MAY Countdown!! This is it, folks

[soaringirl]

Check-in to share your plans, your excitement and info about May.

Please see Post #15 for information about May.[/B]

Who's going:
AutismMomma..............April 30th-May 3rd at Disneyland Hotel
Casey's Mommie...........May 6-10th at HoJo's
annadette....................April 27th-May 7th at HoJo's
lozzypop......................May 10-14th at HoJo's
IPA..............................May 2-6 at HoJo's
soaringirl.....................April 30th-May 5th at HoJo's
sjwillia.........................May 5-11th at HoJo's
Davids-Coco................May 10-17th at Villas Grand Californian
loveDisneyMom............May 3-10th at Fairfield Inn Marriot
jheltz27.......................May 21st-25th at the Villas Grand Californian
icecreamforbreakfast....May 5-12th at Residence Inn Maingate
Honeybee1983.............April 30th-May 5th at Desert Inn and Suites
rizzo0904.....................May 16-19th at HoJo
dolphingirl47.................May 14-18th at Villas Grand Californian
sleepydee....................May 6-11th
HockeyMomNH..............May 12-19th at HoJo
RNMomto4....................May 9-11th
Priory...........................Arriving May 21st
Rainasunshine...............Staying at HoJo
IndayMichelle................May 3-6th at HoJo
Kittykat1978.................May 20-26th at HoJo
Karenann......................May 17th-21st at HoJo
love2go2disney2...........May 20-26th at Desert Inn & Suites
Tee it Up.......................May 20-22th at Villas Grand Californian.
happyhunt....................April 28th-May 3rd at Tropicana
sbnjlovedisney..............April 28th-May 5th at Villas Grand Californian.
tony609........................May 20-25th
Royfam.........................May 10-19th at Villas Grand Californian.
princesaurora21............May 26-28th at HoJo
VikinginMouseEars.........May 5-9th
jakoky..........................May 12-22th at HoJo
bitohoney.....................May 30th -June 6th at Disneland Hotel
JadeDarkstar.................May 27th-31st at Desert Inn
esterhead.....................May 27th-June 1st at HoJo
I'm mickey....................May 19-24th at HoJo
Disneydreamsdancer.....May 11-17th at Carousel Inn
ToodlesRN.....................May 8-14th at Villas Grand Californian
sophies*mom...............(tentatively) April 30th - May 3rd
Cameo818....................May 5-10th at Paradise Pier
coaches24....................May 28th-June 1st at Paradise Pier
JessicaKnits..................May 8-12th at Hilton
hgaus...........................May 24-27th at Villas Grand Californian
KittyKat1978.................TBD
mommamonster............May 29th-June 3rd at Fairfield Inn
izzystout.......................May 1st-4th
PrincessBelle.................May 9-11th
Colo Nana......................April 30th-May 5th
Judy fun........................May 18th-21st at Grand Californian
Cannp123165................May 11-16th at HoJo
DisneyDreamer40..........May 25-28th
MorganM.......................May 20-25th at Best Western PPI
WadesMama..................May 6-9th at Desert Inn & Suites
WeaselMama.................May 18-28th at HoJo
PigletGurl......................May 23th-June 6th at Fairfield Inn
GeneandCleo.................May 3-8th at Best Western Plus
Indygirl99.....................May 1st-8th
californiamomof4grls.....April 29th- May 2nd at Embassy Suites
sacramentomom3.........April 29th- May 3rd
Mickey527....................May 25-29th
yoyo93.........................May 18-23th at Fairfield Inn
Blakefamily........,..........May 12-19th at Worldmonk Dolphin's Cove
Mr. Pig..........................May 15-19th at Park Vue Inn
CamoMama...................May 21-23th at Fairfield Inn
scrappindad..................May 29th-June 1st at Residence Inn Maingate
Mugglemama.................May 7-11, 14-17
iridemyownmc...............May 13-16th at Park Vue Inn
PineapplePrincessCa......May 8-10th
DizFan13.......................May 18-21th at HoJo
Batch............................May 13-17th
JudyFun........................May 18-22th at GCH
Havebagwilltravel...........May 1-5th at Days Inn Maingate
OhioStateBuckeye..........May 7-10th at Super 8
isisisme.........................May 11-13th at Tropicana
sitkamom......................May 16-23th at Carousel Inn
SKShields......................May 9-12th at Park Vue Inn
Chelsea524...................April 28th-May 4th at Staybridge Suites
ksprin02........................May 12-16th at Disneyland Hotel
dwheaton......................May 5-7th at Red Lion
starshine514..................May 13-16th at Del Sol or HoJo...
MissBeth81....................May 6-11th at Park Place Inn
Misskitty3......................May 8-13th at BWPPI
willful............................May 17-22th
ArchOwl........................May 19-24th at vacation home rental
gis................................last 2 weeks of May
Mommy26.....................May 28-June 3rd
RNMomtoy.....................May 9th at Desert Palm Inn
Feathers.......................May 13th
radius...........................May 20-27th at HoJo
lyssgirl89......................May 12-18th at Fairfield Inn
Sparrow78....................May 20-26th at Paradise Pier
Khertz..........................May 14-18th at Wynham Dolphin's Cove
motherhoodandmickey..May 2-6th at Disneyland Hotel
disneylandette.............May 21-26th at Carousel Inn
niklym1........................May 30th- June 6th at Disneyland Hotel
Enigma007...................May 8-10th at Carousel Inn
pixiafurie......................May 21-26th
xXtowerOfterrorXx........May 19-23th at Courtyard by Marriot
lulugirl1968...................May 5-9th at Homewood Inn & Suites
nvmom2boys................May 1-8th

[AutismMomma]

I'll be there! I'm on the list for the April Countdown because our first day in the park is April 30, but we'll be there May 1-3 as well so the majority of our trip is in May. We're staying at the Disneyland Hotel (for the first time- yippee!) and will be celebrating our daughters 9th birthday on May 1st. It will be me (31), DH (35), DD (turning 9) and DS (5). I'm a little sad we'll be missing the Carsland opening, but my son has autism and really can't handle crowds well, so that was the reason for our trip when we planned it - after spring break, before Memorial Day, and it just worked out that the week of DD's birthday was perfect! 101 days until we leave!

[soaringirl]

Originally Posted by AutismMomma

I'll be there! I'm on the list for the April Countdown because our first day in the park is April 30, but we'll be there May 1-3 as well so the majority of our trip is in May. We're staying at the Disneyland Hotel (for the first time- yippee!) and will be celebrating our daughters 9th birthday on May 1st. It will be me (31), DH (35), DD (turning 9) and DS (5). I'm a little sad we'll be missing the Carsland opening, but my son has autism and really can't handle crowds well, so that was the reason for our trip when we planned it - after spring break, before Memorial Day, and it just worked out that the week of DD's birthday was perfect! 101 days until we leave!

Awesome!!! Your DD will be so happy to have her Bday there!
Don't be sad about Carsland, you'll have another motive to return! And let's have our fingers crossed about that 1st week of May, let the Crowd-Gods be merciful on us

[Casey's Mommie]

We'll be in the parks May 6-10!!! My 35th birthday is on the 5th, so what better way to celebrate my first few days of making it to my mid 30s than being in Disneyland!!!

Me, DH, DMIL, DD (5) and DS (will be almost 19 months in May)
We're staying at HoJo.

[annadette]

Hi everyone! We should be pulling into town on the 27th of April and staying until around the 7th of May! We are sooooo excited! It is a 30-hour drive for us to get to Disneyland, so when I found out that we were expecting this year, the trip was all but cancelled. However, once I got reservations at Hojo's at the Entertainment Rate, well, there was no way we could pass up a deal like that, and it'll be a great vacation to take while there's still only 4 of us! It'll be me and my DH, and our two princesses - DD2 and DD8 - and I'll be just over 6 months along at the time, so it will bring some new challenges, I'm sure. I've been losing sleep because I just can't wait to hit the road!!!!

[lozzypop]

Yay - May countdown thread!

We will be staying at the HoJo May 10 - 14. We aren't making it into the parks until Friday May 11 but we leave on Monday for our cruise on the Wonder!

[disneylandette]

Annadette, I am looking into using the Entertainment Rates also but how did you go about it and how much is it per night? TRYING to plan for the end of May.

[soaringirl]

I'll keep in this post all the information that I find about May. I'll keep updating , so stay tuned!

Updated 4/12

FastPass Policies
Disney is reinforcing its fastpass policies at WDW but still no news for DLR. The discussion is going strong here and in other forums, as for now, nobody knows for sure!
Anyway, the best you can do is ask a CM when you arrive, and review your FastPass ticket. You don't want to be surprised!

Refurbishments and closures
DLR
Matterhorn - closed until June 14th
Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor - Expected to reopen April 15th
Candy Palace - Expected to reopen April 15th
Penny Arcade -Expected to reopen April 15th
Carnation Cafe - Expected to reopen June 2nd
Enchanted Tikki Room - closed 05/07/12 -05/10/12
Indiana Jones Adventure - closed May 1st - 2nd
New Orleans Square Train Station – roof repair April 16 – May 4, however, the station will remain open.
Plaza Gardens – will close April 30th until winter 2013 for the construction of Fantasy Faire.
Blue Ribbon Bakery – closed. The space will be converted to an indoor seating area for the Carnation Cafe, expected to reopen July 14.
Blue Bayou Restaurant - May 2nd

DCA
Goofy's Sky School - closed May 7th - 17th
Baker's Field Bakery and surrounding stores will reopen on 05/30/12
Cove Bar - closed 04/09/12 - 05/30/12
Ariel's Grotto - closed 04/30/12 -05/03/12
Hyperion Theater – The exterior stairs will be repainted April 16 – May 11.
Little Mermaid - May 1st - 3rd

These dates are estimates only, for more information: here on the DIS.
Or go to the Disney park hours website.

Grad Nite Events
From the DIS:
"For 2012, Seniors will receive a Park-Hopper Ticket that is good for normal park operating hours, so Seniors will have plenty of time to experience both Parks. They'll even receive two special FastPass tickets!"
Once Disneyland Park closes, Grad Nite really gets going with a dance party and an exclusive showing of Fantasmic!
Dates:
May 10,11, 16-18, 23-25, 30, 31th.
More information here on the DIS.

Park Hours
They're here!!! And almost complete! Check Disney's Park hours website.

Conventions, Discounts and Others
Check this link to see the calendar of conventions in Anaheim.
The AIDS Walk will be held on May 6th, thanks IPA for the info!
Celebrating 100 Years of Girl Scouting at Disneyland Resort – May 26 and 27
For discounts in the Anaheim area, check this page.
For Ticket information (Hopper Promotion tickets) see here.
For Weather information see Hidroguy's post here.


Please keep in mind that these information is subject to change, you need to review the Disney website for accurate information.

[IPA]

Great summary, thanks. I read that the AIDS Walk is early morning on May 6.

[jheltz27]

We're arriving May 21st for 4 nights at the Grand Californian. 1st DL trip as a family & 1st stay as DVC members. Our 3 & 7 yr olds are very excited.

[soaringirl]

Originally Posted by IPA

Great summary, thanks. I read that the AIDS Walk is early morning on May 6.

thanks! I added the walk to the May Information Post.

Originally Posted by jheltz27

We're arriving May 21st for 4 nights at the Grand Californian. 1st DL trip as a family & 1st stay as DVC members. Our 3 & 7 yr olds are very excited.

Oooh so envious! The Grand was also our first hotel in our 1st family trip, we loved it so much! . Welcome aboard!

[jheltz27]

Originally Posted by soaringirl

thanks! I added the walk to the May Information Post.


Oooh so envious! The Grand was also our first hotel in our 1st family trip, we loved it so much! . Welcome aboard!

Thanks. This stay started out as a side trip after a family wedding in San Jose. We figured if we're gonna spend that much on a flight from New Orleans we might as well stay for a bit. Morphed into us buying into the DVC after years of thinking about it. So in the end it's cost us quite a bit. But I have a feeling it's going to be worth every penny. We usually go to WDW every 1.5 to 2 years so we're looking forward to the "new" parks at DLR.

[LoveDisneyMom]

Thanks for adding all the info Soaringirl! That will be so helpful- I will be sure to let you know if I hear of anything! I keep hearing talk of Carsland opening in May- I wonder if it will end up opening by the beginning? Part of me thinks that would be awesome, but the other part thinks- ugh the crowds will be awful I can imagine then...

[icecreamforbreakfast]

We will be going May 5th to 12th and staying at the Residence Inn Anaheim Maingate. I can't wait!!!!

[soaringirl]

Originally Posted by LoveDisneyMom

Thanks for adding all the info Soaringirl! That will be so helpful- I will be sure to let you know if I hear of anything! I keep hearing talk of Carsland opening in May- I wonder if it will end up opening by the beginning? Part of me thinks that would be awesome, but the other part thinks- ugh the crowds will be awful I can imagine then...

From what I've been reading, it won't happen in May. Here's a link that Hidroguy posted where it's rumored that Carsland will open in June:
New Al Lutz: CL and BVS to Open in June, LMAUA Updates, Mad T Party.
So don't worry about the crowds! We'll have the parks to ourselves!

Originally Posted by icecreamforbreakfast

We will be going May 5th to 12th and staying at the Residence Inn Anaheim Maingate. I can't wait!!!!

Welcome!! I just added your dates to the list