Avoiding extra magic hour parks - Discuss

[Scrappygrrl]

What is the percentage on-site guests vs non-onsite guests on any given day? More onsite I am guessing for early EMH to have that large of an effect on crowds?

 

[JustAKid]

Night EMH are another story. They are so crowded and, in my last few trips, wait times are as long as during the day. Night EMH can be fun for the ambiance, but don't expect to get much done.

You are literally the first person I have ever seen say this (which isn't me saying you're wrong or anything, I have just never heard this POV). What park(s) were you in that were like this? What time of year do you usually go?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

You are right, particularly with AK. Animal Kingdom has the absolute lowest crowds from 3pm-7pm (typical 7PM close) on an EMH day. Everything is walk on with the exception of Kali if it's a hot day out. But Safari, Everest, DINOSAUR, etc are all walk ons, especially from 5-7.

When we have an AK day we arrive about 2:00PM and do Tough to be a bug, dinoland, Nemo, then Lion King, Safari, Everest, DINOSAUR and then circle back for more Everest or whatever else we want to do. We typically use our FP+ for our morning park which is usually HS and we rope drop Toy Story, then FP+ Toy Story and then do whatever until it's time to go to AK.

You are right about AK, but it will probably change when Rivers of Light premieres.

We've ridden EE 6 times in 45 minutes on summer evenings after 4 pm. We've also been the only family on Dinosaur several times near closing time. Kali does keep a line later as many guests prefer to wait until the end of their day to get wet.

We did learn something interesting last summer. They don't send out Safari vehicles unless they are full. We had to wait about 10 minutes for enough guests to arrive to fill the truck.

Several years ago, we were leaving AK at closing time and were just about the only family trudging across the parking lot. We happened to notice the space shuttle lifting off in the eastern sky and we had no one to share the experience with.

 

[jmillertime]

I like to plan my breakfast ADR's in Magic Kingdom before the parks open. It's the coolest feeling walking down Main Street with no one else, so for that reason I find out the EMH's and avoid them for those special experiences.

 

[dfb]

I enjoy the early EMH. When planned properly, it is easy to get 3-4 rides in, or multiple rides on one attraction with little wait.

Night EMH are another story. They are so crowded and, in my last few trips, wait times are as long as during the day. Night EMH can be fun for the ambiance, but don't expect to get much done.

This is what we usually do as well. Only difference if EMH are very late(after midnight) then the crowds diminish but the attractions like BTM start running only one train or mysteriously closing for a period etc. Last summer MK EMH I think midnight, rode all mountains + 7 dwarfs in about the last 30/40 minutes. Just made the 7 Dwarfs cue at 1200. My grandson thought it was the best night ever and still talks about it!

 

[MJ6987]

I tend to do this as well - actively avoid Extra Magic Hours parks if possible. This is as advised by Unofficial Guide / Touring Plans, which I regard as the guru when it comes to this stuff.

 

[MataHari22]

I normally avoid EMH and go with easywdw recommended park days. Since I no longer get park hoppers, I do go to an EMH park on two of my seven park days, usually evening EMH, and they are my sleep in days, where I've done rope drop to close the day before. If I want to see the nighttime entertainment I have to go to the park with EMH, since I basically go during party season.

 

[epcotty]

I agree with OP, seems almost all the resort guests are at that park that day, the whole day. The EMH park is a lot more crowded, this translates into longer lines which eventually eats up any extra time you had even if you get a lot of FPs (it's impossible to FP everything). If staying onsite I'd advise to only go to EMH if you have park hoppers/ Annual Pass so you can go to another park when crowds start getting heavier.

 

[petitephlox]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! We're there for 4 days, hoping to be able to avoid EMH.

 

[jmillertime]

Used to think EMH was great and It is for some but I am so happy I know the schedule ahead of time to avoid the extra crowds.

 

[buzznina]

I strongly suggest that everyone bypass the parks with EMH, especially the evening hours.

Because we like going to them

 

[PeasandCarrots]

Just my opinion but I like to avoid the parks with the extra magic morning hours. It seems that on these days all the resort guests are in the park of the day adding to the crowds. Any thoughts on this?

I agree! We used to always do the EMH park (because we are early risers) but not all attractions are open for EMH and between that and the increased crowds we have started avoiding them on purpose and it's worked out great! I feel like I get more rides/attractions in even without the extra hour.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I'm not a rope drop person and have an AP. Whether there is an extra magic hour usually doesn't make any difference to me. if you're into maximizing the number of attractions you do in one day, either attend the EMH if you're staying onsite, or go to a different park if you are not.

 

[Moonwolf]

I love EMH because I don't sleep much on vacation. The last two times I went when I was eligible for EMH once was with my friend and the other was with my friend and my brother. I personally don't sleep much and I have an internal clock that will wake me up around 6-7AM no matter what time I went to sleep and if I don't normally sleep until after midnight because when I do my body will wake me up even earlier. My brother could sleep in but as long as I started to wake him up half hour before I truly expected him to move I could get him out the door in time and once out he could stay up until pretty late (though I do have some amusing pics of him catching a few more moments of sleep on the bus and in the parks one late evening). My friend was an early riser though after the first night she couldn't quite keep up with my brother and I on our late nights so she would often head back to the room while my brother and I did a few more re-rides late at night.

 

[P00H1010]

For us we try avoid am EMH and attend all pm EMH.

Reasons why we avoid am EMH:
1) We are not morning people so getting up early is not something we want to do.
2) We have tried going to a park late morning/early afternoon that had am EMH and found it more crowded.

Reasons why we attend pm EMH:
1) We have had really good luck with wait times and crowd levels during pm EMH.
2) Best 2 parks for pm EMH is Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Hollywood Studios seems to be a little busier than those parks however wait times are still lower than daytime.

Our plan of attack:
We always do park hoppers so we will go to another park(s) earlier in the day and maybe hop to the park that had the am EMH after dinnertime. It seems like the early people are dwindling by then. On days with a pm EMH we go to another park(s) during the day and hop there in the evening for the EMH. We have gone during Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter and this seemed to have worked for us every time. The only thing I will say is when there was a special event like the Frozen Summer of Fun or Star Wars Weekends the pm EMH at Hollywood Studios were a lot busier than normal. Wait times were moderate for some attractions and not real low like normal.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Just my opinion but I like to avoid the parks with the extra magic morning hours. It seems that on these days all the resort guests are in the park of the day adding to the crowds. Any thoughts on this?

We don't entirely avoid the emh. If we wake up early enough (dd is *not* an early riser), we will go to morning emh and plan to park hop either for lunch or right after lunch to a park with no emh that day. We get to enjoy the less crowded emh, and we split when crowds are really picking up.

For evening emh, we will spend the day somewhere else. When that park closes, we will head to the park with evening emh (assuming we have someone to watch dd, as we don't take her to evening emh). The beginning of evening emh is usually crowded, but it thins the later you stay, and we love being on main street when emh ends. It's so peaceful.and quiet when you are one of the last to leave. The hub and partners statue/castle..it's just beautiful and serene.

 

[Angel Ariel]

You are right, particularly with AK. Animal Kingdom has the absolute lowest crowds from 3pm-7pm (typical 7PM close) on an EMH day. Everything is walk on with the exception of Kali if it's a hot day out. But Safari, Everest, DINOSAUR, etc are all walk ons, especially from 5-7.

I'll be surprised if that remains the case when they open ROL.