Is avoiding school holidays important?

[mackel1994]

Hi everyone - first post here but I don't think it will be my last!

My partner and I are planning a month-long trip to the US in June next year. Nothing is booked yet, but we had DisneyWorld penciled in for the 8-14 June. I’ve just noticed school holidays start the week before those dates. Would it be worth pushing our trip forward two weeks to ensure we are there at the end of May, before school holidays starts? Will Memorial Day then become an issue in terms of crowd levels?
I have looked at crowd calendars and they rate the end of May as a 6/10 and our original June dates as a 7/10. Is that a big difference?
We are prepared for crowds regardless of when we go and are prepared to book and use Fastpasses and Extra Magic Hours strategically. Thanks for your help!​

 

[Cinderumbrella]

The earlier in June the better. Even if you just move it up one week (and avoid Memorial Day), it will make a difference. Schools let out at many different times here in the States (sstarting mid May through late June). We regularly go in early June and there’s a marked difference in crowds on 6/3 v 6/10.

 

[Klayfish]

First, I'd say don't waste your time looking at "crowd" calendars. They're misleading (intentionally IMO) and a complete waste of time. They have no accuracy value, so they really won't be any help.

Summer is actually the "slow" season for WDW. Of course "slow" is a relative term since WDW is always busy, but summer is actually a wonderful time to go. I think you'll also find crowds to be highly subjective. With all due respect, I completely disagree with PP. We're also regular summer visitors, and I would say there is absolutely no difference whatsoever between June 3 and June 10, or June 17 or June 24. So IMO, it will not change anything for you f you move it up. The only time you start to see crowds really increase is the very end of June as you're heading into July 4th weekend. The US crowd at WDW is very heavily based in the southeast and the mid-Atlantic (PA, NJ, DE, MD, etc...). Southerns schools get out at the end of May, northern schools are mid to late June. So for the northern states (we used to live there and do this) many of those families will come down for July 4th week.

I think you'll be fine with June 8th to 14th. I wouldn't move it unless you had some other reason you wanted to.

 

[holden]

I agree with what other said about crowd calendars. They are pretty worthless. It will be crowded no matter when you go. It will also be crazy hot.

Be sure to stay on site so you can book your FP+ 60 days out. It's also smart to book your dining reservations 180 days in advance. It's better to have them than wish you did. You can always cancel/change plans.

Keep reading these boards for great advice!

 

[vinotinto]

Avoid Memorial Day weekend. It will be more crowded than June. All of June should be about the same. Most schools in the South are out. If you can change your trip to early May, then that would be a little better in terms of crowds and heat.

 

[Geomom]

I think you should be fine with your current dates. Memorial Day weekend would be much worse, and there will be more (mostly unsupervised) high school kids then--I know our school has their senior trip that weekend every year...I'm sure other schools do theirs then as well. As others have said the southern states will have already been out a couple weeks by your June dates and the Northern US schools won't be out yet. (We're in MA. Our current last day is 6/16/20...but depending upon the # of snow dates, could go until 6/23/20.) And really, I'd take any date in June over Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or President's Day week (February.) Lol, and we've done President's Day week multiple times and Thanksgiving 3x. Those dates are truly crowded!

Also...summer holidays mean that people will come throughout the summer vs. the rest of the year when they're stuck with break weeks. The crowds are spread out more in the summer. We have to do summer now...I'd rather go in the winter months to get away from the cold...but now with 1 in high school and 1 in college--their breaks don't line up...except Christmas and we're NEVER doing that week at Disney!

 

[clm10308]

The earlier the better just because of the weather. I don’t think you can really plan around other people’s school schedule.
My son’s last day of school is 5/15 for the 19-20 school year. We are planning a trip starting on 5/17.

 

[SillySallySews]

Memorial Day will be crowded. A lot of schools in the US get out before memorial day, especially ones in the southern states. My kids would've been out a week before Memorial day this year if we didn't have to make up days for a hurricane. My mom works at a school in FL and she is always done before Memorial Day. We used to go every year in early or mid-June and then we started trying different times that were supposedly "lower crowds." May was just as crowded as June, and if I recall it was slightly more expensive. I would just pick a time and go in expecting crowds. That way if the crowds happen to be lighter it's like a little sprinkling of pixie dust.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

to the DIS @mackel1994!

 

[Day-Day]

We have visited a number of times at the end of May and early in June. The difference in the number of people at the resorts and in the parks was noticeable between the first week of June and the second; way more people during the second week. The crowds were lower in the last week of May except the weekend and Monday for Memorial Day holiday.

Disney may increase park hours and operate rides at maximum capacity during the more crowded times which can help.

 

[Kestryl]

I don’t have recent June comparisons, but we went there the last week of May (including Memorials Day weekend) and it was perfectly fine. I was happy with the crowd levels.

 

[mackel1994]

Thanks everyone for your help and advice, and also your kind welcome to the boards! I think I will be a regular visitor between now and next year!
It's a tricky one - we are thinking we may move it just a week earlier into the first week of June. Even if it saves us just slightly that would be good - and if it doesn't make a difference in terms of crowds, at least we have one less week to wait...