on Thursday. Will they still be good on Saturday?

Probably, I just wouldn't frost them till the day of.

They will still be edible but they might be hard and dry by then.

yes. i'd make them, don't icing them, throw them in the fridge and icing them saturday. depending on how you decorate them, the icing can melt your decorations

ETA put foil or plasic wrap over them to keep the air out too

i made a crushed candy cane topping, put it on the icing at 9am, by 3pm it was all melted, eww lol. some decorations you have to do last minute

Will they still be soft and good? I don't want to serve gross cupcakes.

Yes, bake and put them in a plastic Baggie in the fridge. But us wait til the day of to frost them

Quoting Jude the Super Kinkster:" Will they still be soft and good? I don't want to serve gross cupcakes."

covered in the fridge, they will be fine

you can freeze them and they'll be fine if you defrost them on friday and frost them saturday.