OFFICIAL MAY 2021 THREAD

[Mr. X]

Hi - Just booked for May 16th through May 21st to stay at the Polynesian in a Deluxe DVC Villa. We have not been to WDW in 4 years and know a lot has changed. Airfare was dirt cheap and we got a crazy low rate on resort and park tickets. It was too good to pass up!

Praying Trader Sam's opens soon...

What are some good resources for park itineraries?

I know they just posted April park hours. Assuming they might extend them for May?

IS the electrical water parade running?

Any other tips in general?

Thanks in advance

 

[kathy884]

A great resource for park itineraries is Touring Plans | Disney World | Disneyland | Universal Orlando - Vacation Planning Tools (subscription good for one year is $16 for WDW). They will keep up to date on park hours for you, know what rides/attractions aren't operating, and know if there is any sort of fastpass system or not. They have touring plans that you can pick from based on ages of your party (full day or partial day at the park) and then customize and I really like to use those make the most of my time in the parks. I like the information about every ride and attraction in each park too and ratings by age group.

I subscribe for every year that I am doing a WDW trip, as it makes planning so easy and really helps me make the most of my park days.

 

[NJ Goofy]

I would just stay on the Boards and look for changes & updates from fellow members. Also, check YouTube for updates, two of our favorites are Micky Views And Disney Food Blog. We'll be there the week before you, so I'll post some things about the trip here on the Boards when I get back (on the 14th).

 

[subtchr]

I would be shocked if Trader Sam's opens by May. It's really tiny. I don't anticipate it opening until all or most restrictions are lifted, since physical distancing is pretty much impossible in there. Maybe 2022?

As for hours, they will likely be at least a bit shorter than April, just because of crowd levels. But similar.

Have fun!

 

[2minny]

I would just stay on the Boards and look for changes & updates from fellow members. Also, check YouTube for updates, two of our favorites are Micky Views And Disney Food Blog. We'll be there the week before you, so I'll post some things about the trip here on the Boards when I get back (on the 14th).

We will be there at the same time!!

 

[Wild4Walt]

Make sure you check into what's available at the resort with the refurb going on now so there are no surprises when you arrive.

 

[abnihon]

Electrical Water Pageant IS running!!!

Do you know the Poly monorail station is down for refurbishment? Not sure when it will reopen.

You know about park passes and the park hopping rules?

 

[Mr. X]

Electrical Water Pageant IS running!!!

Do you know the Poly monorail station is down for refurbishment? Not sure when it will reopen.

You know about park passes and the park hopping rules?

Yes monorail is down, but if you are DVC side its a quick walk to the TTC.

Right now you can park hop after 2pm. We did not get park hopper passes but were told we can add them at anytime.

Also Blizzard Beach is opening

 

[Mr. X]

What are people hearing about no fastpasses. I'm hearing most that have been there like it because you aren't stuck to a tight schedule.

 

[CarolynFH]

What are people hearing about no fastpasses. I'm hearing most that have been there like it because you aren't stuck to a tight schedule.

Yes, we did like not being on any schedule other than ADRs, and we only missed FP a little bit (like when waiting 60 minutes for FoP and 90 for MMRR). OTOH, park attendance when we were there in November and December was less than it would have been pre-COVID-19. If attendance had been normal at those times we might have missed FP a lot more!

 

[boxer]

yeah, looking for May hours....surprised they aren't up yet--kinda makes picking parks a little difficult. Usually travel in Fall, and those hours seem to be posted by summer.

 

[Mr. X]

My TA said if anything they will extend the hours.

But for March and April it looks like park hours were actually reduced from what they were in Feb. so I have zero clue at this point. Just looking at April I find it hard to believe they will be closing parks at 6pm and 7pm during "spring break"

Part of me thinks they wait to see how occupancy rates and ticket sales are trending prior to declaring park hours.

I also read that they have been doing early and late park hours at times and they get announced 3 weeks prior too going into effect.

 

[abnihon]

Yea the March and April hours will get extended

 

[Mr. X]

I was reading a few websites and it looks like the trend has been as follows:

MK and Epcot have been staying open 1 hour later than the posted times
AK and HS have been opening one hour earlier than the posted times

 

[abnihon]

MK moved from 6pm to 10pm this coming weekend!
Hoping something similar happens when I go Easter weekend.

 

[abnihon]

And Epcot moved from 7pm to 11pm this weekend!

 

[Mr. X]

And Epcot moved from 7pm to 11pm this weekend!

Thats great news! Maybe they are bringing sime nighttime shows back? Short notice for the time extension...

 

[subtchr]

Thats great news! Maybe they are bringing sime nighttime shows back? Short notice for the time extension...

Definitely no nighttime shows anytime soon. Maybe late 2021 for Epcot?

And I'm not sure exactly what you mean about early and late hours.

Yes, the parks have been opening their gates 30-45 minutes before scheduled opening times. But it's nothing official.

And as for closing times, people can linger, but the attractions still close their queues at closing time. And stores stay open a while, but not too long.

 

[VandVsmama]

What are people hearing about no fastpasses. I'm hearing most that have been there like it because you aren't stuck to a tight schedule.

Frankly, it's been pretty great with no FP. We were there 1/23-1/28. There was NO stress about having to coordinate an ADR and a FP+ reservation. It helps a lot if you get to the parks early, so you can sort of stay ahead of the "crowd" (no crowd, but you know what I mean...the people who show up at 10-11 am when MK opens at 9, and realistically they're letting people into MK around 8:15). It's very easy to adapt and change one's plans at a moment's notice. You zig while everybody else zags.

 

[Mr. X]

So I saw today that they are doing something with 2 hour early park entry for guests staying onsite. Anyone hear about this?