Confused about EMH

[GrayC25]

So our TA mentioned that Disney is starting to lean more toward ticketed events in order to stay for evening EMH. I don't quite understand this, because isn't EMH part of the perk of staying on property? Do the parks still have EMH in the morning AND evenings? Are you all finding it true that Disney is starting to limit the evening EMH, unless they have purchased the evening event ticket?

 

[Kaadk]

The various after hours ticketed events are different than the EMH hours. For example, they might have MK closed for a ticketed event, and EMH at Epcot that same night.

I haven found though, that I'm only seeing one EMH per day now. I think it's been that way for a while, but I could have sworn back in '12 or '14 that it was possible to hit a morning EMH and an evening EMH on the same day with park hopping.

 

[Robo]

I'm only seeing one EMH per day now. I think it's been that way for a while, but I could have sworn back in '12 or '14 that it was possible to hit a morning EMH and an evening EMH on the same day with park hopping.

There used to be more AM and PM EMH, in total.
Sometimes an AM and a PM (different parks) on the same day.
It can vary, now.

 

[Kaadk]

There used to be more AM and PM EMH, in total.
Sometimes an AM and a PM (different parks) on the same day.
It can vary, now.

Ok, so they're still possible, though I haven't seen it over the last 3 trips. Maybe it's just tied to the time of year we've gone.

Oct '12 - I think they had them
Oct '14 - I think they had them
Apr '16 - DL and offsite, so doesn't count
Aug '17 - Don't remember seeing them
Feb '19 - Don't remember seeing them
Aug '20 - None planned as of now.

 

[siren0119]

Ok, so they're still possible, though I haven't seen it over the last 3 trips. Maybe it's just tied to the time of year we've gone.

Oct '12 - I think they had them
Oct '14 - I think they had them
Apr '16 - DL and offsite, so doesn't count
Aug '17 - Don't remember seeing them
Feb '19 - Don't remember seeing them
Aug '20 - None planned as of now.

We were there the last 3 years in August and Sept - there were definitely EMH at one park every day we were there, but it was not nearly as frequent as I remember it being in the past.

They have been waiting to post EMH hours until 3-4 months before, so you wouldn't see any for august of this year yet. It doesn't mean there won't be any, it just means they have held off putting them on the schedule.

 

[Remy is Up]

The Morning hasnt changed much in a while. Its been generally Epcot Thursday, MK Friday, AK Saturday, Studios Sunday, AK Monday. Then Epcot Tuesday Evening and MK Wed evening.
Prior to the past couple of years it was a lot more but they have cut them back and yes they have added more ticketed events for PM. Which we have been fine with. As long as they dont start overselling after hours like they have the parties, its well worth it.

 

[only hope]

Your TA is confusing After Hours events with EMH. After hours are hard ticket events open to anyone. All the info is on Disney’s site. EMH days were cut back prior to AH starting/being announced, that way when they introduced AH they could claim EMH offerings wouldn’t be affected. Technically true...because it’d already been changed.

 

[MarkS2112]

We were there in January and each day this is either a Morning or an Evening. MK will have a Morning and an Evening in one week. AK I believe is morning. Epcot has an Evening and a morning and HS basically has expanded park hours so they are just doing an evening. These are for resort guests only and guests of member off property hotels. These are not ticketed events and you pay nothing for them. You do have to scan into attractios with your MB for them.

The ticketed events are different and usually run in the evenings at MK, AK and cost $$$. These anyone can buy but they are not the same as the Extra Magic Hours.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

They have been waiting to post EMH hours until 3-4 months before, so you wouldn't see any for august of this year yet. It doesn't mean there won't be any, it just means they have held off putting them on the schedule.

This is not accurate. EMH days are posted on Disney’s rolling 190 day published calendar on their website. Every day in August has an EMH scheduled: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/month/2020-08-01/

They can always tweak the calendar or add special runs later on (such as last year’s Extra Extra Magic Hours), but they don’t wait until 3-4 months out to release EMH info.

 

[Kaadk]

This is not accurate. EMH days are posted on Disney’s rolling 190 day published calendar on their website. Every day in August has an EMH scheduled: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/month/2020-08-01/

They can always tweak the calendar or add special runs later on (such as last year’s Extra Extra Magic Hours), but they don’t wait until 3-4 months out to release EMH info.

Correct. To Siren, I didn't mean they didn't have EMH in Aug, I meant they didn't have EMH available at 2 parks on the same day, like I saw back in our '12 and '14 trips.

 

[siren0119]

Correct. To Siren, I didn't mean they didn't have EMH in Aug, I meant they didn't have EMH available at 2 parks on the same day, like I saw back in our '12 and '14 trips.

Ah gotcha - yeah it's definitely been a while since I've seen EMH at multiple parks on the same day. Between EMM and DAH events, plus parties in the fall and Christmas, there's not much room left for the "free" EMH.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We were big parks people back 2004-2011. Obsessed. We did a LOT of parks trips in those years. A friend of mine who is well-connected internally started mentioning back in 2010-ish that the powers that be wanted to scale back on the extra magic hours as they were at the time and get people paying for them. Of course I dismissed these insane ideas at the time. Who in their right mind would pay for what’s currently free???? How would Disney ever sell their overpriced rooms if they didn’t offer the perks???? I’ve done parks only a few times since 2011. We got really into the cruises. I’m currently planning a parks vaca for May. I often find myself going back to the memory of being told this is what Disney was planning to do over time.

Absolutely there are far less frequent EMHs than what I knew back before 2011. The nighttime hours are the least frequent now. And, yup, with the ushering-in of Early Morning Magic and After Hours events, we are now happily forking over the cash for the primary purpose of less crowds/more rides. That’s the exact same thing we used to get as a perk at no extra cost. Arguably, these events include food in the form of a breakfast or snacks. But, how much of the price for admission is actually used towards the food? Not much.

In a broad sense, yes, your TA is correct. There are less EMHs than there once was, particularly back when EMHs were a newer thing. And, yes, people do pay for essentially the same thing as EMHs when they buy into the Early Morning Magic or After Hours events.

Even the overselling of the Halloween and Christmas events can shore-up sales of these other offerings. If they keep the ticket sales to these early/late for-price events to a lower number, people will be more likely to seek them out as the anti-holiday/typical park day experience.

For a LOT of years my husband and I said we would gladly pay more for less people. That’s exactly what Disney is doing.

Same convo with my friend he told me how Disney was going to start scaling back the climate of discounts at WDW. That’s another thing I found unbelievable in 2010 or so. Compared to when I got 40% - 45% off rooms and pin codes a-plenty, I’d say this also was a 100% accurate statement.

 

[rdaky]

Yes, there are fewer EMH along with fewer perks in general for people who stay onsite.

The after hours/early morning magic are similar to EMH, but not the same thing and you're going to pay a lot of money for only a few hours. In some ways it can be worth it for shorter lines, but it's still really expensive for what you actually get.

 

[Kaadk]

Yes, there are fewer EMH along with fewer perks in general for people who stay onsite.

The after hours/early morning magic are similar to EMH, but not the same thing and you're going to pay a lot of money for only a few hours. In some ways it can be worth it for shorter lines, but it's still really expensive for what you actually get.

In theory, it should be even shorter lines, and for more than a few hours at an AH event. With everyone staying onsite being eligible for EMH, as they've added more and more hotels, rooms, etc, they've just aded to that population. And the AH events typically run like 4 hours or more I believe, where the EMH runs like 2 hours?

All that said and done, with a family of 4, an AH starts to get real expensive real fast. If it was just me and missus, I might consider one, but for the whole family.. I'll stick with the EMH if I stay late, or more likely, just avoid the EMH parks altogether.

 

[AngiTN]

Ok, so they're still possible, though I haven't seen it over the last 3 trips. Maybe it's just tied to the time of year we've gone.

Oct '12 - I think they had them
Oct '14 - I think they had them
Apr '16 - DL and offsite, so doesn't count
Aug '17 - Don't remember seeing them
Feb '19 - Don't remember seeing them
Aug '20 - None planned as of now.

They have had them every month, every year. If you were there just a day or two then you may go without them but if you were there a week, you just didn't notice them. But they had them.