If you’re looking for light crowds and short lines, the month of May is usually a great time to visit Disneyland. The long and busy Spring Break season, which starts in the middle of March and through April, is finally over with, making way for a less crowded resort in much of May.
While the annual Grad Nite event does take place after park closing on some nights and the weather starts to get warmer during the day, it’s not the summer season just yet. The bulk of the summer crowds don’t begin to arrive until June.
The Disneyland Resort anticipates Monday-Thursday to be the least busiest days of the week in May. The crowds do tend to pick up on Fridays, and weekends will generally be busier. Here’s some of the dates you may want to try to avoid if you’re going this month.
Dates To Avoid
Memorial Day Weekend – Big crowds and long lines are the norm throughout Memorial Day weekend. If you don’t like crowds, avoid going on that Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
After Memorial Day – Disneyland is expected to get crowded for the summer right after Memorial Day. With midnight park closings and a full entertainment lineup scheduled for the entire week, the summer season crowds don’t let up until the end of August.
May Crowd Calendar
For the forecast of crowd levels of any day in May, be sure to check out the Disneyland Crowd Forecast Calendar.
For real-time updates and information on current crowd levels and conditions at the park, check out the Disneyland Live Crowd Tracker.
Have you gone to Disneyland in May? How were the crowds? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Image: uubergeek
I am planning an no-kids trip for Mother’s Day (Sunday, Monday). Has anyone been there that weekend? I would anticipate that it is not busy, but I don’t know how most moms spend their Mother’s Day.
It’s expected to be manageable on those days. Mother’s Day traditionally isn’t very crowded.
planning disney on may 13,14 and 15th. it states hey, its alright… is that kind of busy for wait lines or still kind of slow?
That means manageable crowds, usually around 30min waits. It shouldn’t be too packed since most of the summer crowds won’t be out yet.
I am planning to go to Disneyland May 22nd-27th. Since that is Memorial Day weekend and Disney is having their 24 hour event should I just assume that it will be a total madhouse for the entire trip?
Marissa
I don’t think it’ll be a madhouse the entire trip, maybe just on Friday for the 24-hour event. Saturday-Monday should be busy since it’s a holiday weekend, but Thursday and Tuesday should be manageable. Try to get there early!
Hi, I have been planning my 30th birthday to be in Disneyland.. This also happens to be a grad night – 17th May. Since we don’t have grad nights in Australia I’m not sure what to expect. Is it usually busy during the day on a grad night or should I just expect it to be crazy busy being a Saturday?
Grad Nite guests can to go to both parks during the day, so I’d be prepared for it be to crowded on that day. Most of the big crowds usually arrive in the evening though, so try to get there early if you can for more manageable lines. The good news is that all annual passports (except Premium) are blocked out that day.
Great, thanks for your reply! Our plan is to be at the gates for when they open to make the most of it. We are also going on the 14th so hopefully we will get to go on a lot of rides between the 2 days.
The calendar for May 17th says yup, its packed. Does that mean hour long waits?