Booked and nervous of crowds

I didn't get FOP FP at 60+3 for October, moving your trip a week may not make any difference in that regards. I wouldn't change my trip for that reason alone.
 
It’s always a struggle choosing dates! I am here now, apparently crowds are low. It’s crowded. I went to Disney last year on Christmas Day and I went to Epcot and it was manageable because my expectations were set, i chose my fastpasses wisely, and I selected a park that spreads our crowds. I would suggest doing the same if you visit during a holiday - on the day of the actual holiday, avoid MK and choose a park that better absorbs crowds. I would do Epcot or AK on a holiday personally. I am going to be going over Christmas 2020 and that’s the plan! Park hoppers to bounce to a different park in evenings or when a park feels really crowded.
 
Thanksgiving week is definitely a crowded week. If you have an option, especially with having little ones, I'd go another week. The week before is usually much better. We go between Jersey week and Thanksgiving now and then and find that aside from the MK/Epcot weekend crowds, the rest of the week is great for crowd level. For this year that would be somewhere between Nov 10 and 23 for reference.

At this point, I've been almost every time of year except for the summer and while it's always crowded there is a huge difference with holiday weeks like Spring Break/Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving. I'd only go near those times if I had no other options. If it's all you have options for you can make it work and still have a great time, it's just easier if you can avoid the bigger crowds.
 
Might not hold true considering how late Thanksgiving is this year.

Always holds true, the dip comes the next two weeks after thanksgiving, every year, then the ramp up for Christmas/New Years. Did that vacation (week after) 5 years in a row, it's such a sweet spot.

Thanksgiving is the anchor for that, no matter if it's the third or fourth week of November.
 


Always holds true, the dip comes the next two weeks after thanksgiving, every year, then the ramp up for Christmas/New Years. Did that vacation (week after) 5 years in a row, it's such a sweet spot.

Thanksgiving is the anchor for that, no matter if it's the third or fourth week of November.


Ok
 
The only crowds that ever really dampened my experience was due to poor planning on my part, hitting Epcot on the last day of F&W. lol We wanted to stay right through that day until Illuminations, but the WS was just absolutely wall to wall and it was so bloody hot, I had to sing to myself while pushing the stroller through the throngs of well on their way to drunk people so I didn't have an anxiety attack. lol Still, it didn't make me never want to go again, it just made me promise myself to not plan Epcot on the last day of F&W. lol Otherwise, you go in expecting crowds, you have your plan laid out ahead of time but make sure you are ok with glitches in the plan, and know that some things will just have to be changed around on the fly. It's magical, no matter what, you just have to have your expectations set properly.
 
Like like its split in the middle, some saying go a week before and other saying it will be ok.
The plan is to get there on Saturday and then in the evening go to epcot or HS since we will be staying in the swan and 5 day ticket and 4 day ticket difference is not that much.
On Sunday maybe go to AK? and avoid MK, then on Monday, tuesday go to MK and wednesday go to AK or if we like MK go there. Thursday we fly back.
 


Like like its split in the middle, some saying go a week before and other saying it will be ok.
The plan is to get there on Saturday and then in the evening go to epcot or HS since we will be staying in the swan and 5 day ticket and 4 day ticket difference is not that much.
On Sunday maybe go to AK? and avoid MK, then on Monday, tuesday go to MK and wednesday go to AK or if we like MK go there. Thursday we fly back.


It really doesn't matter what days you go to each park. It will be very busy everywhere. If you want to avoid EMH you can plan around those.
 
It's going to be bananas. Make no mistake.
If you are looking for lower crowds the holidays are not the time to go.

FOP is hard to get but I always say keep trying. Stuff opens up and changes daily. I've never had a problem getting it right when the window opens up to book but I have read so many posts here about how folks don't get it.
 
Like like its split in the middle, some saying go a week before and other saying it will be ok.
The plan is to get there on Saturday and then in the evening go to epcot or HS since we will be staying in the swan and 5 day ticket and 4 day ticket difference is not that much.
On Sunday maybe go to AK? and avoid MK, then on Monday, tuesday go to MK and wednesday go to AK or if we like MK go there. Thursday we fly back.

Hell no! I'd change to the week before cause Thanksgiving is ALWAYS busy, like stupid busy.
 
It doesn't matter when you go if the crowds are low Disney cuts back on the staff and the wait time is about the same when crowds are larger, all at the expense of the customers. I wish Disney was more patron friendly but we are in a new age of shutting down at 9:00 and dumping everyone out to the buses at the same time. Is the value disappearing at Disney? Yes.
I agree with this. We went four times last year, including Thanksgiving week, and TBH, the parks didn't feel any more crowded during Thanksgiving week than they do any other time of the year, the lines were simply longer for rides. The QS restaurants were a bit more crowded too but other than that, I didn't think it was that much different than any other time I've been.
 
Like like its split in the middle, some saying go a week before and other saying it will be ok.
The plan is to get there on Saturday and then in the evening go to epcot or HS since we will be staying in the swan and 5 day ticket and 4 day ticket difference is not that much.
On Sunday maybe go to AK? and avoid MK, then on Monday, tuesday go to MK and wednesday go to AK or if we like MK go there. Thursday we fly back.
Every park will be a 10/10 crowd-wise that week. I really don't think it matters which park you go to which day.
 
I booked hotel and flight for Nov 23rd until Nov 28th, 5 nights and 4 park days.
With little kids we have decided to do 2 -2 days MK and 1 day AK. Skipping HS and Epcot.

But now looking at crowd calendars looks like it will be very busy, if I have the option to change should I change it the the previous week, or the crowds will be ok, not Christmas crazy.

What are the chances of getting the FOP FP? on the 60 days mark?

I would change to the previous week if it were me. I hate fighting massive crowds. Actually we are going Nov 9-19 this year (not all Disney, I think I'm going to go to Universal a lot - but we have 2 Christmas parties booked and will likely do a day at Hollywood Studios too).
 
I think if you're concerned about crowds, you probably won't notice a difference. It'll still be a lot of people the week before...

I would very much notice a difference. Usual crowded (week before) and insane (week of) makes a big difference to me and my personal tolerance levels.
 
I would also vote to go the week before Thanksgiving because of the crowds. It is always crowded now it seems regardless of when you go. But holidays are insanely crowded and I don't enjoy my time at all when it is that crowded. Pick the least crowded week you can, and then make sure you purchase EMM, dessert parties, etc. because that is often the only way to avoid the difficulty you will have walking, getting a table, getting a fireworks spot, etc.
 
I would also vote to go the week before Thanksgiving because of the crowds. It is always crowded now it seems regardless of when you go. But holidays are insanely crowded and I don't enjoy my time at all when it is that crowded. Pick the least crowded week you can, and then make sure you purchase EMM, dessert parties, etc. because that is often the only way to avoid the difficulty you will have walking, getting a table, getting a fireworks spot, etc.

I will see if I get good deal for the week before on flights and hotel.

what is EMM, dessert parties? Since we wont be doing any fancy sit down type dinner, do we have to get a table to enjoy the fireworks, also do fireworks happen in all the parks everynight?
Also, concerned that the little ones might not enjoy the loud sounds etc.
 
If you're worried about it being crowded, it's going to seem crowded.

If you UNDERSTAND it's going to be crowded, and plan for that (rope drops, late nights, catch the earliest bus from the resort, eat at non-peak times, use FPs wisely etc.), then you can have a wonderful time Thanksgiving week. We went Thanksgiving week last year and never waited more than 20-25 minutes for a ride.

I've said this many times, but it's worth mentioning again. If you get in line for Pooh at 1:00 in the afternoon and wait 45 minutes to ride, that's not the crowd's fault. You chose a bad time. Pooh will be 5 minutes or less at rope drop or the end of night.

With 2 days at MK, you will have 6 FPs and that is enough to snag most of the priority attractions. Proper rope drop (being at the park 45 minutes before it opens) and late night can help you fill in the blanks. The afternoons should be spent on shows, shopping, resort breaks and things like that.
 

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