I’m new to this site. I’m a solo traveler and my dates are completely flexible. I would like to visit either 04/25-05/02 or 05/02-05/09 (2020).
If I’m reading the crowd calendar correctly, the crowds will be lower 04/25-05/02. However, when doing hotel research, many value resorts are sold out that week and the remaining Disney resorts appear to be more expensive. There are lower hotel prices and more availability for the week of 05/02-05/09, both on site and off site.
I can’t figure out why hotels are busier/more expensive during a week when the park crowds are predicted to be less busy. Is the crowd prediction incorrect?
Which week would you choose, and why?
The weekend of the 25th is a race weekend (Star Wars) and many runners book hotel stays. The race could also impact travel to the parks that weekend.
Thanks for the heads up!
I’m confused about the dates though - aren’t the races the weekend before?Run Disney
You might be right! They are usually the end of NE school vacation week. They scheduled it to conflict with the Boston Marathon again? That is so disappointing!
Then I will point out that week is NE school vacation (all but NH). NH begins on the 25th so you have an overlap.
What is “NE school vacation week”? I’m familiar with Spring Break. My spouse teaches kiddos. But I have never heard of “NE school vacation week”.
Would you all choose the week with lower crowds predicted, but higher hotel rates and less availability? Or the following week with higher crowds predicted, but lower hotel rates and more availability?
Cheer competitions (and dance, whatever) start on 4/24 (and go through 5/11 or so), so a lot of value rooms are either booked or on hold for those groups (also CS this year) and the NE school break. Personally I would go the earlier week.
I would also point out that as a solo traveler you are at a huge advantage even if there are higher crowds. It’s so much easier to navigate crowds, fast pass selections, and transportation as a solo!
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Easter is earlier this year…April 12 compared to last year of April 21 so that may be why 4/25-5/02/2020 has lower CLs.
We went last year May 4-10, and found the crowds very manageable (CLs approx. 2-4). I had no trouble booking a Royal Court room at POR only 3 months ahead of time. We had a great time. We still were in time for EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival. The heat and humidity was still annoying especially between 1-4pm. We, Californians, tried to escape it as much as we could.
We never got into the park before 11am but were able to experience everything we wanted (this is before SWGE) utilizing Fps.
Being DLR vets, this was only our 2nd visit to WDW and yes, this forum helped a lot.
Both those should be great. I’d just pick whichever is cheaper.
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Crowds should be fine for either (we went 4/27-5/3 this year but it was the first full week after Easter) and crowds were fine. Temperatures will start creeping up so I’d lean towards the first week but a week should matter that much in terms of weather.
RI, MA, CT, and ME all have school vacation. It is always the same week as Patriots Day (the Boston Marathon is scheduled that day). NY can sometimes be the same week, but I have been told they schedule that vacation week based on Passover?
Since the New England winter is long we love to travel to Disney during April vacation!
NH is always the week after MA.
Thanks to you folks, I was able to dig up a bit more information. I found this quote on another forum: “For May 2020, I am currently aware of cheer competitions taking place at Walt Disney World Resort April 20 - May 3, May 8 - 10, and May 14 - 15.”
The idea of being surrounded by thousands of cheerleaders while waiting for Space Mountain is not my idea of a good time. Therefore, 05/02 - 05/09 it is!
Thanks to all who responded!
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USAF Cheerleading Worlds and Dance Worlds is 4/24-4/26
International Cheerleading Union Championship is 4/27-4/29
The Summit is 5/1-5/4
The D2 Summit is 5/8-5/9
The Summit will be the largest competition, followed by The D2 Summit.
These are the only cheer events in April and May.
ETA: The impact of these comps on crowds is not that bad. They are competing or practicing most of the time. They might get a day or two to go to the parks, maybe more if their family extends the trip (but most schools are still in session which is a factor). Most people say that the biggest place you will see an impact is if a lot of them are at your resort, it will crowd up the dining options, pool, etc. The younger groups can be loud but most of these teams are serious competitors who have invested a lot of time, money, and hard work into being there for the competition.
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