WDW May 8th-15th

[twinmom1228]

Hi! Was wondering if anyone could give me some insight on the crowds in early May? Thanks!

[Strmchsr]

:welcome: to Intercot!!!

Not light, not heavy pretty much sums up May. The parks won't be empty by any means, but you'll be able to do everything you want with no problems.

[Gregandmel]

Touring plans has that week listed as mostly 4-6's on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being packed). I think you'll enjoy your week there!!

[Strmchsr]

Touring plans has that week listed as mostly 4-6's on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being packed). I think you'll enjoy your week there!!

Let's just hope in about 2 weeks they don't suddenly update that to 8s and 9s like they did last year, which created mass hysteria the likes of which is usually only seen in the south at the grocery stores when snow is mentioned.;)

[Scar]

Speaking of Touring Plans, are the numbers they give proportionate? In other words if an "8" means a wait is 40 mins, is a "4" 20 mins? (I know, all rides are different, I'm just saying in general.)

[Strmchsr]

Their chart is as follows:

Level Wait Time
1 14 mins. or less
2 15 - 24 mins.
3 25 - 34 mins.
4 35 - 44 mins.
5 45 - 54 mins.
6 55 - 64 mins.
7 65 - 74 mins.
8 75 - 84 mins.
9 85 - 94 mins.
10 95 mins. or more

And, of course, their "levels" are only for headliner attractions at MK so you could see a 4 or a 5 and find Epcot packed. That's why I don't put a whole of lot of credence in TP. It's interesting to look at and use as a general rule of thumb, but it really doesn't tell you crowd size for your vacation. There's also the fact that they have more CMs during higher crowd season so in January a crowd of 20,000 might cause a level 6, but in July it takes a crowd of 40,000 to do the same thing. It's a wait time measurement for Magic Kingdom, not a crowd size estimator for the entire resort.

[Gregandmel]

Let's just hope in about 2 weeks they don't suddenly update that to 8s and 9s like they did last year, which created mass hysteria the likes of which is usually only seen in the south at the grocery stores when snow is mentioned.;)

Yes I totally remember that last year! LOL! They've already raised my week (April 24-May 1) from mostly 5-'s to now 6's & 8's. Yuk! I just plan on getting to the parks at opening and making good use of FP's. I'm hoping they don't suddenly raise them though.

[Julie_Mouse]

You will love May! Having been to WDW during several different times of the year, IMO, May was the best time to go.

Great temperatures, and the crowds are light-moderate. During the heat of the afternoon, there can be 40 min+ wait times for popular attractions (okay, maybe substantially more for TSM ;)), but with fastpasses and EMH, you will be fine.

We will be there at the same time as you this year :mickey: May 9-16... perhaps we'll see you at MK EMH (until 1AM!) on the 9th? :D LOL

[wdwluv]

We will be there on these dates too! :mickey: I'm hoping it's not as hot as last year though...we hit a record setting heat wave of mid to upper 90's for our trip!!!

[fielin]

Yes I totally remember that last year! LOL! They've already raised my week (April 24-May 1) from mostly 5-'s to now 6's & 8's. Yuk! I just plan on getting to the parks at opening and making good use of FP's. I'm hoping they don't suddenly raise them though.

This is the exact same week as us, and I look at their crowd estimator everyday, hoping they'll lower it to 1 & 2s. :blush:

[Strmchsr]

This is the exact same week as us, and I look at their crowd estimator everyday, hoping they'll lower it to 1 & 2s. :blush:

Don't we all! Unfortunately, I don't think a 1 or 2 exists anymore. I'm not sure the last time I saw something lower than 4.

[Gregandmel]

This is the exact same week as us, and I look at their crowd estimator everyday, hoping they'll lower it to 1 & 2s. :blush:

At this point I guess I should be happy that they aren't 8's & 9's!! I don't want any big surprises a week before we leave. And I agree with Stormchaser that I haven't seen anything less than 3 in about 2 years! We'll have a great time though - regardless of crowds - just gotta have a plan and we'll be good to go! :thumbsup:

[Loweschevy]

We went in May when I was in college for years. It was the week before the Memorial Day crowds would roll in-in fact the tail end of our vacation was MD, so we saw the size of the crowds.

The crowds were manageable because most people are waiting till the kids are finished with school for the year.

The temps and humidity just start to kick up. We would have some tolerable days, but some were upper 90s-woof! Just take those days a little more easy if you encounter them.

I hope you have a great time! :mickey:

[fernsmommy]

We will be there at the same time as you this year :mickey: May 9-16... perhaps we'll see you at MK EMH (until 1AM!) on the 9th? :D LOL

We'll be at MK that day too! Maybe we'll see each other!;)

[minnie-mouse]

Where do you find the scale for each upcoming week?

[stitch34]

We will be there for the 8th thru the 18th too!! we love going in May at this time and unfortunately this will be our last time in May (have to start going in the summer time because my daughter's attendance will be official for the 1st grade ) We LOVE going in May for weather and crowd and the first week to the second week in May was a HUGE differance in weather in years past as crazy as that sounds its been true...The crowds are perfect throughout this time frame I would a good medium size crowds somethings will have no or barely any wait which we love but others will always have some type of a wait...We do notice that our last weekend there at this time frame the crowds start to pick up big time! Towards the end of the trip MK has way bigger crowds then the beginning of it...Just what we have noticed and we have been going in May for the past 6 years! maybe we will see you there and we wont even know it!!!:mickey:

[wdwluv]

I'm curious about where you find these numbers?!? I'd like to keep tabs on it for our trip!

[mermaidmarian]

For many years, May was our favorite month to visit WDW. The weather, in my experience, was always quite nice and crowd levels were low because schools were still in session. You will notice an uptick in crowd volume on the weekend and I also recall experiencing quite a few student field trip groups, but not a big deal.

DS is too old now to miss a week of school for a family trip, so May is out for us now. But if I could pick my favorite time to go each year, it would be for Mother's Day in May.

Have fun!

[Strmchsr]

I'm curious about where you find these numbers?!? I'd like to keep tabs on it for our trip!


Where do you find the scale for each upcoming week?

It's by the people who do the Unofficial Guide to Disney World book. Just google them and you'll find the site with the numbers. Again, as I said earlier, take it with a grain of salt because all it tells is anticipated wait times at the main MK rides, not crowd size.

[javamama]

I fell off the chair last May when they changed the numbers, and then when we were there...it was fine. 4's from Monday thru Thursday then Friday/Saturday busy due to locals--the norm. I really forgot to even look at Touring Plans this year, I honestly just kinda love this time of year, and kids are still in school, spring break is over so that always helps with crowd levels--IMO:mickey: