Crowds in May

[madscrapper]

Hi,

We have been to WDW many times, but always in low crowd times (Sept, Dec, Jan). Next year we have the opportunity to make a 5 day visit sometime from the end of April thru May. I have no clue how attendance is then. I have seen a few posts that say May is nice, but does that mean ALL of May...I would think the beginning is less crowded but really don't know. Any help with this is appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeannine

 

[LoriZH]

I have never been at the beginning but I have heard from other people that the crowds are very good that time of the year. I have been the middle of May and found it great, I am going back next year at that time.

 

[anne60]

We were there 4/29 - 5/3/03. Great weather (no rain, mid-80s), not crowded at all. The only "drawback" is that the MK closed early a couple nights for Grad nights. I don't know where they were staying, we stayed at the Swan, but I imagine the All Stars may have been full with High School Seniors. We did not notice High Schoolers in the parks.

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

I have gone in the 3rd week of May since 2001. Its great! Low crowds & good weather.

Allison an associate

 

[DebbieB]

We've gone the first or second week of May the past 4 years. Crowds are low, the Flower & Garden Fesitival is on at Epcot. Weather starts to get hot - low 90's.

 

[JamesD]

While attendance is low during late April to early May, their hours are shortened, and traditionally the fireworks show and SpectroMagic can only be seen on Saturday night, which is the only night the MK stays open late. It contributes to the increased crowds in the MK on Saturdays, even to the point of sometimes not allowing entrance to the park at some point. We've also noticed more school groups on field trips in May, but you can usually avoid them without too much difficulty. The weather is usually guaranteed to be hot, but without the same possibility of summer showers.

 

[Pig Pen]

We were there May 15-23 and it was great. We usually go in Sept when there are no crowds so were afraid May would be too crowded. It was not crowded at all. We practically walked on everything or made good use of fast-pass. I made a couple last minute PS at several restaurants with no problem.

The weather was much better in May than Sept. Lower humidity, less rain.

This year we are going in January and the last week of April/first week of May.

BTW, unless it's changed since I went to grad night, the high school senior do not stay overnight at the resorts. The Magic Kingdom is open for only the high school seniors. We were bused in about 9:00 pm and left in the middle of the night or early a.m. (can't remember exact times). We didn't sleep there but that was back in 1976 and my high school was 2 hours away. Maybe they do now.

 

[anne60]

My daughter's high school senior class goes every year. They stay 4 or 5 days at the All Stars. They were there the same time as us this year.

 

[sters]

I have been in the last week of April going into the first week of May and it was great! The crowds were heavier than my earlier trips in the fall (except for two weeks ago, that was the heaviest). I"d think the crowds would be very managable at the beginning and the weather was good most days, some were really hot. I enjoyed the flower and garden dispalys at Epcot immensely. Much better than the F&W, in my opinion. At the F&W there were a lot of drunk people cutting off strollers and wheelchairs, cursing and whatnot and it was also VERY crowded after 7.

 

[blanq]

We usually visit WDW in early Dec or late Jan, but did make a trip from May 7th-14th this year. It was over Mother's Day. It was a wonderful trip, and crowds were great except for Saturday, May 10th, at MK (an absolute zoo!), and the day we did AK it was quite crowded but the wait times were not too bad. This past May was quite hot and humid, and we were told that the temps/humidity were above normal for that time of year typically. We stayed at AKL which was great, but very crowded over the Mother's Day weekend (a CM told us the resort was at capacity for the weekend), but it cleared out on Monday and was more serene.

We would love to go in May again! Next time we will shoot for the 1st week of May.

 

[madscrapper]

Wow,

Thanks everyone for your quick and, most important, encouraging responses. Now I just hope I have the same luck with my husband.
Jeannine

 

[GB]

I also enjoy travelling in the off season. I've also been early December, Mid January, and early May. Last year I went around May 10th, because I was told it was off season, low crowds and hot. Well, let me tell you it is much more crowded then early
December and Mid January, but the crowds are managable. Now just understand this is coming from an off season traveller that is spoiled with being use to walking on to the rides with no line, or at the most a 10 minute wait. It was very hot last year high 90's with 90% humitity. The lines for the popular rides - 25 minutes at most. Water parks very are very crowded on the weekends.

Gina