May 2019 - Crowd Calendar

[sagosto]

We are a family of 4 from NJ (36/39/4/18 months) and debating a May 2019 visit. We seem to have bad luck with picking the right week because we always seem to find the crowds. Our last visit was April 26th - May 3rd 2018 and we got hit with cheerleaders. The previous visit was week before Halloween 2017 and it was UK Spring Break (so I heard). The kids are not in school so I can book anytime but was hoping to get in 2 more visits before my daughter is 3. We areac debating another May visit but concerned we will run into the cheerleading/busy crowd. I am tempted to pay for Touring Plan as I am reading it is very accurate and then I read conflicting info. Any advice other than roll the dice? Lastly, I am going back-n-forth regarding magic hours and the real benefit given everyone seems to have the same benefit. I am beginning to think it might make more sense to stay AWAY from magic hours.

 

[kimieko]

We were there this year 4/26-5/1 and didn’t think the crowds were bad even with the cheerleaders. We are going may 4-11 2019 and the TP crowd calendars don’t look bad. They actually adjusted them lower a couple of weeks ago.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We were also there the week of 4/28 and if that week was too busy for you, you may be out of luck. That was our least busy first week of May in the last 3 years (noticably so for us). And it's one of the least busy times of the year.

Yes the cheerleaders are in the park and we've heard them chanting (not this year, but of course that's luck of the draw). Unless you stay at one of the Values they're pretty much a non-issue (or at least they were for us the last 3 years).

You might consider Sept or late Aug. It's probably the only time that's typically less busy.

 

[Nowenteringwdcop]

we went 5/17-5/22 this year and it wasn't bad at all! we were walking on rides at MK at night. just rainy

 

[sagosto]

To be fair, the crowds weren't that bad but attraction wait times were high given the supposed light crowd rating. We like the mid April to mid May time frame so I have freedom to pick any date range. I just am not sure how to navigate the cheerleader which appears to be the only variable given no school breaks (or marathon) are going on. I was going to purchase Touring Plans to help that decision but not confident given the mixed reviews I am seeing.

 

[Klayfish]

To be fair, the crowds weren't that bad but attraction wait times were high given the supposed light crowd rating.

This discussion came up fairly recently. "Crowd calendars" don't base their predictions on actual crowds, rather what they predict wait times for rides will be. That can have little to nothing to do with crowd size, and can have a ton of variables that can't be predicted. Hence why, IMO, "crowd" calendars are useless. Just pick the park you want to go to and enjoy.

 

[Sha259]

Are you really worried about crowds or wait times? And are you tied to those times of year? We have gone to Disney in early Dec twice and are going in 2019 at the end of Feb/early March (with our 2.5 yr old). The weather in December was really beautiful (at least to me being from PA) and allowed for layering really well. We wore jeans and a shirt and a jacket or sweatshirt and just took the top layer off once the day sun made it warmer. We also aren't really pool people, so don't need to work in pool time or weather. We are hoping for similar weather as Dec in Feb and plan to pack similarly but include some ponchos/rain covers in there as well just in case.

All that to say, I don't think there is ever a crowdless season at WDW, but there are slivers of time throughout the year where less people may be at the parks. And I'm not sure that May will have many if any of those less crowded days. Whatever you choose, have fun!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

To be fair, the crowds weren't that bad but attraction wait times were high given the supposed light crowd rating. We like the mid April to mid May time frame so I have freedom to pick any date range. I just am not sure how to navigate the cheerleader which appears to be the only variable given no school breaks (or marathon) are going on. I was going to purchase Touring Plans to help that decision but not confident given the mixed reviews I am seeing.

I'm a fan of TP but I really don't think it's going to help you with this decision. You're talking about 4 weeks. Beware that Easter is 4/21 in 2019 so you want to avoid the weeks on either side of it which leaves 3 weeks in your time frame. Of those, all of the weekends will likely have cheerleading competitions so if you really want to avoid them you will have to pick a different time. I think TP is going to tell you those three weeks are very similar for crowd levels (as it said for this year). It might tell you that the second week of May is lower but I wouldn't trust that because this past May there was a ton of rain that week which likely affected crowd levels and therefore possibly their algorithms.

We have only been going for the last 5 years so the normal now, is our normal. Co-workers have told us about the good old days of the 1990s when you could walk on every ride in 5 minutes or less all day in early Nov. If that's the expectation, I think those days are gone and you are probably not going to find it anytime (other than all day rain days during an already slow season, but that's a unique, unpredictable circumstance).

 

[sagosto]

Are you really worried about crowds or wait times? And are you tied to those times of year? We have gone to Disney in early Dec twice and are going in 2019 at the end of Feb/early March (with our 2.5 yr old). The weather in December was really beautiful (at least to me being from PA) and allowed for layering really well. We wore jeans and a shirt and a jacket or sweatshirt and just took the top layer off once the day sun made it warmer. We also aren't really pool people, so don't need to work in pool time or weather. We are hoping for similar weather as Dec in Feb and plan to pack similarly but include some ponchos/rain covers in there as well just in case.

All that to say, I don't think there is ever a crowdless season at WDW, but there are slivers of time throughout the year where less people may be at the parks. And I'm not sure that May will have many if any of those less crowded days. Whatever you choose, have fun!

We have a family cruise in December and summer of next year so spring was a good time so we don't have to wait. May is typically solid 80s so the kid can swim. I was under the impression that May (outside cheerleaders) would be a less crowded time?

I'm a fan of TP but I really don't think it's going to help you with this decision. You're talking about 4 weeks. Beware that Easter is 4/21 in 2019 so you want to avoid the weeks on either side of it which leaves 3 weeks in your time frame. Of those, all of the weekends will likely have cheerleading competitions so if you really want to avoid them you will have to pick a different time. I think TP is going to tell you those three weeks are very similar for crowd levels (as it said for this year). It might tell you that the second week of May is lower but I wouldn't trust that because this past May there was a ton of rain that week which likely affected crowd levels and therefore possibly their algorithms.

We have only been going for the last 5 years so the normal now, is our normal. Co-workers have told us about the good old days of the 1990s when you could walk on every ride in 5 minutes or less all day in early Nov. If that's the expectation, I think those days are gone and you are probably not going to find it anytime (other than all day rain days during an already slow season, but that's a unique, unpredictable circumstance).

Disney has it down to a science by bridging the gaps with sales, marathons, food & wine, etc. to bring up attendance. In mid November of 2011, it was *DEAD* and we went on Splash Mountain over and over without getting off the ridge. I realize that's not normal so I am just trying to find the least crowded I can within April/May where the weather is MID 70s/80s for the kids to swim. I THOUGHT late April/early May would work if I can navigate around cheerleading.