Where to go next Thanksgiving

We did Napa valley around Thanksgiving. San Fran too.
Really loved it; no crowds, all the wine tours were easy in and out, weather was brisk but perfect. Hotels gave us great rates just to look busy.

 

Did Disney for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. Very busy, but the weather is much better then in the summer. If you do go with Disney, book early, it fills up fast.

 

Rob, Jennie & Mia are truly beautiful, but you *really* need to stay out of the sun!

I'm also pretty sure there may be some bare boobies in one of those pix - time to ban yourself?

Did you release the fish? I recall almost the same scenario a few years back; (s)he had astonishing color in the water, literally 'flashing' different colors at us. Within a few minutes she'd turned pretty much grey.

We held her by the side of the boat for a while and the color returned as if by magic! Let her go and everyone was happy.

Cheers,
Ian

 

2nd vote for Disney. Stay in one of the hotels close to EPCOT, then you have a short boat ride to either EPCOT or Hollywood Studios. Stay on the Club Level, worth the extra $90 a night per room.

EPCOT for the food lovers, Hollywood for the rides/entertainment.

OF course the other parks are a short bus ride away as well.

Have been there for Thanksgiving, and Christmas week, both are magical, and not really just for kids anymore.

D

 

There are some perks that come with staying on the property. You get into the parks earlier, or get to stay later in the bonus hours that are reserved for on property guests.

It moves from park to park on a daily basis. (They're called EXTRA PARK HOURS) In addition, if you book Club Level, you get free continental breakfast every day, and three or four additional snack times that run pretty much all day long, including the desert/cocktail time from 8 until 10 PM everyday. (yes, real cocktails, beer, wine, etc.) You also get additional concierge service that's only available on the club level. It's realy a nice upgrade.

Don't stay on the monorail unless Magic Kingdom is your primary interest. The hotels cost more, have smaller rooms, and the monorail can get very crowed and is prone to delays. (With the exception of staying in the main tower building at the Contemporary, which everyone should do before they die. 1st hotel built on the property, it is completely modular, rooms were put in place finished, ready to go. and the monorail runs through the hotel.)

It may not seem like much, but if 15 of you are going, then daily meals could easily exceed $1500 if you eat in he parks. If you go club level, you really only need to eat dinner outside of your resort. Saves money, get treated better, and it's a little quieter on the club levels.

As to crowding, the busiest I've ever seen it is at the obvious PRE-holiday periods. Especially weekends. During the week, Monday is always the slowest day in the parks. If you use fast-pass you can pre register for 3 rides one park per day, and avoid some of the lines. Also, it's always busy, but they do have limits as to how many people they'll let into the park at any given time. I've only been there once where I felt uncomfortable with the crowds, and that was Hollywood Studios for the Christmas lights from the Osmond family. (no, not Donny, some family from Arkansas that sets up a crazy ass light show.)

Get fast pass reservations for parades, or any other particular experience you want to have, and you'll be fine. (There's an art to the fast-pass stuff, if you decide to go, shoot me a PM I'll walk you through it.)

Watch for discounts. And if you're going to be there a week, then get annual passes, it's cheaper for park admissions, and may help you to get discounts for your rooms as well.

I could write a book on how to go to Disney, been there a zillion times, and mostly after the kids grew up. It's really a good place for adults to vacation if you pick the right times, places and discounts. (We get some great deals both as passholders and florida residents.)

And don't forget THEY DO NOT SERVE ALCOHOL in the Magic Kingdom, which, if you need alcohol to take the edge off the stress of Disney, is not good.

If you're taking LITTLE kids (under 4 or 5 years old) then I'm not sure I'd recommend it. They tire easily, get a little crazed by crowds, and when they're done, you're done.

GO FOR IT. You won't regret it.

D

 

We did Cancun turkey week 2014. We went with 2 friends and their 2 daughters. WE LOVED IT. We're maybe doing it again this year or next. We stayed at Beach Palace and only left the resort 2x.

 

Just FYI. The entire dm_n_stuff family will be at Disney for Thanksgiving. My kids are all grown, I thought they'd balk at the idea, but instead they have embraced it, so we're psyched. 5 days of family fun at Disney World.

Last time we all went the oldest kid was maybe 15, youngest was 12, and we had a blast. Toss some alcohol into the mix and this trip may be epic. (I'm assuming the kids didn't figure out how to buy alcohol last time we were there. )

Steve M, did you decide what you're doing yet?

D

 

If going to Disney you have to take the Magical Express from the airport. It's so easy. You drop your luggage off at your initial airport and the next time you see them is in your room if staying on Disney property. Also pontooning around the lake on a rental pontoon is also super fun. $90/hr

 

Absolutely. And no extra charge for this. You don't need a car if you're staying on property, so save the rental car fee and hop on the bus at the Orlando Airport. And the trip to the airport is almost as easy. Drop the bags off at the airport kiosk in front of your hotel, and the next time you see them is at your destination airport. (all except carry-on, if you have any.)

D

 

I'm going to vote Disneyworld. But thats because I don't like leaving Canada or the USA. I digress, Disney I consider that the Anheim Disneyland. That park is pretty small and you really notice the crowds. Disneyworld is more spread out and large crowds disperce more and is not as noticable. O.k. popular rides you'll notice crowds. But so many things to do in around Disneyworld, you'll never be bored and crowds are easily escapable. When I was a kid, my parents took us someplace during holidays. We went to Disneyland, so much that we got bored of it. I now barely remember most vacations. The one stand out was Disneyworld in 80. Its one of the few trips I remember from my under 10 years old days. The kids will remember it forever, the adults will enjoy it too.

 

Just don't look at the prices on the menus. Where did you book your room?

 

I stayed there before. You'll love the sand bottom pool and the easy 5-10 minute walk to the back entrance of Epcot next to France.

 

Beach Club is a GREAT spot. Short boat ride to Hollywood Studios, short walk to Epcot. The best pool in Disney (IMHO) And also short hop to the Boardwalk, where there's some fun stuff to do after the sun sets.

Be aware that there are great fireworks every night in Epcot, and if you want to really see them well, try to get to Epcot early for them. (You can reserve a seat using the Fast Pass+ feature as well.)

Book where you want to eat EARLY, like MONTHS early, do the same with rides at whatever park you're going to visit on any given day. Some of the rides book up fast, others you can walk right up and go in everything but the busiest days of the year.

Download the Disney App. It'll tell you wait times for all the different rides, and give you an interactive map if you're not familiar with the parks. EPCOT is the hardest one to get lost in, Hollywood Studios is the easiest. (Also, Hollywood is the toughest to get a dinner reservation in, and in as much as you're going in a large group you really want to book early.)

All the restaurants are kid friendly, obviously, but if you are taking younger kids, book at least one character dining experience. Costs a little extra, but you're surrounded by Disney characters.

Animal Kingdom - book the African Savannah ride (blanking on what it's called) early in the day. The animals are more active then, if you catch them at feeding time they all come out.

Get the Park Hopper option on your tickets. Don't get the water park option. If you wake up one morning and decide to go, head down to the concierge and have them add it. You'll still get the discounted price. I've found the pool at the Beach Club is plenty good enough if you want to swim, and November can be chilly at Disney. If you've already bought the water parks option, and it ain't cheap, and the weather is cool, you just spent a pant load of dough for nothing.

There's a ****load of stuff I've learned over the years. If you give me some idea of where you want to go, I should be able to clue you in on some shortcuts, better restaurants, etc.

Last but not least. Check for special events that are scheduled during your visit. I don't remember if they fire up the Christmas Holiday stuff by Thanksgiving, but I'd bet they do.

 

Magical Express is the only way to go. No extra charge, and painless way ot get to the hotel.

HAVE FUN!!!

D

 

Chef DeFrance(sp?) was excellent as was Tutto Italia. Mickey Backyard bbq at Fort Wilderness had a very good show(if your into country) and the food was decent. There you have to get there early so you get good seats.

 

Dining.

I've eaten at probably 50 different restaurants, pool side bars, etc. in Disney. Here, with type of cuisine (If I remember it) and value $=kind of expensive $$=really expensive $$$ = holy **** expensive, even for Disney.

Cape May Cafe - $ in the Beach Club - Buffet Pretty good, not too painfully expensive so good spot for kids. American food, for lack of a better term.

Coral Reef - $ EPCOT - view of the giant fish tank, kind of cool. Foods good as well.

Crystal Palace - $ Magic Kingdom Character Dining. Basic food, buffet I think.

Flying Fish Cafe -$$ - Boardwalk. Great food, right on the boardwalk, probably a 3 minute walk from your hotel, or a 5 minute boat ride.

Tratorio al Forna - Boardwalk - $ Italian, good, not great, but very convenient to your hotel.

Hollywood Brown Derby - $$$ in Hollywood Studios - Worth every penny. Not a lot of choices on the men, but you don't need them. It's my wife's favorite place to eat.

San Angel Inn - $ - EPCOT - If you like Mexican, this is really good. If you're not a BIG fan, then skip it. There's also a Mexican Market and a boat ride, within the area of the restaurant.

Mam Melrose's Ristorante Italiano - Hollywood Studios. $$ - good place to take the kids, standard Italian food, but well done. Near a lot of the good rides/entertainment in Hollywood.

Morimoto Asia - $$ - Disney Springs - Japanese food, excellent, new place. Make sure to get a reservation early for this one if you want to go.

Nine Dragons - $ - EPCOT - Chinese . Traditional Chinese fare. Really good, we've never needed a reservation, kind of our "safety" restaurant when we forget to make a reservation elsewhere. BUT, the food is really good, beer is good (Chinese beer is excellent according to my in house beer fan) and the service is excellent.

Raglan Rose - $+ Disney Springs - Irish, traditional, good but NOISY. Fun place

Rose and Crown - $$ - EPCOT - Get the smoked salmon and the cheese plate, hit it for snacks on the day you go to EPCOT, you don't always need a reservation, but wouldn't hurt. British themed. (they also serve beer outside while you wait for your table.)

Tokyo Dining - $$ - EPCOT great view of EPCOT from this 2nd floor restaurant. WE like this one a lot.

Yachtman's Steakhouse - $$$ - Yacht Club Resort - supposed to be the best steak place in all of Disney. We have not been, but have a reservation for next week. I'll report back.

There are only a couple BAD places - one is on the Boardwalk, unfortunately I can't remember it's name, but it is in between your hotel and the General Store. Burgers that suck, other food that made the burger look GOOOOOD.

Oh, and ESPN is on the boardwalk as well. Fun, the food isn't bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. Kids, however, seem to love it there. Sometimes you'll run into ESPN radio or TV guys there. We met Mike Golic there last time around, and a couple of ESPN lesser radio guys the time before.

you can go online and check out the menus.

That's all I have...

Dave