Memorial Day week vs June

tzolkin

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 3, 2008
Messages
7,156
Is there a significant difference in park attendance between the week including Memorial Day and other weeks in June? I made our resort reservation yesterday based on the best pricing since our travel dates were flexible, but we would be arriving the Friday before Memorial Day so the first three days of our trip would be the holiday weekend.

If June would be less crowded, we could change our plans even if it increased the cost a bit. But, I know most schools will be out in June so I'm not sure if the parks will be just as busy then as the last week of May.

This trip will be me, my spouse, and our adult kids (18-25). We will have park hoppers and will each have a few must-do attractions, but our primary focus is the nostalgia and the atmosphere of being in the "Disney bubble". We visited often when the kids were younger, but haven't been in several years.
 
Holiday weekends are usually pretty busy (except perhaps Labor Day…). We have visited during Memorial Day weekend periods in the past and have generally found that to be true. Early June should be fairly quiet IMO because many schools are still in session until mid-June.
 
We were there last year the Saturday before Memorial Day until the Thursday after and there were decent crowds but not anything that prevented us from doing what we wanted. We plan to go the same time period this next year.
 
I have never been over Memorial Day weekend, but we've done Memorial Day week several times (last week of May/first few days of June typically), and it's one of my favorite times to be in the parks. In my experience, it's less crowded than times I've been in October or during Spring Break. Even the time we went for President's Day Week felt more crowded to me. We always check in on Memorial Day, so we miss the weekend crowds, I guess.

We have a very relaxed approach to the parks: we don't rope drop and we always take a 3-4 hour midday break at the resort. Even with that lazy approach, we've never felt rushed or like we were missing out on anything.
 

Basically if you paid less, then it's Disney's way of saying they expect it to be less crowded. The holiday weekend will be busier. Check out TouringPlans crowd calendar, it's usually accurate.
 
I don't really think it matters as long as you are comparing it to very early June (like single digit June days.)
 
When our kids were young, we pulled them out school but in middle school that was not possible they just miss too much. We traveled mostly in end of June (our school did not start until after Labor day) and it was crowed but they had FastPass and e-ticket nights. Once they attend college we traveled in May before the holiday.

We are locals now and empty nesters this past June was not that bad in fact it was slower than January in our view. Holiday week for sure is crowded. If you plan on purchasing light lanes then you can get a lot accomplished however in our view that is not necessary if you are there at rope drop. Our kids are older but I recall that age range and rope drop can be a challenge.

Both of them still enjoy Disney and we still have family trips except now they have graduated to Food & Wine in October. A relaxing pace allows you to enjoy and not feel like you need a couple days to catch up on sleep when you return. We typically rope drop and back to resort for break before returning to the park at night. We plan a nice lunch or dinner which allows us to reconnect as a family.

Personally, I would pick June over a holiday week.
 
We've been several times Memorial Day week. I don't think it was bad at all. And the weather may be a tiny bit better than June - definitely better than July! We were there during Memorial Day the year Pandora in AK opened and it still wasn't too bad. Managed to get on FOP one night at 11pm with under an hour wait!
 












Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE









DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top