Has Anybody Been in Late April/Early May?

[MW1218]

My wife and I have been throwing around the idea of another WDW trip since our Christmas vacation early last December. One thing that she disliked about the December trip was that she equates Disney World with warm weather, and while we had a few pretty nice days, overall it was a little chillier than we anticipated. So I've begun the preliminary planning for our next trip, and came across the following:

[link removed per Intercot's terms of service]

It seems to show that late April/early May would be a decent time to go, crowd-wise, while also being able to take advantage of better resort prices. I think we would aim to get there in the middle of the first week of May, since Easter is April 24th, and I'd assume the parks would be pretty crowded for the entire week afterwards. Has anybody been during the times we're looking at, and how were the crowds and weather?

Thanks!

[BugeyedMuggy]

We have been many times early May. Most days the weather is 80 - 90 range with lower humidity. But we have also worn sweatshirts & it could be even warmer. But it is our favorite time to go weather wise. You also have the flower & garden fest.

[sassy2000]

We have been several times last week of April/first 2 weeks of May and it was great. The weather is nice, not alot of rain, and the crowds are not bad at all.

[Tinker Fan]

We have also been the end of April and beginning of May and it was one of our favorite times. The weather is nice and crowds managable. Love the Flower and Garden festival at Epcot.

[faline]

You might want to check out this information on When To Visit (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/weather/whentovisit.asp).

I would expect that late April next year will be very crowded based on Easter's date.

May used to be very uncrowded. We were there in May of this year and, as others have reported over the last year or two, May has gotten much busier than it was in years past. It's still manageable to go at this time of year.

[Disney4us2]

We are planning for the same time frame. April 16 to 23. It is the week before Easter and I know it WILL be a total spring break madhouse crowd. We are going at that time because my DD is out of school that week.

If you are traveling without kids, or with kids and planning to take them out of school. I would go in early May when spring break is over.

[PETE FROM NYC]

We did end of April-beginning of May, once, around 20 yrs ago to be there for our anniversary on 4/28. Back then our trips were usually mid-March.
Well let me say that it was very hot compared to what we expected. Then on May 1, back then was discounted for Florida residents. And they ALL came at once it seemed. Lines went from 10-20 minutes to over an hour.

[Strmchsr]

May used to be very uncrowded. We were there in May of this year and, as others have reported over the last year or two, May has gotten much busier than it was in years past. It's still manageable to go at this time of year.

:ditto: We did the first week of May in 2009 & 2010 based on reports of previous years of great weather and low crowds. However, in both of those years highs were low to mid 90s (which is above average) and crowds were much heavier than reported. Like Linda said, manageable, but not low. The Flower & Garden Festival was wonderful to see, though. I very much enjoyed that, but we missed some rides due to heavy crowds.

[eandrsmom]

We went the first week in May this year. It was HOT. The crowds were larger than expected, but still managable. Of course, I am a crazed Disney mom who tends to over-plan our trips. I was very careful to avoid any park that I thought was going to be busy.

[TheVBs]

We've been there the first couple weeks of May twice, the last time was 2009. Both times the weather was great and the crowds were very manageable.

[Gregandmel]

We were there from April 24th - May 1st this year and it was perfect. Low crowds and we missed the heat, which came in the day we left. We picked this time frame because it was away from Easter (April 4th) and Spring Breaks were over with (mostly). Late April 2011 will be a different story with Easter being on April 24th. That will bring in a lot of people the week before & after, as a lot of schools combine their Spring Breaks during that time. The weather should be really nice and you will be there during the Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot which was great, but due to the Easter holiday, expect it to be more crowded. Just have a plan each day and get to the parks early and you will get a lot done those first couple of hours! Enjoy!!!

[iheartdisney]

The first two weeks of May is my favorite time to visit! But as others have pointed out, Easter is late this year. I'm not sure how this will affect crowds.