2 lines of thought

[bigcrit]

Hello everyone,
I have read the UG and Tour Guide Mikes web site and alot of posts regarding which parks to go to when. Some say to avoid the EMH parks to avoid the crowds and some say to go to the EMH park. I am a little confused with all of this since I haven't been to Disney in a VERY, VERY, VERY long time. Which do you prefer? I was thinking a combination of both. We have 7 day park hopper passes and are staying at the CR May 14th - 22nd. Will crowd levels even be a majot issue? ((sigh))

 

[troone15]

im guessing but this might help... if your going to disney in may,, thats when the florida schools get out,, so you might have some trouble then,, but i could be wrong.. check the disney channels in the rooms to see which park opens early,, and spread your time out,, if one looks full in the early morning,, it probably will get worse by luchtime,, idk if this helped but i hope it did.. have fun at disney!!!

 

[TXTink]

The end of May is a good time to go, it is much better than later in the summer! So, that is good. As far as the crowds and the EMH, we skip the early park, that extra hour is not worth the crowds to us. Although we are usually there in the peak summer months, so take that with a grain of salt. We haven't been back since they started the evening hours but we do plan on taking advantage of them when we go in October.

Hope this helps!!

 

[bigcrit]

im guessing but this might help... if your going to disney in may,, thats when the florida schools get out,, so you might have some trouble then,, but i could be wrong.. check the disney channels in the rooms to see which park opens early,, and spread your time out,, if one looks full in the early morning,, it probably will get worse by luchtime,, idk if this helped but i hope it did.. have fun at disney!!!

Thanks Troonem,
I have heard about the 50th celebration and Star Wars happening during that time. I have also heard the Fla. schools get out at the end of May. I want to make sure when I do my itinerary that I "maximize" our time in the parks (if possible). Any thoughts on EMH hours and when to go would be helpful. Thanks again for replying.

 

[luvmk]

We used to avoid the EMH park because of the crowd issue. However, the last two trips we did EMH to MK and AK. We had done all of the rides we wanted to (that were open) in a short amount of time. When the park "officially" opened, we headed straight for Splash and BTMRR and rode those without a wait. In fact, we got to stay on Splash because there wasn't a line yet. We then headed over to adventureland to do the attractions there. When the park started getting crowded in the early afternoon, we had done what we wanted so we headed to a different park.

This May we plan to take advantage of the early and late hours. I'm really looking forward to the late hours! It's cooler and I think the parks are pretty at night.

For us, MK is the park that EMH makes the biggest impact. Fastpass makes the other parks manageable even when it is crowded.

Rachel

 

[bigcrit]

We used to avoid the EMH park because of the crowd issue. However, the last two trips we did EMH to MK and AK. We had done all of the rides we wanted to (that were open) in a short amount of time. When the park "officially" opened, we headed straight for Splash and BTMRR and rode those without a wait. In fact, we got to stay on Splash because there wasn't a line yet. We then headed over to adventureland to do the attractions there. When the park started getting crowded in the early afternoon, we had done what we wanted so we headed to a different park.

This May we plan to take advantage of the early and late hours. I'm really looking forward to the late hours! It's cooler and I think the parks are pretty at night.

For us, MK is the park that EMH makes the biggest impact. Fastpass makes the other parks manageable even when it is crowded.

Rachel

Thanks luvmk. I appreciate your thoughts. We are going to MK on Sunday, May 15th due to the fact that we have an 8:20 reservation at CRT. Hopefully we can get out of there by 9:30AM. Can you recommend an immediate destination when exiting CRT? Since most of the guides schedule you as getting into the park at opening, we really can't use them. We will be running approx. a half hour behind. Thanks again everyone....

 

[luvmk]

We are doing CRT at 8:05 on the 14th. My first thought would be to stay in Fantasyland. You are already there and can get into line. If the lines are starting to get long, you could get a FP for Peter Pan or Pooh and ride something else. If the lines aren't bad yet, and I would hope they aren't at that point, you may want to ride dumbo, Peter Pan and then Pooh. Soemtimes if we have an outstanding FP in Fantasyland, we will ride HM. They are close together.

Now, if your kids are older, you may want to make a beeline for Splash and BTMRR. We have found that the first 45 min.- hour, the line doesn't back up that much. We have always gone in May, so we're hoping the the celebration doesn't affect that too much. We usually head to Tomorrowland in the afternoon to get a FP for SM and we ride Buzz, TTA and CP until we can ride SM. There are so many variables, but this is how we have usually done it. Good luck!


Rachel

 

[TheBeast]

I think it depends if you'll really get there early. If you're there when the park opens, it's probably worth it. But if you're like us, you plan to go to the early entry park but don't make it until after it's open for everyone! Then I think the crowds are worse. We made it early entry once or twice and it was less crowded.

 

[Tinkaroo]

I've been in May before - since your dates are even earlier, you're probably not going to see any schools out yet, so that's good.

I agree with luvmk, if you can get your family up and going in the morning, EMH is worth it, particularly at the MK. DH and I have found that we can ride all of the major attractions (all of Fantasyland, Space M, Buzz, Splash M, BTMR, HM, POC, etc.) within the first 2 hours of the park's opening if you're there for EMH. Then we grab an early lunch, and either hop to another park, or go back to the hotel for a nap/swim. Don't go back to the park with EMH later in the day, but head to another park when you're ready to resume touring.

I hope this helps. I haven't tested this with the new EMH schedule (having the evening hours, too), but I imagine the morning early entry will work about the same as in the past.

 

[bigcrit]

My Dtwins(8) are really into the adult rides so we will probably avoid Dumbo and the like. I was thinking t of making a dash to Space Mt. but heading to Splas Mt. than the BTMRR sounds like a good option. We haven't been there in so long and want to maximize our time. We will be taking the advice of getting there early, leaving, go back to our hotel for a nap / swim. Than having an early dinner and enjoying the parks in the evening. We want to enjoy as much as we can while still feeling like it IS a vacation. Thanks everyone for your excellent tips and good advice.

 

[estnh]

The EMH are a real benefit, and I think some of the guidebooks are very misleading in advising people to avoid them. As regular WDW visitiors, we find that it is well worth it to take advantage of EMH. The trick is to get to the park on time to take advantage of EMH, and then "get out of Dodge" by 11:00 am. By then, with a little planning, you will usually have had a chance to do what you wanted to do.

At 11:00 we break for a swim, lunch, and then move on to a non EMH park for the afternoon or evening. It really works!

 

[kutchyone]

The EMH are a real benefit, and I think some of the guidebooks are very misleading in advising people to avoid them. As regular WDW visitiors, we find that it is well worth it to take advantage of EMH. The trick is to get to the park on time to take advantage of EMH, and then "get out of Dodge" by 11:00 am. By then, with a little planning, you will usually have had a chance to do what you wanted to do.

At 11:00 we break for a swim, lunch, and then move on to a non EMH park for the afternoon or evening. It really works!

What about the late EMH's, any advice?

 

[vettechick99]

The trick is to get to the park on time to take advantage of EMH, and then "get out of Dodge" by 11:00 am. By then, with a little planning, you will usually have had a chance to do what you wanted to do.

This is so true. You have to get up and be at the park right at EE opening time and then leave soon after it "officially" opens to really get full advantage of EE. By 10am the park is getting crowded and totally NOT fun. We made the mistake of going to MGM on an EE day last October around 10-ish and got to ride like 3 things before we headed out at lunch.

Actually, now that I think about it, just about the only way to do Fantasyland is to go on EE b/c any other time the crowds are too much. Leave soon after the park opens and enjoy another park. Have fun!