If you ever dreamed of spending a Thanksgiving or Christmas at Disney World, you are not alone! Thousands descend upon the parks during the holiday season, but don’t be surprised if even your fellow Disney lovers don’t share your excitement. Just ask on any Disney-related Facebook page about traveling the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day and you’re sure to be flooded with negative commentary…masses of people, hour long waits, Fastpasses gone by noon, impossible to make dining reservations… every worst case scenario you could imagine.
Does this mean you’ll never get a chance to meet Santa Goofy or see the fireworks extravaganza on New Year’s Eve? Of course not! Spending a major holiday at Disney can easily be done with some planning and flexibility, and give you unforgettable memories to last a lifetime!
Know Before You Go!
I was born on Thanksgiving Day, and had my heart set on celebrating my 45th birthday at Magic Kingdom. Even better? I realized it was going to fall on Thanksgiving that year! Being a teacher, I don’t have the flexibility to travel when I choose. I often only get to travel during the busiest and most expensive times of the year. Even so, the thought of celebrating my birthday at Disney was unbelievably exciting! I didn’t need to check the crowd calendars to confirm it would be a “red” level day…but it reminded me that I would have to take advantage of every pre-planning tool and trick I have! (Helpful Hint: Both Touring Plans and Kenny the Pirate have very popular crowd calendars to help you plan your trip.)
Take Advantage of Pre-Planning Tools
The key to getting exactly what you want is by booking your top choices as early as possible. If you are an on-site guest (staying on Disney property), this means you can book your ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) 180 days in advance! Fastpasses for rides and attractions can be booked 60 days in advance. If you are staying off-site, you can make your Fastpass selections 30 days in advance once you link your park tickets. Off-site guests can book 180 days in advance as well, but can only book reservations day by day, instead of for the duration of your trip.
By logging in to My Disney Experience at 6:00 am EST, I was able to not only book Be Our Guest for lunch, but Cinderella’s Royal Table for our Thanksgiving dinner! If you don’t know, these are two of the most sought after dining reservations in Magic Kingdom any day of the year, and I was able to score them both for Thanksgiving! Woot! Woot! You can call to reserve your ADRs starting at 7:00 am EST. But, if you are tech savvy you can do it online, allowing you to start booking an hour earlier! (Helpful Hint: When your window for booking dining opens up, you will be able to book all the meals for your entire trip. Prioritize your holiday dining first, as these will be the hardest reservations to get!)
Dining experiences aren’t the only events that can be booked 180 days in advance. My daughter wanted the royal treatment, so I booked a princess make-over at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique right in the castle! We were also able to reserve our spots for the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party for that evening. Pretty cool, right? It’s not every day you get fireworks on your birthday! (Helpful Hint: While at times the Dessert Party has been bookable 180 days in advance, it isn’t always consistent. Sometimes it opens up without notice, or won’t be offered until 60 days prior, so keep checking back!)
At 60 days out on-site guests can book their Fastpasses! Remember, you no longer have to stay up until midnight…you can now start booking these online at 7:00 am EST. Popular meet and greets and rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Space Mountain will go fast, so lock into your top choices! At the very least, you know you will have three rides with minimal waits, compared to the hours-long waits that will develop by the afternoon. Feeling overwhelmed? Check out my blog post about using a Disney spreadsheet to see all your plans at a glance! The Agony (and Ecstasy!) of the Disney Spreadsheet
Front Load Your Day and Strategize, Strategize, Strategize!
Yes, I know it is your vacation and not a military operation, but holidays at Disney are no time to sleep in! First, take advantage of Extra Magic Hours, or EMH. While typically offered year-round, Parks offer additional extended hours around their busiest days. On alternating days, some Parks may open early, and other Parks may stay open hours later. On Thanksgiving morning we found out that Magic Kingdom would be opening not one, but two hours early! We were stoked for a 7:00 a.m. opening! It’s not everyday you have a chance to watch the sun rise over the Train Station!
Next, show up for Rope Drop! While this can be used synonymously with “park opening”, at Magic Kingdom there is actually a daily show! This Welcome Show is performed about ten minutes before the park opens and is a highlight of every trip! The Main Street Citizens sing and dance while waiting for the Disney World train to pull into the train station with Mickey and friends, as well as the Family of the Day! (Helpful Hint: Though it’s a long shot, being early and chatting up the Cast Members greatly increases your family’s chance of being chosen for Family of the Day!)
Finally, strategically plan your day! Getting to the Park at 6:30 a.m. has its advantages…uncrowded buses, nonexistent wait times, even the opportunity to take pictures of Cinderella Castle without hordes of people!
Fastpasses can’t be booked during Extra Magic Hours, so we had two full hours with the Park to ourselves before the official 9:00 a.m. opening. We headed straight for my son’s favorite ride in Tomorrowland-Astro Orbiter. Not only were we the first riders of the day, but we had the ride exclusively to ourselves! In fact, the Cast Member asked if we would like to ride again, as a line hadn’t formed yet. It was a little chilly for the three of us, but my son jumped at the chance! We have video of Luke as the solo rider-so cool!!
For the next two hours, we rode practically every ride in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and met multiple characters. We even rode some rides twice! By that time we were starting to get hungry since we had gotten up so early, so we were happy to have booked an early lunch at Be Our Guest.
By the time we finished eating the Park had become very crowded…we were lucky we had saved our three Fastpasses! We only booked one of our three for the morning, as we knew we were taking advantage of the Extra Magic Hours. We saved two for the late afternoon when we knew the Park would be mobbed! (Helpful Hint: Now, you can make additional Fastpasses through the My Disney Experience app once you use up your first three. You may want to front load your day with all three in order to then be able to book your fourth, then fifth, etc. OR spread out your three knowing the Fastpasses for the most desirable attractions are likely to be gone early on high capacity days.)
Make a Day of It…and Embrace the Madness!
If at all possible, plan to stay for the entire day. If the Parks hit capacity, they reserve the right to start park closures. Though rare, it’s not uncommon for Magic Kingdom to hit a Phase 3 closure on New Years or July 4th. There are levels of closures that first hit only day guests, then off-site guests, then park hoppers and people attempting to re-enter the park, and finally guests on Disney property. Don’t over-stress about this…in the last ten years Magic Kingdom has only had a single Phase 4 closure, which effectively closes the Park to all new guests!
Though we knew we were taking a risk, we did head back to the Wilderness Lodge after our early lunch. Knowing we were on-site guests with both dinner and fireworks reservations meant only a Phase 4 Closure could keep us out, and we knew that had never happened on Thanksgiving Day before! (And a monorail couldn’t get you there any faster than the five minute bus ride to Magic Kingdom! Perfect location!)
We spent some relaxing hours at the Silver Creek Springs pool (and maybe at the Trout Bass Bar, as well!!) and it was heavenly! Though the air temperature was unseasonably cold for November, the pool was heated and steam rose above its surface! After some waterslides and Banana Cabanas, we were ready for round two!
Our plan for the crowded late afternoon was simple…show up for our dinner reservation at Cinderella’s Royal Table, ride our two remaining Fastpass rides and hit the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party! The rest of the time we were free to enjoy the theming and gorgeous Christmas decorations, see the characters decked out in their finest holiday garb and mug for the cameras!
Though there will always be crowds, heading to the Parks on a major holiday is something you can easily check off your Disney Bucket List! I have to say-my special day in Magic Kingdom is my most cherished and memorable birthday to date! With some advance planning, flexibility and Pixie Dust you can have your turkey and eat it, too!
Jacqueline lives in Southbury, CT, with her husband and two children. You can follow her on Instagram at @morphingintominnie.
