Reassure me about the week I picked? (week after Thanksgiving)

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip with BFF and her SO and really want to make this trip magical for her, she does not get to go as often as me. BFF said the only thing she really cares about is low crowds(I have been prepping her for what to expect from "low crowds" at Disney these days) and spending time by the pool. I have always wanted to see Disney at Christmas and thought that sounded really magical for our trip. So I picked the week after Thanksgiving (tentatively Sunday 11/26 - Sat 12/2).

1. The book by Josh from EasyWDW recommended that as one of the best weeks of the year for overall crowds and weather. But I'm concerned about the weather. BFF LOVES to swim and wants to spend time at the resort swimming. Will it be warm enough at least most days for this? We're from Massachusetts so low 70's is more than warm enough for us. If the pools are heated even 60's would be fine for us. But I'm hearing conflicting reports about temps in late November. Does anyone hit the water parks at this time of year? We were talking about maybe doing Blizzard Beach one day, wouldn't buy the tix til we're there anyway but I want to know that can be an option.

2. Do I have pretty good chances of snagging a discount for that week? I've seen historically there's Free Dining and discounts around the time but certain years it seems like that week is blacked out. We want to stay deluxe(BWI ) but I'm not rich by any means, a discount would be a lifesaver.

3. I am right in thinking that is a good "low crowd" week, right(as per Josh's recommendation)? I'm going to try my darndest to plan the right parks on the right days with the right touring plans but I think we overall don't want to feel crammed, hoping for low resort crowds, low DS crowds and comfortable walkability around the parks.

4. Bonus ticket question! Why make another thread, right? We want this to be a relaxed laid back vacation. Hoping to stay at BWI with Dining Plan. I was originally thinking it made sense to save money and get base tickets with no PH (I hate park hopping every day and going commando like that, feels too hectic to me). But since we'll be staying at BW, I'm wondering if it makes sense to get park hoppers so we can take advantage of dining at Epcot in the evening after a day touring a different park, or being able to pop over to DHS for a Fantasmic show or the new Star Wars fireworks(originally was only planning one DHS day so we'd have to choose between night entertainment. But staying so close to the park and being able to pop over for an evening sounds nice). For those who have stayed at an Epcot area resort, is it really worth it to have PH just to have access to dining or would it be a waste of money when there's dining options at BW and Beach/Yacht Club? Never stayed in that area so not sure what to expect!


Thank you so much for any advice you can give!

 

[Robo]

4. Buy the hopper.
But, to be SURE... you can WAIT until you know that you WANT it to add it, if you like.
Adding (upgrading your ticket) it is the same price as buying beforehand.

 

[pitpat]

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according to this it's the best week of the year to visit.

We swam in December no problem.

 

[sharonabe]

The picture of us over there (left) is from that week in 2009. For most of the week, we were in shorts and t-shirts, but it did get very cold toward the end of the week. Weather is definitely hit or miss once December comes around. We did do a water park that week, though. Pools are heated. I would suggest looking at Beach Club instead of Boardwalk just to have access to Stormalong Bay. With that "pool," you might not even need the water parks.

I agree with Robo on waiting to add the hopper. You'll probably use it, but no reason to buy it ahead of time. However, if free dining is offered, you will have to buy either the park hopper or water park option to qualify.

 

[pattyw]

We've also done the week prior to Thanksgiving and it was great! It's after F&W but before alot of the Christmas events begin (they do have MVMCP then).

 

[anniemae]

Love that week. We did this a few years ago and the crowds were great. Weather was beautiful, perfect for park touring, sweatshirt in the morning, warm up by afternoon, cooler at night. We must go in the summer due to work/school schedules and I would take Nov weather any day. Plus holiday decorations are up.

 

[Meldev]

It's our absolute favorite week that we've visited!!

 

[goofy4tink]

We arrived the Sunday just prior to Thanksgiving this past year. The parks were fine until about Wednesday...then the crowds started picking up. We left to do a cruise the Sunday after Thanksgiving....for some reason, the parks weren't horribly crowded that Sat after T-day...usually it's a mob scene. The week after T-day is usually good, at least starting on Tuesday or Wednesday. It seems a lot of people hang out until mid-week, then leave. So, later in the week is good. We're arriving the Sat after T-day this year, and staying until the following Friday....the crowds seem to get bigger each year. There truly isn't a 'great, uncrowded' time to go anymore.

 

[Arianabtd]

Just did around that time last year, (mostly because my birthday falls in there) and it was such a great week! I highly suggest it.

 

[eastendlights]

When my kids were younger, that was our favorite time of year to go. We took them out of middle and elementary school every year for many years and it was totally worth it. I wish we could still go then but with one in college and the other in high school it is not possible.

We were living in RI at the time, so like you, it was more than warm enough for us for swimming. Beautiful weather during the day, most times we wore sweatshirts or fleeces at night.

Between the lack of crowds and all of the Christmas decorations it really is the best time to go.

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

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according to this it's the best week of the year to visit.

We swam in December no problem.

Love that week. We did this a few years ago and the crowds were great. Weather was beautiful, perfect for park touring, sweatshirt in the morning, warm up by afternoon, cooler at night. We must go in the summer due to work/school schedules and I would take Nov weather any day. Plus holiday decorations are up.

It's our absolute favorite week that we've visited!!

Just did around that time last year, (mostly because my birthday falls in there) and it was such a great week! I highly suggest it.

When my kids were younger, that was our favorite time of year to go. We took them out of middle and elementary school every year for many years and it was totally worth it. I wish we could still go then but with one in college and the other in high school it is not possible.

We were living in RI at the time, so like you, it was more than warm enough for us for swimming. Beautiful weather during the day, most times we wore sweatshirts or fleeces at night.

Between the lack of crowds and all of the Christmas decorations it really is the best time to go.

Ah thank you guys!!! These comments are making me feel really good about my choice. This may end up being my best trip yet!

The picture of us over there (left) is from that week in 2009. For most of the week, we were in shorts and t-shirts, but it did get very cold toward the end of the week. Weather is definitely hit or miss once December comes around. We did do a water park that week, though. Pools are heated. I would suggest looking at Beach Club instead of Boardwalk just to have access to Stormalong Bay. With that "pool," you might not even need the water parks.

I agree with Robo on waiting to add the hopper. You'll probably use it, but no reason to buy it ahead of time. However, if free dining is offered, you will have to buy either the park hopper or water park option to qualify.

4. Buy the hopper.
But, to be SURE... you can WAIT until you know that you WANT it to add it, if you like.
Adding (upgrading your ticket) it is the same price as buying beforehand.

Thanks guys! I had forgotten you can add it when you get there at no additional cost. Plus I forgot that you need an add on to get free dining. I just ran some numbers and so far, it's looking like if we can get Free Dining, that will be our best savings even with PH added on(we love to eat and have fun food experiences so DP is worth it to us). That may end up making the decision for me!

We talked about Stormalong Bay. BWI is one of my dream resorts, but I wanted to do whatever BFF wanted to do most. I really thought Stormalong Bay would sway her! But she REALLY thinks BWI looks appealing despite the smaller pool so we will probably go with that, unless there's magically some crazy savings to be found staying at Beach Club(doubt it).

We arrived the Sunday just prior to Thanksgiving this past year. The parks were fine until about Wednesday...then the crowds started picking up. We left to do a cruise the Sunday after Thanksgiving....for some reason, the parks weren't horribly crowded that Sat after T-day...usually it's a mob scene. The week after T-day is usually good, at least starting on Tuesday or Wednesday. It seems a lot of people hang out until mid-week, then leave. So, later in the week is good. We're arriving the Sat after T-day this year, and staying until the following Friday....the crowds seem to get bigger each year. There truly isn't a 'great, uncrowded' time to go anymore.

Yeah, I've been preparing her for what "low crowds" mean, but I'm also going to try pretty hard to create the illusion of low crowds with a really good touring plan haha. A couple early mornings, MVMCP for no wait times, etc. We're aiming for no stress once we get there, even if I'm completely stressed out leading up to it, lol! Also, we're not doing a park on Sunday as we'll be arriving that evening from Universal(Just exploring the resort area, MAYBE just dinner in Epcot), and we will probably do Epcot on Monday which never feels too crowded. Hopefully by the time we hit AK and MK later in the week the crowds will have dispersed!


Thank you so much guys, I'm feeling pretty optimistic right now!

 

[thegoof121]

We've gone the weekend after Thanksgiving a few times (normally arriving Black Friday and leaving that Sunday.) In our experience, it feels like everyone flies back home on Saturday, and everything feels pretty empty.

We also like going the first full week in December, it's a good time to get in the holiday mood.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We left our house the Sunday after Thanksgiving just last year in 2016. We ate leftover turkey the night before we left.

We arrived Sunday afternoon. The crowds were already gone from the resort. We went to Epcot the first night and again, the crowds were already gone.

I honestly think the first line we stood in was on Wednesday or Thursday. And that was for Peter Pan, which pretty much always had a line.

We wore shorts/capris every day. In fact, we ended up washing clothes, something we don't ever do, because we ran out of summer clothes and only had winter ones left.

 

[Nancyg56]

I love that week, but I do want you to knwo the weather is not always spectacular. 4 years ago we were there From Thanksgiving Day thru December 5. HOLY FREEZING! It was cold. We tried swimming and we are from CT so we are pretty used to being cold when we swim, but it was windy and too cold.It warmed up the day we left.

 

[ktlm]

We have been that week multiple times. The crowds are not bad at all- less than when we go in October. They will pick up on the Friday and Saturday as the Pop Warner kids start arriving. That Saturday afternoon and evening can be very crowded at MK. Stay away from that and you should be fine. The only thing that week that was a pain for us was we had to work around parade taping- but the last 2 years patade taping has been moved from that week. If it is, that is great for you, and if not, it isn't that hard to work around. As to your specific questions:

1. It is absolutely impossible to predict if you will have swimming weather. You can't trust the weather forecast, even the day before for that area (we found that out the hard way when we checked multiple weather sources the day before our trip including the local ones and they all said the high would be about 70 every day and it wound up being between 82 and 85 with record or near record highs every day). We have been there when the highs were in the 80s and we have been there when the highs were in the 50s. We have had both in the same week- we've started off the week in shorts day and night and ended it in coats and gloves freezing. We have had people getting ready to leave as we arrived tell us their whole week was freezing and they were in coats, on a day when it was 80 degrees and hot when we arrived. It bounces around a lot that time of year. You might have a week of swimming weather, or 1 day of swimming weather, or no swimming weather. We don't swim much there that time of year. When we go in October, pretty much every day is a swimming weather day (well except the Hurricane last fall).

2. You have a shot at getting a discount. Pop Warner week is pretty much always blocked, but we have always had luck with that week between Thanksgiving and Pop Warner

3. I would say low moderate. Not empty, but not crowded. We always found it to be a good week crowd wise.

4. When we stay in the EPCOT area, we always find ourselves hopping quite a bit. It is so easy to walk between DHS and EPCOT. We also tend to hop the monorail from EPCOT to MK if MK is staying open later than EPCOT. We use hoppers the most when we stay in the EPCOT area.

 

[AngiTN]

1. The book by Josh from EasyWDW recommended that as one of the best weeks of the year for overall crowds and weather. But I'm concerned about the weather. BFF LOVES to swim and wants to spend time at the resort swimming. Will it be warm enough at least most days for this? We're from Massachusetts so low 70's is more than warm enough for us. If the pools are heated even 60's would be fine for us. But I'm hearing conflicting reports about temps in late November. Does anyone hit the water parks at this time of year? We were talking about maybe doing Blizzard Beach one day, wouldn't buy the tix til we're there anyway but I want to know that can be an option.

Because the weather is conflicting at that time of year in FL
It might be close to 80
It might be close to 60
Even in a 24 hour period.
The pools will remain open unless it gets really cold. I'm sure someone here knows what temp they officially close.
Same with water parks.
We swam last year on 12/3 or so but other days of that week were too cold

 

[jaceraden]

This is My favourite week to go.

I'm a hardy Central Canadian and I have found swimming this week to be hit and miss. The actual water is lovely. But getting out can be unpleasant.

You will love BWI for the location. Hoppers for sure. If for no other reason than nightly Illuminations or strolling World Showcase and grabbing some yummy snacks!

Edited ridiculous autocorrect mistakes

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Thanks for the input, everyone! The weather being iffy makes me a tiny bit nervous, but I talked to BFF and we're going to stick with that week anyway. The pros seem to VASTLY outweigh the cons, and BFF said it's still worth it because touring the parks will be so much more comfortable than going at a warmer time. Can't argue with her there! Makes me think of my 2011 August trip - we had SO MUCH FUN but going to MK rope drop at 8am and already sweating bullets was tough to acclimate to! If we can get one good swim day I think she'll still be happy. Good info to have when we start packing though!

It's sounding more and more like I'll have to splurge for the Park Hoppers! Guess I'll have to save money some other way(or not!).

 

[cel_disney]

I think the risks outweigh the rewards for this week - I am even considering going myself - but in 2010 we went dec 4-10 I think and it was in the 30s all but 2 days of our trip! So be prepared to check the weather before you pack!

We wore a lot of layers - and being from Mass - we out on our fleeces and headed out for rope drop every day without too much company so the lines were great. We pealed off layers for afternoons and added them back in evenings. Just don't go on Dumbo or any other spinner when it's that cold out unless you have aquafor on your face to protect you from wind burn!! There will be NO lines for it I am sure if it's ever that cold!!

 

[Nancyg56]

I think the risks outweigh the rewards for this week - I am even considering going myself - but in 2010 we went dec 4-10 I think and it was in the 30s all but 2 days of our trip! So be prepared to check the weather before you pack!

We wore a lot of layers - and being from Mass - we out on our fleeces and headed out for rope drop every day without too much company so the lines were great. We pealed off layers for afternoons and added them back in evenings. Just don't go on Dumbo or any other spinner when it's that cold out unless you have aquafor on your face to protect you from wind burn!! There will be NO lines for it I am sure if it's ever that cold!!

We were there in 2012, and Oh my gosh!!! COLD! But there is no way to predict. I went back in December 2015 and 2016, and the weather was lovely. I have been in December 4 times and 3 were really nice. It was that outlier that makes me always pack some hand warmers now!