Is Disney World Open On Thanksgiving? | Holiday Travel Tips!
Thanksgiving at Walt Disney World might sound like a great way to escape from the norms of watching football and having a turkey dinner with family, but it's easy to wonder if Disney World will eveng be open on this popular holiday!
In this guide, we’ll detail if Disney World is open on Thanksgiving as well as some tips to keep in mind on your next holiday visit!
Questions We'll Answer About Disney World On Thanksgiving:
- Is Walt Disney World Open On Thanksgiving?
- Disney World Thanksgiving Day Tips!
Is Walt Disney World Open On Thanksgiving?
Not only is Walt Disney World open on Thanksgiving, it is actually one of the busiest days of the year to visit any of Disney World's four theme parks.
Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios are open 365 days a year, including all major holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day.
All of these days see some of the longest wait times for attractions and Magic Kingdom will often close due to reaching maximum capacity on these holidays.
Magic Kingdom is especially busy on Thanksgiving, but the other three parks will also see much higher than usual wait times and have also closed due to maximum capacity in previous years.
While Thanksgiving might be one of the busiest days of the year to visit Walt Disney World, it’s a great way to spend the day making memories with family and Christmas decorations will already be on display for you to enjoy!
If long wait times are your primary concern and you’re flexible on what day you visit, we’d recommend visiting a Disney World theme park another day.
Early November and early December have some of the lowest crowd levels and wait times all year and you’ll still be able to enjoy the Christmas festivities!
If you are okay with longer than usual wait times then Thanksgiving is a great time to visit Walt Disney World.
The parks are totally decked out in Christmas decorations, select restaurants will be serving Turkey dinners and you really feel immersed in the holidays when spending Thanksgiving at Disney World.
Disney World Thanksgiving Day Tips!
Because Thanksgiving is one of the busiest day of the year to visit Disney World there are some considerations to keep in mind to make the most of your visit that you may not be aware of or need to even need to consider on a non-holiday visit.
Below are some tips to save time and money on your Thanksgiving day visit!
MAKE YOUR PARK RESERVATIONS EARLY
You must make a park reservation to visit Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT no matter what day of the year you plan to visit.
This is especially true if you're hoping to visit the parks on Thanksgiving day, so be sure to make your park reservation as early as possible or you might risk reservations running out.
PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
In order to make your park reservation early you'll need to purchase your tickets in advance online.
CONSIDER GENIE+
Wait times for some of the most popular attractions can exceed 180 minutes on Thanksgiving.
Genie+ service allows you to use Lightning Lane to skip the general line and get on the most popular rides and shows faster.
Genie+ does come at an additional fee on top of your park ticket, but if budget isn't a concern then we highly recommend purchasing Genie+.
MAKE DINNER RESERVATIONS EARLY
Getting a table for dinner, especially at the restaurants serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, will be something you need to plan in advance for.
Due to very high demand, don't expect to easily be able to find a dinner reservation with only a few days notice.
We recommend booking a reservation at least a few weeks in advance unless you're fine with a counter-service restaurant.
DON'T COUNT ON PARK HOPPING
While you won't have an issue park hopping 99% of the year, Thanksgiving is one of those days where you might not be able to do so.
As part of a phased capacity plan, some of the Disney World parks may not allow park hopping until much later in the day than usual or not at all.
This is something to definitely keep in mind if you're hoping to visit multiple parks on Thanksgiving day.
ARRIVE EARLY OR STAY LATE
Crowds are often the lowest first thing in the morning and late at night.
If you can get to the park early you might be able to hit some of the most popular attractions before lengthy wait times being to build.
Crowds will also start to dwindle as it gets later in the evening, so you'll have another opportunity at shorter wait times at night (typically after 9PM).
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS AT THEME PARKS
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