Crowds mid to late May

[dnamertz]

I'm planning a possible trip to Disneyland this same week next year (or possibly the following week...as long as it's before Memorial Day). I would like to know how the crowded the park is this week (Monday May 17 thru Friday May 21) or next week (Monday May 24 thru Friday May 28). If anyone is (or was) at Disneyland this year during these days, can I please get a report on the crowds.

 

[BekkilovesMickey]

I am leaving next Tuesday and will be there through Friday - I'll let you know when I get back.

Bekki

 

[seajay]

We were there May 11-15th. Tue/Wed/Thur were great but Friday was crowded. T/W/Th we were able to walk on the Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear and Grizzly River Run - We had 5-10 minute waits on Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Pirates and Splash Mountain. We waited 25 minutes around 11:00 on Thur for Toy Story Mania and about 40 minutes when we rode again around 5:30. Friday there were a lot more people... schools bringing their bands, choirs and dance teams etc. Because it is the 'off season' the fireworks show was only on Friday evening and the Pixar Parade didn't run on Thursday which is something to think about when you are planning - and want to experience everything.

have fun,
Seajay

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

We were there May 10th, 11th, and 12th, (Mon, Tues, Wed.)

The "Magic Morning" on Tuesday was the longest we had to wait for rides- about 20 minutes.

Space Mountain was about 15 minutes, as was Splash Mountain. A lot of the rides we just walked on (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Its a Small World).

Oh, and Princess Fantasy Fair was a long wait. About an hour, I believe.


It was odd... the common areas were quite crowded. Seemed like the park was very full. Yet... very little lines for the rides!

 

[tikiroomclan]

This will be our 2nd year in a row of going prior to Memorial Day, but still in May. We can't say enough about the low crowd level (compared to the Summer months) and the comfortable temps.

In our opinion, well worth taking the kiddo's out of school for a better experience

 

[dnamertz]

It sounds like mid-May might be a good time to go. My only concern is that the Little Mermaid attraction is scheduled to open "May 2011". Hopefully they will open that Memorial Day weekend 2011 (or later). As much as I'd like to see it, I don't want to be there the week it opens...when everyone else will probably be there too.

 

[dnamertz]

Anyone else have any updates on the crowds this week (or last week)?

 

[HydroGuy]

Anyone else have any updates on the crowds this week (or last week)?

See Wait times board from today (5/25)

 

[Mister Toad]

See Wait times board from today (5/25)

I was there for a day trip the last Saturday of May 2009. It wasn't too bad from what we saw, normal Saturday, maybe even a little lighter.

 

[dnamertz]

See Wait times board from today (5/25)

Cool!!! Is it possible to see similar threads from previous days so I can see what the wait times were last week?

 

[Jperiod]

It was odd... the common areas were quite crowded. Seemed like the park was very full. Yet... very little lines for the rides!

We're here now, and YES! This is so true. The ride lines are short, but conjested everywhere! Dole Whip line was ridiculous!

This will be our 2nd year in a row of going prior to Memorial Day, but still in May. We can't say enough about the low crowd level (compared to the Summer months) and the comfortable temps.

In our opinion, well worth taking the kiddo's out of school for a better experience

Yes, def better than summer!


This is our 3rd year going the week after/before memorial day. It's good, long hours and good entertainment, but this is def the most busiest May we've seen thus far. We've been surprised.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

We were there from May 17 to 25. First 3 days (mon-wed) were pretty quiet, but it was drizzly and cold, so perhaps that kept crowd levels down. Missed thurs and fri, went again from sat thru tues. Weekends were nuts - lines weren't unmanageable - we collected fp's and used them wisely, rode FL rides early AM, attended shows and shopped in the later morning and skipped to DCA after lunch, which always feels less crowded because the walkways are so much wider. Our last 4 days it seemed not many people were riding, but they were all blocking the walkways! Stay away from the path thru adventureland past Indy - got stuck in the shuffle for about 15 minutes one day! Probably had something to do with 3 kids in tow and a double stroller - not as maneuverable as those on foot! People started parking out for the Celebrate parade about 2-3 hours beforehand - 1 hour before, you would be hard pressed to find somewhere to sit and watch. Fireworks were the same - benches were "saved" from about 6pm.
On Monday, Screamin was out of FP's by about 2pm, but most other DCA FP rides didn't even have the FP machines running - GRR was 15 mins at the most, but if you kept checking back, you'd easily find a time when the wait was only 5 mins. TSMM was ALWAYS busy - never saw it when it didn't have a 40+ minute wait.

Hope that helps a bit - if you have any other questions, just let me know - right now everything is still pretty fresh in my mind....

 

[momto2nenas]

We were there May 15-19th last week. Saturday and Sunday I was extremely ill so we only managed 2 hours the first day and 5 hours on Sunday. It was crowded but not insane. We found a curb spot on Main Street for the 3:30 parade on Saturday, walked on POTC, no wait for a table at Cafe Orleans.

Sunday morning we started on the left side of the park (New Orleans Square, Critter Country, etc) and did every ride within 2 hours. Splash twice, Indy, POTC, BTMRR several times, it was great.

Mon, Tue, Wed. like a previous poster stated was kinda drizzly and cold. Our Magic Morning was a huge disappointment. The lines were crazy and several were down for rain (Teacups, Alice) and a few others weren't open for unknown reasons.

California Adventure was awesome the entire trip. GRR did get a bit of a line but they opened up both sides and that took care of that. We never waited for TOT and we rode it more than 5 times. Soarin' we rode first thing and then collected FPs.

We've also been May 7-9th and the crowds were similar but the weather nicer (as in 90s!).

 

[mystic_path]

See Wait times board from today (5/25)

Those are typical wait times for this time of year. I am not shocked at all. I go this time every year and those are the kinds of lines I deal with. Glad to know I wont be shocked in 2 days when I get there.