How are crowds Mid/late May?

[LiLPrincess]

I'm just back last week from a wonderful week in WDW and already thinking ahead to our next trip.

As wonderful as it was, I have to admit it was hot and crowded. We decided our next trip will not be in summer.

Here's the problem....by the time we can afford to go back, the kids will be in their first year of college. I checked the websites of the schools the kids are looking at to get an idea of their calendar. First semester ends just before Christmas, I was hoping for earlier in the month so we could go in December. They go back just after New Years, so January won't work either.

Second semester ends mid-May. Around the 15th. How are crowds and weather around that time?

 

[chyam]

The crowds should still be manageable at that time of the year, they usually start to pick up around Memorial Day. The weather is USUALLy pretty nice still (it was this year) the later in the month the more hot and humid it gets. Also the Flower and Garden Festival is in full swing during that time so the weekends become a little more crowded with locals at EPCOT. I think May is one of the best times to visit WDW

keiki,binky&mouse my 3 beautiful white kitties!

 

[kkmauch]

We were in a similar situation this past May. We had to leave (because of finals) on the 21st. The crowds were, for the most part, easy to navigate. It was more crowded than during the very early part of May, but not too bad. We did make use of the fast pass and found that Magic Kingdom and Epcot were the most crowded, but we still were able to see and do everything on our list. The best time to go in May is either the week before or the week immediately following Mother's Day, in my opinion. We were able to walk on to rides like Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Rockin' Roller Coaster.

 

[katybugsmom]

Hello! Just got back from WDW in May (27-29). Crowds were mangageable. Florida had a heat wave though and the temps reached 95-96 each day we were there. Fast Pass helped a lot. I think you will be fine if you try to go back between May 1-15.

 

[DCSingle]

I have been many times during the various weeks of May. Of course crowds and weather vary from year to year, but it's my experience that it gets more crowded, hot and humid each week in May. If you get typical crowds and weather, in mid-May I'd say you can expect moderate crowds, temps in the upper '80s and some rain about every second or third day (but not the daily thunderstorms common later in the summer).

When we've been at "moderate" crowd level times I've found that you do need to have a plan, get to the parks early and use fast pass wisely, but if you do this you can generally see all the attractions you want without long waits. Note that many public schools in the Southeast get out in early and mid-May and this is also a popular time to visit with pre-schoolers so you won't have the parks to yourself, but you should certainly find it less crowded/hot/humid/rainy than a June visit.

 

[tjkraz]

We were at WDW May 17-20th. Using FastPass, we never waited more than 15 minutes for anything. (Actually I take that back. I think we waited 20-25 for Astro Orbiter, but only because we had never done it before.)

Things like Test Track, Space Mountain and the Jungle Cruise had standby times approaching an hour on occasion. But with a little flexibility (namely FastPass) and some up-front planning, it's pretty easy to dodge the big crowds, IMO.

 

[LiLPrincess]

Thanks everyone. It's good to know that mid-May can be manageable.

One nice thing about June was that the parks were open late. That worked out well because the kids like to sleep in and go later. No way will I ever get them there for early entry!!!

Does anyone recall if the parks were beginning to stay open late in May?