Is Thanksgiving at Disney World Worth It?
We give thanks for the Disney Parks every day, but should you visit them on Turkey Day?
Thanksgiving usually involves a few days off from work and/or school, so you may have considered planning a trip to Disney World or Disneyland the week of Thanksgiving, or on Turkey Day itself.
Holidays are ideal times to plan trips, but they definitely involve more planning than just an average day.
So is it that crowded? Can you get a turkey dinner? Is there a special parade? We did the research so you can decide if Thanksgiving should also be a day to visit the Mouse.
Crowds
One may think that Disney on major holidays is less crowded. Everyone is at home with their families, or likely has other plans that keep them from traveling. However, it’s a fun tradition of mine to watch the alerts for crowd capacity go up throughout the day.
Any crowd calendar will show a red, 10/10, or “extremely crowded” on the day of Thanksgiving with a slight decrease in the days before or after. However, with pandemic overages, it can feel like that is how Disney is on any day now.
Tips
Try to plan your trip so you’re NOT doing a park day on the holiday. Maybe that is your arrival or departure day, or you decide to take a mid-trip pool day instead.
If it happens to fall where you are in the parks on Thanksgiving, be strategic about the park you choose to go to and where you choose to eat (see below).
Parks
Sadly, if you’re an appreciator of Thanksgiving, there aren’t any scheduled parades, cavalcades, meet-and-greets, decorations, or fireworks specific to Thanksgiving anymore. Like a lot of us, on November 1, at 12:01 a.m., Disney goes from Halloween straight to the December holidays.
However, you can use this to your advantage. For example, Animal Kingdom has a lot of food offerings that are more typical of Thanksgiving, and it will be less crowded than the other parks.
Tips
Remember that you need to buy tickets AND make park reservations to visit a Disney park. Look at the reservation tool first to see if the dates you want are still available. As of this publish date, Magic Kingdom is the only park unavailable for Thanksgiving 2022 (Thursday, November 24).
Epcot starts its Candlelight Processional and dinner packages on Friday, November 25 with narrator Simu Liu (Shang-Chi). There is an additional show on Saturday, November 26.
For Magic Kingdom, there are several Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parties around a Thanksgiving trip: on Thursday, November 17, Friday, November 18, Sunday, November 20, Tuesday, November 22, Sunday, November 27, and Tuesday, November 29.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas parties are ticketed events outside of regular day reservations and admissions. While they are a separate cost, you do NOT need a park reservation for these. For example, you can get a ticket and park reservation for Hollywood Studios on the day of your party, and then just hop over to Magic Kingdom at 4 p.m. No park reservation/park hopping stress at 1 p.m. needed
Food
Disney food is on another level, so you have quite a few options for dining. If you plan to just go about the day enjoying Dole Whips and other non-traditional Thanksgiving foods, you shouldn’t have any problems. But more traditional feasts require advanced reservations.
Those sit-down dining experiences from Thanksgiving 2021 included:
Liberty Tree Tavern (Magic Kingdom)
Patriot’s Platter – Roast Turkey Breast, Pennsylvania Pot Roast, and Oven-roasted Pork with Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Herb Stuffing, and House-made Macaroni & Cheese; served with Declaration Salad, and Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake
Plant-based Tavern Keeper’s Feast – Plant-based Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Gravy and Seasonal Vegetables; served with Declaration Salad, and Johnny Appleseed’s Warm Apple Cake
Garden Grill (Epcot)
Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Feast – Sliced Turkey Breast with Turkey Gravy, Harvest-inspired Garden Salad, Herb and Leek Stuffing, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Macaroni & Cheese, Seasonal Vegetables, and Berry Short Cake
American Holiday Table (Epcot)
Slow-roasted Turkey with Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, and Cranberry Sauce
Plant-based Holiday Pot Pie with Jackfruit, Mushrooms, Carrots, Peas, Onions, and Puff Pastry
Pumpkin Gingerbread Cheesecake with Cranberry Whipped Cream and Candied Pumpkin Seeds
Hollywood & Vine (Hollywood Studios)
Carved Herb-roasted Turkey Breast – Served with Garlic Redskin Mashed Potatoes, Cornbread Stuffing, Sauteed Green Beans, Turkey Gravy, and Cranberry-Orange Relish
Tiffins (Animal Kingdom)
Thanksgiving Plate – Turkey Roulade, Fine Herbs Whipped Potatoes, Maple-Glazed Carrots, Sweet Potato Pavé, Wild Mushrooms, Green Bean Casserole, Cornbread Dressing, Cranberry Gel, and Turkey Gravy
Tusker House (Animal Kingdom)
Thanksgiving Dinner – Spit-roasted Turkey, Turkey Gravy, Mashed Red Potatoes, and Focaccia Bread Dressing along with Seasonal Vegetables, Pork Loin, Flank Steak, and an Assortment of Desserts
Raglan Road (Disney Springs)
Butter & Herb Roast Turkey, Roast Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Duck Fat Roasties, Honey-Glazed Carrots, Bacon-Braised Brussels Sprouts, Sausage Meat & Walnut Stuffing, and Red Wine Jus with Cranberry Sauce
STK Orlando (Disney Springs)
Thanksgiving Special – Roasted Free Range Turkey Breast with Confit Turkey Thighs and all the sides and trimmings; past sides include Foie Gras Stuffing, Cranberry, Maple Baked Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Corn Pudding Brussels Sprouts, and Spiced Pumpkin Pie with Candied Ginger Cream and Crunchy Caramel Honeycomb
Some quick-service restaurants offering turkey from Thanksgiving 2021 included:
Satuli Canteen (Animal Kingdom)
Thanksgiving Bowl – Cornbread Stuffing, Sliced Roasted Turkey, Cranberry Boba Pearls, Gravy, and Slaw
Restaurantosaurus (Animal Kingdom)
Open-Faced Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich – Grilled Multigrain Bread with Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise, Cornbread Stuffing Waffle, Sliced Smoked Turkey Breast, Herb Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, and a Fried Sage Leaf
City Works Eatery and Pour House (Disney Springs)
Herb Roasted Turkey – Hand-carved Turkey, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Traditional Stuffing, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Lardons, Corn Casserole, and Gravy
Earl of Sandwich (Disney Springs)
Holiday Turkey Sandwich – Turkey, Cornbread Stuffing, Gravy, Cranberry Sauce, and Mayo
D-Luxe Burger (Disney Springs)
Holiday Turkey Burger – Turkey Patty, Butternut Squash Risotto Cake, Bacon-Cranberry Jam, Lettuce, and Tomato
The Daily Poutine (Disney Springs)
Gobbler Poutine – French Fries with Shredded Turkey, Gravy, and Cheese Curds
Tips
Remember that you need to buy tickets, make park reservations, AND dining reservations for the sit-down experiences mentioned above.
And if all these traditional feasts are booked, try the Diamond Horseshoe. It usually offers similar food to Liberty Tree Tavern but is less crowded.
Additionally, try Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge Resort or, 50s Prime Time Café at Hollywood Studios for comfort, Thanksgiving-adjacent food.
The quick-service experiences do NOT require reservations and offer a plethora of the same kinds of foods. So no worries if you can’t snag a reservation at a sit-down dinner. Check to see if either the quick-service or sit-down restaurant at your resort is offering a Thanksgiving special if you don’t want to head off-property or into the parks. Most of the value resorts offer something in their cafeterias and moderate and deluxe resorts sometimes have special offerings for the holidays.
If all else fails, you can always grab a Turkey leg.
So that’s it! While Thanksgiving Day at Disney World can be chaotic, if you plan ahead it’s not much more chaotic than a usual day.
Have you ever been to Disney on Thanksgiving? Let us know what you thought!