Your Guide to Thanksgiving at Disneyland 2025 Top Spots and 5 Helpful Tips

If you plan on experiencing Thanksgiving at Disneyland, you have many options at your fingertips. One important thing to figure out, as far in advance as possible, is where you plan to eat that day.

Disneyland Thanksgiving crowds, like most holidays, tend to be large, and arriving with a solid strategy is the best way to prepare for these crowds.

Our guide to Thanksgiving at Disneyland is here to help you plan your day so you can enjoy this holiday at one of the greatest American traditions around.

This article has been checked for accuracy for 2025 and updated with all currently available information. Some of the information from previous years has been kept here to give you a sense of what will likely be offered in 2025.

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Does Disneyland Decorate for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving at Disneyland takes place during the Christmas Disney holiday season so there are no separate decorations for Thanksgiving. If you visit Disneyland on Thanksgiving, you will experience the theme parks with their full holiday decor, entertainment, and themed attractions.

Disneyland does acknowledge Thanksgiving Day in the parks with holiday menus at certain restaurants that feature classics like turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. These menus are often released just two weeks or so before the holiday so it's good to look at the past menus (below!) to get an idea of which restaurant you would enjoy the most on Thanksgiving. Dining reservations go fast for Thanksgiving Day so this is one you need to make right at the 60-day mark!

Disneyland Thanksgiving Crowds

Thanksgiving at Disneyland can be extremely crowded as it has become increasingly popular to travel on holidays and spend them at places like the Happiest Place on Earth. I have spent Thanksgiving Day at Disneyland despite the crowds, it was still a magical experience because we arrived prepared to deal with crowds and a full day of dining reservations to avoid having to wait in large lines for food.

I would absolutely spend Thanksgiving at Disneyland again, since we purchased Lightning Lane Multi Pass and arrived early to use our Disneyland morning strategy, we were able to get plenty accomplished. After the Disneyland holiday fireworks, most guests will leave for the day and my family was able to ride many popular rides up until park close (which is often midnight on holidays) with little to no wait.

One thing we have noticed after spending two Thanksgivings at Disneyland is that you will see Pocahontas wandering around by Rivers of America. She's a rare character so this is a nice surprise.

Goofy's Kitchen Thanksgiving Dinner

In previous years prior to 2020, Disneyland often hosted a large buffet and character dining experience at the Disneyland Hotel. Since then, there had been no official Thanksgiving dinner offered, so I was so happy to see this new offering at Disneyland for the past few Thanksgiving seasons.

While it has not yet been announced if Goofy's Kitchen Thanksgiving will be returning for 2025, you can see info from a past year below for an idea of the menu and pricing:

Goofy's Kitchen hosted Thanksgiving Day dining with a buffet featuring Disney characters at the Disneyland Hotel. Guests could choose between brunch featuring turkey and “tasty fixings” along with a dinner buffet offering turkey, popular Thanksgiving sides, prime ribeye, seafood cocktail, and pumpkin and assorted pies.

Goofy's Kitchen Thanksgiving Brunch Buffet

Time: 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Price: Brunch is $60 USD plus tax per adult (aged 10 and up) and $32 USD plus tax per child (aged 3 to 9). Prices do not include tax and gratuities.

Goofy's Kitchen Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet

Time: 1:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Price: Dinner is $85 USD plus tax per adult (aged 10 and up) and $35 USD plus tax per child (aged 3 to 9). Prices do not include tax and gratuities.

While this experience may not feel as extravagant as the Thanksgiving buffets from previous years, this is a great option for guests to enjoy a character experience themed to Thanksgiving! Goofy's Kitchen has recently become home to seasonal character dining at the Disneyland Resort so I expect this tradition will be here to stay.

Disneyland Thanksgiving Menus at Other Restaurants

You can also find other Thanksgiving meals at many of the other popular table service restaurants around Disneyland. You can see some of the items previously offered below while we wait for the full 2025 Thanksgiving Day details:

• Carnation Café: Oven-roasted Turkey Breast, Bourbon Gravy and Cornbread Stuffing, Pumpkin Pie
• Blue Bayou Restaurant: Herb-basted turkey breast, with Butter Whipped Potatoes, Cast Iron Cornbread Stuffing, Citrus-Cranberry Sauce, Market Vegetables and Turkey Au Jus, Kid's turkey dinner, Pumpkin Crème Brûlée with pecan cookie.
• Café Orleans: Battered & Fried Holiday-spiced Monte Cristo with Smothered Pommes Frites, Citrus and Cranberry Salad, Classic Pumpkin Pie topped with Spiced Chantilly
• River Belle Terrace: Traditional Turkey Dinner: Butternut Squash Soup. Oven-roasted Turkey Breast with Country Pork Belly Stuffing, Sweet Potato Mash, Seasonal Vegetables, Gravy and Cranberry Sauce. Pumpkin Pie with Pepita-Bacon Brittle and Spiced Chantilly Cream. Kids' Turkey Dinner: assorted Vegetable Crudité with House-made Ranch Dressing. Oven-roasted Turkey Breast with Country Pork Belly Stuffing, Sweet Potato Mash, Seasonal Vegetables, Bourbon Gravy and Cranberry Sauce. S'mores Pudding
• Wine Country Trattoria: Holiday Turkey Meal: Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes, Turkey Gravy, Stuffing, Green Beans and Orange-Cranberry Sauce. Kids' Holiday Turkey Meal:
  Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes, Turkey Gravy, Stuffing, Green Beans and Orange-Cranberry Sauce. Pumpkin Pie topped with Spiced Chantilly.

Blue Bayou Thanksgiving Review

We have dined at Blue Bayou on Thanksgiving Day twice now and have enjoyed varities of a similar pre-fix menu that is offered only on Thanksgiving Day. You can either order off the Thanksgiving pre-fix menu or opt for the regular menu.

Unfortunately, most menus on holidays are pre-fix menus meaning there won't be any modifications allowed. Since I'm a vegetarian, this was a problem for me since I didn't want turkey! I wasn't able to just increase my sides in place of the turkey either, most they could do was just leave the turkey off the plate so I opted to order something else. Not all restaurants can be this strict though, a friend of mine had Thanksgiving dinner at Carnation Cafe and was able to do more substitutions so this will vary.

Blue Bayou also offers a fully turkey dinner with all the traditional favorites. This is one of the best Thanksgiving Day meals in the theme parks.

The kids' meal is just a smaller version of the Thanksgiving menu but this was actually really small portions compared to the usual kids' meals at Blue Bayou.

Thanksgiving dessert was pumpkin pie creme brûlée which is a different take on a Thanksgiving classic. Overall, our experience at the Blue Bayou on Thanksgiving was great due to the ambiance and nostalgia of our favorite restaurant but the options at other Disneyland options offer a bit more flexibility for diners that need modifications and bigger portions.

Top Five Tips to Enjoying Thanksgiving at Disneyland

Showing up at the parks prepared and knowing what to expect is the best way to ensure a successful Thanksgiving at Disneyland. Here are our top five tips to make sure you have the most magical Thanksgiving at Disneyland ever.

1. Make Your Disneyland Thanksgiving Dining Reservations

It's still crucial that you book a dining reservation in advance for Disneyland Thanksgiving to ensure a low-stress meal without having to worry about long waits for a table.

You can make your reservation up to 60 days in advance. If you decide you need to cancel, all you have to do is cancel within 2 hours to avoid being charged the $10 per person penalty fee. You can book dining reservations from the Disney Dining website or call (714) 781-DINE.

Some great options to consider for a hearty Thanksgiving meal are:

• Blue Bayou Restaurant
• Cafe Orleans
• Carnation Cafe
• River Belle Terrace
• Carthay Circle Restaurant
• Flo's V-8 Cafe
• Wine Country Trattoria
• Lamplight Lounge

All of these restaurants tend to be popular year round so making a dining reservation is a wise decision! You can read all about our favorite Disneyland restaurants in our Disneyland best dining guide.

2. Show Up Early and Stay Late for Thanksgiving Day

We cannot stress this enough when you're visiting the parks at a busy time of the year. Thanksgiving, like any other holiday, is a day you can expect large crowds. Who doesn't want to spend a holiday at Disneyland?

The best way to maximize your time is to arrive early. Make a plan to get up early, eat breakfast before you come, and arrive at the park gates an hour prior to the official park opening.

Typically, they will begin letting people in the parks 15-30 minutes to the official opening which puts you in a great position to line up for Rope Drop. Before the official opening, the entrances to the lands are guarded with ropes and cast members. Being there early enough to make Rope Drop is a great way to be able to walk right on some of your favorite attractions. Don't miss it!

But even better than arriving early? Stay late! This past Thanksgiving we stayed until the park closed at midnight and after the fireworks the parks cleared out leaving many rides with minimal waits after a pretty busy day. This is the best way to handle Thanksgiving at Disneyland.

3. Use A Touring Strategy/Plan Your Day

Using a touring strategy is the best way to maximize your time. It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of what's going on that you have a hard time deciding which ride to choose next. Those few moments of indecision and group discussion tend to take up valuable morning time when the lines are short. Consider using one of our touring plans to help you maximize your time.

• Disneyland Morning Strategy
• California Adventure Strategy

Both of our strategies offer options for adults/big kids and little kids.

If doing a touring plan isn't your thing, at least make sure you have a general idea of which rides are your top priority so you can go to those first thing in the morning or ride after the fireworks at night!

4. Download the Disneyland App

Download the Disneyland app before your trip so you're familiar with how to access the ride times and use mobile ordering. This app is used for many things at Disneyland and you'll thank yourself for being familiar with it before our trip! Be sure to check out the Lightning Lane Multi Pass ystem.

Using mobile ordering is a great way to handle crowds at Disneyland so you can avoid long lines for food so it's a feature you should utilize on Thanksgiving. Plus you can also opt to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass which will allow you to reserve your spot in line for popular attractions.

5. Be Patient and Thankful – It's Thanksgiving in Disneyland!

And most of all, remember that it is Thanksgiving! Practice gratitude and patience in your day and you'll be bound to have a pleasant experience.

Be thankful for your family, friends, or whoever else you are spending this wonderful experience of Thanksgiving at Disneyland with. Be thankful that you are spending this day of gratitude and thanks at the Happiest Place on Earth.

A crowded day at Disneyland only becomes stressful when you let it- don't let any crowds ruin your magical day. But be prepared, Thanksgiving at Disneyland will be very, very crowded from the moment you arrive. Many assume that Disneyland is empty on Thanksgiving but that is not the case, it's one of the busiest days of the holiday season. If you arrive knowing this and are prepared to take your time and be patient- you will do just fine. Take our advice, show up prepared, and be ready to give thanks.

FAQs Disneyland Thanksgiving

Plan Your Disneyland Thanksgiving Trip!

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1. Best Times to Visit Disneyland
2. Best Disneyland Souvenirs
3. Disneyland Restaurant Reviews and Tips
4. Booking Disneyland Packages