Memorial Day Weekend-pure mayhem?

[Jeenieping]

We want to take our 3yo to Star Wars Weekend at Hollywood Studios and the best hotel rate is on Memorial Day weekend. Is it not worth it? We are willing to use the 3 day pass at Hollywood studios all weekend to make the most of it if that makes any difference. Thanks!

 

[gonnago]

Just wanted to say We are going the week leading into Easter but will be back home for Easter Day! The way I am trying to look at it is go in knowing it is going to be extremely crowded but it's better to be at Disney than it is to be at work

 

[kapoof]

I can imagine with fast pass + being the mess it is! that will also impact the crowds and expect long lines. But you can also go to downtown disney and hang out at the pool if the parks are too crazy. I would recommend getting there early early early...like an hour before park opening. Even then you will be shocked at the amount of people already there. Have fun!

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I've been Memorial Day weekend many times, and honestly, it's not bad. It's much less crowded than spring break or early June. Star Wars weekend will be a total madhouse, but it seems like you'll have plenty of time there. Just remember that even though the posted opening time for the studios all weekend will be 8:00, they will open the park by 7:30, so if you want to do Jedi training academy, toy story mania, etc, I would plan on arriving no later than 7:15. Last year we walked up just as they were opening at 7:30 and waited 45 minutes to sign up for Jedi training. The character greetings usually start around 9, so I would start lining up for them after you've signed up for JtA and maybe ridden toy story. That was our strategy and it worked relatively well.

 

[disnut8]

I've been Memorial Day weekend many times, and honestly, it's not bad. It's much less crowded than spring break or early June. Star Wars weekend will be a total madhouse, but it seems like you'll have plenty of time there. Just remember that even though the posted opening time for the studios all weekend will be 8:00, they will open the park by 7:30, so if you want to do Jedi training academy, toy story mania, etc, I would plan on arriving no later than 7:15. Last year we walked up just as they were opening at 7:30 and waited 45 minutes to sign up for Jedi training. The character greetings usually start around 9, so I would start lining up for them after you've signed up for JtA and maybe ridden toy story. That was our strategy and it worked relatively well.

Want to agree with the boded part. We go every Memorial Day weekend and I don't think of the Studios as a "madhouse" or even in "mayhem". Yes, it's more crowded than usual with the Star Wars stuff but if that's your focus, you'll be able to do and see plenty. Just relax and take your time and you'll have a blast.

 

[Mamiamjo]

We used to go every other year, over Memorial Day weekend (before the school calendar was changed). It's not as bad as you might think, but it definitely is crowded. As stated before, get to the parks 40-45 minutes before stated opening times and you should be fine. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Brave teacher]

We go for Memorial Day weekend and the following week every year. I have NEVER experienced anything I would consider to be mayhem. Will DHS be crowded during SWW? Yes. Will you get plenty of stuff done if you go in with a plan of what you want to do during SWW? Yes. Plan for it no differently than you would on a non-SWW trip. Have fun. SWW is a blast!

 

[bjakmom]

DGrD10 and I went to SWW over Memorial Day wkend last year. We flew in on Thurs night and stayed onsite at BC - flew home Monday night (spent the day at the resort pool - no park on our final day). This was our 2nd SWW together, I have been to SWW many times before with DS25 and DNeph16 in past years.
We only went to HS all 3 park days - getting there before open (as PP stated, the parks opened way before stated time) - went back to the pool in the afternoon for a pool/nap break and headed back to the park in time for Hoopla. Fri and Sat it was hot and crowded, but not at all what I would consider mayhem. Very doable and we managed to meet every character she wanted to and we saw all the shows and even did a few rides each day.

Sunday, however, WAS pure mayhem, IMHO. We managed to meet a few characters and do things we planned in the early morning, but had she not been signed up for the 4 PM (I think that was the time) trivia contest, we would have hightailed it out of that park by lunchtime. We spent most of the afternoon just hanging out, trying to stay out of the squash of humanity- the standby lines were huge that afternoon - we had collected a couple of FPs, so we managed to do something until her contest time.

I sat next to a young mom with 2 teen age boys on the plane ride home who was a USF regular and had spent Sunday at HS because her boys wanted to experience SWW. She just kept saying what a nightmare day it was for them and how she will never get her boys back to WDW after it.

So, go expecting crowds, plan out what you want to do (the show and meet and greet schedules get posted here on the DIS after the 1st weekend), schedule your FPs around the show times and don't leave anything major for Sunday. We plan on returning next Memorial Day wkend for SWW (skipping this year) and plan on doing just this. Enjoy!

 

[Jeenieping]

Thanks guys! Very helpful. My 3yo is on a late schedule so being at the park at or prior to open will be close to impossible, but we will look at the SWW schedule and plan accordingly. This board rocks'