When to look/plan for May 2010

[belovedgandp]

We've had a change of plans in our family. We've been planning on going to WDW in early December 2010, so I figured I had plenty of time to sort things out. We went with a 3 1/2 year old and 3 month old in September 2007.

December isn't going to work, so we're looking at May. Any thoughts on looking for deal for the last week of May? Will the crowds be much worse than I experienced during free dining in 2007?

[egoldber]

If your time there includes Memorial Day, then it could be a little crowded that weekend, but probably not too bad yet. It will be quite hot though. September is a very low crowd level month, so it will almost certainly be more crowded in May.

You can book hotels now, but there won't be any deals or codes probably until late winter.

[StantonHyde]

How ungodly hot will it be at the end of May??? I am hoping that it will be ok. eek.

[egoldber]

Well, it will be really hot. But not as bad as July?

[lorinick]

We are looking to go second week in May of 2010 and have not really booked anything yet. Dh only knows he wants to stay at the Contemp. hotel. I'm interested in seeing what people say. My guys will be 9.5 and 2.5.

[las710]

Hi there--

I just booked (today) an awesome deal for November, however you can do the same for May. Disney has a timeshare-type club called Disney Vacation Club. Instead of having a week's rental somewhere like other timeshare owners, Disney DVC members accrue "points" that can be used at various resorts throughout Disney. If they will not be using their points, they offer to "rent" them to non-members.

I just "rented" via a DVC member a 2-bd, 2-ba villa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in November for $207 per night (no taxes or extra fees apply). The rental was 23 points/night and the DVC memebr charged me $9/point. The same villa on Disney's site was going for more than $650/night.

A lot of these owners are pretty saavy and have conttracts they use, process payments via PayPal, etc. The typical going rate for points seems to be $10/point. You can find DVC members on the disboards.com at http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=7 and on mouseowners.com under the Rent/Trade tab.

You can view the DVC resort point charts at http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml -- figure out which resort you want to stay at and when and then you'll be able to determine how many points you need. Then you can start shopping the boards for points to secure for the reservation.

Like I said... I purchased mine this morning (hopefully from a legitimate owner and I am not getting scammed) and already have my confirmation numbers for the trip. He also got me set up for the Magical Express service between the hotel and airport. Now I just need to determine if I want to purchase a dining plan through him too.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.

Hope that helps!
Lisa

[crispychicky]

I'd try to book a room for May now. You can always cancel. If no other good deals come along, there's always AAA (15% off rooms at Values&Deluxe; 20% off rooms at Moderates).

As for temps in May, some planning sites (allears...goto 'Planning' then 'Weather') have historical highs, lows and rainfall. May looks a little better than July, but still pretty hot.

Good Luck!