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Since we will be at the fort for thanksgiving, I was wondering what people normally do for lunch/dinner that day. My sister made reservations for our families to have a traditional thanksgiving dinner at one of the restaurants on property (don't recall what one) but the meals are close to $60 per person regardless of age if I remember correctly. That would be $240 for the 4 of us (me, wife, 4 year old, and 2 year old). Seems a little steep for turkey and the traditional sides.

 

What have others done for thanksgiving day when staying at the fort?

 

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One year we were traveling on Thanksgiving so I cooked ahead some mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and vegs, roasted up turkey parts (easier to reheat than whole), and we heated it all up on/in the camper stove in a Walmart parking lot.  That would have worked at the Fort too, and we wouldn't have had to eat on the bed.  LOL

 

A few years ago we had a fantastic gathering/potluck at the Fort with Fiends - roasted turkey and allllll the fixins' and then some (OH so good!)

 

This past Thanksgiving we wandered over to MK around 4pm and had ourselves a feast in Liberty Square for about $25. 

 

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We have spent quite a few Thanksgivings at the Fort.  I have always cooked my own dinner that day....full on turkey dinner.  I did the turkeys in a Big Easy infrared fryer...not much mess to clean up, and so tasty.  Lots of folks use those big electric roasters that they sell at Walmart.  For the sides and desserts, we would prepare what we could ahead of time at home and freeze...except those items that don't take well to freezing, I would make fresh that day.  While things are cooking, my favorite activity is walking around the loops checking out what others are cooking, and taking in all the wonderful smells.  

 

Then we'd have our Thanksgiving dinner outside at the picnic table.  Of course, any Fiends that have visited my site at the Fort know that I travel with a chandelier....so it's always a classy affair at my site.  LOL.  But the weather is usually very nice at that time, and we've had some great dinners at the Fort.

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Most of the restaurants also have specials for thanksgiving. I know I tried to order something last year at Whispering Canyon a day or two before and the waitress was like it's not thanksgiving. Hmmmm maybe don't give that menu out til thanksgiving day then lady. I was so disappointed! She was totally unaffected though.

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Sorry to interrupt the squirrel had photos, but here's an excerpt from my Thanksgiving 2014 TR showing the spread enjoyed by the TCD gang at the Fort last Thanksgiving:

 

 

 


Finally, I have an update.
 
We left off looking at that beautiful turkey which I had just set on the cutting board.
 
While the turkey was cooking, we had prepared our side items and had those warming in this triple crock pot thing we got for tailgating:
 
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It was time to carve the turkey.  I've never done that before either.  But, it wasn't hard.  Please note my Fort Wilderness shirt and my jorts (Go Gata).  I was supposed to have time to change before we ate, but the turkey got done sooner than planned, an we moved everything up.  So no wardrobe change for me.  I got to eat my turkey in jorts:
 
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Here's the spread before we dove in.  Those pans in front had broccoli au gratin and sweet potato soufflé that we got from Publix.  We just had to heat those.  Then we had mashed potatoes which Mrs. TCD had made at home and brought with her.  in that triple crock pot, we had green beans, corn and gravy from Publix (in case my gravy failed).  The other crock pot had mac and cheese in it (that was the back up plan in case the turkey failed),  that blue pot has some stove top stuffing (next time I'm going to stuff the bird),  and we also had rolls and cranberry sauce.  I think that's everything:
 
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Mrs. TCD and the girls had set the table.  I set that turkey leg on there before I took the photo and messed up the aesthetics.  Sorry:
 
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Mrs. TCD is a pre-school teacher, so we always have things like this around:
 
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Isn't that cute how Rocky wanted to be in the picture?
 
Wait, it was a trick, he really wanted to get at my plate:
 
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That dirty dog got my mashed potatoes:
 
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Our first Thanksgiving feast at the Fort was a huge success.  We were all stuffed.

 

 

You can read the whole trip report here: http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/14324-tcd-is-thankful-for-thanksgiving-the-fort-2014/page-1

 

 

TCD

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Back on topic, we have been at the Fort for Thanksgiving 3 times.  We have made the Hollywood Brown Derby our Thanksgiving tradition.  We typically got a late dinner time and then were able to go to the Osborne family lights with almost no crowds.  Our Bellies were full and the streets were empty and we got to enjoy Thanksgiving and look forward to Christmas.  Not a home cooked meal but it is one of our favorite memories.  Below is a picture we took in 2012 after eating at Brown Derby on Thanksgiving.  Notice there is no one else in the shot.

 

If you aren't resolved to a home cooked meal I highly recommend this strategy.

 

DisneyThanksgiving2011153_zpsf415a60c.jp

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Do any of the grocery stores near the fort sell thanksgiving meals that you just need to reheat? Probably way way way cheaper than eating at Disney.

 

Good idea, Beckers!

 

I did a little digging and found this...

http://www.thinknsave.com/2012/11/winn-dixie-thanksgiving-dinners.html

 

The article is dated 2012, but it looks like they edited it for 2014.

 

http://ww2.publix.com/food/entertaining/events/Thanksgiving/Home.do

 

There are both Publix and Winn Dixie stores close to the Fort.

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Back on topic, we have been at the Fort for Thanksgiving 3 times.  We have made the Hollywood Brown Derby our Thanksgiving tradition.  We typically got a late dinner time and then were able to go to the Osborne family lights with almost no crowds.  Our Bellies were full and the streets were empty and we got to enjoy Thanksgiving and look forward to Christmas.  Not a home cooked meal but it is one of our favorite memories.  Below is a picture we took in 2012 after eating at Brown Derby on Thanksgiving.  Notice there is no one else in the shot.

 

If you aren't resolved to a home cooked meal I highly recommend this strategy.

 

DisneyThanksgiving2011153_zpsf415a60c.jp

 

Great idea, and great picture.

 

Two notes on holiday ADRs at Disney restaurants...

 

Make them early!  The most popular restaurants book up super quickly.

 

Check the menu/price! The price part is a no brainer - "holiday pricing" kicks in for many Disney restaurants over Thanksgiving.  But also make sure the menu is what you're looking for.  Some restaurants offer traditional turkey dinners, some offer their regular menus and some offer "special" menus that may be something else entirely. 

 

We didn't care if we had a turkey dinner last year, so we looked at going to Sanaa on Thanksgiving.  Then we realized they had a "special" menu for the day and that the price was super high - way more than we wanted to spend for what we'd be getting. If they'd had their regular menu available, we probably would still have gone.

 

We ended up cancelling and heading to MK.

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Are you set on a traditional Thanksgiving meal or flexible. I ask as we gave up our traditional Christmas meal years ago when the girls were little. Instead they pick out a country or region and I will build up a large meal based on their cuisine choice. We've done everything from European and Asian menus to a Chicago style hot dogs, Italian Beef and Combos spread with all the fixin's. I can think of a number of these meals that would work well with camping and not require much more equipment than you would normally take. 

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