Memorial Day weekend visitors to the Cape region topped more than 1.2 million, far outpacing last year, transportation officials say.

Delaware Department of Transportation statistics show more than 1.2 million motorists passed through Delaware’s three toll-plaza locations in Newark, Middletown and Dover, with Friday, May 27, being the most traveled day. Last year, fewer than 875,000 vehicles passed through the tolls, not counting Thursday travelers as this year's totals do.

May 27 and 28 were busy days for local businesses. Vinnie DiNatale, director of marketing for Grotto Pizza, said Thursday through Saturday were very busy, and the chain’s sales in Rehoboth were bolstered by opening the North Boardwalk location on Thursday.

After a strong first three days, DiNatale said even though bad weather rolled in toward the end of the weekend, overall, the company’s sales were up slightly from last year.

“The town was packed. People were buzzing,” DiNatale said of the first days of the weekend. He said people were eager to get out of the house after a dreary, rainy and cold spring.

Carol Everhart, CEO and president of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, said occupancy at local hotels was on par with last year. She said this year's survey showed 3,515 rooms filled, with Saturday reaching nearly 100 percent capacity overnight. By comparison, Everhart said, in 2014, surveys showed 3,320 rooms filled. She said 2015 was a record breaker, with 3,549 rooms filled. Some people may have left early, but food and snack shops were big winners.

"Not our best, but about a dead heat with last year," Everhart said.

Chris Darr, personnel director of Funland, said Friday was not as busy as last year, but Friday before Memorial Day weekend is always a toss-up because it's hard to tell when people will decide to travel to the beach.

Darr said May 28 was the busiest day, with plenty of evening traffic after a nice beach day. He said the park finally closed at midnight. Funland was busy on Sunday, but rain brought a washout Memorial Day Monday.

“We have been very lucky with the weather over the last few Memorial weekends, so we were just happy that the Sunday rain held off until Monday,” Darr said.

Rehoboth police have busy weekend

From May 23 to May 29, Rehoboth police responded to 135 complaints and made 49 traffic arrests and 25 criminal arrests.

Chief Keith Banks said the number of complaints was higher than normal, but not exceptional. He said there were numerous shoplifting complaints but people generally seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Overall, it was a really good kickoff to summer,” Banks said.

Det. William Sullivan said police had to respond to an incident on Laurel Street involving underage drinking May 28. At first, Sullivan said, officers made contact with two men, both under 21 but over the age of 18, and issued them civil citations for drinking on the beach. They were given warnings for underage consumption, and the bottles they were drinking from were thrown in the trash.

Later, Sullivan said, police responded to the same area where they encountered Ali Razi, 56, of Laurel, Md., cursing the person who earlier had reported the two underage drinkers. Sullivan said Razi began cursing and acting disorderly toward the police officers; he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Razi was released on unsecured bond, ordered to appear in Justice of the Peace Court at a later date and to have no contact with the reporting person.

Other than that incident, the beaches were quieter than last Memorial Day, when visitors at the Queen Street beaches said they were targeted by police for random alcohol searches because they were gay. In turn, police said people in that area were cited for being drunk and disorderly. This year, Sullivan said the area was monitored throughout the weekend, and there were no problems or complaints.