Hi All,
Has anyone any experience of Black Friday and Thanksgiving in Orlando? We have a trip planned for 9th to 24th Nov this year and have only just realised its Thanksgiving and Black Friday while we are there. I love shopping and like the idea of the sales but we also have a 3yr old and a 6month old so do not want to go anywhere too chaotic. I was thinking of maybe going to the Florida Mall on Thanksgiving instead of Black Friday but does anyone have any experience of what it may be like? I’d also like a look around the Vinelands outlet 
Cheers, Andy
Hi Andy! I don’t have exact experience with black Friday in Orlando, but wanted to comment anyway. It actually makes me a little bit sad that black Friday is a piece of American culture that others want to experience (not your fault!), but others might disagree. I personally would not suggest black Friday with young children. The mall will likely (hopefully?) be closed on Thanksgiving day and might open late in the evening, say 8pm. Each mall is different and the themes seem to shift a little each year. For example, I live in Massachusetts and it is illegal for the mall to be open on Thanksgiving, so it opens at midnight.
Many of the crazy, incredible deals would require you to be waiting in line either very late Thursday night or very early Friday morning. They also are usually on larger electronic items or toys, etc. Which are things I imagine you can’t easily transport home in your suitcase! What are you looking for sales on? There will likely be clothing sales for the entirety of your trip as stores try to start the Christmas shopping earlier and earlier. Perhaps Friday evening will be a little less crowded but still offer some sales. Otherwise the “mall floodgates” are open on Thanksgiving and they will probably be crowded for the rest of the month.
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Hi Melcort10,
I think the Florida Mall opens at 6pm and your right, big ticket items don’t interest me and if the clothing sales are likely to be similar throughout I won’t be bothering. We actually fly back at 8pm on the Friday so we certainly won’t be experiencing any late night shopping on the Friday itself.
Interestingly the Vinelands Outlet appears to be open all day on Thanksgiving day too.
Cheers, Andy
I don’t know about Orlando per say - however black Friday isn’t the malay that it once was - yes crowds are elevated. My wife and I actually have fun going out on Flack Friday but I personally wouldn’t burn a vacation day doing it.
Thanks Tigger, i’m thinking about leaving the wife and kids at the villa and just nipping out for an hour or two just to check it out 
As I wrote my response - I thought I was a bit of a hypocrite. When we travel - we certainly do the TOURIST things for sure. But we love (including the kids) like to just hang out and poke into shops etc. When in London we did Harrods and (I forget the big toy store) but just love to wander in and out of streets and shops. So if this is something you want to venture to do and see what BF is all about - have fun!!