May or Dec.

[ljsmom]

I was just about set to book my next trip for May after reading all the positive feedback, then I looked at another post regarding early December and that seems like a great time to go as well. Can anyone give me any pros/cons regarding these two times of year?
Thanks.

 

[DisneyFan79]

Do like me and go both times!! I think you have to look at 2 different things. May will be a warmer time to go and the parks will be staying open later. In December, the Christmas decorations will be up and that is magic in itself. The theme parks will close a bit earlier, but there will be lighter crowds. I don't think you can go wrong with either times. I couldn't decide and so I chose both times. I am taking my mom in December because she is such a big Christmas fan and this will be her first time. I hope this helps!! (even if just a little bit)

 

[KLAIT]

Have always gone in May and have absolutely loved it.......had a trip scheduled for this coming May. Then, I was able to take a trip in the first week of December this past year. Came right home and cancelled our May reservations and made them for December. For us, a big factor is the heat. We still have snow on the ground in May and for us Florida is hot this time of the year.

The beginning of May crowds are not bad by any means, but the December crowds are non-existant. The Christmas decorations and MMVCP make it a really special experience.

 

[shelly3girls]

We love both times of year. If you have never seen the Christmas decorations and would be interested then I would highly recommend early Dec. This Dec was our first time seeing the christmas celebrations and we truly enjoyed it. There are many must-sees

 

[mom_rules]

I vote May!! We too have snow here still and I can't wait to leave it all behind (as white as we may be when we get there)!

 

[eeyore0062]

Sure, we have been at both times:

Pros for May:
Weather is more predictable, not too hot, but definitely not cold... you should be comfortable in shorts no matter when you are outside.
moderate crowds ( we didn't wait longer than 20 minutes for anything)
Little rain
Flower festival in Epcot.
StarWars Festival in MGM.
Longer park hours

Cons for May: regular season prices on resorts

Pros for December (1st 2 weeks)
Smaller crowds
value season for the resorts
Christmas time events
Resorts and parks decorated for Christmas


Cons:
Unpredictable weather
Shorter park hours

Personally we would rather put up with larger crowds and more expensive resorts to have the warmer weather... so my favorite is May. I am sure not many will agree with me, though!

 

[cdpa4d]

May all the way!
ADP

 

[Mskanga]

Having done both....December!!!

 

[BCV23]

We've done both, too and I agree with Mskanga...early december all the way!

 

[yecats]

Do both. Both May and Dec. are excellent times to visit. May does have longer hours and is not quite as crowded as in summer and is great for visiting the water parks.

December is great due to lack of crowds, hotels cheaper and x-mas decorations are great and put you in that festive mood. However, I have done several vacations as this is my favorite time to visit, and it can get cold. We went this past Dec. and it was 55 day and 43 at night. Plenty of people forgot to check the weather before they left and didn't bring heavy jackets. This had to be the most popular item bought in the parks then.

I love anytime which is not overly crowded. I have done the parks in the middle of summer when temps in high 90's, lines 1 1/2 hours long and fast food lines took 20 minutes. Never again.

 

[ljsmom]

Thank you all so much for responding. Right now I am leaning towards May because we would like to take advantage of the pools. We have been in January twice - once the weather was great, and the other time it rained a lot and was cold. I don't want to chance that again, although the Christmas decorations sound very enticing.

Who knows, maybe we will be able to squeeze another trip in in December.

January 1999 - DxL
November 2000 - Off site
January 2001 - ASMo
October 2001 - Off site
July 2003 - Poly

 

[DebbieB]

Be careful . We "squeezed in" a December trip in 1998 and have gone every year since! We love early December with all the Christmas decorations and activities.

We also go in May, it's a more laid back trip. We enjoy the Flower & Garden Festival. We've gone the past 3 years in early/mid May and the weather has been in the low 90's. Last May first week was 95 most days. I'm hoping this year will be a little cooler, mid 80's would be great. We never had rain in either May or December, but last December was alot of rain.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Tough question. Glad I don't have to decide. We do both May and December. Everyone else has pretty much laid out the pros and cons pretty well. December is more festive and has more special events. May has the warmer weather and is the time to go if you want to spend a lot of time in the pools or water parks.

Having done both for a few years now, if I had to choose one I'd go with early December. The decorations, the shows and events, the lack of crowds - definitely December. Not that May isn't great (longer hours/warmer weather), but December offers just a little more (not to mention it requires less of my DVC points ).