Heat/Crowds - Late April/May

[Focusdude]

I am looking for people who have made the trip during the last week of April/first week of May. I am trying to decide when to go (I had to cancel my upcoming October, 2005 trip due to deciding to become a SAHM) - and am planning for 2006. Because of school vacations - I want to completely stay away from February; March seems to be Spring Break time, anywhere around Easter is bad, so I am left with late April, first week of May.

Is it obnoxiously hot? My husband feels it will be, so I told him I would get some opinions from the "experts" here! I don't want to have to wait until October, 2006 to go!

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[CRBGMASTER]

I went this year April 24th through May 5th and it was wonderful. Warm enough to wear shorts but not ridiculously hot. Don't get me wrong there were times were it was hot but there was always a cool breeze blowing. It was perfect weather.

 

[slk537]

We were there from May 7-14 this past year and I would have to say that the weather was warm, but definitely not unbearable. Mid 80's each day with a nice breeze. I hate heat, so it couldn't have been that bad. We were there several years ago in October and the temps were 98+ every day. This was not the norm, but it shows that you never can tell.

The crowds weren't bad at all. I was expecting awful waits with May 5th being the kickoff of the 50th anniversary but we were pleasantly surprised. May is really nice. Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, beautiful weather, low crowds...I hope you enjoy!

 

[MJTinNH]

I was in WDW April 24-30 2005. The weather this week was fantastic. High 70's to Low 80's with little humidity. Breezy every day. I do not now if this is typical for end of April.

Usually I go mid-May every year and it is mid-80's to 90's and higher humidity. My usual plan is to be active until about noon and then retreat back to the resort for pool or nap time. Then back out in the evenings. I also reserve afternoons for resort hopping in the AC busses.

 

[Focusdude]

Thanks for the opinions - it will be a big help in planning!

 

[Magalex]

We(DH, Myself and 4 1/2 yr old DS) were there 4/22-4/30. I am sooo glad we had a chance to visit in April. It was a great trip. We are morning risers so we were at the parks at opening time. Alot of women had capris on and guests had spring jackets. April 24th during the Spectromagic parade at MK it was chilly. Everyone had jeans and sweatshirts on. Adults were buying coffee to keep warm. Tuesday 4/26 it was a raining day and it stormed at night that Fantasmic was cancelled. The rest of the week it was pure sun. Thursday and Friday it did get kind of hot in the afternoon. But it seemed like a typical summer day in the north. If your children are preschoolers be at MK at opening time and head straight for Fantasyland. That tip from these boards helped alot with crowd levels.

Have Fun! October is great too
Magalex
POP 4/22-4/30 AWESOME TRIP

 

[jwfla422]

We were there the first week of May this year (4-30 thru 5-7-05) and had a great time. Although it was the week the "Celebration" started and there were a lot of press events and early park closings we still found the remaining parks to be quite bearable as far as crowds went. We were also able to get into a lot of restaurants at the last minute with out PS.

The weather was still comfortable, humidity was down. This was actually the last week before the humidity level really increased (which is unusual, it is usually get pretty humid by this time).

I think this is a very enjoyable time of year to go, crowds are low, heat is not too bad yet. We went in early June last year, would never do that again, definitely too hot (sun is the strongest this time of year) and it was very crowded. Would definitely go back again the early part of May.

 

[mommyrom]

We returned home from a glorious trip May 2-11 last month and we will definitely travel to WDW in May again. We were also there late May, 2003 and had a great time then too, only 6 days then was not enough! Anyway, we found the weather this past May to be enjoyable, although a bit hot at times. Evenso, we survived the humidity just fine and always were able to find reprieve somewhere to cool us all off! Despite the big celebration beginning during our stay, we did not experience horrendous crowds. My feeling is that if you plan your daily treks somewhat, you can easily avoid some of the craziness of the crowds that may be there during a visit. We could not believe the number of people who would wait almost an hour in a ride line and not bother with Fastpass instead! Fastpass is awesome, as long as you plan your day out somewhat. It saved us a ton of waiting, although with three kiddos 6 and under, I guess we did our homework before heading into the parks and maintained an open mind if something didn't work out for us throughout our visits to the parks! Next time (hopefully late 2006), we are going to try a December trip instead and see how that works out. It will be our 10th anniversary on Christmas Eve, 2006 and would LOVE to be at WDW to celebrate! Good luck to you!

 

[gizfish]

I'm from New York. We went April 27-May 4. It was hot. The first couple of days were pretty okay, but coming from NY where it was still winter, WDW was hot. The later part of the vacation was hot and humid. We love WDW, but have vowed to never go at that time again. If you are not at all used to hot, and those of us up north usually aren't by that time of the year, WDW can be hot. Did I mention it was hot, lol. I don't know if the crowd levels this year would be reliable for another year because of the split spring recess most schools in NY, NJ and other areas around here had. It was more crowded than it "should" have been, but not unbearable.

 

[MOMOFMNM]

I'm from New York. We went April 27-May 4. It was hot. The first couple of days were pretty okay, but coming from NY where it was still winter, WDW was hot. The later part of the vacation was hot and humid. We love WDW, but have vowed to never go at that time again. If you are not at all used to hot, and those of us up north usually aren't by that time of the year, WDW can be hot. Did I mention it was hot, lol. I don't know if the crowd levels this year would be reliable for another year because of the split spring recess most schools in NY, NJ and other areas around here had. It was more crowded than it "should" have been, but not unbearable.

that really made me LOL for some reason...I think the "it was hot" was very entertaining...coming from an Iowan anyway, I can relate

 

[WaltD4Me]

I was there this year for the week of May 9th. I thought it was wonderful both crowd and weather wise. It did get pretty warm, upper 80's everyday, but lots of sunshine and there was little if any humidity and believe me I HATE heat and humidity, would NEVER go in the summer, and I had no problem this trip.

As for crowds our longest wait was 20-25 minutes for Kali River Rapids, other than that we walked on to alot of rides or waited about 10 minutes. For example, we literally walked on: Pooh, Philharmagic, Magic Carpets, Tea Cups and BTMRR! We never needed to get a Fast Pass even once.

I also LOVED the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot.

Early May is my new favorite time to go!

 

[Focusdude]

I'm from MA - so we are not really used to hot - except for the last five days when it has been over 90!!

Maybe I'll rethink my days! Thanks!