Trip Planning- May 2008

[Baloo2003]

We are planning a trip from May 2 - May 12 2008.
I have been in June before but do not have any past calendars for May that would help me see the differences between the first week in May vs. the first week in June.

June seems to have slightly longer hours and the mid- to last part of June seems to be when new attractions open...such as Nemo.
June also has Grad Nites on Thursdays that I don't expect the first week in May.

June has fireworks and Fantasmic! on weekends only. Is this also true for May?

Are my assumptions correct on these points so far?

Are there any other differences that would make a difference in our trip?
I know that April usually has Kids get in for free or buy 3 hotel nights get one free or something like that. This seems like it would make it more crowded to stay away from that promotion, but I am not sure.

Any insight into what I should expect for the first week in May will be greatly appreciated.

 

[HydroGuy]

We are planning a trip from May 2 - May 12 2008.
I have been in June before but do not have any past calendars for May that would help me see the differences between the first week in May vs. the first week in June.

June seems to have slightly longer hours and the mid- to last part of June seems to be when new attractions open...such as Nemo.
June also has Grad Nites on Thursdays that I don't expect the first week in May.

June has fireworks and Fantasmic! on weekends only. Is this also true for May?

Are my assumptions correct on these points so far?

Are there any other differences that would make a difference in our trip?
I know that April usually has Kids get in for free or buy 3 hotel nights get one free or something like that. This seems like it would make it more crowded to stay away from that promotion, but I am not sure.

Any insight into what I should expect for the first week in May will be greatly appreciated.

You seem to have a good handle on the differences. Early June and May will be fairly similar as far as entertainment - most of it will be on weekends. There are no Grad Nights in early May like there are in early June. There will be more ride and show closings in May than in June.

For example, if you went late April/early May this year 2006, here is the short list of what you would have missed:

Splash Mtn
Fantasmic
Tom Sawyer Island (turned into Pirate's Lair)
Mark Twain
Tarzan's Treehouse
Indiana Jones open, but no Fastpass

Next year there are rumors of phase 2 of Pirates Lair, and an extensive Indy refurb. There also have been rumors of POTC going down again to add more AA characters from the movies. If that happens, it will likely be in Spring 2008.

 

[Baloo2003]

Thanks, HydroGuy. You are the expert. I appreciate your input. I wasn't aware of all of the closings for refurbs. When I went this June, things were just reopening from some, although Fantasmic! was down, it was nice not to fight the Fantasmic! crowds.

Indy is my favorite since we don't have it in WDW, so I hope that doesn't close while I'm there. Although I am from Atlanta, DLR is my choice rather than WDW.

If the Lair hits phase 2, do you think that will prevent Fantasmic! I think Fantasmic! was down more because of the POTC premiere 2 weeks before this year.

Do you know when Toy Story Mania is roughly scheduled to open in DCA? It would be great to ride that, so hopefully it will open by May 2008

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks, HydroGuy. You are the expert. I appreciate your input. I wasn't aware of all of the closings for refurbs. When I went this June, things were just reopening from some, although Fantasmic! was down, it was nice not to fight the Fantasmic! crowds.

Indy is my favorite since we don't have it in WDW, so I hope that doesn't close while I'm there. Although I am from Atlanta, DLR is my choice rather than WDW.

If the Lair hits phase 2, do you think that will prevent Fantasmic! I think Fantasmic! was down more because of the POTC premiere 2 weeks before this year.

Do you know when Toy Story Mania is roughly scheduled to open in DCA? It would be great to ride that, so hopefully it will open by May 2008

Fantasmic was down because of the work on PLATSI, and the PLATSI schedule was tied to the POTC 3 movie premiere in late May. I have no idea what will happen there, but I suspect DL will not want to have Fantasmic down two years in a row during the Spring. No one knows about TSM, but I think DLR's priority will be to have it going for summer (like Nemo this year). Whether that means May or June is hard to say. When it came to Nemo, DLR poured extra resources into it to have it ready for June because it was starting to look like it might slip to July. They would not do that to get something open in early May. So it will be hit or miss with you. You will miss something though (Indy, etc.), but the crowds will probably be less.

 

[Baloo2003]

Regarding Nemo opening, I remeber at the 2005 50th celebration that the contruction wall said opening Spring 2007, so I could tell they were running later than planned.

 

[HydroGuy]

Regarding Nemo opening, I remeber at the 2005 50th celebration that the contruction wall said opening Spring 2007, so I could tell they were running later than planned.

Yes, and then they said June. And then it started to look like July and possibly later. That was when they poured extra resources into finishing it.

BTW, when they said Spring 2007 the budget for Nemo was $50 million. Eventually they spent almost $150 million according to some sources. So one of the causes for scheduling problems was that they expanded the original plan.