*** Yay May! OFFICIAL MAY 2020 THREAD!!! Flowers are starting to bloom! ***

[Greg36]

We are booked May 9th to 23rd (AKL). Excited to be taking my parents with us for five nights. First time taking grandparents.

 

[Penny McMouse]

I am really trying hard not to stress all the possible closures next year. I thought I was doing well with all the D23 announcements but after spending time this weekend working with my itinerary I'm pretty sure I was either in some form of shock or repressing my emotions. My husband and I have never been to Epcot, the kids are thrill seekers and up until this year showed no interest in going to that park. Of course they could be interested in going to Epcot because our excuse for doing an adult only trip is we want to go to Epcot and not have to hear them complain about it. But anyway.... Knowing that so much is up in the air as far as what will be/won't be open in May, we're thinking about not doing a dining reservation in that park to optimize flexibility. Is this a bad idea?

 

[evlaina]

I am really trying hard not to stress all the possible closures next year. I thought I was doing well with all the D23 announcements but after spending time this weekend working with my itinerary I'm pretty sure I was either in some form of shock or repressing my emotions. My husband and I have never been to Epcot, the kids are thrill seekers and up until this year showed no interest in going to that park. Of course they could be interested in going to Epcot because our excuse for doing an adult only trip is we want to go to Epcot and not have to hear them complain about it. But anyway.... Knowing that so much is up in the air as far as what will be/won't be open in May, we're thinking about not doing a dining reservation in that park to optimize flexibility. Is this a bad idea?

How old are your kids? Mine are only 5 and 7 but they love Epcot. It's not the "boring learning park" of the past. Even with the closures, you still have Test Track, Soarin, Mission Space, and Frozen, all of which are fun.

As for ADRs, you'e safe in Epcot. There are SO MANY QS places plus it'll be the Flower & Garden Festival so you'll have a bunch of booths. We don't like going booth to booth with kids, but adult only we will.

 

[Penny McMouse]

How old are your kids? Mine are only 5 and 7 but they love Epcot. It's not the "boring learning park" of the past. Even with the closures, you still have Test Track, Soarin, Mission Space, and Frozen, all of which are fun.

As for ADRs, you'e safe in Epcot. There are SO MANY QS places plus it'll be the Flower & Garden Festival so you'll have a bunch of booths. We don't like going booth to booth with kids, but adult only we will.

They're 14 and 20. They were 12 and 18 the last time we went. It was my 18 year old's graduation celebration and she wasn't interested in an Epcot day then.

I'm really excited about trying new foods and spending the afternoon going from pavilion to pavilion.

 

[Roscoe18]

I am really trying hard not to stress all the possible closures next year. I thought I was doing well with all the D23 announcements but after spending time this weekend working with my itinerary I'm pretty sure I was either in some form of shock or repressing my emotions. My husband and I have never been to Epcot, the kids are thrill seekers and up until this year showed no interest in going to that park. Of course they could be interested in going to Epcot because our excuse for doing an adult only trip is we want to go to Epcot and not have to hear them complain about it. But anyway.... Knowing that so much is up in the air as far as what will be/won't be open in May, we're thinking about not doing a dining reservation in that park to optimize flexibility. Is this a bad idea?

On the whole, Epcot has some of the best food in WDW, so I would plan on eating there at some point to experience it.

It's a shame that Epcot will be in such flux when we're there (I really have no idea what to expect by May) but I still think it's worth going to. At the very least, you have Soarin' and Test Track as well as all the World Showcase stuff if your kids are interested in that.

 

[Roscoe18]

Greetings May people!

We got what seemed like a pretty good deal on a package, so my wife and I booked our trip a couple weeks ago for 5/2 - 5/12 at the Swan.

During our last visit in 2016, we were able to do everything we wanted to do in all 4 parks (including TZ:ToT 15x) by planning extensively and going rope drop to close for 5 straight days. However, by the end, our feet were killing us, and we were exhausted, so this time, with several major additions since 2016, we decided to stretch it out to 10 days to allow for a few rest days ("rest" being used loosely to mean sleeping in, spending most of the day at the resort, and then an evening arrival at the parks to get in a FP+ attraction or two, and catch the night shows), and more flexibility with hard-to-get FastPasses.

So now I'm well into insane levels of planning (so... many... spreadsheets). However, with a lot of the park specifics still up in the air right now, the number of unknowns has made planning a lot less straightforward - if/when SW:GE will offer FastPass+, whether Runaway Railway be open by early May and whether it will offer FP+, and how either of those might affect DHS FP+ tiers. Hopefully most of that will be resolved before our 60 day window in March, but it's killing the planner in me not to have the big details ironed out well in advance. The one thing that has me legitimately worried is Space 220. The announced opening date of "this winter" probably means ADRs will not likely be available when our window opens in November, so we lose the advantage of the later days in our 180+10, and might have to keep a vigilant watch for when they open up in order to have a chance at an ADR.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I look forward to the information, entertainment, and community shared by/with fellow May travelers.

I'm right there with you as far as planning goes - I want to know what I'm in for! The question of SWGE and FP is an interesting one, and one that I'll be keeping an eye on as well. I purposefully planned our last full day at DHS to position ourselves to get FP's for (one of?) the SW rides and so far, that looks like it will be irrelevant. Hopefully we'll know by March when FP day comes around.

As for Space 220, I'm still holding out hope that if it's really opening in "winter" (which I guess could be any time into mid-March, if we're going to take it literally), that they give us enough lead time to still book at 180 days in November. It's worrying that there hasn't been any firmer date announced for that, but what can you do?

 

[SMRT-1]

Another planning decision I'm debating is whether or not to avoid DHS on May 4th. My gut is telling me to avoid it at all costs, but the Star Wars fan in me is curious. Right now, I'm leaning toward "avoid," since the 4th is only 2 days after our check-in date, so pushing our DHS days later in the trip will make for better FP+ availability (especially if SW:GE adds FP+).

 

[Farro]

Just a quick pop in. We are having a really tough time with one of our kitties . I will try to update any new friends to the list every weekend!

Feel free to PM me if I miss you by accident.

 

[acciobrain]

Today is the 8 month mark for our trip! We're chugging along, May friends!

 

[HausofDisney]

I was able to add on another day to my trip and will now be there from May 12-May 17. Even though it’s months away, I’ve been planning every day. I’m excited for this trip!

 

[Mmouse1588]

I was able to add on another day to my trip and will now be there from May 12-May 17. Even though it’s months away, I’ve been planning every day. I’m excited for this trip!

Planning is the best! I love deciding the hotel and planning an itinerary my husband disagrees his eyes roll into the back of his head if i start going over our plans.

 

[HausofDisney]

Planning is the best! I love deciding the hotel and planning an itinerary my husband disagrees his eyes roll into the back of his head if i start going over our plans.

Same. My family members hate me for planning every detail but I simply can’t go to Disney without a plan.

 

[Farro]

Hey all. It's with a heavy heart that I say we received some devastating news about our kitties. After money spent on countless testing and treatments, we are losing the battle.
Unfortunately we did decide to cancel our trip to give all our funds to our babies.

I'm sorry to have to leave you guys.

If someone would like just like to copy the first post, you can continue on with the list.

Have great trips everyone.

 

[Roscoe18]

Oh, Farro, I’m so sorry to hear! This is sad on multiple levels, as you have to go through that AND not be able to do the trip. Good luck with everything

 

[kylenne]

Farro I’m so sorry to hear about your furbabies. I hope things turn out for the best.

Came back to the thread to let anyone else who may have been waiting know that JetBlue extended their schedule to 6/10/20. Normally I’m not crazy about booking flights this far out because of our work schedules but flights for our dates are crazy cheap on points. I may just take the gamble.

 

[Roscoe18]

Farro I’m so sorry to hear about your furbabies. I hope things turn out for the best.

Came back to the thread to let anyone else who may have been waiting know that JetBlue extended their schedule to 6/10/20. Normally I’m not crazy about booking flights this far out because of our work schedules but flights for our dates are crazy cheap on points. I may just take the gamble.

I knew this was happening today ... and I booked our flight to Orlando earlier. $99 was too good to pass up. I’m holding off on the return flight for now but even that isn’t too expensive

 

[kylenne]

I knew this was happening today ... and I booked our flight to Orlando earlier. $99 was too good to pass up. I’m holding off on the return flight for now but even that isn’t too expensive

No kidding! It‘s even cheaper on points because I have the Plus card that refunds 10% points back when you redeem them. I’ll just have to pray GF’s boss doesn’t swamp her with work and I don’t have a new hire class scheduled!

 

[Roscoe18]

No kidding! It‘s even cheaper on points because I have the Plus card that refunds 10% points back when you redeem them. I’ll just have to pray GF’s boss doesn’t swamp her with work and I don’t have a new hire class scheduled!

Yeah I have that card as well but I didn’t have enough points to use for the round trip. I’m going to use them when I book the return.

Hope the timeframe works out for you guys. We’re pretty much full speed ahead since we rented DVC so there’s no turning back now, lol

 

[kylenne]

Yeah I have that card as well but I didn’t have enough points to use for the round trip. I’m going to use them when I book the return.

Hope the timeframe works out for you guys. We’re pretty much full speed ahead since we rented DVC so there’s no turning back now, lol

Go hard or stay home! LOL

Crazy to think we’re not too far off from ADR day. Time really seems like it’s flying.

 

[acciobrain]

Crazy to think we’re not too far off from ADR day. Time really seems like it’s flying.

I know! I'm so excited to hit this milestone!

Because of the conversations here, I decided to check into the flight options we currently have listed available to us. I refuse to take a layover when the nonstop flight is only 2-2.5 hours. My nonstop options aren't very good though. The airline we typically travel is only listing a 5pm outbound flight from our home. I'm hoping they add an additional flight on. It appears that the airline has 2 flights to Orlando every Tuesday until about December and then Tuesdays only have this 5pm flight listed. I'm really hoping they make a change because I know it's a very popular route. The alternative airline is about $900 more. At that rate, I might as well add on an extra day at the beginning of the trip and pay the cost of the room instead of the cost of the airline so that I don't call that Tuesday a complete wash.