Crown on our last evening before we headed to HS to check out Oga’s Cantina. Oga’s was super fun! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me. I was excited to snag a reservation, despite it being at 7:45 the night before our 6am flight. California Grill is a favorite and may be good for y’all since you have children and grandparents.
We lucked out and got the free dining this last go round and that was a plus.
FP: I always try to use crowd calendars and pick parks/FP using those, but in all honesty each park is busy over that week. I had a harder time getting FP that we really wanted this last trip due to the tier system. At MK, we had some luck with rides during the late hours, especially after the fireworks since many leave after.
Odds & ends: As with any trip- take some time to nap, go to pool or just chill. Also, the holiday decor at the resorts is pretty fun to go check out too.
When the kids were younger we did the
MVMCP one year and really enjoyed that. Check the dates and reserve early if that’s something your family may enjoy. Agree with others, I have heard it is more crowded. I really can’t speak to that though. We did that about 5 years ago and loved it.
The Candlelight Processionals will start that week in Epcot. We’ve never done this, but it always looks like plenty of folks love it. There will be plenty of holiday food & goods available throughout the park during Festival of the Holidays (starts the Friday after Thanksgiving).
Epcot has recently had scavenger hunts that we (me!) loved. Over our spring break trip they had “Eggstravaganza“ and this last trip was Festival of the Holidays...searching for wreaths featuring Chip & Dale in each country of the World Showcase. Yes, you pay for the map & stickers (I heard complaints, but oh well! it may not be for everyone) and get a “prize” which was an ornament.
Overall, we have always had an amazing time over Thanksgiving! When the kids were younger we could get by with taking them out of school for more days and go when crowds were a little lighter. With a high schooler, it just doesn’t work out as easily.
We do our planning and reserving as much as possible, but also go with the flow once we get there.
Happy planning!