You already made reservations outside the park..We stayed in the park.It cut down on driving.We came in the from West Yellowstone and I believe it is 15 miles just to get to Madison were we stayed. So that's 30 miles a day just going into and out of the park.We were there the second week of May and crowds were light. We came across a mother grizzly with 3 cubs on the road from Norris to Canyon.The weather was good,low 40's at night,high 50's to low 60's during the day. We ate at Old Faithful Inn.It is the largest log structure in the world.The lobby is huge with a fireplace rising 5 floors.Even if you don't eat there,just check out the lobby.