Is this a good time?

[GrimV]

Is the end of April/beginning of May a good time to hit the parks?

Belive it or not, I use to be a Castmember, and if I remember correctly the crowds tend to thin out between Spring Break and Summer vacation. Unfortunately, I just checked the Disney reservation system and every one of the All Star Resorts seem to be booked solid.

Have the "crowded seasons" changed in the last ten years, or have they always been this busy and I just don't remember...(I use to work at Pleasure Island. and like most PI castmembers I use to, um, "enjoy a cocktail or two after work". so it's quite possible I don't remember... )

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

[AlohaMickey]

Gosh, I hope it's a good time, because that's when I'm going~
April 28th-May 7th :lol:

I think that Spring Break is over by then for everyone.
It'll be a real bummer if the parks are totally over crowded.
Where are you staying?

 

[DisneyBunny]

I hope so too! We've never actually gone down at that time of year - most of our trips have been in September or January, so either way I'm sure we're in for a shock with the crowds.

 

[AlohaMickey]

The only time I was there in May was Senior Week from High School!
(not saying how long ago it was, but a bit of time has past since then, a wee bit )
I remember there were a lot of groups and the parks closed early
for them, which was not fun for us.

Luckily, this trip isn't crammed into a week, so we can be a little
flexible if the parks are really crazy full.

 

[loriwdunn]

Where I live, the schools are on spring break the very last week of April. Usually the public schools have spring break before then. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I have always found a lot of people from NJ go to DW.

 

[Caseyis8]

My family and I only go to WDW at the end of April or the beginning of May. We used to go in the summer, but it got to be soooooo terribly humid, and the crowds were crazy. The last week of April and the first week of May are great. The parks are pretty empty, which means that you can ride ALL of the rides, and the heat isn't too bad yet. It is plenty hot enough to wear shorts and go swimming, but not sooooooo hot that you have to wring your shirt out the minute you walk out the door.
That is just my opinion though. We are going to WDW next year, 2007. I am already counting down the days.

 

[mitchk]

I was there in April (22nd I believe) of 2001, and the crowd level was very low, not like everything was a walk on, but much different from the July crowds. I'll be there April 26 at All-star sports, so I hope the trend of low crowds continues ....oh, someone posted this link a few weeks ago, check it out http://wdw.parkcrowds.com/

 

[crazydaveh]

Rule of thumb for me is not to go to the parks until after Easter. Usually, I've had great luck with minimal crowds from the end of April until June 1.

 

[aeillill]

Where I live, the schools are on spring break the very last week of April. Usually the public schools have spring break before then. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I have always found a lot of people from NJ go to DW.

Do you mean specifically during that time? Because generally around election day is when the entire state of New Jersey takes a week off and goes to WDW

 

[Sweetums]

I am taking my family the last week of April (24 - 29th) and scheduled it then for the same reasoning as others have mentioned--after Easter, before summer, Spring Breakers should be gone...

But then I go here: Touring Plans Best Days

Looks like those days are predicted to be crowded!

Not freaking out just yet, but I sure hope that they are overestimating...(or that I am maybe just not reading the numbers right :hammer: )

 

[numomma2]

We took the kids May 1-5, '03. It was awesome! Longest wait was 15 minutes for a ride, 45 minutes for my darling 3 year old daughter to get Ariel's autograph. (Can't believe I waited that long!) We also swam while we were there. Weather was perfect and the crowds were practically nonexistent. My only advice is to double check the Firework and night parade schedules before you go so you don't miss something. When we went, SpectroMagic and MK FW were only scheduled for our first night. We would have missed out if I hadn't checked!

 

[luna99]

oh, I hope it's not crowded as well..that's when I'm going!
May 5- May 8th. But actually, I'll only be at one of the parks on the 6th. :hammer:

 

[loriwdunn]

Do you mean specifically during that time? Because generally around election day is when the entire state of New Jersey takes a week off and goes to WDW

This year, spring break for the public schools (at least where I live in northern Jersey) is from April 24th-29th. Usually its earlier. And when you say election day, I bet it coincides with the NJ teachers convention when all schools are closed (second week in Nov). Airfare on Jet Blue tripled that weekend in Nov. this year.

 

[nibblesandbits]

I went last year that in May (16-20) and the crowds were very managable. There were definitely people there, but wait times were not exorbant. I think the most we really waited was 45 minutes. We did utilize Fastpass a few times, but not a whole heck of a lot.

All in all, it wasn't bad.