Early Entry - How much can you do?

[higgin704]

I need some EE opinions here. Traditionally, we have gone to Disney off-season, we have been spoiled and rarely waited more than 15 minutes for a ride. This June marks the first time we will go expecting large crowds (Sister-in-law is pregnant and due the day we were scheduled to leave in October, June is our only other available time). Although we are not morning people, I intend to make use of EE (especially for MK). My plan is to utilize EE to its fullest, ride for an hour after the park opens to the public and then go for a large breakfast.

During the EE hour, how much can you get done during traditionally busier times of the year. Is it realistic to say that you can get most of Fantasyland done before the general public is allowed in? How bad are the lines at MK in the hour that follows the general opening?

I am guessing that the EE hour at MK is busier than other parks. Would you say this is correct?

Thank you so much for any and all information you can provide!
angie

 

[primax]

Good Questions, I will love reading the responses since I have wondered the same.

 

[dahess]

I would love to know also!!!!! We will be there June 6 - June 14

 

[cindy_k]

I love EE, especially for MK.
I have been able to get Fantasyland done before the crowds entered the park. You go from one ride right to another.

Wait an hour after EE is over and the lines are over an hour on some of those rides. Especially the Pooh ride.

Its great walking through fantasyland later in the day and seeing those long lines, and think I don't have to wait, because I did them already.

Have a good trip!

Cindy in NY

 

[kmgl78]

Yes, in our past experience we were able to get all of Fantasyland done before the park opened to the general public (it was an early entry day the first week of June several years ago and we did Space Mountain and all the rides in Fantasyland by about 9 a.m.) However, it is very important that you get there early!! If you are at the front of the line when they open the gates you can get to Fantasyland and ride two or three rides before a lot of the other early entry people get there (a lot of them will go to Space Mountain first). Early entry is most useful at Magic Kingdom as you have already figured out because they have many attractions open, unlike the other parks where there might only be four or five attractions open.

 

[dahess]

If EE is 1 hour before the parks open, what time would you recommend getting to each park? Do the buses & ferrie from Boardwalk run that early? Thanks for all the help!

 

[higgin704]

Originally posted by dahess
If EE is 1 hour before the parks open, what time would you recommend getting to each park? Do the buses & ferrie from Boardwalk run that early? Thanks for all the help!

That was my follow-up question. I have seen conflicting reports about the scheduled opening vs. true opening time. I've read that Disney will occasionally open a half-hour early to the general public. If that is so, does EE also open a half-hour early? How far in advance of the scheduled opening time (to the general public, not scheduled EE time) should we arrive? I.E. If MK is scheduled to open at 9 (with EE being scheduled for 8) we should arrive at....
angie

P.S. I am loving these responses. Keep them coming. I am still looking to see what kind of lines we can expect the hour after the general opening.

 

[dutchess 1968]

My daughter and I are returning to Walt Disney in June and at the present time ; we were told that EE nights have been discountiued due the lack of revenue that the park is collecting.
I am wishfully hoping that by June this is not the case.

I have done EE and Etickets in the Magic Kingdom. I found that EE is valuable in the Magic Kingdom (yes you can get thru Fantasyland and actually enjoy it without all the tired children that have to stand in line...a tip that I will be using in June for my 5 year old) and also in MGM . MGM seemed to be the better deal(when I used this option I was by myself and age 23) because the larger rides (Rock n' Roller Coaster, The Tower) get mobbed in the afteroon.

The E-tickets were great! It was really really nice after the Electric Light Parade (now Spectromagic..I know two completely opposite creatures but the same effect) that we stayed at the Magic Kingdom and enjoyed the park almost to ourselves.
It's really neat being up on Splash Mountian viewing the castle with all the brilliant colors. It was really really quiet as well.
Something kina erie about romping thru Haunted Mansion late late at night as well. Oh, do the personalities come out. LOL
Come out come out where ever you are.

let's hope EE returns

.........take me to the mansion....I am home....


Disney princess since 1982
80's...off site
90's...Carb Beach/All Star Resorts
00.....All Star Resorts
02.... All Star Resorts
03.....Dixie Landings (POR...Riverside)

 

[kmgl78]

I would say you need to be there around 45 minutes early to be near the front of the line. For example, if EE is supposed to start at 8, I would try to be there around 7:15. This is just an estimate, but I can tell you that one time we went to EE at MGM, got there about 25 minutes before EE opening thinking that would be enough, but it was not. We were behind a lot of people and when we made it to the first attraction there was already a long line. Of course MK has a lot more attractions open so this would not be as much of a problem there.

To answer your other question, I don't know about Boardwalk specifically, but we were told that all buses start running at least one hour (and sometimes more) before EE opening, so you can be there as much as an hour before opening if you catch the first bus.

 

[Alice28]

This basically is what I thought about MK. We are hitting MK on a Friday and I plan on doing all the "west side" rides & Buzz that day. Then we are returning the next Thursday for the EE and will do all of Fantasyland first thing, and then hit what we missed before...it has been my experience at DL (at least) that EE is a lifesaver in the crowded season-- we will usually hit Fantasyland and do Dumbo first if you have small kids...then Peter Pan and then from what I understand Pooh- although at least that has Fastpass. Save Small World for last cause that has a fast moving line. Then I would hit Buzz and Space Mountain and be ready to hit Splash and Big Thunder Mountain as soon as the general public is allowed in. The only other EE we are taking advantage of is MGM---I don't think it's worth it for Epcot and Animal Kingdom based on the rides they open, and the time of year we're going. I think we will be able to fit everything just fine. I'm just making sure we don't go on EE day to those parks.

 

[DNBois]

My husband and I have a trip planned this year and cannot wait to make use of the EE again. Unfortunately, we have not been there since 2000 (honeymoon); we only ended up using EE for the Magic Kingdom; we were there about 1/2 hour before they dropped the ropes; we were mostly interested in going on Space Mountain (each our own childhood favorite); we were able to go on at least 10 or more times (over and over; no line at all) so I can only assume that you will be able to do alot with the extra time you are allowed. Have fun

 

[jmkst58]

I know that you asked about a busier time of year, but I went to MK EE on Sun. Feb. 2, and we entered MK with maybe 50 other people MAX!!!!! It was incredible. Even in June....I would think that you could get most, if not, all of Fantasyland done. We had no trouble.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Don't forget that you can use Fastpass during EE too. We walk in ride Dumbo, get a Pooh Fastpass, ride Pooh, ride Peter Pan, then other rides as we work back toward Pooh. Then try to head to Mickey's Toon Town at opening time to ride the Barnstormer and meet Mickey. If you have little ones this plan always works for us.

 

[higgin704]

Originally posted by Disneycrazymom
Don't forget that you can use Fastpass during EE too. We walk in ride Dumbo, get a Pooh Fastpass, ride Pooh, ride Peter Pan, then other rides as we work back toward Pooh. Then try to head to Mickey's Toon Town at opening time to ride the Barnstormer and meet Mickey. If you have little ones this plan always works for us.

Ahhh, is this so. My dh swears (practically on the bible) that there are no FP during EE. Hmmm, love, if you are reading this....

angie <--- who should have made bets on this one

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by higgin704
Ahhh, is this so. My dh swears (practically on the bible) that there are no FP during EE. Hmmm, love, if you are reading this....

angie <--- who should have made bets on this one

August 2001 I was able to get FPs during EE at MK, Epcot, and MGM. It was wonderful. My son and I rode TT three times in row, could have done more but wanted to do other things. We entered Epcot with the EE crowd, got a FP then went into the regular line. After this ride was over we jumped in the single line. When we were done, it was time to use our FP.

During EE at MK I got a FP for both Pooh and Peter Pan.
At MGM I got one for RNR and I think Indiana Jones.

During that time EE would start at 7:30. I believe our FPs had a return time of 8:10-9:10. At 8:11 I would get another fastpass. I was able to have 2 FPs before the parks opened at 9:00.

With the use of EE and FP we were able to stay ahead of the crowd until about 12:00 when we would stop for lunch.

I hope things work as well during our 4th of July trip.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We used fastpass in Nov., March, and Aug during EE. They may not offer it all the time but it worked while we were there. The Fastpass would have a pretty short return time on it. This also works well if you are the first ones in on a non-EE day. I always use Fastpass for the second ride during the early morning. I sure hope it works for you too.

 

[lentesta]

Hi Higgin704,

You should be able to do a substantial amount of Fantasyland in 60 minutes, as long as you don't go on IASW. The hour after the park opens should also be relatively light. Our statistics show that the parks really start to get crowded around 11 a.m.

EE at the Magic Kingdom isn't as bad as EE at the Animal Kingdom. With a good touring plan, EE at the MK will still save you some time. Under certain conditions, you may end up worse off at the AK, even with a good touring plan, when using EE. The number of attractions open and their relative capacity all play parts in this.

We've collected wait time statistics for all of the attractions in each of the parks for a number of years. Let me know if you'd like more details.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[sm4987]

Thanks for the advice. I am planning on using EE during our 12 night stay. I am hoping to hit all the good stuff before it gets hot and rainy!

 

[Cathy K.]

We always use EE especially for the MK and MGM. We were considering staying offsite for our upcoming trip to save some money and then when we found out they had restarted EE mornings. That made up our minds that onsite was worth the extra $. We found that we could ride all the rides in Fantasyland, some multiple times, and the Tomorrowland Speedway and then when the park opens at 9:00 we would head straight to Adventureland or Frontierland and have no waits there for 30 minutes to an hour. This was even true during a very crowded August trip. On that trip I made PS's for a sit down lunch. By lunch time the parks were mobbed and we'd have a nice relaxing lunch and then head back to the pool or a water park for a break and go back to a park in the evening.

I've always concentrated our MK EE on Fantasyland because on our other trips there have been Eticket nights that we have used for Tomorrowland. Since we are going in April this year there won't be an Eticket night for us so I'll probably use one EE morning for Fantasyland and the other for Tommorwland.

Cathy K.

 

[higgin704]

We've collected wait time statistics for all of the attractions in each of the parks for a number of years. Let me know if you'd like more details.

Sincerely,

Len [/B][/QUOTE]

Len,
How is EE at Epcot. We plan to use it for SE, Cranium Command and ahhhhh, what's it called, Ellen's Energy Adventure. My only concern with EE at Epcot is that everyone will be doing those limited EE attractions and that, after EE everyone plus the general public will swamp the east side (The Land...) at the same time. Is it better to use EE for Epcot or simply arrive at opening on a non-EE day?
angie