Welcome to planDisney, Katherine! Your Walt Disney World Resort vacation will be here before you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and I'm sure your planning will make it practically perfect in every single way! My family visited during Memorial Day weekend two years ago, and we found the crowds to be manageable and the weather (while hot) was bearable! Let's dive into your planning question to be sure you make the most of your time at each theme park!
Katherine, because you'll be visiting the Most Magical Place on Earth during a holiday weekend, I think the crowds will be pretty consistent across the theme parks on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but I am happy to make a few recommendations and suggestions from my own experiences!
Let's start with your visit to EPCOT, since you don't want to miss out on all the seasonal fun of the
EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival! If you happen to be staying at a
Disney Deluxe Resort,
Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, or other select hotels that include the benefit of
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours, I'd opt to visit EPCOT on Monday to take advantage of those late-night hours with lighter crowds. With so much to see and do throughout the theme park, you're going to enjoy the festival favorites such as the
character topiaries and
outdoor kitchens no matter what! My favorite treat this year was the Tamale de Rajas at Jardin de Fiestas in the Mexico Pavilion, and my girls devoured the Quattro Formaggi pasta at the Primavera Kitchen in Italy!
For the other two parks, I would choose Disney's Hollywood Studios on Saturday and Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park on Sunday, simply because Animal Kingdom will usually close earlier and I'd prefer to have a longer day on day one and a chance to rest midway through the parks after day two!
Don't miss seeing
Fantasmic! while you're at Hollywood Studios - it's my absolute favorite nighttime spectacular at the parks. You can even book a
Fantasmic Dining Package to secure reserved seating for the show; with the holiday crowds, this is a great way to spend more time experiencing the magic rather than standing in line for the show at the end of the day!
And one final recommendation for Animal Kingdom - be sure to visit
Pandora - The World of Avatar at night! While it's a breathtaking area any time of day, there is something unique about the bioluminescent lights that bring this area of the park to life in an even more magical way after the sun sets! I love sipping on a Night Blossom (or Rum Blossom if you prefer!) while taking in the beauty of Pandora!
Katherine, I hope this helps and I hope you have a fantastic time on your vacation! If you have any more planning questions, come on back to
planDisney and ask us again! Just like Mary Poppins, we're always ready to reach into our bag of tricks to find some magic!
See you real soon,
Alison