May 2012

[martinrmn]

I wonder if anyone can help. We normally travel to Disney in November/December. Next year we are considering travelling in May as our son goes to "big" school September. We plan on staying on I drive the first week then Widerness Lodge the second. Can anyone tell me what differences we can expect to find which include crowd numbers please?
Any constructive help is appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Pegasus928]

We have been a couple of times at this time of year and I have to say timing is everything.
The main things to look out for are Easter and Spring Break as both of these can be extremely busy. I don't know the dates of either I'm afraid.
Other than that I can remember the crowd levels being manageable.
Weather will be a lot better than you are used to, with shorts and t-shirts easily being the norm from early in the morning until late at night. In fact I probably wouldnt even bother with jackets - but thats your call

 

[Invisable89]

May is a GREAT time to go to WDW! Crowds are normally on the low side until Memorial Day weekend (the last Monday in May is actual 'Memorial Day') so i'd advise going before then.

You'll definitely notice differences, the weather will be completely different from Nov/Dec - it will be alot hotter & humid, anything from 85F-95F (most days in the 90's however) & there will be rain but it varies yearly how much. Another difference is the Park hours - expect the MK to be open until 10pm, Epcot until 9pm, HS until 9pm. Wishes fireworks should be on every day at 10pm, evening/night Parade at 9pm.

Also be aware it's Love Bug season in Orlando in May so you might see alot of weird black slow flying bugs around (they do not bite though, they're just a nuisense).

 

[Annabell]

I like to go to WDW in May too, crowd level is usually average to low. Weather is great , not so hot and humid like in the summer. Just very nice !
Enjoy your planning !

 

[Pegasus928]

May is a GREAT time to go to WDW! Crowds are normally on the low side until Memorial Day weekend (the last Monday in May is actual 'Memorial Day') so i'd advise going before then.

Good point -I'd forgotten about that one

You'll definitely notice differences, the weather will be completely different from Nov/Dec - it will be alot hotter & humid, anything from 85F-95F (most days in the 90's however) & there will be rain but it varies yearly how much.

We noticed the humidity as the last time we went we came direct from Kuwait which, although a lot hotter, was a dry heat. We found it was the humidity that wore us down in the end. We have never had any rain at that time of year though. Maybe we have just got lucky

 

[Elise79]

We went May 2011 then November 2010 then May 2011.

Pluses for May - hot all day into the evening and meant we could swim everyday. More days to see MK evening parade & Wishes.

Pluses for November - holiday decorations and MVMCP

Crowds were about the same. This May was busier than May 2010 - I assumed this was because of the last Easter meaning people who usually travel between Easter and Summer had fewer weeks to choose from. However having been again in September I think the crowds in general are just higher this year.

Easter isn't a consideration next year as it is early April and that will be the end of spring breaks as well.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

We went last year May 19th- June 6th. We did hit Memorial Weekend but IMO the crowds were not an issue. As we were still on UK time we were always at parks for rope drop and back by the pool in the afternoon.We found this trip we took good advantage of the fast passes, and picked more carefully what rides we did.One good thing was Star Wars weekend which was really good fun.
Weather was hot and humid, but again take it easy,drink lots of water, and dont try and stay in a park all day,its way too much.If it rains it tends to rain late afternoon. Oh and one other thing is late May the schools in the south start to break up for the summer, so you might see large crowds of young teenagers all wearing the same t shirts

 

[a_hobden]

I've been a number of times in may and love it! crowds weather etc.... are all perfect. We are going again in may 2012, 2nd till 18th

 

[martinrmn]

Thanks everyone.
Will start to plan and price.

 

[ben1993]

Went in May and November this year and the crowds were similar to be honest, it's all about timing but May was moderate throughout the 2 weeks, as was most of November but the huge crowds will come at the end of the month for May and Nov with Memorial Day and Thanksgiving.

May this year was HOT too, mid 90's for the most of it; beautiful warm evenings though.

 

[brer_rabbit]

End of May is hot hot hot compared to November! Crowds are bigger, but weren't massive - I remember Splash Mountain having a 20 min wait at around 11am. As others have said it's near the end of school year in USA so quite a few schools do end of term trips to the parks - I thought this was more noticeable in Universal though.

Still a great time to visit