May at WDW

[rdour@techminds]

Hello,

First, I'm so happy I bought an annual pass. That pretty much is the reason why I'm able to go on a trip to WDW in May this year. I'll be headed down on May 11th early morning until May 16 early evening.

What should I expect for weather in May? In December, I didn't get rain on a single day. In fact, no rain on my last three trips. I will admit, I've only visited in Nov., Dec., and Feb. in the past few years. I remember quite a few years back taking summer vacations in June, July, and August and rain being a daily issue. It comes in as quickly as it leaves, and the duration is most of the time less than an hour. Besides a pancho, what else may help me stay out in the rain with audio gear? I've got great binaural mics, and I'm going to be sad if I have to put them away for long periods of time. You never know what you may hear at WDW that you just may want to keep.

What special things may I experience while I'm down at WDW? I picked the time based on the AP room specials, and availability. I hope to catch a few things this trip I missed in December, including at least one backstage tour.

Ever since I took my first solo trip in December, the idea no longer seems crazy. I'm visually impaired, for those of you who don't know. I learned a ton about navigating the parks using only my cane, a braille compass, and asking directions like every other lost tourist. I can't wait to check out the parks without that single repeating Xmas loop in Epcot and MGM taking away all of the area musics. I can't even remember now what the Future World sounds like without it! This should make navigation even easier for sure, as each country in World Showcase will have their normal area musics. Just think about it, walking around World Showcase not seeing which country you're passing isn't much fun unless you've got each area music playing. If I'm looking for France, the music above all for me makes the best landmark.

Which tours are the most interactive? Just thought I'd throw that out there too while I'm at it.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[tabbykatt]

Our family takes a ten day trip to Disney every May. This year we will be there from May 15th till May 25th. I can't recall rain ever being an issue but I know that we have experienced some pretty cold evenings. Since we live in Miami, anything under 70 degrees is cold to us:lol:. So don't worry too much about the rain but you may want to bring a sweater. Hope this helps! Enjoy your trip.

 

[Wendy517]

We go every year in May, and absolutely LOVE the weather. I don't recall a lot of rain, though you may experience the brief afternoon shower like during the summer months. A must see is the Flower and Garden Show at Epcot. It's absolutely beautiful! Check Disney's website too...I know there's a PPP on Friday, May 16th, but not sure of other dates. That's at MK and is an additional ticket item, but from what I've read here on the board, it's definately worth if for special parade and fireworks.

 

[golden_mudbug]

May in Disney

I always go in May to Disney. The weather is great (little chance of rain), kids are still in school getting ready for their finals so crowds are down some, and the flower festival is to good to miss.

 

[jodiey]

I've gone several times in May and only ever had a problem with rain once. It was nice for the first 4 days of our trip and rained constantly for the next 4.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I've been there several times in May - and rain was not an issue. In the summer months we'll always experienced rain, but not in our May trips. The weather is perfect actually, it's not overly hot, and while it can get a little chilly at night, I wouldnt say it's cold like it is in March some nights.

As for the tours, I don't have a lot of experience with them, but the keys to the Kingdom tour is the one I've heard the most positive thing about. You have a guide that takes you to various rides & backstage parts of the park. I don't know how interactive it is, but it might be something for you to look into.

Another tip for the rain...bring Ziploc bags and keep things you don't want to get wet inside those. That way if it does rain out of the blue, these things are protected. I always do that at concerts & things where I won't be able to get out of the rain.

 

[joshwill]

i just curious, how does a compass help?

you always know where north south east and west is, but how does that help you in the parks?

 

[NCState]

We went last year, I think it was the first week of May. There were school groups every where. We couldn't believe the groups....

 

[S&K_Md]

3 of our 5 trips have been in May, for a total of about 16 days. We'll be heading back this May too, though earlier than we have been previously (7-13, usually, we're there around the 23rd). In all, we've had only one day of solid, all-day rain, though it was not a very hard rain. Three other days saw the ubiquitous afternoon thundershowers that blew through rather quickly. The zip-top bag idea is a good one. Temps were probably between 85 and 91-92 degF. To echo what others have said, the Flower & Garden festival is quite nice. All the different scents in the air, especially after a nice cool shower, are very pleasant. It used to be that you could catch at least part of the Star Wars Weekends in May at the Studios, but that it looks like the start of that has slid firmly into June.

 

[Disney_Belle]

I went May 17th - 24th 2005. There were hardly any crowds for me, the weather was quite warm, but not wet and sticky. There was no rain and always a light breeze. I loved going in May, aside from January, it was my favorite time to go. And the F&G Festival was great too!!!

Have fun! :wave:

 

[rdour@techminds]

Thanks everyone. I'm happy I won't potentially have a very damp trip.

About the compass, when you can't see where you're going, it is a good idea to know which direction you're facing. Here is a good example, you know that Mainstreet USA is a North-South street. Sometimes due to crowds, parades, ets, you need to make sure when you detour you're headed the right direction. Also, if I know that in Tomorrowland space mountain is the Northern most attraction, I can find my way around whatever is between me and it, as long as I keep heading North. I used that trick to find Space Mountain, but I ended up at first in the arcade. Knowing that the entrance is to the right of the arcade, I headed out about 20 feet, and then headed directly East until I heard the entrance music and found the FastPass cast member. Believe it or not, you "can" use a compass to find your way around at WDW. WHen I go to Animal Kingdom it is especially important. Nothing, and I mean nothing goes in a straight line. If I don't keep track of my direction, I will have no idea where I am relative to anything else. That's not a good feeling at all. The best thing to do is have a general idea of how attractions are arranged. Knowing this makes all the difference.

Ryan