Carolyn,
Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!
Disney hosts different after-hours special events throughout the year at the theme parks. Guests must purchase special event tickets for these parties, gaining access to a park with a smaller crowd size and themed entertainment.
In the
Magic Kingdom Park there are two
special events currently listed, namely the
Disney After Hours Boo Bash and the
Disney Very Merriest After Hours. As you can imagine, these are the Halloween and Christmas themed parties. However, they are scheduled to run in the August-October and the November-December time frames, respectively. So, you are not going to run into a problem in May with either of these events.
My assumption is that they state this as a general policy so that guests are aware of potential scheduling conflicts, especially for dinners. If you were booking a dinner after normal operating hours on an evening with a Boo Bash party, you would be unable to make it to your meal without that special event ticket.
BOTTOM LINEIf you have booked your dinner within the normal operating hours of the park as they are posted currently, you should be OK. If that were to change, they would send you an e-mail notification to that effect.
BONUS TIP #1
I cannot recall any regularly recurring special event parties in the Magic Kingdom in the May time frame, though you can keep checking the Disney special events calendar before your trip, just to be sure.
BONUS TIP #2Remember that for guests of select Disney resort hotels, there will be
Extended Evening Theme Park hours. This program gives those guests an extended visit past the official closing time of a given park, a wonderful perk if it applies to your party. To check on those dates, from the main Walt Disney World web page hover over
"Parks & Tickets". Under the
"Park Hours" column on the right, select
"More Hours". On that ensuing page, navigate to the dates of your trip from the calendar at the top, and you can see what dates and parks have those extended hours.
Write me back if you have any other questions.
Have a Magical Vacation!
Doug