In this post, we discuss visiting Disney World in May. We cover weather, crowds, holidays, events, refurbishments, and anything else you’d like to know if you were planning a visit to Walt Disney World Resort as summer starts up. Read on to learn all about visiting Walt Disney World in May!
Related Posts
Our Disney World Planning Guide and 80+ Tips for Planning Your Walt Disney World vacation discuss all aspects of planning your Disney World vacation.
If you’re primarily interested in starting your analysis with price, you’ll want read our post on the cheapest times to visit Disney World, though that topic gets a lot of discussion here, too.
Here are the other month-by-month posts:
Disney World in May (you are here)
If you’ve read our other month-by-month posts, you might notice similarities between this post and some of those. For example, the weather in July and August is basically the same, so our weather sections in those posts are basically the same.
QUICK THOUGHTS ON May 2027
We’ll start with quick thoughts on May 2027 before we dive into details like pricing, holidays, events, weather, and so on.
Average / below average crowds and prices. With Spring Break and Easter behind us and Memorial Day not until the end of the month, the bulk of May is average or below average crowds and pricing.
Kickoff to Cool KIDS’ SUMMER maybe expected late in the month. The summer “event” kicked off May 26 in 2026. This was the day after Memorial Day (May 31 in 2027), so I could see Cool KIDS’ SUMMER starting in late May or early June 2027.
2027 May NOTABLE DATES IN DISNEY WORLD
We’ll talk more specifically about crowds and events below, but we like to start with some dates to flag. If you’re thinking about these dates for your visit, keep in mind that normal rules might not apply.
May 28 - June 1. This is Memorial Day weekend, with Memorial Day itself being Monday, May 31. Memorial Day is the traditional kickoff for summer vacation in the United States.
Once Memorial Day weekend hits, crowd levels are higher—as they typically are throughout June. Prior to Memorial Day weekend, crowds are below average and May is one of the more appealing months to visit.
Disney World Crowds In May
Our position on Walt Disney World crowd calendars is that people often put too much weight into them, but it’s still good to know general trends as well as specific events that impact crowds. The bulk of May, prior to Memorial Day weekend, sees average to below average crowds.
The end of May marks the start of summer vacation, but prior to Memorial Day most kids are still in school. It’s also clear of spring break season (March and April), making it similar to September (the least busy month of the year) in bookending the school year.
Summer temperatures start to arrive in May, but you’re still a few degrees shy of the brutal July and August temperatures. The month is overall quite pleasant, but most families won’t be able to justify a trip until later in the month, keeping crowds moderate most of the month.
If you must see a crowd calendar, the one we trust most is over at WDW Prep School.
Disney World Events In May
At EPCOT, May is usually part of the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. In 2026, the festival was held March 4 to June 1. Flower & Garden is a fun festival that brings some beautiful touches to EPCOT. You can see the EPCOT Festival Calendar here.
If you can avoid visiting during Memorial Day weekend, you should, particularly if you can visit earlier in May. Memorial Day is a bit of a spike, but the high crowds tend to linger around as June goes on, so you’re not seeing a huge advantage pushing a trip later into June.
Cool KIDS’ SUMMER typically kicks off late May and continues until early September. The resort-wide event features unique activities across the parks, including:
Goofy Core at EPCOT
Jessie’s Roundup at Magic Kingdom
ESPN Wide World of Sports hosts a few athletic events in May, marking the end of spring athletic season. Nothing has been announced for 2027, but here’s how 2026 looked:
The Summit Championship - April 30 – May 3, 2026
The D2 Summit - May 8 – May 10, 2026
AAU Basketball Memorial Day Classic - May 23 – May 25, 2026
Disney Memorial Day Soccer Tournament - May 23 – May 25, 2026
These crowds aren’t any reason to avoid Walt Disney World, but many of these events bring increased crowds to the value resorts, particularly All-Star Sports.
Disney World Prices In May [2026 Data]
Disney World’s hotel and ticket prices vary throughout the year. For a more comprehensive look for pricing throughout the year, check out our post on the cheapest time of the calendar year to visit Walt Disney World. You can also visit the hotel rate table at MouseSavers.
Here’s a table showing how hotel prices at All Star Movies, Port Orleans Riverside, and Contemporary fluctuate throughout the year:
In line with the mostly average crowds, May has mostly average-to-below-average pricing. If you’re looking at the first half of the year, May actually has some of the lowest prices. Notice that if you wait until June you’ll find lower prices on the non-value resorts but higher prices on the value resorts.
Within the month, prices in May are steady the first half before a Memorial Day bump that settles into early summer pricing. As always, it’s worth remembering that the value resorts see the biggest price jumps (relatively speaking) once Memorial Day arrives. Here’s a graph of pricing within the month at All Star Movies, Port Orleans Riverside, and Contemporary:
Disney World May Deals and Discounts
May typically sees a small spring/summer discount. The deals are typically announced near the beginning of the year and range from 10% to 25% off rooms, depending on a variety of factors.
For 2026:
A package deal including May was available on September 30, 2025, but the room-only discounts offered at that time only went through April.
A room-only offer including May was available on January 6; a new package offering including the very end of the month debuted at the same time
A subsequent room-only offer including May was released February 10
A 4-Park Magic Ticket covering May 26 to September 26, 2026 was released March 12, 2026
An “After 2PM” Ticket covering May 26, 2026 through July 29, 2026 was released April 1, 2026
Back in 2025 for reference, a package deal including May was actually announced on October 1, 2024, but the room-only discounts offered at that time only went through April. Then, a room only discount including May was available for booking beginning January 2. The end of May was also included in the initial Free Dining offer for 2025, bookable on January 2.
Discounts will vary by hotel, room type, and availability. You can see current Disney World offers here. If nothing is available yet, you might also want to check out historical Disney World discount information here.
Refurbishments & New Constructions
Check our Walt Disney World construction / refurbishment calendar for the latest, but here’s the situation heading into May:
Nothing announced for 2027 yet
Water Park Operations [2026 Schedule]
Disney World has two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, neither of which is open the entire year.
Blizzard Beach will be the only water park open to start the month of May. On May 12, Typhoon Lagoon will reopen, and both parks will remain open until (at least) September 8, 2026.
Disney World Weather In May
May is less pleasant than the months the preceded it, but you’ll mostly avoid any of the brutal heat you’d find in July or August.
The average high is 88F (31C) and the average low is 66F (19C). May is also the last relatively dry month before summer hits, with an average of nine days of rain. We have a post that talks more broadly about weather at Walt Disney World.
The temperature differences between May and July/August are only a few degrees on paper, but they do feel significantly more different, maybe because of humidity.
Heat
As it is still relatively hot, we’ll talk a bit about heat. There are two aspects of this to consider. First, take note of the health risks and be prepared for them. Read up on heatstroke and dehydration.
You can stay hydrated at Disney World easily. There are plenty of drinking fountains, and any quick service restaurant will happily provide you a free cup of water. There are also water bottle refilling stations in all four parks.
The second part of this analysis is how heat will impact your touring strategy. There are a few things to keep in mind.
Rope drop (the start of your day) and Lightning Lanes are more important in the heat because you really don’t want to find yourself standing in an outdoor queue at 2PM. At that hour, you want to either be inside or seated in the shade at an outdoor show.
If you have to wait in line, you prefer to do it at an attraction with a mostly inside queue. Space Mountain, Toy Story Mania, Soarin’, and Flight of Passage are probably the best options in each park.
If you’re staying hydrated (you should be), don’t get into line for a ride with a two-hour wait without confirming with a Cast Member that there’s a restroom in the queue.
Our places to escape the Disney World crowds post might be of interest, because many of those places are also shaded and indoors.
All About Rain
We don’t let rain forecasts bother us at Disney World anymore. We prepare for rain—bringing the right shoes and maybe a poncho—but we don’t plan trips around it. Even in months with less rain, you’ll see short spurts of it, and the occasional downpour.
We were at Fort Wilderness during a severe thunderstorm that kept us inside all day (though people who braved the parks got tremendously short waits). This was the relatively dry month of February. And in November 2019 and 2023—also relatively dry time—we also were on hand for very rainy editions of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, with almost every show rained out.
April / May / June
As a closing note, let’s compare May to its neighboring months.
Should I Visit Disney World In April or May?
Temperatures might be a little better in April, but the unpredictable nature of spring break and Easter crowds in April makes May the better month to visit.
This is similar to how we compare October to November. Given two similar months, it’s easier to plan a trip in the more “stable” month. The bulk of May is uneventful, while April crowds will fluctuate as spring breakers and Easter vacationers come and go.
Should I Visit Disney World In May or June?
Except for Memorial Day weekend at the end of May, May is the better month to visit. It has lower crowds than June because most kids are still in school, and the weather is a bit better (particularly earlier in the month, farther from Memorial Day weekend).
Disney knows this, of course, and they often use Memorial Day as a launch date for new offerings (this also helps them bolster July and August crowds, which tend to be low). If you want to catch new things, you’ll usually want to be planning a June, rather than May, trip.
Should I visit Walt Disney World In May?
May is one of our favorite months to visit Walt Disney World. We can easily avoid Memorial Day, and we find it a good way to “kick off” the summer without enduring the heat you’ll find later in the summer. The only real downside to May is that the weather isn’t even better, but in terms of Florida weather it’s far from the worst.
Have you Visited Walt Disney World in May? What did you think?
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way. Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide!
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Be sure to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few weeks in advance. Good strategy will keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, EPCOT Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
Know what to ride with our guides: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, EPCOT rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our Guide to Blizzard Beach and our Guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip.