Do you avoid EMH ??

[Shannone1]

I will be making my dinner ADR's soon and am trying to decide what the best plan is. The girls and I are night owls and think it would be fun to stay in the parks for the EMH's while my DH and DS came back to the campsite. But I've heard other people say that the avoid the parks with the EMH's because they are way too crowded. None of us are early risers and we have the dogs to consider. So we will probably have breakfast at our site and head to the parks after that.

So I am looking for your experiences. Which do you think it most true of EVENING EMH??

1- Doesn't seem to matter about the EMH, the lines are the same at all of the parks.
2- There are DEFINITELY less people at the non EMH parks !!
3- EMH are the best...the crowds get smaller as the night goes on.
4- We always stay late for EMH and we love it.

Since we are going to be there around Christmas I know all of the parks will be crazy busy, that's why I want to make my dinner reservations ahead of time. ;)

I am hopping to be able to space the park days out so we are one day on/one day off throughout the 12 nights we have booked at the Fort. I want plenty of Fort time too :thumbsup2

[Gatordad]

au contrarily, we liked the emh. if disney is open until 2, thelittle kids are out of there usually by like 11-11:30..... we ran and did buzz lightyear at 1:45 am one time as fast as we could.

[Us3]

I can only speak from my experience...but the evening EMH's seem to be better than the morning ones! Especially if its after the evening events such as parades, fireworks etc. Lot's of folks file out after those!

DD9 and I hit EMH until midnight at MK during spring break. We arrived around 9:30pm and could not even get down mainstreet because of the shoulder to shoulder crowds...we almost left. But we skipped the fireworks (that we had already watched several times from the beach at FW) and hit the rides. We only had 15 min wait times for Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain and HM. No wait at Pirates. I'm really glad we went! :thumbsup2

[ntsammy5]

We normally don't even pay attention, but like Pete, much prefer the evening ones........

[clkelley]

I LOVE the late EMH.

We have park hoppers (usually APs), so we go to another park during the day/morning, then hit the late EMH later in the evening, then close it down!!

Of course the later the evening EMH is, the better. I have never found the 6 - 9pm EMH at Animal Kingdom to be very beneficial.

Now if you don't have a park hopper and have to be in the EMH park for the entire day, that could pose a problem.

[Shannone1]

I LOVE the late EMH.

We have park hoppers (usually APs), so we go to another park during the day/morning, then hit the late EMH later in the evening, then close it down!!

Of course the later the evening EMH is, the better. I have never found the 6 - 9pm EMH at Animal Kingdom to be very beneficial.

Now if you don't have a park hopper and have to be in the EMH park for the entire day, that could pose a problem.

We are planning to get the park hoppers. So you think it would be good to hit a different park for the daytime and then head to the EMH park in the evening ?? Do you think it would be better before or after dinner (7:00ish) ?? My kids aren't into the fireworks and parades. Once is enough for them. They are all about the rides. ;) By Christmas time they will be 14, 12 and almost 8.

[MomofPirate&Mickey]

At Christmas time, we only got 5-day tickets for the step-kids (their mom got the same), so we hit the AM EMH (seemed to be more of those during the wk before than the late EMHs) & then did that park the rest of the day. However, when we did the parks that had later hours, we went back to the rooms (stayed at POP) & make the kids either take a nap (especially Leo) or they got to go to the pool if it was nice enough.

I think the next time we do something like this at Christmas time, we'll try to stay at the Ft. & for a longer period of time. That way, we can rest more, instead of 5 non-stop days at the parks.:banana: That was tiring!!

Good thing I've got 3-4 wks of vacation time now!!:cloud9:

[MomofPirate&Mickey]

Oh, & all that being said.

We did get to ride Soarin' like 2-3 times before going over to Norway for our Breakfast Ressies for Pop-pop's birthday meal, due to early EMH.

[clkelley]

We are planning to get the park hoppers. So you think it would be good to hit a different park for the daytime and then head to the EMH park in the evening ?? Do you think it would be better before or after dinner (7:00ish) ?? My kids aren't into the fireworks and parades. Once is enough for them. They are all about the rides. ;) By Christmas time they will be 14, 12 and almost 8.

We try to do our dinner before EMH starts. We also do most of our meals at resorts, so for example, we'll be at Animal Kingdom in the morning, go to dinner at Boma in the evening, then head over to Studios evening EMH at night.

Or Studios in the morning, dinner at Ohanna in the evening (during fireworks), then evening EMH at Magic Kingdom.

We generally don't go back to our resort for our break. We go to any resort and just chill. Lots of comfy chairs in the lobby, or a nice pool bar, etc. (We don't have kiddos anymore though).

[Tent Camping Mom]

We are night owls too. We love the evening EMHs. We also have park-hoppers so we avoid that park during the day and hit EMH later in the evening. We do dinner usually at the park we were just in or the park we are going to before the EMH begins.

[Shannone1]

We are night owls too. We love the evening EMHs. We also have park-hoppers so we avoid that park during the day and hit EMH later in the evening. We do dinner usually at the park we were just in or the park we are going to before the EMH begins.


You might be able to help me with another question.

I've read that often during peak times they run out of fast passes for the big rides. Do they offer FP at all during EMH...or do you just wait in the normal lines anyway ?? Are the lines for the big rides so bad during EMH that you wouldn't wait in them without a FP ??

THANKS !!

[stacktester]

When we were there for spring break we almost did the EMH only. We got in on Sunday night and MK was 9-12 or 10-1 if IIRC. We went to Epcot that Monday and it took us around 20 minutes just to get in the turnstile. Once in the park I was like no way. We ended up staying at the fort during the day all week except Thursday. MK had EMH in the morning and was also open late that night so we went over in the a.m. and did some stuff and then left til that night. When it's hot EMH IMHO is the only way to go if you're staying on property. One other tip I can give you is to go to the park early in the morning and get fastpasses for that night. We usually do this and maybe ride a ride or 2 and possibly have lunch while waiting to get another FP. It's a little trouble but can be worth it. Make sure you're whole group goes though because if you don't use the ticket to get in it doesn't give u a FP.

[auntie]

We avoid the morning EMH's. Too crowded. We have done both MK and Epcot EMH last year and it was less crowded. We did happen to have dining reservations in the parks for those evenings. I don't generally plan around EMH..just gets too complicated. If it works out that way fine..but if not..that's okay too.

[stacktester]

You might be able to help me with another question.

I've read that often during peak times they run out of fast passes for the big rides. Do they offer FP at all during EMH...or do you just wait in the normal lines anyway ?? Are the lines for the big rides so bad during EMH that you wouldn't wait in them without a FP ??

THANKS !!

Shannone when we were there in April I was surprised to see them re-open FP for TofT and R&RC at MGM. They pulled the covers off and we got them. I'm not sure if this was a trial or not because of the busy time. IMHO MK is the best park for EMH because like another poster stated the kids are gone and the park empties out more the later it gets. AK wasn't too bad because the 3 rides that are open, Everest, Dinosaur and Kali are geared towards older patrons so the small kid crowds don't seem to attend. MGM and Epcot really seem to be crowded no matter how late they open. Hope that helps.

[Conan the Librarian]

We go to the parks the Day AFTER EMH. They are always quieter then.

We plan on doing an AK EHM this spring. AK is beautiful after dark!

[Shannone1]

Shannone when we were there in April I was surprised to see them re-open FP for TofT and R&RC at MGM. They pulled the covers off and we got them. I'm not sure if this was a trial or not because of the busy time. IMHO MK is the best park for EMH because like another poster stated the kids are gone and the park empties out more the later it gets. AK wasn't too bad because the 3 rides that are open, Everest, Dinosaur and Kali are geared towards older patrons so the small kid crowds don't seem to attend. MGM and Epcot really seem to be crowded no matter how late they open. Hope that helps.

Thanks Donnie :goodvibes The MK EMH magic hours would be the best anyway since we can take the boat back and forth. We will probably end up driving to the other parks. The kids and I will stay up late and close the parks and Chad will go back to the campsite and hang out with the dogs, lol !! He is an early riser and he is usually in bed at night by 10:00 !! There may be days when he and the kids head out before me to the parks and get the FP's for us. I can always meet up with them later. I love having the motorhome to myself in the mornings. :cool2:

I really want this trip to be less planned out that our other one. That's why we are NOT doing the DP this time. I don't want to have to plan 3 meals a day for 12 nights. I do think having an ADR for dinner each night would be smart though. We'd like to have at least one decent meal each day, especially since we would probably just do counter service for lunch on the park days.

We bought the 10 day hopper passes even though we really only want to spend 6 days at the parks. This way we can come and go as we want as long as we are at the park we need to be for our ADR at dinner time. If the kids and I want to go to AK just for a few hours one day, we can. Things like that.

[terri01p]

We are evening people too, if you have the frame of mind that you know it's going to be crowded and your just going to enjoy anyways, then you will have a good time on EMH.

We did many days like you, chilled out during the days at our campsite and would hit the EMH park in the evening after a good meal, leaving my dh and youngest dd to relax, while myself and my oldest dd would hit the park, good times.

WISH I were there right now !

[Colson39]

Normally on our weekend trips EMH doesn't really come into play, since it seems we're always visiting a different park than what the EMH is doing on a Saturday or Sunday.

However, I wouldn't avoid them, in fact, I really enjoy them. The best is when we arrive on a Friday and there is EMH at night at Epcot. We'll go hang out at the Rose and Crown for a while, go to all the stores in the countries, go back to the Rose and Crown...lol.

I would say 90% of the time we've done EMH it's been Epcot at night, I personally don't care to get to any of the theme parks really early in the morning, nor do I care to be at the MK at 12 midnight. It might be because we've been so much, that we don't need to "fit" as much stuff into a day, although I would imagine with Reilly now being here we'll probably start taking more advantage of them.

[graciejane]

This trip we tried to use EMH whenever possible. We hit MK EMH on 3/24 at 7 am and had a great time!! THere wasn't hardly a soul in the park and we started in Tomorrowland and worked our way back around toward PoC. We had my parents and my brother and his family with us so his kids are younger and enjoyed Fantasyland without any wait. WHen we did it again in the am on 4/3, the place was packed :confused3 .
We used them for all the parks and enjoyed the evening ones the most.
Also, like Stacktester, we saw the FP open up again for ToT and RnR during EMH.

[dtum]

We usually go to a different park during the day, then head to the park with EMH for the evening. Never had to wait inline for anything, but it was May and that could be slower time.

[proudmomof4]

There may be days when he and the kids head out before me to the parks and get the FP's for us. I can always meet up with them later.


Shannone...........You may have to go with them in order to get FP for all of you, like Donnie said earlier, the machine will only issue a FP if the ticket is valid and has been used on that day.

[Momof626x3]

I don't usually do EMH with the kids but I LOVE to go to evening EMH at MK with just DH. Sometimes it is crowded, sometimes it isn't, but there is just something magical about the MK at night. HS was also very fun during evening EMH, they had fun music blasting through every speaker and it was like being at a big party!

[stacktester]

Shannone...........You may have to go with them in order to get FP for all of you, like Donnie said earlier, the machine will only issue a FP if the ticket is valid and has been used on that day.

Or she can use Chad's since he'll be sleeping.:lmao:

[Shannone1]

Or she can use Chad's since he'll be sleeping.:lmao:

Exactly ;) AND he doesn't like the rides too much anyway. I'm the one that goes with the kids.

[PolynesianPixie]

As a general rule, Parks with EMH are more crowded all day, but I love the evening EMH! It's never been too crowded. Last Christmas they did open the fast pass booths back up for it, too. My oldest girls and I closed the place down. I really savored that walk back down Main St. Never had I remembered it being quite so empty. It was really fabulous!

[Shannone1]

As a general rule, Parks with EMH are more crowded all day, but I love the evening EMH! It's never been too crowded. Last Christmas they did open the fast pass booths back up for it, too. My oldest girls and I closed the place down. I really savored that walk back down Main St. Never had I remembered it being quite so empty. It was really fabulous!

Sounds perfect to me !! I'll be there along with whatever kids don't end up wanting to go back to the site with Daddy :thumbsup2

[PolynesianPixie]

Sounds perfect to me !! I'll be there along with whatever kids don't end up wanting to go back to the site with Daddy :thumbsup2

Hey! Maybe we can close the place down together next Christmas! :banana:

[stacktester]

As a general rule, Parks with EMH are more crowded all day, but I love the evening EMH! It's never been too crowded. Last Christmas they did open the fast pass booths back up for it, too. My oldest girls and I closed the place down. I really savored that walk back down Main St. Never had I remembered it being quite so empty. It was really fabulous!

Annie and I left at 0300 last year and I swear it was like a ghost town. It was for a moment like the MK belonged to us. Once we got to the train station it was packed with people getting their belongings and returning strollers. Oh well it was fun for a few minutes.

[PolynesianPixie]

Annie and I left at 0300 last year and I swear it was like a ghost town. It was for a moment like the MK belonged to us. Once we got to the train station it was packed with people getting their belongings and returning strollers. Oh well it was fun for a few minutes.

That's exactly why we walked very very slow!:rotfl:

[Shannone1]

Hey! Maybe we can close the place down together next Christmas! :banana:

Sounds good. It would be fun to ride the boat back together :goodvibes

[kmurawski]

Hey! Maybe we can close the place down together next Christmas! :banana:

Hey, count us in too!

If you're going to eat in the parks on Christmas or New Years get your ADR in early. If you have never been to WDW for NYE let me know. We had some get experiences last year!

[Shannone1]

Hey, count us in too!

If you're going to eat in the parks on Christmas or New Years get your ADR in early. If you have never been to WDW for NYE let me know. We had some get experiences last year!

We will probably spend Christmas Eve and NYE in the parks and Christmas Day and New Years Day at the Fort.

[AlyLynn]

We're going around Christmas, too. Our kids will be 3, 6, 11, and 14. We love EMH, but we use it mostly in the mornings. The kids like to sleep--all except the 2 year old--we're STILL waiting for him to sleep once through the night! The kids pull themselves out of bed because they realize that the parks won't be as crowded in the mornings, and if it does get too crazy, at least we can leave and they feel like they got to be in the park before it got nuts. Character breakfasts are a good incentive, too. :goodvibes We've tried the EMH night hours, and usually last only about an hour! Even our teenager. Our kids are not fond of crowds--but there is so much to see at the resorts during the holidays that we use that as an "escape" when it gets crazy!

[kmurawski]

If you want to have an awesome experience on NYE go to EPCOT. Go early. For dinner get an ADR at a World Showcase restaurant about 1/2 hour before new years is actually being celebrated in that country. We figured out the time difference between our new years and the UK new year. As we were getting our appetizers the CM's in that county celebrate their new years. What was better yet was we were sitting appetizers at Rose & Crown during their new year and for our after dinner entertainment we watched Illuminations from the same table. It was wonderful but does require planning a little luck!

[Boomer1]

This will be our 5th Christmas/ New Year at WDW. Last year was the first year we really all used the evening EMH. It worked really well especially the later it got. We were never able to close the park down but this year may be different, our children will be 14, 12, and 10. The oldest is already a typical teen sleeping in until noon on the weekends, EMH will be made for her. I'm looking forward to meeting some some other Disers and closing the park down sounds like fun.:cool1:

[Shannone1]

This will be our 5th Christmas/ New Year at WDW. Last year was the first year we really all used the evening EMH. It worked really well especially the later it got. We were never able to close the park down but this year may be different, our children will be 14, 12, and 10. The oldest is already a typical teen sleeping in until noon on the weekends, EMH will be made for her. I'm looking forward to meeting some some other Disers and closing the park down sounds like fun.:cool1:

Make sure you add your Christmas dates to the "post your camping dates here" sticky. There are quite a few of us going to the Fort over the holidays. We are going to try to plan a get a little meet and greet for the "FW Fiends". We may have to have two of them, one a few days before Christmas and one inbetween Christmas and NYE just so we can get everyone.:thumbsup2

[Kimbere]

From what I've read in both the Unofficial Guide to Disney and on Tour Guide Mike, avoid the EMH like the plauge. Kind of like reverse psych. Disney touts the EMH so much that almost everyone goes to the parks during those times, so you're better off being anywhere else. That was definitely true for us this trip, we didn't do any EMH and the parks weren't overcrowded. I would think evening EMH would be better than morning all around at whatever park you go to. :thumbsup2

[AuburnJen92]

This is pretty much the rule for us:

If there is an EMH, we go to another park that day.

[bord1niowa]

In the mornig EMHs we were able to get in 2 or 3 of the big rides before it got crowded, then we left for another park a little while later. The nighttime EMH are great, the later it gets the easier it is to just walk on some rides. NO WAITING! That was fantastic! This was in June too.