Visiting Walt Disney World in May 2025

I absolutely love visiting Walt Disney World in May. It’s a fantastic time to go because the spring break crowds have gone home, and the summer crowds haven’t arrived yet. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival is still happening, and it’s a beautiful sight to see the park transformed into a vibrant springtime wonderland.

While May isn’t technically summer, Orlando does start to heat up during this month. It’s also important to note that Memorial Day weekend can get quite crowded. However, beyond that holiday, the month usually sees moderate crowds, warmer temperatures, and stunning scenery. It’s truly a magical time to visit the parks!

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Planning a Disney World vacation in 2025? Be sure to check out our guide to all that the Walt Disney World Resort has to offer in the coming year! (You can also still check out our 2024 guide here!)

In This Post

News and Updates for 2025

May At-a-Glance

May Events

May Refurbishments & Closures

May Weather

May Disney World Crowd Calendar

Ready to start planning your visit to Walt Disney World in May?

News and Updates for 2025

Beginning July 24, 2024, Walt Disney World will roll out new, simplified names for its services. Disney Genie+ will be rebranded as Lightning Lane Multi Pass, while Individual Lightning Lane will be known as Lightning Lane Single Pass. These updated passes will merge features from current services and the previous FastPass+ service, allowing guests to book experiences in advance. With the upgrade, guests can make Lightning Lane plans 7 days before arrival for resort guests and 3 days before for non-resort guests.

May At-a-Glance

May temperatures as well as the afternoon sun are definitely beginning to feel a bit “summer-like,” so don’t forget to pack your sunscreen! Temperatures in May are definitely not quite as hot as in June or July, but it is definitely beginning to heat up.
Expect crowds for Memorial Day Weekend! This three-day weekend does bring its fair share of crowds, but many schools are not out yet for summer so the rest of May shouldn’t be as busy.
Major refurbishments are not typically common in May. Disney tends to schedule their refurbishments during less busy months (such as January or February), but that doesn’t mean closures can’t or won’t happen in May.
The first two weeks of May are an amazing time to visit Walt Disney World. Warmer weather, lower crowds, and fewer refurbishments make the first two weeks of May one of our favorite times to visit the parks!

May Events

The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival usually begins in late February and runs through late May. This beloved festival transforms Epcot into a breathtaking springtime wonderland. Visitors can enjoy a stunning display of flowers and topiaries, indulge in delicious outdoor food, and listen to live music at the Garden Rocks Concert Series. Exclusive festival merchandise and scavenger hunts (including the popular Egg-stravaganza Easter Egg Hunt) add to the experience, making it a must-see event for flower and nature enthusiasts.

*Epcot festivals tend to bring more local crowds on evenings and weekends, so plan on visiting Epcot during the week if crowds are a concern.

Walt Disney World (as well as ESPN Wide World of Sports) typically hosts several athletic events each month. These events don’t usually have a major impact on crowds in the parks, but they will likely affect resort availability and crowds at Disney’s value resorts. Here are the events scheduled so far in May:

The Summit-Varsity All-Stars Cheerleading and Dance Championship – May 1-5, 2025
Disney Memorial Day Soccer Tournament – May 24-26, 2025

You may also want to take Memorial Day weekend into account when selecting vacation dates. This particular weekend almost always sees a spike in crowds as it marks the beginning of the summer season for Disney World. Also, Hollywood Studios may see an increase in crowds on May 4th, a.k.a. “Star Wars Day.” So if you want to avoid crowds, consider visiting a different park on that particular day of your visit.

May Refurbishments & Closures

*We’ve included all current refurbishments here on this list… even ones that may be open in time for May 2025. (Please note that this list could change at a moment’s notice.)

Magic Kingdom

Tron Lightcycle Power Run is now open!
Splash Mountain closed permanently on January 23, 2023, to become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The newly re-themed attraction opened to the public on June 28, 2024!
Country Bear Musical Jamboree is now open!
Jungle Cruise will be closed through October 17, 2024.
Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island will close permanently at some point (likely 2025) as the Rivers of America will be replaced with a newly announced Cars area. Dates have yet to be announced.
Starlight Night Parade will be debuting in Summer 2025.

EPCOT

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is now open!
Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana is now open!
Test Track closed on June 17, 2024, for a multi-month refurbishment. A reopening date has not yet been announced but will likely be sometime in 2025.
Luminous: The Symphony of Us will not be showing on October 22, 2024.
Frozen Ever After will be closed from November 2-6, 2024.

Hollywood Studios

Voyage of the Little Mermaid is permanently closed, and will be replaced with a fully reimagined production called “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure.” The new show is expected to debut in Fall 2024.
Jedi Training Academy: Trials of the Temple has permanently ended.

Animal Kingdom

It’s Tough to Be a Bug will be closing at some point to make way for a Zootopia Tree of Life Show. The new attraction will open in Winter 2025.
Primeval Whirl is permanently closed
- It is anticipated that Dino-Rama, as a whole, will likely close at some point to make way for a major expansion. Disney has announced that the replacement will be “Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom.” Concepts include Encanto and Indiana Jones, and DINOSAUR will be converted into an Indiana Jones attraction. Dates have yet to be announced for this major project.

Other

Blizzard Beach closed on March 17, 2024, for winter refurbishment and will reopen on November 4, 2024.

May Weather

Overall, the weather in Orlando is quite warm in May. It’s not quite as hot as July or August, but it’s definitely on the warmer side! The average high is 88 degrees and the low is typically around 66 degrees. There is a little more rainfall than January through April, but not as much as in the summer months during hurricane season. If you don’t mind a little bit of warm weather, May can be an excellent month to visit when it comes to weather.

May Disney World Crowd Calendar

Crowd calendars are very popular, but they can also be a bit unpredictable. It’s best not to completely rely on them when making your Disney World vacation plans.

While crowd calendars can be a big help in knowing what to expect, keep in mind, they are predictions at best. When designing our calendars, we take a look at events, school calendars, ticket prices, park hours, holidays, and typical monthly patterns. But unfortunately, our crowd calendars cannot predict other things such as weather, travel advisories, pandemics, or last-minute openings or closings of shows and attractions.

On top of that, many are choosing to travel differently these days. Quiet months have become popular due to runDisney events as well as other Disney events and promotions, while busier seasons have seen a downward trend in the last couple of years.

One thing that will be certain for May, however, is the Memorial Day weekend crowds. So if crowds are an issue for you, I would steer clear of that weekend.