Hello Kelly,
Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your question. Although the parks will likely be busy, Thanksgiving is an exciting time to visit
Walt Disney World, especially with extended family. The holiday decor throughout the parks and Walt Disney World Resort hotels will help you kick off the holiday season, and you'll make some treasured family memories!
Only guests staying at
Walt Disney World Resort hotels and select other hotels are able to take advantage of
Early Theme Park Entry. Those of you staying on property could enter early and ride an attraction that you know you'll want to repeat later in the day, or possibly experience an attraction that the rest of your group may not be interested in riding. You will likely have enough time to ride a popular attraction and still be able to meet the rest of your family as they are entering the park.
Similarly, you'll only be able to make an
Individual Lightning Lane purchase at 7:00 AM for the guests who are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel. When you go to make your selection, those members of your group who are staying off property will be shown as "Not Eligible." They can purchase Individual Lightning Lanes when the park opens for the day. In most cases, that should work out; however, some popular attractions like
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance do typically run out of Individual Lightning Lanes before guests staying off property have the chance to make that selection.
I recommend adding the
My Disney Experience App to your mobile device soon if you haven't already. That way you can become familiar with Lightning Lane availability. You can check the Tip Boards at park opening to see which attractions still have an Individual Lightning Lane available for purchase. That will help you manage your expectations. You'll also be able to see standby wait times for all attractions, which will help you later when you are figuring out your daily touring plan.
If it's important that your family experiences all of the attractions together, you may be better off adding the
Disney Genie+ Service to your park day in parks like
Disney's Hollywood Studios. Yes, you'll still have to wait for quite some time to experience Rise of the Resistance, but you'll be able to make Genie+ Lightning Lane selections beginning at 7:00 AM for your entire party, so you'll end up saving time on other attractions.
Hope this helps. Enjoy planning your magical vacation!
Diane