Please tell me about May and April (sept is our normal month)

[Leigh123]

I am curious about weather, crowds etc. We Normally go every Sept, and this year when we were there DH said he would like to see the parks/resorts decorated for Christmas. I told him that would mean waiting 16 months for next trip and I could not do that. SOOOOOOOOOOOO he agreed to May an December next year. BUT I have no idea what to expect weather, crowds etc. Please share any an all info you have but I am curious as to

1)In May how are crowd levels an does Star Wars Weekends have a terrible impact on crowds?
2)is it warm enough to swim both months
3)which would you go if you could pick?


Thanks so much

 

[Alesia]

1. April crowds are dependent of when Easter falls. The 2 weeks surrounding Easter are just slightly less busy than Christmas.
Early May is less crowded than late May, but even late May is very manageable. DHS will be busier during Star Wars Weekends, but if you use the crowd calendar at easywdw.com to choose your days and you'll be fine.
2. Yes. And the water parks are virtually empty in the mornings. The weather is spectacularly beautiful. It's not as hot or humid as September. There's less rain, too.
3. I would pick sometime in May during the Flower & Garden Festival. The second week of May would be ideal. You definitely want to avoid the weeks surrounding Easter.

May is my favorite month to go to WDW. I would pick it over September any day of the week.

 

[Hezzy04]

We went the first week of May in 2015 and it was perfect! We were they for "May the 4th" but weren't at Hollywood Studios that day. Crowds were fine! Weather was definitely warm enough to swim.

I think if you go later in the month of May, it probably gets pretty busy for Star Wars weekend....but I'm not positive, as I wasn't there then!

I highly recommend the beginning of May, though

 

[kwdw]

I like the Flower and Garden Festival - so - I'd pick dates once that has started.

AVOID the week before and after Easter.

The weather - normally beautiful. Yes - it's warmer as you progress farther into May. You can swim both months (you can swim in March on most days). Again - there's a chance of cool day/morning/evening - more in early April - but really - that would be an "odd" day - not the norm for a week.

Star Wars weekends - if you LOVE Star Wars - going during a SWW is fun. Yes - there are some lines for meet n greets - but hey - that's what you are going for. Yes, the park is a tad busier on the weekend. But if SW is not your thing - just hit HS on a M-Th and really, there's no concern.

I went second week of May last year - and it was great. Couple days were hot, but not "summer miserable," a couple days were perfect all day, and it was rainy/cooler one day. Besides the one morning of solid rain - we really ranked the weather as gorgeous the whole trip. And frankly, the rainy morning gave us a much needed break as we opted to not leave the resort until it was more at the drizzle stage. SWW hadn't started yet. We had wanted to plan to attend when we could do both - but work schedules didn't allow for it. We didn't think crowd levels were bad most of the trip. There was one MK day that WAS quite busy - this was being driven by an ideal evening schedule of MSEP, fireworks, and EMH for those planning to stay late -- but we were prepared to hit MK on a busy day - had our FP's, and meal and touring plans pre-set up - and that made dealing with the crowds no big deal.

I'd pick a week I could hit both the F&G Festival and a SWW if I could (we are Star Wars fans). Work doesn't normally let that happen for me. BUT - when traveling with one other set of occasional traveling companions - then I would go in April primarily because it IS cooler then and they would think even April is too hot.

If you normally travel in Sept - I think WEATHER wise - you'll love either April or May. Sept is hot and humid in comparison.

PS - by gorgeous weather - I mean shorts and a t-shirt all day comfortable.

 

[sb127]

Beginning of May is my favorite time to visit Disney! Flower and Garden is great and weather is warm but not as humid as September.

 

[tomatecerise]

We Was there may 3 to 12. The evening of the may 3 Was à little bit cold and the may 11 Was very hot! The flower and garden festival Was fantastic and drenched at Kali river Rapids not a problem because we can dry with The hot day In 2 Hours.

I don't know for the crowds because it Was first Time In Disney for me but i think it Was very managable. The restaurants Was more easy to get reservations.

 

[msmama]

The 3rd week of May last year was HOT!!! Like in the 100's hot. Granted, that was not normal, I don't think. (I remember checking my phone one day week 2 of SWW - so memorial day weekend - and the "real feel" temp was 114!!)

SWW crowds pretty much only impact HS though for the past few years they've had the 24 hour event on Memorial day (also in May) which is a big deal at MK - if you're thinking that time.

April, especially early April, is still spring break time for some places, but since Easter is earlier, it may be less busy.. I don't have a normal time anymore, but May was definitely busier than Jan/Feb. Many schools end the beginning or middle of May so it's the very start of summer crowds. (Still found it totally managable though).

 

[teddygurl28]

we went may 5-10 a few years back. Normally we go the 3rd week in September. I would say crowds were comparable (September slightly less so but not any significant difference). weather wise was also similar. it was still warm in May- however the humidity was not at its highest so I could walk out of the room with my sunglasses on and they wouldn't fog up. I packed the same but just made sure to have a pair of capris and a lightweight sweatshirt for may (in September I always wore shorts and tank tops)

 

[Jon84]

May 4th at DHS was not extra busy, there was just a longer wait for Star Tours, crowds around the Storm Troopers, and thats about it!

 

[Ava]

The weather in April/May is so much nicer than in September. Not as hot & humid, and much less rain. We went the week of Mother's Day in 2011 and it got hot but not unbearable. Definitely warm enough to swim. I want to do a spring trip next time, I can't take another trip of plans being rained out.

 

[LuvDaisy&Minnie]

We went late May of this year. Midday was hot, but we could leave and come back to park if we wanted. We even left one day and went to the water park and then back to MK after that. Mornings and evenings were very comfortable. We avoided Star Wars weekend at DHS because we have no interest. It did not have an impact on the other days. Crowds were manageable. I have been right after Christmas (crazy, crazy crowds) and late January (small crowds) and this was somewhere in the middle, and it was fine. The headliner waits were very long by midday, but that is to be expected. We either rode them early, had FP, or combination of both. I would go in early May if I could. It sounds great. We had to wait until kids were out of school.

 

[ParrotBill]

Before school, we always went in September, October, and May as our favorite times. When there is rain in April or May it tends to be a cooler, longer rain rather than the summer thunderstorms of September. One time in May we had unseasonably cold weather with soaking rains and everyone was terribly cold. But that was once in perhaps 6 May visits. We also went during Easter break 2 years ago and were pleasantly surprised by crowds being only moderate. I think it depends on how schools choose their break weeks. If they spread out a bit then WDW crowds are not too bad. If they all cluster on the same week it will be closer to Christmas crowds. No way to really predict that unless you have ESP: Extra School Perception.

 

[Leigh123]

Thanks so much to everyone for your response....I have just booked AKL 5/14 - 5/21.....woo hoo planning time!

 

[epcotty]

We often go in Early May, crowds seem lower during that time and it's nice. Don't think we've gone to HS then though. Definitely warm enough to swim (can be hot sometimes). April might be better temperature wise anyway

 

[RebelSoul]

We've been going late April into early May for awhile now for our Spring trip, but leave before Star Wars weekends start. This year we spent 12 days at WDW and crowds were great. You will definitely be able to swim. It can get very warm some days, but it's not quite a humid as September in our opinion. It's still too close to FL summer temps for me in September.

 

[Canuck16]

We went the first 2 weeks of May last year and we enjoyed it!

The weather was awesome.....in the 80's and low 90's. We got to enjoy the pools and water parks during our entire stay.

We did not find the crowds to be very bad at all. FP+ was fairly new at that time but we were able to get on everything that we wanted multiple times and we got to see all of the shows as well.

We would definitely go back again in early May.

 

[loves to dive]

I've been the first week in April and had to wear a sweater or light jacket in the early mornings and evenings and was able to wear a sundress after the day got warmer. There were showers but didn't seem to be as many as Sept. We went mid-May last year and I only had to have a long sleeve shirt one evening, wore sundresses the entire week. We had some light showers but really not even enough to open an umbrella or drag out a poncho. We've gone late Aug/early Sept. most of the time. It's a little cooler earlier and less rainy. I really can't tell the difference in the crowds but we tend to go for either F&G or F&W lately and those times tend to be a little more busy. I'm from Georgia, thus the sweater and long sleeves, I've even worn them in August/Sept. after a rain shower but I get cold easy

 

[jmkjr72]

May 2015 was my first non Jan or Feb trip
We went the first week of may
We did make fast pass but the only ones we really needed were anna and elsa and 7 dwarf mine coaster
We did make adr for most meals we did not make a few breakfasts or any lunch
The only day we had an issue was breakfast our last day that happened to be mothers day

The weather was good towards the last few days it started to get hot for us
We loved the flower and garden festival
We enjoyed the time so much we are back for Apr 30 to may 7 in 2016