It’s about time to trade your apron for a pair of Mickey ears! Thanksgiving at Disney World isn’t just a great holiday meal that you don’t have to cook yourself, it’s a full-blown celebration where your hardest decision is whether to have seconds or hop on Space Mountain.

This guide covers everything you need to know for Thanksgiving 2025 at Disney World — from the best places to eat (yes, turkey included!) to where to stay, what to do, and how to keep your sanity amid the crowds. Whether you’re craving a relaxed classic family feast or a full-on Disney Park day with a side of turkey, we’ve got your Thanksgiving vacation game plan!

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Why You Should Spend Thanksgiving at Disney World
• Tips For Beating Disney World’s Thanksgiving Crowds
• Best Restaurants For Thanksgiving Dinner at Disney World
• What To Do On Thanksgiving in Disney World
• Best Disney World Resort Hotels For Thanksgiving
• Final Thoughts From an Expert: Is Thanksgiving at Disney World Worth It?

Now lets get to it!

Why You Should Spend Thanksgiving at Disney World

Thanksgiving is a holiday to be grateful for, but let’s be real — there aren’t any Fairy Godmothers at home doing the cooking, the cleaning, and entertaining! And, if this is a traditionally your job, then it’s pretty easy to understand why spending Thanksgiving at Disney World might be your best holiday celebration yet. Let Disney do the cooking!

And, even if you do more relaxing than cooking when you’re at home, celebrating Thanksgiving at Disney World is an unmatched experience. Mostly because you get to celebrate Thanksgiving and an early Christmas when you visit! By the week of Thanksgiving, all of the theme parks and resorts are in full holiday mode with giant Christmas trees, treats, and more to see and do.

Sure, you’ll have to deal with some (okay, a lot) of holiday crowds, but there’s no better way to spend a holiday than fully immersed in a fun family vacation.

Tips For Beating Disney World’s Thanksgiving Crowds

If you’re number one goal when planning a Disney World vacation is to avoid crowds, well…this isn’t necessarily the time to visit. However, while Thanksgiving is one of the busiest (and most expensive) times to go to Disney World, don’t let the crowds deter you! You can still have an AMAZING vacation!

When preparing to go to Disney World during Thanksgiving, you’re going to have to pack your patience. But, I’ve been going to Disney World for over three decades and I’ve learned a thing or two about navigating holiday crowds.

Here are my top 10 expert tips for beating Disney World’s Thanksgiving crowds:

• Rope drop the parks to get a head start on the crowds.
• Mobile order from quick service dining locations earlier than you think you should. Food pick-up windows can book up hours in advance during popular meal times.
• Purchase and utilize Lightning Lane Multi Pass (or Premier Pass if you’re really feeling the splurge) to skip the long lines at popular rides.
• Make a list of your top 5 must-do experiences each day and focus on those first. Anything else you get to is an added bonus!
• Schedule dining reservations during non-peak meal times.
• Utilize the Single Rider Lines and Rider Switch Service where you can.
• Choose a “less busy” theme park on Thanksgiving Day, such as Animal Kingdom.
• Take a mid-day break and explore the holiday decorations at nearby Disney World Resort hotels.
• Purchase a Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party ticket instead of a Magic Kingdom day ticket to save some money and experience more holiday fun.
• Manage your expectations. This trip is about spending time with family, not necessarily squeezing every ride and show into one day.

Best Restaurants For Thanksgiving Dinner at Disney World

What’s Thanksgiving Day without a Thanksgiving feast, right?! Whether you want to keep it traditional with warm turkey and savory sides or just enjoy a family meal of any cuisine, Disney World has got you covered.

Before we dive into the best restaurants for your Thanksgiving meal, we need to emphasize one very important thing — advance dining reservations are a must!! If you plan to have a full family meal at any of Disney World’s table service restaurants, you’ll need to make a dining reservation. Dining reservations open 60 days in advance and we recommend setting an alarm to remind yourself of this important date. This is one of the busiest days for Disney World restaurants and you want to be sure that your preferred restaurant and dining time doesn’t book up.

If you prefer to skip the sit-down meal, there are also several quick service restaurants serving Thanksgiving favorites. Lines can get long at these locations, so be sure to use Disney’s Mobile Order feature in the My Disney Experience App to decrease your wait time.

While pretty much every Disney World restaurant is open on Thanksgiving Day, a select few do something special and change their menu! Here are the restaurants that traditionally feature a holiday menu for Thanskgiving!

Note that, while most are confirmed for 2025, we’re still waiting on more information from a few restaurants that have offered a Thanksgiving menu in the past. We’ll update the list as more information is released so stay tuned!

Table Service Restaurants with a Thanksgiving Day Menu at Disney World in 2025:

Magic Kingdom

• Liberty Tree Tavern
• The Diamond Horseshoe

EPCOT

• Via Napoli (Not confirmed for 2025)

Hollywood Studios

• Hollywood & Vine

Animal Kingdom

• Rainforest Cafe

Disney Resorts

• Whispering Canyon Cafe – Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Steakhouse 71 – Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Ale & Compass – Disney’s Yacht Club
• Olivia’s Cafe – Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Sanaa – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Disney Springs

• Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
• Wine Bar George (Not confirmed for 2025)
• Summer House on the Lake (Not confirmed for 2025)
• Paddlefish (Not confirmed for 2025)
• Terralina Crafted Italian (Not confirmed for 2025)
• The Edison (Not confirmed for 2025)
• City Works Eatery and Pour House (Not confirmed for 2025)
• Rainforest Cafe (Not confirmed for 2025)
• T-REX (Not confirmed for 2025)
• Raglan Road (Not confirmed for 2025)

Quick Service Restaurants with a Thanksgiving Day Menu at Disney World in 2025:

If you don’t want to indulge in the grand festivities of table service dining, select quick service locations in the parks and resorts often offer a smaller version of a Thanksgiving dinner, many serving kids’ meal portions, too!

Animal Kingdom

• Satu’li Canteen

Disney Resorts

• Intermission Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
• World Premiere Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
• End Zone Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
• Landscape of Flavors at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
• Centertown Market at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Contempo Café at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Capt. Cook’s at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Everything POP Shopping & Dining at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• Riverside Mill and Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside and French Quarter
• The Artist’s Palette at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• Roaring Fork at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Good’s Food to Go at Old Key West Resort

Disney Springs

• Earl of Sandwich

What To Do On Thanksgiving in Disney World

If you are a firm believer in “no Christmas before Thanksgiving,” sorry, you’re headed to the wrong place! The official Christmas season at Disney begins November 14th; however, you’ll start to see the transition from Halloween to Christmas as early as November 1st.

While there are no specific Thanksgiving-themed activities or entertainment (besides eating, of course!), there are plenty of holiday festivities happening that you won’t want to miss! Between theme park decor, resort holiday displays, attraction overlays, live music, and even the opportunity to meet Santa and turn in your wishlist, you can experience the magic of the holidays at Disney with or without a park ticket.

Here are some of the holiday entertainment options throughout Disney World:

Magic Kingdom

• Jungle (”Jingle”) Cruise Attraction Holiday Overlay
• Holiday Decorations
• Exclusive Holiday Food and Drinks
• Frozen Holiday Surprise Castle Stage Show
• Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party ($)

EPCOT

• EPCOT’s International Festival of the Holidays (Beginning November 28th)
• The Candlelight Processional
• See the Lights on Living with the Land Attraction Holiday Overlay
• Exclusive Holiday Food and Drinks
• Holiday Decorations

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

• Holiday Decorations
• Toy Story Land Characters in Holiday Outfits
• Sunset Seasons Greetings Projection Show
• Holiday Themed Dining at Hollywood & Vine
• Holiday Exclusive Food and Drinks
• Jollywood Nights ($)
• Meet Santa Claus

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• Merry Menagerie (Arctic Animal Puppets)
• Holiday Edition Tree of Life Awakening
• Meet-and-Greet with Mickey and Minnie in their Holiday Outfits
• Holiday Decorations
• Exclusive Holiday Food and Drinks

Disney Resorts

• Disney’s Contemporary Resort Gingerbread Display
• Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Gingerbread Display
• Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Gingerbread Displays
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Gingerbread House (Note that this will not be available during the holiday season in 2025 due to construction at the resort)
• Resort Holiday Decorations including Massive Christmas Tree Displays
• Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground Holiday Sleigh Rides ($)
• Exclusive Holiday Food and Drinks

Disney Springs

• Christmas Tree Stroll
• Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar Holiday Specials
• Exclusive Holiday Food and Drinks
• Meet Santa Claus

Best Disney World Resort Hotels For Thanksgiving

All Disney World Resorts are known for their incredible theming, regardless of whether you’re staying at the cheapest or most expensive hotel. That being said, some resorts fit the holiday vibe better than others, especially if you want to embrace the “cozy season” in the Florida weather. Alternatively, if you want to swap warm fireplaces and decorated chimneys for an Olaf summer of sand, sun, and palm trees, Disney has that, too!

Here are some of our favorite Disney Resorts to stay at over Thanksgiving week in Disney World:

If You Want a Sunny Island Thanksgiving, the Best Disney Resorts are:

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

If You Want to Embrace the Cozy Season, the Best Disney Resorts are:

• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground
• Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Final Thoughts From an Expert: Is Thanksgiving at Disney World Worth It?

So, is it really worth visiting Disney World at Thanksgiving? Honestly, yes and no. With all of the walking, planning, and crowd navigation involved in visiting over the holidays, you might find that Thanksgiving at Disney World can be just as exhausting as hosting Thanksgiving at home. But, vacation exhaustion is very different from that overworked-at-home feeling! I’ve found that if you set your expectations accordingly, the Disney experience is fully worth it.

Mickey bars, character sightings, rides on your family’s favorite attractions, and truly tasty food set the tone for all future Thanksgivings — you may never want to celebrate at home again! However, if you want to “do it all” while you’re at Disney World with low wait times, little planning ahead needed, and a stress-free environment, Thanksgiving at Disney might not be for you.

Here are a few things to consider before you decide if visiting Disney World at Thanksgiving is right for you!

Thanksgiving At Disney Is Worth It If:

• You prepare in advance
• You purchase Lightning Lanes and/or Special Event Tickets
• You don’t mind large crowds
• You want to avoid cooking and hosting the holiday

Skip Thanksgiving At Disney If:

• You’re on a budget (Thanksgiving week is one of the most expensive times to visit Disney World)
• Crowds aren’t your thing
• You want to celebrate with pumpkins and turkeys, not Christmas and holiday jingles
• You want low attraction wait times

Bottom line? If you’re willing to trade turkey-carving duties for turkey legs and replace football on the couch with fireworks over Cinderella Castle, Thanksgiving at Disney World delivers an unforgettable holiday experience!

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