Are Extra Magic Hours too crowded to be worth it?

[GeorgiaHoo]

I am one of those planners, and I study everything Disney before a trip. Looking at various crowd calendars and both EMH and LMH opportunities, it seemed advantageous to avoid the EMH. I would rather spend the day in a less crowded environment, and when the data settled there were "slow" days at the parks that did not offer EMH. Staying late is another thing. I am an energizer bunny at Disney. I love the night life!

But only if you don't intend to park hope, right? Our experience has been that morning EMH crowds are super manageable. Certainly better than regular rope drop crowds, which are very low.

 

[kruegeme]

We love morning EMH. It's worth getting up and going, then get out before the crowds are too heavy. We were at WDW Christmas week and did all the EMH we could and the lines made it possible to do more than just our FP+. We normally were done with MK by midday and then hoped to Epcot for the afternoon / evening.

We just returned last week from our Spring Break trip and did MK on Friday morning before hitting the road. We were able to ride Peter, BTM, Splash, HM, Mine Train (FP+), Buzz, Tomorrow Land Speedway, and a couple other rides before 10am. If we didn't have a lunch ADR at Epcot we probably would have had time to ride some of these multiple times.

Over the years, we have noticed that the crowds don't clear out as much as they once did for evening EMH. You have to stick it out to the very end to really see the crowds levels drop during busy times.

 

[Labelleauboisdormant]

I hate resort buses before morning EMH! When we are up and at the stop super early it's ok... Last week was so crowded at MK for the morning EMH (7-8). They did not scan bracelets at the rides... No one seemed to be waiting on the side. Do they let all crowds in during the morning EMH at MK? We went the next day for rope drop without EMH and it was much quieter.

 

[Suzanne74]

We just got back and had a EMH at 7am for MK and it was THE BEST!! Watch the pre show at 6:50am in the dark (my husband thinks we are insane, my kids think it is the coolest!!) and we were just a few people back from the CM's walking us to Fantasyland. We went right up and were 3rd in line for E&A and got on SWMT with a 25min wait immediately following. After that my oldest went off with DH and did Space Mountain, while I took DD5 on Barnstormer 3x (didn't even have to get off) and then Dumbo. We met back together and did Speedway and Pooh ride. It was only 8:10am when we got off Pooh. So yes, that EMH was very very worth it. We had FP for Peter, Splash and Thunder later in the morning. I felt like we did the whole park by 1pm. We left for a midday swim, napped, dinner and went back for pirate adventure, parade and Wishes.

The only morning EMH that is tough is Epcot. It takes so long to do either TT or Soarin even with no wait that by the time you get done, the other has a wait of almost an hour anyway.

 

[Robo]

I hate resort buses before morning EMH! When we are up and at the stop super early it's ok... Last week was so crowded at MK for the morning EMH (7-8). They did not scan bracelets at the rides... No one seemed to be waiting on the side. Do they let all crowds in during the morning EMH at MK? We went the next day for rope drop without EMH and it was much quieter.

They don't scan MBs for AM EMH. (That is only for PM EMH.)

They don't admit non-WDW Resort Guests into the parks during AM EMH, so no need to scan MBs once inside.

 

[fairytalelover]

So just one hour early is enough to get on multiple rides because the crowds are so low?

 

[scoobydooby]

Yes if you have a plan that understands how crowds build up at the different rides. It is not just the extra hour that brings the big bonus but the ability to stay ahead of the wave for the first 2 to 3 hours. Me and DD arrived for the 7am opening one year December 26th. We got there are half six and were first in the MK. Did 21 attractions by 2pm. Longest wait was 15 minutes. Park was mobbed by 11am. By that time we'd clearws the big beans some several times.

 

[fairytalelover]

What rides do you guys reccomend doing asap when arriving at EMH at each park?

 

[supersnoop]

What rides do you guys reccomend doing asap when arriving at EMH at each park?

Everything that you don't have a fastpass for. You will be amazed by the number of rides you can accomplish.

 

[PHamrick]

This thread is making me look forward to the AM EMH. I was so thrilled to hear that A&E was a relatively short wait. We weren't able to get FP and since we leave on Sunday, doubtful we will get them now (although I'll keep checking).

You know, sometimes it doesn't matter if you like AM EMH or not. For example, we are going next week and MK has EMH every single day. Might as well make the most of it. I think one of the real highlights of the EMH for me is the ability to take a break in the middle of the day. With little kids, the thought of getting up early and then taking a long break in the middle of the day makes me think we can see everything we want without sacrificing fireworks or parades or wait in excruciatingly long lines.

 

[walkaboutcelery]

Do you think morning EMH's will still be fun during Easter week?

 

[PHamrick]

Do you think morning EMH's will still be fun during Easter week?

I don't think you have much option. We are going the week before Easter (so next week) and will be doing EMH because there is no other way to avoid it at MK.

 

[scoopmorgan]

But only if you don't intend to park hope, right? Our experience has been that morning EMH crowds are super manageable. Certainly better than regular rope drop crowds, which are very low.

Yes, you are right. We do get park hoppers. I guess if you only have a single park per day, EMH makes sense.

 

[W.E.D.]

What Robo said!

We LOVE them.

 

[Dan Murphy]

What rides do you guys reccomend doing asap when arriving at EMH at each park?

Don't forget that Adventureland and Frontierland rides are closed for morning emh

 

[dae3dae3]

We were there during the week of Christmas where nearly every day was a 10. Not only are the emh hours worth it but the next few hours after are still very low attendance compared to the rest of the day. It may seem like there are a lot of people but the place is huge and will swallow a pretty big crowd before actual lines start to form. We were walking onto or waiting in very short lines for several hours after the normal park opening on several days. Once it did start to fill in though it happened very quickly. It went from walking straight on a ride to there being a half hour wait when we came out to an hour a few minutes later. If we hadn't used the emh we wouldn't have got to do a tenth of what we did that week. We would run from ride to ride for two or three hours and then start in on our fast passes, shows, and non-headliner rides for the rest of the day.

 

[Josh704]

I don't quite understand why the morning EMH's are always more crowded later in the day. If people don't take advantage of it, why do more people head there later in the day? They have already missed the advantage to the morning EMH's.

Its because during the EMH you have more resort guests than any other park, but no offsite guests making for very light crowds. Once the offsite guests that don't even pay attention to EMH arrive it makes for an extra crowded park since most resort guests won't be hopping.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Yes if you have a plan that understands how crowds build up at the different rides. It is not just the extra hour that brings the big bonus but the ability to stay ahead of the wave for the first 2 to 3 hours. Me and DD arrived for the 7am opening one year December 26th. We got there are half six and were first in the MK. Did 21 attractions by 2pm. Longest wait was 15 minutes. Park was mobbed by 11am. By that time we'd clearws the big beans some several times.

Understanding the crowd patterns is the key to efficient touring no matter what time of day you arrive. 21 attraction in about 7.5 hours is a very good rate of return. Last summer on a crowd level 9 evening, we hit 16 attractions plus parade, fireworks and Dole Whips in just under 4 hours from 8 pm - midnight.

You just have to know to zig when everyone else zags.

 

[Lillian Gracey]

I haven't done any morning EMH, but the evening EMH at MK were AWESOME. Even on a Saturday MK was dead around 10pm. We did go in mid-late October so the crowds were on the lighter side. It was really nice to walk on most rides. DH and I are more night owls, but we also get up fairly early on a daily basis so we'll give an early EMH a try.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

I like the morning EMH in Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. I like evening EMH in every park.