Memorial Day Weekend @ DL - are we insane?

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Trying to plan a trip to DL this spring, maximizing our touring days while minimizing the days dh will have to take off work. Here in Canada we have a long weekend May the 18th, which, if we took our holiday the following week, would allow a 10 day vacation with only 5 vacation days being used. But it will mean that we fly out Friday the 15th, and return Sunday the 24th, which means our last few days would coincide with the Memorial Day long weekend. We love off season, because nothing is busy, but I am wondering if our last weekend will be pretty much a writeoff because of busy crowds?

Any thoughts?

 

[pixiewings71]

Probably, we will be there to because my birthday is on Mem. Day. I've never been before so I don't know for sure but yes, it's likely that they will be crowded.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I'd be shocked if it wasn't busy. Weekends always are, and when you throw in a holiday weekend, it really adds up.

That said, with a good plan and taking advantage of the early morning where the crowds aren't as intense, you can still have a very enjoyable time in the parks even when it's crowded.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Yes..............you definitely are insane.

I kid.

We went on Memorial Day weekend last year and yes the crowds were overwhelming at times. We're the type to stay in the parks from 8am to midnight and never leave. We found ourselves heading over to DCA more often just to get away from the hustle and bustle for a while and even back to our hotel to rest.

We just had to plan better that trip. We grabbed fastpasses whenever we could first off and utilized them as much as possible. Rode some of the bigger attractions immediately upon arrival to get them out of the way. We avoided Fantasyland for the most part until Sunday when it was a tad less busy. We also got it in our minds that we wouldn't be able to ride everything like we normally would.

The crazy thing was seeing crying children wanting to go home by late in the afternoon. They had enough. Happiest place on earth huh? This ended up causing parents to be more on edge as well. Which in turn made some CM's be a bit more on edge too. This was very late at night.

We knew going in that it would be like this and accepted it. We knew not to get in a hurry, get upset or irritated and just went with the flow.

We ended up having an amazing time. Now Fourth of July? I don't think I'll ever go to DLR on that weekend ever again.

 

[lntsmom]

The weekend was crazy insane...as in, by mid-morning they were bringing out the white ropes in Fantasyland to allow them to extend the lines. You couldn't move because people were packed shoulder-to-shoulder. The wait for most rides was almost 2 hours.

My advice: Be at the park about an hour before the time it's supposed to open. If you have small kiddos, either hit Fantasyland first or leave it for late in the evening when most kiddies have headed back to the hotels.

Don't plan to eat anywhere in Fantasyland or Toontown. We got smart and went to the Golden Horseshoe between shows. It was great...

BTW...the park was at full occupancy by noon or so each day. We weren't staying on Disney property so we didn't leave the park.

Now, maybe Memorial Day 2005 was unusual. I didn't bet on that...this year we'll be there for the end of the weekend, but not at the parks. We are saving the parks for Tuesday, hoping the week will be much quieter than the weekend was!

(BTW...maybe the lines were only that bad in my memory, but having been to WDW twice, I will say that one of the biggest differences between the two is the lines!)