For those just back...

[dizagain]

How was the first week of May - weather and crowd wise? I've got a year to go now, and I'm wondering... Also, if anyone used a discount for a moderate, what was your rate? THANKS!!!

 

[zoeyandmakennasmom]

We just got back and crowds were not bad except for early entry day for the Magic Kingdom. The weather started out really nice but became very hot the last couple of days. I think the longest line we ran into was about 1 hour, but that was for splash mountain. My DD 7 had said she was not interested in riding it but as soon as she saw it she had to ride it. The wait time posted was 30 minutes and it took over an hour. We already had fast passes for another ride so we just waited it out in the standby line. I would have definatly scheduled it earlier in the day had I known she would want to do it. Most other waits were no more than 15 minutes. I would also like to know about discout rates on moderates because we were not impressed with All Star Movies.

 

[shellybaxter]

We just returned on Sunday. Like the prev poster said, nice weather which turned a little warm toward the end of the week - into the high 80s. It did rain most of the day on Monday May 2nd, but not hard rain.

The lines weren't bad. I think the longest we waited for anything was Dumbo, at 1:30 in the afternoon. We were waiting for our FP time for Philharmagic and had to do something with the little one, so we waited for Dumbo. We got the elusive "Pink" Dumbo as well that trip. I believe at least half of all ride vehicles should be pink. Every little girl I heard in line said, "Mommy I want the pink one"

We used fast pass a lot and rode everything we wanted at least twice. We were there 6 days in the parks, arrived before opening and left before the heat of the afternoon. Worked Great!!

Shelly

 

[Jackie824]

we also were there from May3-May 8th.The first time we were there in May. I really enjoyed this time of year. But it seems Magic Kingdom is always busy, no matter what time of year it was. The night of the parades, its a total madhouse there, so much crowds everywhere. With the other Disney parks, the lines werent bad at all. Most standby times were no longer then 40 minutes. But , the key is to get there at opening and you can ride so many more rides in a shorter period of time.
We dont stay on Disney property, so no help there. I did get a great deal at a timeshare condo call Oak Plantation for 39$ a night that week, for a 1 bedroom condo, fully equiped kitchen, pullout queen size sofa.. It was a wonderful place.Separate bedroom with Kingsize bed and walk in closet.

 

[kkricket82]

We were there from May 5-10. There we hardly any waits for anything. We walked right on Space Mountain, Splash mountain, Pirates. The longest wait we had was for Kilamanjaro Safari in AK. And we used Fast pass so we really didn’t wait at all. We went to Epcot on Sunday and the crowds were very low. It was perfect!

 

[briarbud]

We were there too. We stayed at ASMovies and it was fine for us because we were hardly in our room. We only went back for naps on the first day. It did rain some the first day but not hard. DH didn't even use a poncho. Our longest wait was that day at the Great Movie Ride at MGM just after 11. It was over half an hour.

We were always there at opening and did the slow-loading or popular rides first. We used fastpasses when needed especially for Splash and Big Thunder in the afternoon at MK. We only went to EE on Thursday for MK (did the slow-loading rides that morning: Dumbo, teacups, carousel, and speedway) and Friday for AK.

If I had it to do over I would not have gone to AK that day. I bet it would have been less crowded any other day. It was great going to Epcot, MGM, and MK on non-EE days. Crowds were much less that way. We avoided MK on Tues. and went to Fantasmic that night instead after a day at Epcot. On Wed. Space Mountain was a near walk-on at lunchtime. Buzz only had a short wait.

When I go again I will go shoulder season again and not worry about EE. Going to a non-EE park at 9 during this time of year is the way to go for least amount of crowds IMO.

Mornings and evenings felt great, but afternoons were hot IMO with highs in mid to upper 80s. Once we got past the heat of the day with mister fans and ice creams breaks and air-conditioned rides then it became totally bearable again starting about 4 or 5. I wish it had rained more or were cloudy just to keep it a bit cooler!

I think you'll really enjoy this time of year. The crowds were not bad at all! A lot of rides were walk-ons or short waits.

Have fun!

 

[mansionfan]

We went over for the day on Sunday and there were NO CROWDS! It was great! Small World and Snow White are currently closed, to the disappointment of my 4 and 3 yr old boys. We still made it a very magical day! Weather was nice, not too hot yet.

 

[Timmbco]

We were there May 1-6. What a GREAT time to go! A little rain but it was nice (unless you have a Segway Tour Scheduled). We may have had just good luck but we walked on everything. We did not get up early and were glad we didn't.. there was one day when MK was a madhouse, we heard, but we missed it. Actually FanstasyLand was mobbed but we only did one ride there and got out fast.

 

[McCall]

Originally posted by dizagain
How was the first week of May - weather and crowd wise? I've got a year to go now, and I'm wondering... Also, if anyone used a discount for a moderate, what was your rate? THANKS!!!

I just returned last night, May 10th and I had arrived on FRiday at noon. The weather was as perfect as it ever gets for FLorida, lows of 64 highs of 85 BUT not very humid!!!
we did not have any rain while I was there. the crowds were not bad at all until yesterday, Monday. Then things were crowded in the MK which is where I was.
We stayed at the Swan and we particpated in the first Late magic hours test. If the other test nights go as that one did I doubt they would continue them, because almost no one knew about it I guess and the number of people actually going on the few things open was miniscule. It did stay crowded in Future world and I sawy many, many, many people without wrist bands on rides after 7 when FW normally closes and before Illuminations.
After Illuminations the park emptied out to the remaining few with wrist bands. At that point there would be empty rides or two or three people on them at a time. ALSO while it did state that only Malestrom and the River of time ride in Mexico would be open it was not clear that the rest of the WS would be roped off and closed so you could not go to the other pavillions till Midnight nor even stroll all the way around the lagoon. That was a disappointment.

 

[Iheoma]

Hi,

I thought the crowds were very reasonable. We got to the parks about thirty mins after they opened (except AK where we got there before opening) and the waits were no longer than twenty mins. We did use FastPass alot to avoid waiting in line with dd. The weather was perfect- it rained a bit on 5/3 (our arrival day) but the rest of the week was totally dry. Tues, Wed and Thurs had low humidity and cloudless skies. I would definately go again in early May.

Iheoma

 

[bcarson]

I was there May 4- 7 and would definately go again in early May. I hope this week is just as nice. They were calling for rain. I could not believe how little the waits for lines really were at an off time of year. As a child my dad was a teacher and we had to go in July! Never would I do that now. Looking forward to see what fall might be like.

 

[dizagain]

Thanks everyone! We were there last May 5-10 and it sounds like things were the same crowd wise this year and BETTER weather wise!

Still wondering....can anyone share a moderate rate from this time period - with or without a code!! We stayed off-site last time and are really looking forward to being on-site next year! Thanks again!

 

[OLT2004]

There is a great "Post Your Resort Rate" Thread on the resort board of this site.
Gee, I wish I was smart enough to just post the link for you...
Just do a search.

 

[dizagain]

Thanks...you didn't say YOU had started that thread! I hope it stays alive and well so I can keep checking it - thanks again!

I'm looking for discount code samples as I don't have AP's! Anyone??