Are extra magic hour days really that bad?

[kmc]

It seems like the advice given is to avoid the parks on the days they offer extra magic hours at all costs. On the websites with the crowd calendars it is always the last park recommended. I haven't been to disney in 6 years but we always took advantage of the extra hours especially in the evening. When they first started doing them it was so cool, we felt we had the parks to ourselves at night....well almost

Is it so crowded that I'm better off avoiding it......I will be there the first week of December which was also a great time to go with low crowds....but from what I've read is no longer the case as well

 

[LMN]

We always take advantage of EMH. The morning EMH's don't seem particularly over-crowded to me; I think alot of people prefer to sleep in instead of taking advantage of them. I have to say- I am not a believer in crowd calendars- I don't pay attention to them at all. The times of the year that we go it is crowded everywhere, so I don't think there's much difference between a 7, 8 or 9 at any particular park. I would rather take advantage of the EMH's and get more time in the parks!!

 

[kmc]

Thanks LMN, I've never looked at a crowd calendar in the past because we always went at slow times of the year so it was really not an issue but it seems a lot has changed since our last visit and so I was surprised when looking at them it said to avoid the MK on the only day that it has extra evening hours which I have loved in the past.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Are extra magic hour days really that bad?....

Look at it this way. The emh park/s is/are the park/s that Disney is/are encouraging a lot of people to visit on that particular day. With WDW being much more crowded overall than it has been in the past, you have a lot of people swarming to those parks, thereby generally making them the most crowded.

I have visited WDW about 15 years in a row at that time of the year, early Dec. Each year it gets more crowded. I prefer lower crowds to higher crowds and do avoid, as recommended, the emh parks. I generally do get to the low crowd park at opening, or close to it, when the crowds, whatever they may be, are still low for that park. And the crowds remain lower, comparatively, for the balance of the day/night. I look at it more as a vacation than a mission.

Those calendars are very accurate.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

We almost always go to the park with evening EMH. We too, go during the busy times. Every park is packed, so it doesn't really matter. I think, and it could be wrong, that the best/worst parks prediction is more geared towards those staying off property and has more to do with crowds in the afternoon and early evening. We always hop to the PM park around dinner time and grab a bite to eat. Personally, I take the crowd predictions with a grain of salt.

 

[ShannonMB]

I avoid the parks with EMH. My experience as a newbie, not knowing what the heck park to go to on which particular day and having no rhyme or reason, was "Huh, well there are Magic Hours for such and such today - that must be the place to be!" Even if I wasn't necessarily going to be there during those hours, that literally was my thought process when picking a park. I'm sure a LOT of newbies use that exact strategy. Therefore, these days I do the opposite! If you are a hopper, you could always utilize EMH, then hop to a different park when the crowds pick up..

 

[terri33inne]

We've never taken advantage of EMH in the evening, but I do tend to do EMH in the A.M, making sure I'm there for rope drop. Crowds are usually great until about 11 or so. At which time we're headed back to the resort for a break/swim.

I was wondering when it's evening EMH how do they move the non-resort guests out of the parks?

 

[siskaren]

I was wondering when it's evening EMH how do they move the non-resort guests out of the parks?

They don't. Non-resort guests are allowed to stay, eat, shop or just walk around; they just can't get on rides. It used to be that you had to show your KTTW card to get in ride lines; I assume now you have to have your Magic Band scanned. (Just showing it wouldn't prove anything because it could be from a previous trip and the person isn't staying on property this time around.)

 

[Sandy Mouse]

We always stay onsite but use the EMH only when it fits into our plans. Sometimes its the best fit or the only way to go, depending on what's going on that week, the season, and the crowds levels. I don't plan our days around the EMH, though. I do like to have one evening per trip when we can stay in MK later then usual, though.

 

[staceyeileen]

I don't stay on-site, but I'm not sure the crowd calendars are necessarily advising to avoid EMH altogether. I always interpreted it to mean that yes, the park with EMH will be the most crowded overall during the day because people without park hoppers will chose to spend their whole day in that park. Thus, the non-EMH times will be busier than normal. But if you do have a park hopper, I think you should go for the EMH time period if you want and then hop to another park.

 

[minnie mum]

It seems like the advice given is to avoid the parks on the days they offer extra magic hours at all costs. On the websites with the crowd calendars it is always the last park recommended. I haven't been to disney in 6 years but we always took advantage of the extra hours especially in the evening. When they first started doing them it was so cool, we felt we had the parks to ourselves at night....well almost

Is it so crowded that I'm better off avoiding it......I will be there the first week of December which was also a great time to go with low crowds....but from what I've read is no longer the case as well

FWIW, here's my take on it. No one is saying to avoid the EMH parks at all costs. They are simply saying that the EMH parks will be more crowded than the recommended parks. The recommended park is recommended because it is expected to have the lowest crowd level on that day. So go or don't go, but be forwarned that you can expect a (comparatively) more crowded park. How crowded? Look at the crowd numbers and compare. Then decide for yourself.

Yes, when EMH started, with overall lower crowd levels, fewer guests staying on site- IE: significantly fewer DVC guests (and thus eligible), fewer guests even knowing about EMH, longer EMH hours- the late evening EMH parks did seem like you had them almost to yourself. Not anymore. And weeks with low crowd levels are becoming a thing of the past as well.

If you have PHs there need not be a go/no go decision. Spend the day at a recommended park then hop to the EMH park. It's only if you don't have a hopper that the decision has any importance.

 

[maryj11]

We have gone during evening EMH . The crowds on an EMH day pick up around 11:00 am and are larger until EMH starts, crowds begin to drop off with the last hour of EMH being the least crowded and good time to ride. We did evening EMH this past week and while we didnt ride that many rides but were back in the world showcase. We did go ride Test Track right before EMH was over and it was a 30 minute wait but seems like 15 minutes to me.

 

[LilyWDW]

EMH itself is usually pretty empty. The reason that it is not a suggested park is because the regular hours usually is a higher crowd level.

 

[amg35]

I LOVE morning EMH at Magic Kingdom. Love it! We get so much done in that first hour, and even a couple hours after that. Then the rest of the day is free to enjoy the park at a relaxing pace using fast pass reservations made for later in the day, or hop to another park, or whatever!

However, I would not go to a morning EMH park if I was going arrive later than the EMH time. Defeats the purpose.

 

[ampersand]

Since I'm going in September when crowds are usually dead anyway, it seems silly to avoid a few extra hours in the parks even if the 1/2/3 crowds become (gasp) a 4 or a 5. Am I crazy for thinking that way? I intend to be there at rope drop every day for every park anyway and we don't have kids with us.

I can see why people might say to avoid them on 7/8/9 days though.

 

[catherines_mama]

No not really.

Plan to 1) get there when they rope drop for EMH 2) rock and roll on as many as you want 3) park hop to the non EMH park hop

That will really minimize the crowd and allow you to enjoy a lot at both the EMH park and the non-EMH park

Plan your FP+ for the non EMH park you'll be visiting around 11AM or so.

 

[sarahbethhh]

Since I'm going in September when crowds are usually dead anyway, it seems silly to avoid a few extra hours in the parks even if the 1/2/3 crowds become (gasp) a 4 or a 5. Am I crazy for thinking that way? I intend to be there at rope drop every day for every park anyway and we don't have kids with us.

I can see why people might say to avoid them on 7/8/9 days though.

Nah, I agree with you. My first day in September is on a day where MK has EEMH, but we probably won't get there until 3 PM, so I'd rather go to a park I can spend the most time in as possible. It's not recommended, but the crowd level is a 3 so who cares?

The rest of my trip I will follow go to more rec'd parks to an extent, but the crowds are all 1/2 so I'm not going to follow those recs like gospel.

 

[RalphinSC]

I've enjoyed evening EMH at the Magic Kingdom, especially that last hour! The one that I don't really think works is evening EMH at Hollywood Studios. There are so few rides that are open, that it's just a long wait to ride anything. And there's usually a Fantasmic lodged in there too right at the location of two of the biggest EMH attractions. With that said, you can just guess what aprk I'm going to be doing evening EMH at next week...... (Hollywood Studios)

So basically, just go with what plan works for you. If you are doing the EMH, be sure to take FULL advantage of it by being there for the duration. If you are staying off-site, just avoid them because there is no advantage in it. Mornings can work good at all four parks, especially if you hop away to a second park. And evenings work best at MK and Epcot (Epcot for more World Showcase time, not so much for the rides)

 

[Damien2213]

EMH Evenings are very much worth it but mornings are not. Mornings give you one extra hour but is it worth losing the sleep? I don't think so plus I find EMH mornings to be more crowded than regular rope drops. At least that has been my experience. This usually makes the park you are in, especially Magic Kingdom, by far the worst park to go to as plenty of people don't invest in park hopper passes so they are stuck in that park. Evenings is a different story. Never pass up a chance at MK EMH evenings. Something is very magical about that experience. The crowds are as thing as you will ever see. Its also cool to catch the castle changing color closing mini show.

 

[illinidp]

Our usual MO is to hit the EMH then leave at or right after lunch, lounge at the resort pool or a waterpark, then hit the evening EMH after dinner. This works well for us.