Anyone else avoiding EMHs?

[Nite0wl71]

This past Sunday we did the evening EMH at MK and it was great, even Mickey and Minnie were out. On Monday we did evenig at MGM---never again. It was horrible. I don't know if it is because not as many thngs were open but 45 min to see Ariel was a little to much.

 

[clonetothebone]

We had two days our last trip that we were in Epcot for an EMH morning and we went the morning of an EMH evening and the crowds were noticably larger. When we went on the day of the morning EMH we sat outside the gate to the parking lot at 0720 because the parking lot people apparently didn't show up until 0730. We got into the park at 0800 opening and rode Soarin' one time and got in the stand by line for Test Track before 0900 when the rest of the non emh crowd got in. By 1100 there were so many people in the park that it was getting unenjoyable for me. For me it wasn't worth getting up the extra hour early to be able to ride one ride and get in line for another. The day before we were at MK for rope drop and rode BTMRR, SM, Jungle Cruise and Magic Carpets of Alladin in our first hour and didn't have to fight any crowds and I got an extra hour of sleep.

The next time we went to Epcot was at 0900 opening when it was EMH evening. Again, the park was getting crowded by 1100 and we left. We will never go to a park with EMH hours again unless they start charging extra like they used to.

 

[clonetothebone]

We have never made use of the EMH on our trips. I would naturally think, though, that it SHOULD be less crowded when people who are not staying on property leave. Do they not get everybody out who is not entitled to stay?

Everyone can stay...only people that stay onsite can ride the rides. They want people to spend their money as long as possible.

 

[tyandbash]

We just did EMH morning at MK yesterday. It was awful. The park was packed by 8:15. No one checked our room key either, so everyone could have been let in. By 8:25 Peter Pan had a 25 minute wait. We actually had better luck with the rides a few days earlier just by getting there at opening.

 

[ReneeA]

We took advantage of EMH mornings last year. The parks were totally empty until about 11am. I mean, we walked onto everything with not even a 10 minute wait. We went back to our resort about 1-2 for a afternoon nap/pool/rest time then headed back to the parks after an early dinner.

We avoided the EMH evenings as it was horribly crowded and the lines super long.

 

[ntsammy5]

EVERYONE should avoid am EMH

we luv 'em...initial crowd disperses quickly through out section of park that's open...we're able to ride Everest twice before 9:30 a.m. w/FP in June

you can keep the pm EMH...way too crowded, CM's not checking wristbands consistently either.

No to AM, YES to PM.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

We avoid them too!!! Alot of people don't buy the park hopper option so they go to the parks with the longest hours. In Feb - we went to Epcot on Friday EMH evening-- and it was parked. Went back on Sat and there was nobody. And that was during Presidents Week.

 

[szymcl]

We just came back and did a variety of plans. Unless you can definitely get to an early opening park at least 15 minutes before opening, don't bother. Go to another park instead, 15 minutes before regular opening. That way you get to see whatever special "Mickey type" opening they do.
We did MK from 11-2am. It was great to ride the Fantasyland things that are usually too long, like Peter Pan etc, Speedway was a walk and it is magical to be there so late!

 

[Annam26]

This past Sunday we did the evening EMH at MK and it was great, even Mickey and Minnie were out. On Monday we did evenig at MGM---never again. It was horrible. I don't know if it is because not as many thngs were open but 45 min to see Ariel was a little to much.

That's funny, I just posted something similar on another EMH thread. We also did the evening EMH at MK last Sunday and we were so happy we did! It was a great, great night!

 

[lorli]

In 3 trips we have never been to EMH and don't plan to go to any in the forseable future.

 

[Robo]

In 3 trips we have never been to EMH and don't plan to go to any in the forseable future.

Sounds kind of sad to me, after I have enjoyed so MANY HOURS of EMH FUN at no extra charge.

I don't understand how you can "dismiss" them if you've never done them.
But its basic human nature to find "negatives" easier to believe than "positives".

You believe when someone tells you to NOT try it...
But I'm here to tell you that you SHOULD try it (at least once)...
ESPECIALLY the AM's... never had a single bad experience with those!

I'll never know if you DO go, I have nothing to "gain" if you do, but YOU have nothing to "lose" if you do... and stand to "gain" some extra enjoyment.

Just a thought.

 

[Dan Murphy]

EMH's are basically a guide to me as to what parks to avoid. Not necessarily which one/s to go to, but certainly what to avoid. As far as where to go, a bit further look at EMH patterns, both previous day and next day, help in that guiding.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We just finished a trip from the 5th to the 12th, and our strategy was to go in the morning to the park that had just had an evening EMH. We found those parks to be as close to deserted as you can have in August--very low attendance and short lines if not outright walk-ons.

We only did 1 EMH, on the last night we were in town. We showed up at MK right before Wishes and stayed afterward. It worked out better than we expected (10 minute wait for Pooh, walk-on for Philharmagic, 15 minute wait for Splash, 5 minute for BTMRR, walk on for Pirates), but we still preferred what we had in the morning after an evening EMH. We couldn't do the evening EMH and still be at rope drop for a park the next morning--you have to sleep in there sometime. We're just "rope drop" people who like to be there early and leave by early afternoon. YMMV.

 

[goofylover]

We did EMH AM and loved it.
My suggestion is to not bring bags. (ha! ha! hard I know) The lines for security were very long but if you didn't have any bags you could walk right in. DH and DS's went in and got FPs while I waited and waited to get the bags checked.

 

[BabyMo]

We definitely avoid EMH. We are not staying onsite, so when making our park plans (which we had to do if we wanted to make ADRs ), we decided *not* to go to a park if there was an EMH going on. MIL also had a list of which days are better for which parks. We did that last year, and did not find Thanksgiving to be overwhelming and crowded.

 

[Convert]

We went last year and planned our entire trip around EMH. Granted, this was my first trip and *gasp* I didn't know about the Dis yet, so we just winged it and went to the parks with the EMH (no hoppers). We found the crowds not bad at all. We rode ToT twice in a row and just walked on. The early EMH at MK is great - there's nothing like walking down an empty main street.

EMH aside, we found it to be EMPTY in September. We have video of us coming off Small World and our stroller is the only one at the stroller parking. It felt like the MK was just ours last year. I am hoping it's the same this year.

 

[Matt]

I've did both. The park levels are SIGNIFICANTLY lower at parks that are not having EMH evenings or mornings. That's just a fact. There is no doubt about that. However, I think the Magic Kingdom EMH morning is worth it just to get into Fantasyland an hour early UNLESS it's peak season. Avoid it.

For my last 6 trips this past 2 years, I've avoided the EMH's and have never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride. Even over Thanksgiving.

Now the evening EMH's are different to me. I don't go much with little kids but I enjoy the atmosphere at the Magic Kingdom. My oldest daughter and I went to MK and just soaked up the atmosphere. Most of the rides had long lines but we love being at Magic Kingdom so it didn't bother us.

 

[Harambe]

My current and ever evolving "soon the be the missing link" itinerary has us avoiding every single EMH (except water parks). Ive read up on whats best, blah, blah, and feel that Id rather get to the parks early on normal opening time days than deal with a crush (if there that many people mid-Sept) of crowds just because a park opens early or says open later. I even did our ADR's around that schedule too so we'll see how it works. Is anyone else like-minded in my planning strategy or am I just one monkey shy of a barrel?

Morning EMH is a BOON during slow times (mid-Sept is a perfect example). You will get TONS done in that first hour. Since it's slow time, you don't have as many "turbo-tourer" families, and not every one is willing to get up at the crack of dawn.

We do morning EMH every morning. Now the night time ones we avoid - we found that too crowded and, of course, we were cranky from getting up at the crack of dawn . . .

 

[disneyjunkie]

We only travel during school breaks. (HUGE CROWDS)

We LOVE EMH When I plan our schedule, I try to include as many EMHs as possible. We've never had to to deal with large crowds. We've been able to ride our favorites many times without long waits.

The last day of our last trip was spent in MGM on an EMH morning. My son was able to ride TOT 7 times before we headed to the airport. We were also able to ride RNRC 3 times, Great Movie Ride once, Star Tours once, and a few other things that morning.

 

[IrishWake]

We really benefit from them.