May crowds? Planning for 2016..

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Hey Disers! So after hearing the 'usual' closures during Jan/Feb I've decided to move my 2016 trip to May for my Mum's birthday! We were in the land for 2.5 weeks last year and crowds weren't too bad, the only reason they felt bad was because it was SO HOT! From memory we were not there during the tinkerbell half marathon, so did not see any rise in crowds from that event. My Mum's birthday is May 12th and I am wanting us to go for around 2 weeks and be in Disneyland for her actual birthday. I am wondering if you think it would be better to be there over the tinkerbell half and just spend that weekend at other attractions like universal and sea world or maybe shopping, or to go the 2 weeks after and be there for grad nights. We JUST missed grad nights last time so I don't have any experience with those crowds. What do you guys think the best thing to do would be? We would be at the parks all day from rope drop and are planning to do a nice sit down meal each night, probably grabbing a fast pass before hand so we can get through a few rides after dinner. I'd also like to be there for 2 weekends, so that we can see the fireworks and Fantasmic at least twice. On our last trip the fireworks were cancelled once due to high winds and were almost cancelled the next night as the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, but praise the lord it changed at the last minute. I don't want to risk not seeing the night time shows, they are my fave!

 

[KiwiMouseGirl]

Just a little bump...

 

[Andreas Mom]

I'd also love to hear input on crowds over the tinkerbell marathon weekend. Thanks!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Don't know about the marathon crowds but grad nights are workable. The grads move in during afternoon to DL, they are thick by dinner & their party starts at 10pm in DCA. Dinner ressies will get you out of the crowds for a bit, pull FP for "big attractions" (Indy, Space) that you want to do at night that the grads will be hitting up and leave if the crowds get to be too much. Best advice: Get to the parks first thing in the morning (this is when you will get the most done).

 

[thatgrljme]

We went over Mother's Day weekend in 2013 and stayed for 5 days. I didn't notice a huge difference from that to our trip in Feb this year as far as crowds went. It might have been a tad less crowded in Feb than in May. The one thing I did notice was the heatwave we experinced when we were there. It was so bad we only went to the park in the morning on our 5th day of being there. My son got a bit of heat stroke from being dehydrated. I won't go back in May due to just that.

 

[pinkprincess30]

We went over Mother's Day weekend in 2013 and stayed for 5 days. I didn't notice a huge difference from that to our trip in Feb this year as far as crowds went. It might have been a tad less crowded in Feb than in May. The one thing I did notice was the heatwave we experinced when we were there. It was so bad we only went to the park in the morning on our 5th day of being there. My son got a bit of heat stroke from being dehydrated. I won't go back in May due to just that.

When we went over Mothers Day in 2011 our first day was pretty chilly. Sweatshirts were definitely needed! I think it varies year to year.

 

[ludari]

Typically race weekends will cause the crowds in the parks to grow because not only do you have the race participants but also their family and friends. Since this is the first year that the Tinkerbell race will occur in May I would be cautious of previous years experiences. I have done countless runDisney events and typically race weekends will cause the park crowds to grow because not only do you have the race participants but also their family and friends. I would definitely suggest if your dates are firm that you book your hotel as soon as you can.

 

[Watchtower]

Which weekend IS the Tinkerbell race? I'm planning for an early May '16 trip down there as well.

 

[DisneyDreamer1229]

This year the Tinkerbell race is over Mother's Day weekend, 8th - 10th I believe. I'd assume they would stick close to the timeframe next year, so maybe the first or second weekend of May.