Why so busy the week of May 23-27??

[kenzie_belle]

Our kids get out of school on May 19th so we were thinking of going to Disneyland from May 23-27. We just found out about the $99 retired military deal and thought we'd take advantage of it. We figured that California schools would still be in session and I "thought" that most schools in other states would still be in session as well. However, when I went online to look for hotel reservations, there are many hotels completely sold out. We are puzzled as to why - I know that the POTC premiere is the 1st weekend of May but I can't find anything at all that explains the busyness of the week we wanted to go.

Any input??

Thanks,
Gina

 

[taaren]

There's a soft opening of Little Mermaid & Star Tours starting May 20, so that is probably the largest part of it. (The grand opening is June 3.) The other part is that many college age people may be heading down when their semester is over (my last final for this semester of grad school is May 7). HTH.

 

[kenzie_belle]

Thank you for the information...because I'd just started researching for the trip, I had no idea of the soft openings. Definitely makes sense!

 

[wdwfan22]

Also, May 30 is Memorial Day. The week before and after holidays are usually affected by the holiday. Especially as you get later into the week you are looking at.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yep, leading into Mem Day weekend has been nasty for a few years. Gets busier and busier until the Monday holiday when everyone goes home.

Add the other things in, and you've got a busy time.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Also, there are thousands of school districts in California, all with their own schedules and some of them will also be out of school in May. My son't last day of school this year is May 24. I think there's a lot more schools getting out in May than there used to be.

 

[Purplegal]

Ok silly question...what is a soft opening?? We are booked for May 22 to the 25...boy that would be nice to see the Little Mermaid ride while there!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Ok silly question...what is a soft opening?? We are booked for May 22 to the 25...boy that would be nice to see the Little Mermaid ride while there!

When a new attraction/show/parade opens at DLR it generally has a set date to open. Quite often (dare I say always?), it will actually open a few days early without officially being announced or scheduled. This is what is called a "soft opening." It gives DLR flexibility because there has not been a commitment made to the public and if they want to open and close "whatever" throughout the day for tweaks or adjustments they can do so without apology because it is not "officially" supposed to be open yet. It is just a "soft opening."

Of course, now everyone counts on soft openings and they can get quite a crowd.

HTH,
Dreams

P.S Welcome to the DISBoards!

 

[Purplegal]

Thanks so much Disney Dreams! Yes I am quickly becoming a new addict to this board...was up till midnight last night reading a million threads!

So soft opening...there is a chance the ride will be open, we just have to go check it out everyday? That's exciting!