Crowds during thanksgiving vs mardi gras

[crltkcagle]

We are trying to plan our next trip. We have decided that May is no longer a good time for us. We are thinking the week of thanksgiving or the week during mardi Gras. I have heard mixed reviews about both of these weeks. My dh is not a crowd kind of person and hates to wait in lines. So I am trying to figure out which week would be the better option as far as crowds go. Has anyone been during these times? How long are wait times for rides usually? Please tell me about your experiences during these times. Thanks

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I've heard Mardi Gras is bad if it falls the same week as Presidents Day but I'm thinking Mardi Gras is late in 2011 so that might be a good time to go.....

[Pirate Granny]

If he doesn't like crowds DON'T go the week of Thanksgiving.
:pirate:

[sassy2000]

Haven't been during Thanksgiving but have heard it is very busy. I went during Mardi Gras in 2009 which was the week after President's Day week and it was moderately busy. Friends of our went this year during Mardi Gras which fell on the same week as President's Day and they said crowds were the same as in 2009. I would definitely pick Mardi Gras over Thanksgiving.

[crltkcagle]

Wow I heard that Thanksgiving week was one of the best times to go. See thats why I need the experts advice- all of my fellow intercotees!

[eandrsmom]

Being from Louisiana, Mardi Gras is USUALLY a good time to go. However, from experience I can tell you that you have to watch when Mardi Gras falls. If it happens to fall during President's week, AVOID going. Also, if it falls during Daytona weekend, we avoid going. This Mardi Gras looks good, because it avoids both of those two dates. We went in early May this year to avoid the President's Week conflict.
I haven't been during Thanksgiving, but friends have told me that it's crowded. If you don't want large crowds, I'd suggest Mardi Gras 2011. Keep in mind, that it won't be super empty, but it will be less crowded than Thanksgiving. We noticed a lot of people from Rio at Mardi Gras on vacation too. I guess after doing the Mardi Gras thing all of your life, it kind of gets old.

[valerie923]

We went during the week of Thanksgiving 2 years ago and found the crowds to be relatively light. I think the longest wait for any of the rides at all the parks was the safari at AK. We waited about 45 minutes. We did however avoid MK Thanksgiving day. We loved the weather and crowds that week and are going back again for Thanksgiving this year. Hope this helps. :mickey:

[buzznwoodysmom]

We've been twice for Thanksgiving and it was not as bad as most people make it out to be. Our first Thankgiving trip was in 2007 and we were surprised at how uncrowded the parks were. We did avoid the parks on Thanksgiving day, then the day after Thanksgiving we went to Epoct and it was packed, but that was our only bad day and we still had a blast. Our second Thanksgiving trip was in 2009 and there were even less people than our first Tday trip. Once again we avoided the parks on Thanksgiving day, and decided to try Epcot again on the day after and it was no where near as packed as two years prior. The holiday decorations are beautiful and definitely an added bonus of going at that time of year. We are going for Mardi Gras in 2011 mainly because it appears to fall at a wonderful time, early March this year, and my son's birthday is the day after Mardi Gras and he's always wanted to spend a birthday in WDW. I'm hoping its not crowded and the weather is perfect!