AP activation on EMH day?

[dismom3]

We'll be going to the MK with our AP which needs to be activated on Thursday, an EMH day. Do we have to get our AP activated before we enter the park or can we do it later in the day inside? I don't get it! Is guest services outside of the park by the turnstiles? When we do this, should we expect a massive line to get activated? Is this a terrible day to pick to go in with an unactivated AP? I'm just worried about losing my early hour and going in later because of the activation process and Fantasyland being mobbed by the time we get there! Any advice - much appreciated!! Thanks guys! P.S. Should we switch parks?

 

[Lora]

Youl'll have to activate them before entering the park.

Are you getting in to WDW the night before? Could you activate them then? It might be worth it to do that if you can spare a little time in the evening. Otherwise, you'll need to get to the MK very early.

I have only purchased APs at Member Services, so I've never had to do a separate "activation". I just know that purchasing them is not exactly a speedy process.

 

[dismom3]

How early does guest services open before the parks?

 

[tjkraz]

I'd consider switching to another park--especially if you are going anytime soon. Recent reports indicate that EMH mornings have been swamped at the parks. People have reported much better experiences avoiding the EMH altogether.

Search the forums and you'll find some rather heated posts within the last couple of weeks.

We activated our APs at Downtown Disney back in May. Took about 5 minutes, but we waited maybe 10 becuase there were two groups ahead of us in line with other questions / requests. If you are arriving the night before, consider using the Guest Services office at DD to activate your APs.

If that's not an option and you don't want to switch parks, I'd get to MK as early as possible to insure you don't have a problem. Count on waiting in line behind at least a few people.

 

[dismom3]

Thanks so much for the advice. I think I'll do it the night before. Do you think in the summer (July) I should avoid EMH even at the MK? I was only going to do the MK EMH's. Now I'm not sure. The unofficial guide says that in the summer months it's crowded no matter what park you go to, so for the MK it's worth the EMH. What do you think?

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by dismom3
Do you think in the summer (July) I should avoid EMH even at the MK?

The search function isn't working now--it disables when the boards have a certain number of people browsing at one time. But try a search later for "avoid emh" and I bet you'll get some perspective from those who don't care for it. There was a good sized thread about 2 weeks ago from someone who said that the worst crowds she saw the entire trip were regularly at the EMH park.

Honestly I've never once been to an EMH. We aren't early risers, and now that we have small children, we're even less inclined to wake them earlier than normal just to get to the parks sooner.

Based upon what I've read recently, it sounds like EMH works much better during the slow-to-moderate seasons, but it acts like a magnet to the crowds during peak times.