3day base ticket! EMHs or no?

[lynzi2004]

We recently moved our trip from September to May. We are going to be flying in Wednesday, May 16 around 7pm and flying home Monday, May 21 around 7pm.

We have 3 Day base tickets and an extra waterpark day from our travel agency. Our travel group consists of myself DH, DD6, DS5, and DS 4months. This will be our 3rd trip to Disney. We have chosen to forego hoppers for various reasons, but we have our favorites in each park and with the baby in tow, we figure we will be going much slower than usual. I am having trouble deciding which days to do what though bc we normally have the hoppers. We have no trouble getting to a park at rope drop and typically Love morning EMH but can leave mid-morning after they are over.

Thursday, May 17 EMHs EP (morning)
Friday, May 18 EMHs MK (morning)
Saturday, EMHs AK (morning)
Sunday
Monday-resort day

Which days would you do which parks? Is our 1 hour of EMHs going to be completely negated by heavier crowds there all day? Our FP day is coming up in about a week so I have a few more days to decide. We don’t have any ADRs that would be hard to reschedule so that’s not an issue.

We aren’t interested in HS. We were just there last April. Our kids are too short for RnRC, didn’t much care for TOT, the 6 year old got sick on Star Tours and they were both scared of Fantasmic! Lol On the other hand, they loved Epcot! Go figure!

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Don’t forget we get a waterpark day somewhere in there too!

Thanks!

 

[Alesia]

I don't do EMH if I don't have park hoppers. The reason for that is something you already figured out: Yes, your 1 hour of EMHs going to be completely negated by heavier crowds for the rest of the day.

 

[cassie58]

We always like to utilize am EMH because you get the extra hour, and are already in the park at opening, giving you usually a good two hours of shorter lines, then the next couple with your FP - to us we get a lot done before it gets crowded which makes it worth it. Many people do not want to get up early, so am EMH always seem quieter. It depends if your kids are morning people or if it is harder to get there early - while you dont have hoppers, you could still leave for a break in the afternoon if it's crowded or you want the kids to nap, making a 4th FP for evening before you head out to your resort, and then head back later to the same park to do a few attractions and fireworks. The only caveat would be doing three resort days in a row, especially early - might want a WP day in between to break up the days or resort day(if that is moveable).

 

[Gehrig1B]

We only do EMH with hoppers. Without the hopper I would avoid EMH parks. We don't do waterparks either. Have them here and think a waterpark day is a wasted day we could be in the parks.

 

[Elle :)]

We only do EMH with hoppers. Without the hopper I would avoid EMH parks. We don't do waterparks either. Have them here and think a waterpark day is a wasted day we could be in the parks.

We love the water parks but I agree that it can feel like you're missing out on the other parks. We always hit the water park first thing and do all of the slides in the first two hours. Add an extra hour for wave pool time and we are ready to go. I don't like to stay in the water parks early-mid afternoon. It just turns into people soup. We follow up the watermark with a meal an mid day nap then hit up the theme parks for the evening hours. It's a win win in my book.

 

[Shanti]

We recently moved our trip from September to May. We are going to be flying in Wednesday, May 16 around 7pm and flying home Monday, May 21 around 7pm.

We have 3 Day base tickets and an extra waterpark day from our travel agency. Our travel group consists of myself DH, DD6, DS5, and DS 4months. This will be our 3rd trip to Disney. We have chosen to forego hoppers for various reasons, but we have our favorites in each park and with the baby in tow, we figure we will be going much slower than usual. I am having trouble deciding which days to do what though bc we normally have the hoppers. We have no trouble getting to a park at rope drop and typically Love morning EMH but can leave mid-morning after they are over.

Thursday, May 17 EMHs EP (morning)
Friday, May 18 EMHs MK (morning)
Saturday, EMHs AK (morning)
Sunday
Monday-resort day

Which days would you do which parks? Is our 1 hour of EMHs going to be completely negated by heavier crowds there all day? Our FP day is coming up in about a week so I have a few more days to decide. We don’t have any ADRs that would be hard to reschedule so that’s not an issue.

We aren’t interested in HS. We were just there last April. Our kids are too short for RnRC, didn’t much care for TOT, the 6 year old got sick on Star Tours and they were both scared of Fantasmic! Lol On the other hand, they loved Epcot! Go figure!

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Don’t forget we get a waterpark day somewhere in there too!

Thanks!

We always utilize EMH as much as we can and they are worth it. We get so much done during them, it's a huge help & we need less overall time in the park to get everything done. Totally overshadows any real or perceived heavier crowds midday due to EMH.

 

[lynzi2004]

We only do EMH with hoppers. Without the hopper I would avoid EMH parks. We don't do waterparks either. Have them here and think a waterpark day is a wasted day we could be in the parks.

The main reason we are trying a waterpark is bc it was an extra perk with our agency. We get an extra Disney day without paying nearly an extra $400 for another day worth of tickets. Typically, we wouldn’t do a water park either but we are excited to try it this time!

 

[Tksolomom]

I would do the EMH. I have never found that much difference in how busy the parks are and you get so much done in the first couple of hours. If you can’t be there for park open though, I wouldn’t bother. Have a great trip!

 

[Shanti]

The main reason we are trying a waterpark is bc it was an extra perk with our agency. We get an extra Disney day without paying nearly an extra $400 for another day worth of tickets. Typically, we wouldn’t do a water park either but we are excited to try it this time!

We love the WDW waterparks. They are two of the very best waterparks we have ever been to, and as lifelong Texans, we've been to a lot. They're well-themed, clean, and have some very fun rides. The waterparks we have at home are nothing like the ones at Disney. To give some perspective, we have Six Flags at home, too, but that is nothing like the Disney theme parks. The Disney difference is at the waterparks, too.

Some of the folks on these boards really aren't into waterparks in general, but that doesn't mean Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard Beach aren't great. They're more fun for us than the parks sometimes.

 

[Average Joes]

I seem to recall reading on touringplans that EMH AM usually has little impact on crowds at Epcot and marginally at MK. I forget what they said about AK. HS was busier. I like that you have AK later in the trip as it will help with the hardest FP. I might switch AK to the Sunday just to have a break in between and to have more rest if you are watching MK fireworks Friday.

 

[straychicken]

We have a similar trip booked in October. Three day MYW with the free water park day. I think we are going to avoid the EMH parks and use the waterpark ticket in the middle of our trip for a rest day. We might add on MNSSHP that evening

 

[Gehrig1B]

We love the WDW waterparks. They are two of the very best waterparks we have ever been to, and as lifelong Texans, we've been to a lot. They're well-themed, clean, and have some very fun rides. The waterparks we have at home are nothing like the ones at Disney. To give some perspective, we have Six Flags at home, too, but that is nothing like the Disney theme parks. The Disney difference is at the waterparks, too.

You are probably correct (Texan as well... although Schlitterbahn is consistently ranked #1 waterpark in the world) but we stay deluxe and often spend almost $500 night and find that an expensive price to pay to spend an afternoon at a waterpark. Just a value judgement not casting aspersions on Disney's waterparks and their quality.

 

[lynzi2004]

Thank you for all your replies. I would love to do The following plan but I’m afraid I won’t get a FOP FP since it’s so early in our trip.
AK-Thursday
EP-Friday
Waterpark-Saturday
MK-Sunday

I might switch my AK and MK days and start at MK instead. Will I have a shot at FOP 60+4 on Sunday or no?!

 

[Shanti]

You are probably correct (Texan as well... although Schlitterbahn is consistently ranked #1 waterpark in the world) but we stay deluxe and often spend almost $500 night and find that an expensive price to pay to spend an afternoon at a waterpark. Just a value judgement not casting aspersions on Disney's waterparks and their quality.

Schlitterbahn is okay but is far from the best in the world. Its own advertising rates it that way, not travel experts. It is extremely crowded in summer, is quite dirty, and is not extremely safe. I got a concussion at the New Braunfels one here in Texas, and of course you've heard about that poor little boy who was decapitated at the Kansas one...No, Schlitterbahn can't compare to Disney's waterparks imo. I even like Sea World's Aquatica better: much cleaner and less crowded.

We stay deluxe, too, and still don't want to do nonstop theme parks during our trips. In fact, if we were nonstop touring, we'd be more likely to stay at a mod or value. We want our trips to feel like real vacations, and for us that includes relaxing and enjoying time at Disney's fun water parks.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Its own advertising rates it that way, not travel experts.

Not true... See http://goldenticketawards.com/ as one unbiased ranking. But did not come here to argue. We do not do non-stop theme parks either, but we do find the Disney water parks poor value, that was my point.

I wish you would not have brought up the safety aspect... Ride the open door monorail lately?

 

[Shanti]

Thank you for all your replies. I would love to do The following plan but I’m afraid I won’t get a FOP FP since it’s so early in our trip.
AK-Thursday
EP-Friday
Waterpark-Saturday
MK-Sunday

I might switch my AK and MK days and start at MK instead. Will I have a shot at FOP 60+4 on Sunday or no?!

Yes, I recommend starting at MK and ending at AK, both for a better chance to get a FOP FP, and because entering MK & seeing the castle is so magical, it's best done early in the trip when you're still full of energy and enthusiasm.

 

[Elle :)]

We love the WDW waterparks. They are two of the very best waterparks we have ever been to, and as lifelong Texans, we've been to a lot. They're well-themed, clean, and have some very fun rides. The waterparks we have at home are nothing like the ones at Disney. To give some perspective, we have Six Flags at home, too, but that is nothing like the Disney theme parks. The Disney difference is at the waterparks, too.

Some of the folks on these boards really aren't into waterparks in general, but that doesn't mean Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard Beach aren't great. They're more fun for us than the parks sometimes.

I'm with you. The Disney water parks are the best. We have a 6 flags here to (New England) and it's got nothing on the Disney water parks. I've considered flying down specifically for a water park weekend.