*May 2019 Check In*

[friedela]

Going 5/1-5/6 and staying off site. Looks like this will be my first trip to DLR where there won't be at least one major attraction down for refurbishment, so I'm pretty excited about that. Hoping the castle will be back by then though, looks like it'll be cutting it close

I'm hoping the same thing!! I keep stalking these boards in hopes that someone will say the castle is back, lol.

 

[LaurieRL]

I'm hoping the same thing!! I keep stalking these boards in hopes that someone will say the castle is back, lol.

Me too! I read somewhere May 23 but I don't know what that's based on. I would imagine it'll be done before Galaxy's Edge opens. Even if the walkthrough isn't open it would be nice if I can see it when I'm there. It'll be a bummer if its still covered when I'm there but it'll still be a great day. Gives me an excuse for a return visit.

 

[BuzzyWOL]

Me too! I read somewhere May 23 but I don't know what that's based on. I would imagine it'll be done before Galaxy's Edge opens. Even if the walkthrough isn't open it would be nice if I can see it when I'm there. It'll be a bummer if its still covered when I'm there but it'll still be a great day. Gives me an excuse for a return visit.

I've also seen late April and more specifically April 28th thrown around. I tend to think the late May rumors are more accurate though, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[MikeSF]

Taking out 3 year old for the first time the first week of May, Thursday to Tuesday, only doing parks for 3 days though, probably Friday, Sunday Monday, Thursday is atravel day unless we leave late on Wednesday and deal with being exhausted in the parks. Hoping there will be a good lull in crowds after all the various spring breaks and before grad nights. Still don't have tickets yet, only have reservations at a timeshare Sunday, Monday looking for other days to pop open as it seems local hotels ramp up rates this time of year, fall back plan is staying with a cousin who lives in long beach, not ideal by any stretch but if the parks are not terribly crowded windy be too bad.

 

[Jen_G]

I'm planning on being there from May 23 through May 28 (Memorial Day weekend, arriving late Thursday night and leaving Tuesday night). I've got hotel reservations at the Castle Inn and Suites for now, but I might end up changing that if anything cheaper pops up on Hotwire closer to the date. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was a kid, and really don't remember it, although I've been to WDW a lot in the past couple of years.

 

[J_GN]

We're considering going to Disneyland on Memorial day weekend. But a low of the popular crowd calendars have conflicting forecasts. Undercovertourist and Disneytouristblog both predict super busy crowds while Isitpacked and Touringplans predict that it'll be okay based on pass blockout dates and historical trends. Our kids are 9 and 4 and have never been. We really want to take them and Memorial Day weekend is pretty much the last opportunity to try and go before SWGE opens (and then crowds will be insane for a year or two). I would hate to spend all that money just to have their first Disney experience be frustrating because of insane crowds. I know the crowd calendars just provide predictions, but should I trust one more than the others?

 

[PrincessSitka]

*Gengen22 5/10-5/13 Delta Hotel Anaheim Garden Grove
*Wench 5/30-6/2 DLH
*sbakersub 5/18-5/22 Anaheim Camelot
*LaurieRL 5/20 Comfort Inn
*jillyh 5/18-5/20 VGC
*hpanno 5/2-5/4 CCI
*Sagacious_Sundry 5/1-5/3 PP
*Brett Wyman 5/5-5/9 VGC
*Eve & Wall-e 5/30-6/3 DLH
*friedela 4/30-5/7 Staybridge Suites
*Belle20006beauty 5/12-5/19
*RedOne3781 5/4-5/8 Hyatt Regency Oorange County
*beccagilgan 5/6-5/9 DLH & Hilton
*BoardwalkGlenn 5/5-5/8 VGC
*Lm3js 5/3-5/5 Dessert inn & Suites
*EastYorkDisneyFan 5/3-5/6 Anaheim Hotel
*sunshiinedaydream 4/30-5/5 Courtyard Convention
*aroseinwintr 5/5-5/9 Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn
*172flyer 5/19-5/23 Grand Legacy
*Elk Grove Chris 5/14-5/19 DLH
*SkRiderMom 4/29-5/4 Tropicana
*Dalton5 5/4-5/10 Fairfield Inn
*akmomesq 5/27-6/1 GCH
*Dmto4 5/-5/7 Dessert inn & Suites
*rain_rose 5/2-5/6
*Kdisneygrl 5/1-5/4 Dessert inn & Suites
*jillt2ph 5/9-5/12 VGC
*BuzzyWOL 5/1-5/6
*amandaleigh2 5/26-5/27 Best Western Park Place Inn

May 9-May15 DLH

 

[Rich M]

How will Grad Night affect the parks? I see it shows May 21st and I will be there May 20 to May 22. I was expecting it to be slightly lower crowds thinking people would wait for SW. We are buying the promo ticket and can only use 2 of the 3 days so want to maximize our plans

 

[Poohbug]

May 4 - May 9 but one of those days will be at Universal Hollywood. Is there anything special going on for Star Wars Day (May the 4th) or Cinco De Mayo? Not opposed to a margarita or two.

 

[whowouldanewman]

We will be there May 13-18 and will be staying at Courtyard Theme Park entrance.

 

[beccagilgan]

Well the hotels in the Anaheim area are probably cheaper than in LA. Do keep in mind that there is a lot of rush hour traffic on a Monday morning so, do keep this in mind when making your decision. Congrats on your first post!

Thank you for the tip! I was able to convince my partner to drive into Anaheim on the Sunday evening instead of Monday morning. This way we can spend an night hanging out in Downtown Disney! Since our passes aren’t valid until the next day

 

[theluckyrabbit]

May 4 - May 9 but one of those days will be at Universal Hollywood. Is there anything special going on for Star Wars Day (May the 4th) or Cinco De Mayo? Not opposed to a margarita or two.

Nothing official has been announced yet for either day, but usually there is special merchandise released for May the 4th (e.g. t-shirts, pins, etc.) and Cinco de Mayo usually brings special menus in DTD.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We're considering going to Disneyland on Memorial day weekend. But a low of the popular crowd calendars have conflicting forecasts. Undercovertourist and Disneytouristblog both predict super busy crowds while Isitpacked and Touringplans predict that it'll be okay based on pass blockout dates and historical trends. Our kids are 9 and 4 and have never been. We really want to take them and Memorial Day weekend is pretty much the last opportunity to try and go before SWGE opens (and then crowds will be insane for a year or two). I would hate to spend all that money just to have their first Disney experience be frustrating because of insane crowds. I know the crowd calendars just provide predictions, but should I trust one more than the others?

This recent thread has very good information regarding DLR crowd calendars: Most accurate crowd calendars?. Memorial Day Weekend the past two years has been pretty good on the Saturday and Sunday, busy on the Monday and following week. With SWGE opening on the 31st, that may change things this year (who knows?) as people try to cram in one more non-crazy visit before the new land opens. If Memorial Day Weekend is the time that works best for you, do your research here, make your best plans, bring a positive attitude, and go have fun! We've had reports from DISers who planned their first trip to DLR (with little ones!) for Christmas Week (complete with crowd insanity) -- and because of the planning they did here, they had a fabulous time! So it can be done!

 

[Herewegooooooooo]

Anyone know if May will be quieter with the announcement of Star Wars? We will be there 12-17. Usually we go September, but it’s for a birthday. We were going to go in March, but figured this might be the calm before the storm. Last 2 times we have been there in April it was crazy busy.

 

[LaurieRL]

Anyone else looking at updates on Project Stardust and feeling like everything is going to be under some sort of construction throughout May? I watched a youtube video from Monday and so many things were covered up.

 

[VonSweets]

We will be there May 5-9th staying at Courtyard Theme Park enterance. This will be our first trip to DL!

We took our son, 5, to DW last year and just felt like everything was so spread out for us. We went on one of the slowest weeks according to crowd calendars and we were shoulder to shoulder in the MK and could hardly move, it was miserable. So we are planning for high crowds and will make the most of our max passes.

 

[friedela]

Anyone else looking at updates on Project Stardust and feeling like everything is going to be under some sort of construction throughout May? I watched a youtube video from Monday and so many things were covered up.

I'm watching youtube videos constantly to see what is still under wraps. It's frustrating for sure, but I am still hoping lots will be done by the time we get there. The castle is what is killing me right now But either way it'll still be an amazing trip.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Anyone know if May will be quieter with the announcement of Star Wars? We will be there 12-17. Usually we go September, but it’s for a birthday. We were going to go in March, but figured this might be the calm before the storm. Last 2 times we have been there in April it was crazy busy.

I suspect that there will be a fair amount of people there specifically trying to miss the SWGE crowds and will create crowds anyways, maybe not. Since I will be there, it will be crowded.

 

[LaurieRL]

I'm watching youtube videos constantly to see what is still under wraps. It's frustrating for sure, but I am still hoping lots will be done by the time we get there. The castle is what is killing me right now But either way it'll still be an amazing trip.

This will be our first time at Disneyland and our second time in California. We skipped Disneyland the first time because of a measles outbreak. The castle being covered (its still listed as under refurbishment on the day we're there) is killing me the most too. Although really other than the initial photo I won't really notice too much I'm sure.

 

[Herewegooooooooo]

I suspect that there will be a fair amount of people there specifically trying to miss the SWGE crowds and will create crowds anyways, maybe not. Since I will be there, it will be crowded.

When isn’t there a fair amount of people, haha