Thanksgiving Crowds Converge on Fewer Disney World Rides as Closures Mount

Stacked refurbishments tied to multi-park expansions are funneling Thanksgiving visitors onto fewer attractions.

Overview

Magic Kingdom enters the holiday week without Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the Rivers of America/Tom Sawyer Island/Liberty Square Riverboat area, or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, pushing demand to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run.
Animal Kingdom is missing Kali River Rapids and Harambe Market while large portions of DinoLand U.S.A. are closed for the Tropical Americas project, concentrating families in Pandora, Africa, and Asia.
Hollywood Studios has Animation Courtyard and the Vacation Fun theater closed, with Muppet*Vision 3D and nearby dining removed for a Monsters, Inc. expansion, reducing high-capacity indoor options.
Blizzard Beach remains closed and several resort pool slides are under refurbishment, which is shifting leisure traffic to Typhoon Lagoon and creating afternoon spillover into the theme parks on warm days.
Outlets advise rope drop or late-night touring, heavier use of shows for crowd relief, and close monitoring of Lightning Lane availability as standby waits rise across remaining headliners.