RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — With a record-breaking Thanksgiving travel period expected, some passengers this weekend were hoping to beat the worst of the crowds by flying to their holiday destination early. "I Googled, best days to travel and it was like the Sunday before and the Friday after, so we're leaving now and coming back the day after Thanksgiving," said Debbie Willmschen. Workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport go on strike for Thanksgiving week Willmschen and her husband are spending Thanksgiving at Walt Disney World. "We have a tradition that we kind of do something with each other. We have absolved our children of all guilt, and they get to do things with their partners and their families, and we do something together," she said. Others are coming to North Carolina for the holiday. "I’m meeting my partner’s family in Elizabeth City, they’ve come to LA, but I’ve never come to North Carolina, this is my first time here," said Jon Ibarra. Ibarra arrived Sunday evening from Los Angeles. "Not too bad, I’ve seen it much worse, but it was fairly organized and we got through pretty quickly," he said about traveling. Like Willmschen, he says they specifically booked their trip to avoid the worst of the crowds. The TSA is expecting a record-breaking, 18.3 million people to fly through U.S. airports from Tuesday through next Monday, which would be a 6 percent increase over last year. RDU is expecting a similar Thanksgiving travel season as last year when more than 400,000 flew in and out of the Triangle.