Anyone just get back?

[3princesses+aprince]

We are going the first or second week of May next year!! ( not even a whole year away now )
Just wondering what the weather and crowds were like over these past two weeks?

 

[Mkrop]

We went 4/28 through 5/4 and it was hot! High 80s low 90s, never needed our sweatshirts at night. Rbing insect repellent for the evenings.

Crowds were pretty good. With using FP and early EMH we were able to ride almost everything and other things only had a 20 min wait at times. We had one day that the crowds seems awful and that was our early morning EMH at AK, we got to ride EE twice but by noon the FPs for KS were gone with a 40 min wait. That park for us just seemed extra crowded and hot that day.

Another evening we went over to Epcot to try and ride Soarin again and see Illuminations but the FPs were gone and there was a 60 min wait for that ride and 125 min for Test track. So we just ate and hung out in the Living Seas until it was and did Nemo and Turtle Talk again and then lined up for Illuminations.

 

[nettii]

We just returned too (May 3rd thru 7th) and yes it was very warm a few days,one day we left the parks to just go back to the resort and swim. Our last day was very cool though we all had long sleeve shirts on and were vary comfy. Never wore sweat shirts at night or jeans.
We were not bothered by bugs at all.
And the crowds were a lot heavier than I expected- we were their over a weekend, and Sat at MK was packed! 50 min waits on most rides. We did fast passes on the rides we had to do and that was great! I dont know why every one dosnt do fast passes?We didnt do EEMH at the parks and we should have.
We got to Fantasmic an hour before the show had a snack and talked about our day and had great front row seats!
Next time Ill try to plan the bulk of my trip during the week. and use a planning guide to help me choose the days. Ive never used pass porter our tour guide mikes books, but Im asking for them for Christmas!
We did do EEMH at both of the water parks and that was awsome we had the park to our selves for an hour and it didnt even get busy untill after 11:00 It was a nice time of year to go. As much planning as I did do I think I should have done more. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[moparop]

My bro went with his gf 5/8-5/12 and said the crowds were not too bad. But his gf always goes over Christmas vacation so she expects the world to be packed!

 

[kinntj]

We're going one of those weeks also next year. Our tickers are the same.
I've heard from many people that May is the best time to go weather wise. We plan on staying away from MK on the weekends, when locals come around and that's the park they tend to go to the most.

Have fun planning! I know I am!

 

[mousefanmichelle]

Hi I just got back on Sunday. We had great weather!! It was at the hottest 87 but it wasn't humid. We had 1 cool day and that was Monday. I have never been in May before so I wasn't prepared for low humidity. We usually go in mid-June when it is very hot and humid. We did MK on Tuesday (thanks to the advice on the dis) and the park was crowded but the lines were fast - 10-15 minutes at most never needed a FP for any ride. We did Typhoon Lagoon on Thursday and again a lot of people but the lines moved very quickly 5 minutes wait at most on the slides.

I would go in May again in a heartbeat. I even took my 3 kids out of school for this trip and I would do it again!

Have a great time!
Michelle

 

[mommytothreeboys]

We were there 4/29-5/5 and the weather was perfect. It was hot during the day, but cooled down nicely in the evenings. We never wore jeans or sweatshirts and swam every night at the resort pool after the parks. We did not have any problem with bugs. We didn't see one drop of rain the entire trip, which I thought was unusual, but nice! As far as crowds, we didn't wait for anything longer than 15-20 minutes. We did Soarin, Test Track, Dumbo, RocknRollercoaster and Tower of Terror first things on the days we were at the parks. We got on Splash Mountain twice in a row with no waiting. We only used FP for Everest because we had breakfast ressies at Donald's. Otherwise, the wait was only 20 minutes. I did see wait times get longer later in the day, but I thought it was a perfect week to go.

 

[Mkrop]

Wow no one else got eaten alive but me and DH!!!!! That is so funny. Even my kids were ok but DH and I got our legs bitten up our first night out, just our legs too!

So we started using the insect repellent wipes and they helped. I mean one night we went over to Epcot around 6ish to have dinner, do somethings and then watch Illuminations and since it wasnt dark yet I just brought the insect wipes with me. Well while I was waiting for DH to run and see if there were any Soarin FPs left or what the wait time was I started to get bit,the sun had not even set yet! so I qucikly whipped out my wipes, rub them on my legs and I immediately noticed the difference.

Oh well sweet blood I guess

 

[luvmy3jewels]

We were there May 2 - 10th. The first few days at the parks were HOT! But I think the weather forecasters said that it was unusually warm for early May. The last few days were very nice (except for smoke a couple of mornings). My kids' got a little cold in the evenings and we ended up buying them lightweight jackets to get them through the trip.

It seemed to me that the parks were very crowded, especially in the afternoons. However, we used fast passes at every opportunity and tried to get to the parks as early as possible in the mornings (and took mid-afternoon breaks). I used Tour Guide Mike for planning which days at which parks, and I have to admit that it was pretty accurate for predicting the crowds. The longest wait we had was for Dumbo (45 mins).

Everyone in our party agreed, that there was no way we would go back June - August to Disney. I don't think I would have enjoyed our trip as much if it had been any warmer or more crowded.

As far as bugs go, I did notice a few love bugs flying around, but as far as I am aware, our party avoided any bites.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Thanks for the replys!!! I can't wait to go next year!!! May is sounding pretty good! We've only been once before, in March, and I knew the next time we went I wanted to go when it was warmer, we went the first week of march and the weather was in the 60's. And crowds definatley sound doable!!

 

[Kies99]

We will always go around last week of April, first week of May. We've done this three times now and not really had any problems. We went this year April 25-May 2. As stated earlier, using a combination of FP's and EEH we had no long waits. Some rides at MK (Haunted Mansion and Pirates), we were able to ride a few times throughout the day and we just walked on. Temps were high though (upper 80's) and April 27 was really muggy, but other than that was great.

 

[Matt'sMom]

We just returned home from WDW over the weekend. We all had a wonderful time. May is a nice time of year to vacation in FL.

Crowds in the parks were very low during our visit (on the days we were at each park--but the entrance crowds at MK did look wild on Thursday AM, for some reason). And with only one or two exceptions, we walked right onto (or had less than a 5 minute wait) for all rides & shows. By thoughtfully planning which parks to attend on which days, and by using FP for popular rides such as Soarin' and the Safari, we were able to accomplish very nearly everything we wanted to see and do, with multiple rides on all of our favorites. The couple things we missed were due to rides/shows being temporarily shut down because of problems--if they were not a priority, we just moved on and did something else instead. Our longest wait all week was c. 10 minutes, when we decided to do the Safari using the stand-by line one afternoon (we had never done stand-by there before, and wanted to see the queue once). Even such popular rides as EE & TOT were walk-ons in the stand-by line, with no waiting at all, during our visit--so long as you knew what time of day to hit them. It also helps to know that the stand-by times being posted are typically a lot longer than what your actual wait will be. We walked right onto TOT when it had a 40 minute wait posted at the entrance, and the majority of rides had 10 minute waits posted when there were no lines for them at all.

Weather was mild. It did get warm on several afternoons... but nothing out of the ordinary for FL in May. No rain, except for one afternoon shower... and it was low humidity.

We didn't have any problems with bugs at all. There did seem to be more 'love bugs' present over at the MK, with a few scattered about elsewhere on property... but they were only a mild annoyance at most.

Tip for those who, like me, sometimes suffer from Polymorphic Light Eruptions (PLE)--I started taking Benadryl tablets a few days prior to our trip, and took one daily during our trip. I was told that because PLE is basically an allergy to the sun's rays, that Benadryl would help. I also used Neutrogena sun block on my arms and legs. Never had even the slightest itch or rash... which is a first for me, as my skin is typically very sensitive. If you've ever suffered from PLE, you can appreciate how much more enjoyable a WDW vacation is without that nasty, nasty rash.

 

[daisyduck123]

We just got back yesterday from 8 nights at SSR!
We go every year in early May.

During our 8 night trip...it only rained once & that was one evening for about an hour or two.

All 9 days the weather was quite warm, high 80's.

I'd packed pants & long sleeved t-shirts, which we did not wear.

On one or two evenings, after eating at character meals, my DD & I did grab some sweatshirts from the car to wear when we went into the parks for EMH.

**Each & every day, the weather forecast called for a chance of showers....but those just did not happen, THANK GOODNESS!!

 

[reginaastralis]

We went this past Saturday for the day, we live about an hour away. Anyways, the weather was great. It was really really windy for May, but other than that, it was nice.

Right now, we're in the middle of some pretty nasty wildfires, and I was scared that it was going to be really really smokey, but there wasn't any smoke in sight. It really depends on which way the wind is blowing, and this time it was everywhere. It was pretty overcast on Saturday and looked like it could rain, but it didn't. The sun was hidden. I'm pasty pale, and even throug SPF 50 got a bit of a burn on my shoulders, but that's what happens when it's overcast ... I get lax on the sunscreen.

I don't know your dates, but if you're lucky enough to be in Epcot for Characters in Bloom, it was awesome. My daughter got to climb a playground rope thing with Wendy ... while Peter sat and talked with this little boy for like ten minutes. It was some of the best character interaction I've ever seen at Disney. Plus, you'll be at Epcot for the Flower and Garden Festival and it's BEAUTIFUL!

We didn't really ride any rides, just Nemo. We spent most of the day with the characters and checking out the different countries. When we went to MK after dinner, my dd finally decided to take her nap, so we were only there for about two hours. Soarin had a nasty wait at one point in the day, but Julie is to young to ride it ... and I didn't bother looking at MK since she was asleep.

About the bugs ... personally I've never been bitten while at Disney, but my mom got some nasty horsefly bites at Fort Wilderness. I think they're called Deerflies, or something ... they're really nasty bugs. She's the only one in our party that's ever been bitten by them, even in other parks in our RV. The love bugs are EVERYWHERE. They're harmless, the don't bite at all. The point of a love bugs life is to find it's mate and well, love. They get stuck together and fly around and then they die. They don't bite, and the only thing they hurt is your cars paint job. You can always bring along the insect wipes just to be safe, I'm an overpacker even on a day trip.

My only complaint was all the high school trips that were there. And I laugh when I say that since I ALWAYS went with my highschool choir. We had dinner at 1900 Park Faire, and they sat a 36 top of teenagers at the same time. They were carrying on, running and pratically knocking over people. Scared Juliette to death. I ended up holding her in line at the buffett, and "accidentally" knocking them back. I've never seen kids run around like some of the groups there were ... but hey, that's what Disney's about .... right ?!!?!

Have a good trip!

 

[alexy]

Just returned our 12th-19th and the weather was mostly in the upper 80's. We wore shorts and tanks day and night for the entire trip. (Then arrived home to a 40 degree Michigan Spring day).

This is our 3rd mid May trip and we love the weather. This trip was a little cloudier than the others, but no more than a very light sprinkle for about 15 minutes the whole week.

I would recommend to bring a light hoodie though. Disney is definately not afraid of air conditioning. I froze everytime we did something in doors!

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

We were there from 4/28 until 5/5 and the weather was HOT and crowds were high.

We usually go in september, so maybe that is why the parks felt so crowded, and I definetly prefer september weather, since rain tends to make people leave the parks .

We got there at park opening or earlier every day and even did a couple of MMH.

I.e. at rope drop we RAN to Dumbo and were on the 4th flight, so we left that ride at about 9:17, we then went to Peter Pan and had a short wait, so we rode twice and were done about 9:45 and we were at rope drop for toontown, where we were the first at Barnstormer (dd got to ride WITH Goofy), rode it again and went to the big tent and had a 40 min wait to see the princesses, so by 11 am that is all that we had done.

In september we run to Dumbo and are usually on the 2nd flight (the first doesn´t fill), do it again, then we do Peter Pan 2 or 3 times (they even let some ships go empty), the carrousel, Pooh and the teacups in that first hour, then we ride the Barnstormer (we have ridden 4 times in a row without leaving our seats) and then go to the tent, where we have had at most a 15 min wait.