Are extra hours worth it?

[SandraC]

I have read that when a park has extra hours that it's the busiest day for that park. So is using extra hours before and after regular hours worth it? Thanks! Sandra

 

[fan of the TTA]

well it dipends on the ride count you do in a day, and if you have transport getting back.

but yes. personally i would always do the extra hours

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

I have read that when a park has extra hours that it's the busiest day for that park. So is using extra hours before and after regular hours worth it? Thanks! Sandra

Morning EMH, most definitely! Get there as early as possible, you will get a lot done!

We have never done the Evening EMH, so I can't comment on those.

Michael

 

[groovy~disney]

We've used the extra magic hours and really like them, but last time we were there in December 2005 we actually went to other parks that weren't having EMH and found that there were actually less crowded then they would have been otherwise. Having said that, the morning EMH are wonderful, we usually arrive early, hit all the major rides with little to no wait, and then head to another park when regular hours kick in b/c they get pretty crowded at that point with all of the EMH and regular guests. One thing we did notice was with the evening EMH that a lot of people walking around didn't have the EMH wristbands so it seems more people get away being in the park in the evening hours that aren't resort guests, so that makes the parks a little more crowded as well.

 

[ZoZo]

I think there are two schools of thought on this:

1) Take advantage of EMH and go early/stay late to do things. But I have found that EMH makes that park much more crowded during the day than other parks. I guess you could go early, hop to another park when it gets crowded, then go back later to enjoy the evening EMH opportunities. (However, the one time I tried EMH, I was disappointed at MK because it was mostly "little kid" rides that were open during morning EMH. We were a party of just adults and ran out of things to do, and wished we hadn't gotten up early. Have not experienced evening EMH, which apparently have more rides open at MK.)

2) Avoid the EMH park and go to other parks, which are less crowded.

I say try it once and see if you like it. If you don't, switch to the "avoid the EMH park" strategy.

 

[buckylarue]

We're not 'morning people', so have only done early EMH once or twice, but do the evening EMH a LOT, and love it! The park that has morning EMH tends to stay busier than normal until mid-afternoon, but I haven't experienced an increase in crowds at a park that is having evening EMH (yet!)

 

[ciera321]

For me, the morning EMH work great. You can pretty much walk on rides and get fastpasses for a little later. (I still get to the park before the EMH starts...) Evening EMH, at least in my experience, are pretty crowded, with the exception of AK. Now that EE will be opening soon, the peaceful evening EMH at AK will probably be a thing of the past. I will still go to the evening EMH, I just won't plan on getting on the very popular attractions. In June at Epcot, right at 9pm (regular park closing time) there was a very, very long line just to get a EMH fastpass for Soarin...

 

[Eeyore2003]

mornings at all the parks if you get there at least 1/2 hour before the gates open. If you are late, on busy days even in the morning the lines start to build within 1/2 hour of EMH. We found evening EMH at AK to be well worth it. My only advice would be to get there around mid afternoon and do the Safari and Kali River Rapids since those to areas are closed during EMH. During the afternoon parade at 3:00 is a great time to do those.

We did Kali River Rapids 5 times in a row without getting off during the parade. After the parade the line started building again. The rest of the evening all the rides were pretty much walk ons for the whole evening. You do have to also make sure you check the times for the Lion King so you don't miss that. They do have one show during EMH. Maybe more during regular since, I don't know.

For the other parks I think evening EMH is really hit and miss. In general I've heard more complaints than good comments, but for AK, I heard pretty many good comments which is why we tried it and it worked out very well for us.

 

[pepe of ohio]

My feelings are, it doesn't cost me any money, we go alittle late in the evening and if we feel its crowded or had enough, we leave. Otherwise, we would be sitting around the pool or goofing off, might as well do it at a park, we shop and see stuff we normally don't see or do. Morning, we never do. Normal opening time till around 12 o'clock, it about enough for our stamina. We stroll, no commando stuff, and we're coming back in the evening, which to me are the best hours. I feel, too muck park time can burn you out of magical feeling I like. We go, we stroll, we munch, we ride, we see and if we're tired or its too hot, tons of other stuff to do around the resort till evening hours. If I popped the 250.00 bucks a night for the Poly, I'm going to enjoy the resort and its facilities or I should have just bunked at a value. Disney to us is a total experience, from transportation, resorts, shopping, dining and all the parks. Do the morning and evening EMH's and when you had enough, you leave till another day, just don't burn your self out by dying in a park to see it all or get your moneys worth.

 

[Princessbaby]

W really enjoyed MK during EMH at night. My DS got to ride Space Mountain 3 times in a row with hardly a wait! W really noticed a decrease in the crowds after the EMH began.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

I just went to the evening EMH at Epcot last Friday. They were definitely checking wristbands. I had to show my wristband to get into the Land building and then again before getting into the Soarin' line. My group utilized the EMH because we were in a conference that lasted until 8:30, so it was the only chance we had to go. It was definitely worth it. The wait for Soarin' was still 55 minutes, but it had been 80 minutes earlier, with no FP available. But, after Soarin', we walked onto Spaceship Earth, El Rio del Tiempo, and Maelstrom. World Showcase was empty! It was awesome just to walk around & enjoy the atmosphere.

HOWEVER, we were four adults. I saw many exhausted, sleepy, sleeping, fussy children. I have two of my own (7 & 4), and I doubt I would keep them out that late. Unless we'd had a rest day at the resort in preparation for being out late & would have a later morning the next day.

Just my two cents worth.

 

[byoung]

Yes yes yes they are.

 

[ReneeA]

We loved morning EMH...we walked onto all of the rides until about 11 a.m.

Evening EMH, not so much...the crowds were the biggest of our trip, and we only stayed about an extra half hour since we didn't want to fight the people.

I plan to do morning EMH and a different park during EMH evening next time.

 

[bslowry]

We did the extra magic hours at night and had a great time. The park almost seems empty. We rode Buzz Lightyear over and over and over. The kids (very young) stayed up and had a great time. Of course we slept in very late the next day. Great time.

 

[webray]

It has been a rule for our family that we always take full advantage of extra hours both early and late and it has been worth it for us every time. You can get a lot of things out of the way before the regular crowds enter, or after they leave that you would normally have long waits for.

It was especially great during food and wine fest..lol, the booths stayed open, so along with no ride lines, we got all that great food with no lines. Double treat!