Help picking a 2026 time for annual mother/daughter trip

[WWhitehead]

Hi everyone. You guys always give the best advice. Now that my daughter is working full-time and not a college student, we were looking at a Wednesday-Sunday trip for our annual mother/daughter trip. Last year, we went at the beginning of May and liked the weather and the garden festival. We were looking at April 29-May 3, but now I see that May 2 & 3 is Dapper Dans weekend. Between cheer competitions and spring breaks, I am struggling to find a Wednesday-Sunday with predicted lower crowds (know there are no guarantees). Anybody have a suggestion for a good time to go in April or May? We used to go in late June or early July, but we much prefer the spring. We could also go in the fall of 2026, but my daugher says that is too far away. Haha. Thanks for any advice in advance!!

 

[sponica]

I would stick with those dates, our April vacation ends on May 2nd this year and it's usually a sweet spot for crowds/weather.

 

[Dave006]

Between cheer competitions and spring breaks, I am struggling to find a Wednesday-Sunday with predicted lower crowds (know there are no guarantees).

Just a couple of notes. The Dance Summit is Thursday, April 30–Sunday, May 3, 2026. The D2 Summit is Friday, May 8–Sunday, May 10, 2026. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10 for 2026.

Dave

 

[WWhitehead]

Just a couple of notes. The Dance Summit is Thursday, April 30–Sunday, May 3, 2026. The D2 Summit is Friday, May 8–Sunday, May 10, 2026. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10 for 2026.

Dave

I don't know anything about the Dance Summit. Will that vastly increase crowds? The cheer conference is the weekend before too. Ugh!!!

 

[fatmanatee]

Are there even that many people who participate in Dapper Dans weekend? Going to have a tough time finding a weekend if you're trying to find one where *nothing* is happening. Sometimes these weekends are chosen because less is happening, and the net impact is still going to be lower than going during a crazy Spring Break week.

Can't speak to what sort of impact a dance summit might have but it's probably the same deal. Worth noting that these athletic groups are going to be spending a lot of time away from the parks.

 

[sponica]

I don't know anything about the Dance Summit. Will that vastly increase crowds? The cheer conference is the weekend before too. Ugh!!!

Unless you're staying at one of their resorts, the parks impact will be minimal....maybe herds of dancers/cheerleaders at night?

 

[Genie+]

We picked April18-25 2026. Easter is April 5th so I’d pick after April 12th when possible.

The downside is generally more expensive and not likely to be ‘under average’ crowds. We find that is offset by the parks running on all cylinders that time of year. Generally the hours are longer, more showtimes, high chance of extremely pleasant weather, etc. Combined it just makes for a fantastic trip!

With coming in on Wed my advance is to take advantage of those first 2 days as best you can. Wed and Thurs is usually a slight dip in crowds, so I keep that in mind for planning.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I would anticipate based on other questions being asked in other threads that competitions take place during the day so would not have a huge impact on crowds, at least during the day.

 

[Dave006]

I don't know anything about the Dance Summit. Will that vastly increase crowds? The cheer conference is the weekend before too. Ugh!!!

Normally the Summit group has a celebration party event at one of the parks at the end of competition. This year it was a Epcot on May 4th. Also expect the earlier Cheer Championships to also have a celebration party, this year it was at AK on April 28th. Typically the party events are after park closing time but it is always best to follow park hour adjustments around those 2-3 weeks.

If you happen to stay and one of the hosting resorts you will also see, and hear them.

Dave

 

[gottalovepluto]

Stay away from the cheer hotels, they won't bother you for park crowds because they're busy cheering most of the day. Watch the park hours for early evening closing in case they're having a private event like PP said. (Cheer hotels tend to be All Stars, Coronado, but I like to look up the exact event and see if it's possible to see their hotel options to double check).

For Dapper Days just stay away from their park of the day, it will be listed on their website.