When Did May Get So Crowded?

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I was there May 2nd through 7th and it sure was busy - especially in the evenings after the competitions were done for the day.

Even with FP+, lines were 15 - 20 minutes to get thru that most of the time during the days. When lines were longer for FP+ it seemed to be because the ride when down for a bit. I found if I got to the park when it opened, I could alot more before it got busy usually around 10:30am or so. I'm not an early riser anymore so I really had to push myself but found it worth it.

Bathrooms were messy, quick service food lines were long and the people cleaning the tables couldn't keep up. I was very glad I had some table service reservations to avoid some of the quick service issues.

I guess more people are traveling nowadays.

 

[RachaelA]

They must have all arrived in the parks after we left on Fri. May 5 - didn't see the groups other than a few very small groups - not sure what they were (5-10 ea..) Didn't impact us.

Most got there Friday the 5th. Our entire plane down that morning was cheerleaders!

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

We were there May 5th-10th. We have been at the beginning of May in 2015 and 2016 and enjoyed relatively low crowds. We noticed slightly larger crowds this year, especially over the weekend. The cheerleading groups were everywhere in the evening. I have never seen AK as crowded as it was the evening of May 6th. At 7:00 PM was a 120 minute wait for Everest and a line forming for the 9:15 ROL

We went to HS on the evening of 5/7 and the FP line for ToT was backed to the Mickey touch points and practically everyone in standby and FP line was affiliated with a cheer team. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster had a 150 minute wait at one point.

We noticed a decrease in crowds on Monday May 8th and Tuesday May 9th. There weren't nearly as many large cheerleading groups. We've been during the May cheerleading competition before and never encountered as many as we did this past trip. We still accomplished everything we wanted to do thanks to rope drop and FP, but definitely glad we saved our FPs for the evening.

BTW, is the cheer competition largely over? I'm headed back on the 20th

 

[North of Mouse]

Wow, about the cheerleaders descending on the 6th! Sure glad our 10 nights ended then, and we headed home on the 6th. We had a great 'slow' time at Disney (or rather as slow as it gets anymore)!! Sorry for those of you that were stuck with those groups - could really impact your trip negatively.

 

[Kamy04]

They descended the 4th, lol. That's when we noticed a change.

That being said, the weekend was kinda crowded but I didn't find it terrible. We were there the 2-9th. Of course I have no recent comparison. We rope dropped, went late and used FPs and barely waited for anything. Our longest was 20 minutes for AstroOrbiter. Only Saturday at MK felt kinda crazy and I knew that going in. We just left earlier that day.

 

[mb187143]

We were there 4/29 through 5/6 and i didn't find it more crowded than this week the last 3 years when we have gone. Nothing a solid touring plan and good fastpass selection couldn't handle. We got 4,5, and 6th fast passes daily in each park with no problem and for many headliners. The days of extremely low crowds are long gone but it was more than manageable for us.

 

[mb187143]

They descended the 4th, lol. That's when we noticed a change.

That being said, the weekend was kinda crowded but I didn't find it terrible. We were there the 2-9th. Of course I have no recent comparison. We rope dropped, went late and used FPs and barely waited for anything. Our longest was 20 minutes for AstroOrbiter. Only Saturday at MK felt kinda crazy and I knew that going in. We just left earlier that day.

One thing about Saturday (5/6) in the MK - it was pretty crowded and pirates and haunted mansion were both down for most of the morning so that didn't help.

 

[bluefunnel]

We've been at the same time for the previous two years as well. This year definitely seemed more crowded to us though we still got to enjoy quite a bit. It seems to be a combination of the cheerleaders, Wishes closing(I hear a few people made plans specifically for this) and the Pandora previews.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I have been in May a couple times, and I have always noticed normal crowds. Now, I haven't gone during this May yet, but I am going at the end of the month. Personally, to me, 40-80 minute waits are normal. I grew up around Disneyland, and there are very few days where you will experience ride wait times less than 40 minutes for the big attractions. I realize it is just my preference. I will agree with Disney doing everything they can to get groups to their parks practically at any part of the year now.

 

[dreiwhit]

It is always crowded now. May is actually one of the slower times. What you experienced IS low crowds. It gets busier and busier each year. Disney does not want any slow times, there are many things they do to drive up crowds i.e. marathons, parties, celebrations, free dining etc.

I wonder when the tipping point will occcur when folks will begin to say that WDW is too crowded and stop going? My brother-in-law and his family go to WDW between Christmas and New Years and he says there are days when you only get to ride 2 or 3 rides each day because of the crowds. At what point do you start to say that the money i'm spending isn't worth it anymore? For example, in August 1994, my family and I drove over to Six Flags Atlanta for the day. It was packed. After four hours, we had ridden two rides. At that point we said we have had enough and left. We haven't been back since.

Ride breakdowns are also the norm now it seems.

Sadly so true. I'm beginning to suspect that the higher crowd levels have something to do it with.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

Question for you all - is there a way to see in advance when these cheer/sports/dance competitions are before booking - incase that would sway your decision for booking? We still have a ways to go before we book - but we're looking at late April to early May.

 

[xlsm]

I always think it's funny to see how different people view the crowds. I was there 4/30 - 5/6 and it was the lowest crowds I've seen in a long time! I lucked into 10 or 15 minute waits for Soarin' twice, was able to pick up same day Frozen fast passes, found the safari walk on after the 4pm Festival of the Lion King on 5/3, and even saw 7DMT under an hour twice!

The only days I encountered high waits was on the final Friday and Saturday of the trip. Saturday was the worst, but that's to be expected.

But I tend to do early morning and later afternoon touring. I noticed a few cheerleaders, but mainly near the end of the week.

I'm used to traveling in the middle of summer, and more recently the week leading up to Christmas, so for me, this first week of May was wonderful!

 

[anniemae]

I wonder when the tipping point will occcur when folks will begin to say that WDW is too crowded and stop going? My brother-in-law and his family go to WDW between Christmas and New Years and he says there are days when you only get to ride 2 or 3 rides each day because of the crowds. At what point do you start to say that the money i'm spending isn't worth it anymore? For example, in August 1994, my family and I drove over to Six Flags Atlanta for the day. It was packed. After four hours, we had ridden two rides. At that point we said we have had enough and left. We haven't been back since.

I know, I wonder this too. It seems Disney keeps getting more and more crowded. More and more people, longer lines, riding less rides, prices go up. But people still go. No matter what, more and more people go. and keep going. I don't think there is a point where people will stop, I think it would have happened already. They have trouble keeping up with the crowds at times I think, but people still go

 

[dkostel]

I was there May 11- 14. It was super crowded. There were a lot of people for the last night of wishes and first of Happily Ever after. Plus previews of Pandora started on 5/13. For those 4 days it was as crowded as I'd ever seen it (saw a 75 min wait for Space Ship Earth). I think making Star Wars land part of DHS is a mistake. A 5th gate would go a long way to helping with crowds.

 

[L_MD]

This is my dilemma...trying to plan for late April or early May next year. So, do I pick the last week of April (4/23 - 4/30) with possible Cheer and Dance Worlds, or the first week of May (4/30 - 5/7) with possible The Summit (another cheer event)? So many people have so many opinions about these past few weeks...super crowded, not crowded...I'm going a bit nuts. Oy!

 

[grumpy28]

We were there May 2-9. I didn't think it was too bad. Sure some of the waits got excessive in the afternoon (2+ hours). And yes it was HOT. But using FP it wasn't bad IMO. And yes there were some cheerleaders around, but not huge large groups of them. We did notice way more ride breakdowns than we've ever seen before (HM, WTP, POTC), but we just moved on to other rides and came back to those later.

 

[busymommy2pink]

We were there may 3-14 and didn't find it bad at all. One day at Epcot in the evening, that was it. We love may.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

This is my dilemma...trying to plan for late April or early May next year. So, do I pick the last week of April (4/23 - 4/30) with possible Cheer and Dance Worlds, or the first week of May (4/30 - 5/7) with possible The Summit (another cheer event)? So many people have so many opinions about these past few weeks...super crowded, not crowded...I'm going a bit nuts. Oy!

That's a tough choice. It looks like the Star Wars marathon is April 19-22, I've never been around marathon time, so I'm not sure if this has an impact on crowds for the rest of the week. Cheerleading worlds is April 28-30th and the Summit is May 4-6th (if the 2018 dates I found online are correct).

As others have mentioned, I think it was a combo of Pandora previews, the last few nights of Wishes, and the cheer competition that made things a little more crowded than normal. I also seemed to pick the same parks as most of them in the evenings. We encountered multiple large groups of 15 or more at HS on 5/7. Plus, a majority of our trip was over their competition weekend (we were there 5/5-5/10).

With the marathon and competitions three weekends in a row, I'm not sure you will notice a huge difference in crowds between the two weeks. I would pick the week that works the best for you. And FWIW, the Summit is a bigger competition (participant and spectator wise) than Worlds in my opinion.

 

[DisneyFive]

You may be looking at your memories through rose colored glasses?

40 - 80 minute wait times for popular rides IS a slow time. We've gone 5 times in the historically slowest time of the year (late Sept) and even then the wait times are easily like what you mention.

Dan

 

[L_MD]

That's a tough choice. It looks like the Star Wars marathon is April 19-22, I've never been around marathon time, so I'm not sure if this has an impact on crowds for the rest of the week. Cheerleading worlds is April 28-30th and the Summit is May 4-6th (if the 2018 dates I found online are correct).

As others have mentioned, I think it was a combo of Pandora previews, the last few nights of Wishes, and the cheer competition that made things a little more crowded than normal. I also seemed to pick the same parks as most of them in the evenings. We encountered multiple large groups of 15 or more at HS on 5/7. Plus, a majority of our trip was over their competition weekend (we were there 5/5-5/10).

With the marathon and competitions three weekends in a row, I'm not sure you will notice a huge difference in crowds between the two weeks. I would pick the week that works the best for you. And FWIW, the Summit is a bigger competition (participant and spectator wise) than Worlds in my opinion.

Thank you very much for this reassurance- especially the part about Worlds not being quite as packed as Summit. I'm going to wait a bit before confirming (I want to see what wdwprepschool ends up saying) but this helps a lot.