When is it better to go-May or August??

[Disneyfun1]

We have been planning for a year now to get married on sept 1, then fly to wdw and visit the parks and then do the cruise, now today my job says i cant have the time off because it labor day weekend. I can leave the tuesday after labor day, but that does me no good since i have an annual pass that expires on sept 11, that only gives us 6 days in wdw, and 3 of them would be gone on the cruise. So now in addition to me being mad at work and i am going to try and find another job, i have to reschedule our whole wedding and trip to wdw. We are either thinking to go may 13-24 or august 19-30. Which would be less crowded??

I always go in sept, and love the fact that there is no crowds, so which one of the two would put me closest to the sept date for crowds?? It would be either the weekend after mothers day, or the weekend before labor day.

Please help me!!! Ill take a new job as well if you have one too!!

thanks for any help!!

 

[dcmbshafe]

Sorry to hear about the work thing. I would guess that May is quite a bit less crowded than August. I've recently been to WDW around that time in May and the crowds were not overwhelming. It was definitely more crowded than September, but the parks were open longer in May as well. I haven't been in August since I was a kid, but everything I've read suggests it is still part of the peak summer season.

One caveat this year is that May 5th starts the big Disney celebration thing, which might draw larger crowds than normal this May. Another consideration is that the time you're thinking about in May coincides with the Flower & Garden festival at Epcot, which is kinda cool.

Good luck with your decision and with your job!

 

[cindyfan]

I am curious what everyone's repsonses will be too.
We are already going May 13-18...just me and DD.
But we wanted to plan a longer trip this year too with DH....
And we we looking at August 14th - 21st too.

I have heard that after Aug 15th the crowds take a dramatic decrease because so many schools start earlier and earlier every year!
My DD will be a freshman in HS this year and will have band camp, orientation, etc, etc, scattered throughout the month of Aug.
But she starts on the 29th. So that looks to be the most convenient time.

I know it will be REALLY HOT though!!!

 

[my3princesses]

Sorry your job has to rain on your parade!

Last time we went it was the last week of August. It was not very busy at all as most schools in the US were already back however our schools in Ontario are not back until after labour day so it worked well for us.

It was also (at the time) the first week for the slower season therefore prices for packages were a better deal. Our only problem was the heat/humidity as us canadians are not used to it. We were able to plan to be back at our hotel for a swim in the early afternoon or else we did all of the air conditioned shows during the heat of the day.

 

[aladdinsgirl]

We've been to WDW during both of these months--July 30-August 5, 2003 and May 8-16, 2004. To me, May is a much better time to go for 3 reasons:


1. Crowds. It was so crowded when we went in August, some of the attractions we didn't even attempt to try because the lines were so long. Fastpass machines were out of fastpasses by mid-late morning, and we all know, once they're gone, they're gone. During the week in May, we walked on every single ride, some multiple times and that includes all the big ticket rides. Of course with the kick off for the Disneyland 50th anniversary being May 5, crowd levels may be higher than normal.

2. Heat. It was so hot and humid in August, it was actually sickening. Normally heat doesn't really bother me, but there times when I thought I was going to vomit or pass out. We constantly drank water and stayed in air conditioning as much as possible, but the heat and humidity was just so oppressive. On the flip side, temperature wise, May was perfect. It was warm--highs in the 80's, but not too hot and there wasn't much humidity.

3. Rain. The rain is what ruined our vacation in August, it rained so much. I'm not talking about the infamous Florida showers that last maybe 20-30 minutes. No, it rained every day for hours and hours and hours. We were actually stuck in the Harambe store in Animal Kingdom for over 2 hours because it was raining so hard, the streets looked like rivers there was so much water. In May, I don't think we had any rain at all. Nothing but bright blue skies and big, fluffy clouds. We had such a great time in May, that we're planning on going in May this year.

Good luck in your decision, I'm sure whatever you decide it will be wonderful. I hope your wedding is perfect and good luck in the job search (what kind of employer won't you let off for your wedding?? ). Hope all of this helps!!

Krista

 

[brermomof2]

Listen to alladinsgirl - pick May. More romantic with the flowers also

 

[Disneyfun1]

thanks for all the input so far!!

I was up until 2 am trying to figure out rates for rooms and cruises, now im up again at 8 am! this is driving me crazy!!! Not only do i have to figure out the honeymoon,we have to replan the whole wedding as well.

And the company that wont let me off for my wedding is Frys Food and Drug stores, owned by Kroger. I am even one of the managers, and my store manager wont give me the time off. Says who knows what will be going on in sept, they cant plan that far ahead in case im transferred or another manager comes in. I think thats rediculous.

 

[cindyfan]

I feel for you with your job.
I work for a retailer that has actually been very understanding is situations like this.
Our store for 9 years has always had inventory in April....so I planned around this....and my boss gave the okay.
then......OMG...we got the inventory schedule.....May! We all thought it was a mistake, but no....it was right....don't know why they changed it.
But, since the boss had already okay it....and I will be back 2 days before....I got the okay to keep it.

Our problem is now my DD being in middle school! So much going on all the time!! then try to coordinate with my schedule!!!

But if I didn't have my DD school to worry about.....I would pick May over any other month!
Weather is like PERFECT!
Crowds not bad.....just stay away from Grad nights and Star Wars weekends at MGM!

Pick May!