Can you tell me about the Parks in May

[disneymama83]

Hi Everyone!

We were originally going to try and go in September, but that didn't work out. We are now thinking of May. Can anyone tell me from past experiences what crowds and weather were like and if May is a good time to go. I thought it might be good since it is after Spring break and just before Summer break. We'll be traveling with DS7, DS4 and our youngest DS will be turning 1.

Thanks kindly for your input

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

We've done May twice (both time overlapped with Mother's Day) and it was great. Be prepared for shorter hours (except Fri-Sat) and only F! and fireworks on the nights with long hours. Weather was great, sun and high of 75 both trips... I think you'll love it! This May will be right before Little Mermaid opens... so you will probably miss that (unless they magically get it done early.) But, in our experience most everything is open then, very few refurbs.

 

[disneymama83]

We've done May twice (both time overlapped with Mother's Day) and it was great. Be prepared for shorter hours (except Fri-Sat) and only F! and fireworks on the nights with long hours. Weather was great, sun and high of 75 both trips... I think you'll love it! This May will be right before Little Mermaid opens... so you will probably miss that (unless they magically get it done early.) But, in our experience most everything is open then, very few refurbs.

Sounds great! I don't think my boys will mind missing Little Mermaid. The weather sounds great. Shorter park hours will be fine especially since we are traveling with younger children.

Thanks a bunch for your input!!!!!

 

[skiingfast]

It's another great off season time to go. As said project will still be being worked on as they get ready to open them for summer.

 

[briggscreek]

We went this May and it was great, perfect weather, and the crowds weren't bad. Fireworks and night time shows were only on the weekend though. The only things I remember that were closed were Splash at DL and the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at DCA.

 

[jocotter]

Agree with all above and the only thing to add is that when we went in May, we would run into some graduating seniors on Fridays. I'm not sure if they were on group graduation trips or what, but they cut lines, etc. They were a bit annoying, but was only on Fridays.

 

[disneymama83]

Thanks a bunch for all the responses! Very helpful information. We want to avoid crowds and heat/rain so I think we are leaning more towards going in May.

 

[disneymama83]

Agree with all above and the only thing to add is that when we went in May, we would run into some graduating seniors on Fridays. I'm not sure if they were on group graduation trips or what, but they cut lines, etc. They were a bit annoying, but was only on Fridays.

Cutting lines - oh that would annoy me, but hopefully we won't run into any of that.

 

[dizneedoll]

We always go mid to late May for my DS's Birthday. Crowds are moderate. We get there for rope drop and are able to get a lot done in the first hour or two before it starts to get busier. I don't think we've ever waited longer than 30 min for anything during a May visit. If you plan well, get the headliners and/or Fantasyland stuff done early, you should be good. Little Mermaid ride is slated to open sometime in May so it could be open or in soft openings especially if you go towards the latter part of the month. That's just a guess though. May is great, weather is warm but not gross hot (usually) and evenings are mild.

 

[marciemouse]

Our first ever trip to DL was in late May this year. We only went into the park the Friday before Memorial Day. The weather was nice, not too hot and not too cool. However, it was the opening day of Fantasmic and Magical, which we didn't know until the day before our trip. LA schools were also released early that day, so it got VERY crowded in the late afternoon and into the evening. But we did rope drop and got in pretty much all we wanted to do. It was a good enough experience that we went back in July and are now buying annual passes this weekend!

If I could do another May trip, I'd make it a little earlier in the month, since we, too have a little one and don't care about the way late hours.

 

[Shimmer]

We went this year over the first week of May and it was wonderful. I would say crowds were light-moderate with a Sunday being the busiest. We had low wait times for most rides.

Quite a few rides were closed and the hours were shorter. But, when you are with young children, those long days are hard to do anyway and my young ones didn't mind (or even know) what they were missing.

Our weather was perfect. We spent lots of hours at Hojo's water play area just enjoying the sun and water.

We will definitely go this time of year again!

 

[Nermel9]

I don't want to start a separate thread, but is late May a good time to go, specifically, Memorial Day weekend? Or is it REALLY crowded?

 

[HydroGuy]

I don't want to start a separate thread, but is late May a good time to go, specifically, Memorial Day weekend? Or is it REALLY crowded?

It seems to be moderately crowded but depends on AP blockouts and when anything new opens. For instance, if they open the new Little Mermaid ride in 2011 right before Memorial Day expect crowds to be heavier. Especially on non-blockout days. Rumors are also that the refurbed Star Tours will open in May.

If they get Carsland open in May 2012 then DCA will be really crowded in May.

See "Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

 

[disneymama83]

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983[/URL]

Thanks for posting this link

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

We went in May (Monday and Tuesday after Mother's Day) and it was perfect! Very low crowds and great weather. The longest we had to wait was 30 minutes, and that was during the Magic Morning hours.

 

[kuusimo]

Another thing to be aware of is they start Grad Nights in May, so they will close the park early in order to accommodate the high schools.

There are also a lot of Jr. High and High Schools that go during that time. Last year we went the third week in May and it was CROWDED with teenagers!

We went during Memorial Day weekend 5 years ago and it was not too bad, but it was hot. (I am from Arizona too, so I was hoping for cooler weather.)

 

[alvernon90]

We went in mid May 2009, which was a slightly unusual time -- the birthday promotion was pushing people into getting APs and the park had not yet begun to adjust to the crowds.

That said, we found the parks to be shockingly crowded given that most schools had not yet let out. Just before our trip DLR extended the closing hours for the parks but it did not help much, because they were not really operating at the level they needed. It wasn't like summertime where the crowds also bring extra entertainment, added ride capacity, and so forth. It was like they were ready for slow days and tacked on an hour at the end of the day without doing anything else.

That led to weird situations waiting in line longer to buy a bottle of water than to ride POTC, and longer lines in the morning than in the afternoons. It was often very difficult to find a place to sit down and eat a meal. Heck, we waited almost an hour at the ticket booths because so few of them were open.

After that experience, I have come to believe that summer days where the crowds are even bigger might be better than May because at least the parks are ready to handle the crowds. Things may have changed since 2009, though, so YMMV.

 

[disneymama83]

We went in May (Monday and Tuesday after Mother's Day) and it was perfect! Very low crowds and great weather. The longest we had to wait was 30 minutes, and that was during the Magic Morning hours.

We were thinking of going the Mon-Fri following Mother's Day. From your experience it sounds like it is a great time to go! Oh, I am getting soooooo excited!!!!

 

[disneymama83]

Another thing to be aware of is they start Grad Nights in May, so they will close the park early in order to accommodate the high schools.

There are also a lot of Jr. High and High Schools that go during that time. Last year we went the third week in May and it was CROWDED with teenagers!

We went during Memorial Day weekend 5 years ago and it was not too bad, but it was hot. (I am from Arizona too, so I was hoping for cooler weather.)

Hopefully we won't run into the Grad Night crowds since we will be going in early May.

 

[disneymama83]

We went in mid May 2009, which was a slightly unusual time -- the birthday promotion was pushing people into getting APs and the park had not yet begun to adjust to the crowds.

That said, we found the parks to be shockingly crowded given that most schools had not yet let out. Just before our trip DLR extended the closing hours for the parks but it did not help much, because they were not really operating at the level they needed. It wasn't like summertime where the crowds also bring extra entertainment, added ride capacity, and so forth. It was like they were ready for slow days and tacked on an hour at the end of the day without doing anything else.

That led to weird situations waiting in line longer to buy a bottle of water than to ride POTC, and longer lines in the morning than in the afternoons. It was often very difficult to find a place to sit down and eat a meal. Heck, we waited almost an hour at the ticket booths because so few of them were open.

After that experience, I have come to believe that summer days where the crowds are even bigger might be better than May because at least the parks are ready to handle the crowds. Things may have changed since 2009, though, so YMMV.

Maybe alot of the crowds were indeed due to the Birthday promotion. I know that this May they are opening some new attractions which might draw in the crowds, but I guess we will have to wait and see. No matter what we will have fun!

Thanks