Crazy NOT to avoid EMH?

[danceteachermom]

Ok I have read all the advice to stay away from the parks with EMH due to increased crowds. However we arrive on a Thursday and like our first day to be in MK and the EMH is Friday, then we like day two at DHS to hit our other favorites and there is an EMH there on Saturday. We like day three to be slower and do Epcot.

If our plan is only to tour the parks at rope drop for a few hours each morning then to spend most of the day at our resort and head back only if we feel like it for evening shows...do we really need to worry about morning EMH and the crowd levels?

We are going the week before Easter and will likely not stay in any park past 12:00 noon. We want to spend most of our day at the CSR Dig Site with kids playing and pina colodas in hand.

I could re-do the order of our planned park visits but we REALLY like going to the MK first. Help!

 

[Robo]

Never attending EMH's because they will be too crowded
is like never eating grapes because they will be too sour.

CAN be that way.
Doesn't HAVE to be that way.

Each EMH experience can be different.

We always go to AM EMH (virtually every day of the trip
that we did not do a PM EMH late the night before)...
never ONCE regretted an AM EMH... they are amazingly
empty and easy to ride the open attractions.
If that park then starts to fill 2 to 3 hours later...
We're happy with "doing" that park for the day and we
can HOP elsewhere or do lunch and take a rest until
later.

PM EMH's are a mixed bag. I've been when they were
"packed"... but on other nights (sometimes within the
same trip), the crowds were basically so low that it
was like "free rides" on all the open attractions.

The rule seems to be, it is far easier for guests to
STAY UP at the end of the day, than it is for them to
GET UP at the start of the day.

Generally speaking:
Expect a PM EMH which begins before 10PM to be much busier than one that begins much later.
Expect the first 90 min. of PM EMH to be much busier than the last 90 min. of PM EMH.

Those who have attended PM EMH's and say that "they
are too crowded" are right... but that may have been only on the nights
they have attended.
I can say from personal experience that EMH's CAN be
virtually empty, or overly full... or somewhere in-between for attendance,
often within the same week.

On one particular trip, we went to a PM EMH at DAK on a Wed night and a PM EMH at MK
on a Sun night (early Spring visit.)
Both of those EMH's were so empty of guests that we could have
stayed on many attractions and ridden over and over.
This included Splash, BTM, and Pirates (and many more) at
MK, and Exp. Everest, Kali, and Dinosaur at AK.
What's interesting is that the crowds during the day at these parks were
pretty heavy... but, within the first hour of EMH, those crowds simply
"evaporated."

However, the crowd situation at PM EMH can change so much (either way,)
that saying it was "like X" on a given night, can have little relation
to another night in the same time-period. So, you
simply "won't know unless you go."
It's similar to saying
that you attended on a given night and it rained, so
guests should never go on that night because it will
probably be rainy.

But, it can all boil down to your particular timing.

If you just consider that EMH's are FREE to attend...
You might just take a chance.
If it's too busy, just people-watch... or hit the exit.
(Where ELSE are ya gonna go at 10pm, anyway?)

But, if its not busy... you'll be ALL SET for EXTRA FUN!

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[Taja]

Coming from the west (California and Arizona), we're among the "it's easier to stay up late" group, particularly the first three or four days! It's hard for us to go to sleep before about 3:00 a.m.! Evening EMH--particularly the really late MK EMH are terrific for us!

Other than one night at DHS--I think during October 2006--we've never had an issue with crowds. I think they were just very disorganized giving out the wristbands (in use at the time) at DHS that visit. The park wasn't very crowded after about 9:30 p.m.

*LOL*

 

[DebbieB]

I'm not a morning person and usually don't get there in time for rope drop but I've gone in the summer and found morning EMH invaluable. It gives you a jump on the crowds plus it is cooler. We would get there for EMH and then head out by 11:00 or 12:00 when it started getting crowded and hot.

 

[torinsmom]

If you are staying onsite, you should definitely take advantage of morning EMH! We did when we stayed at Pop Century and we got so much done in that first hour and the hour after everyone else was allowed in. I avoid them now that I stay offsite.

 

[santadog]

We have been to several evening EMH's and the ONLY one we regretted was the one time we were at EPCPOT during the Cheerleading conference, and Magic Kingdom had closed early for grad night.

If you do the Evenings at MK, start in Adventureland, then head to Liberty Square. From there head to Tomorrowland (save Fantasyland for last, people with small ones will head there first, and after an hour or so, they've pretty much all gone back to the hotel)

DHS has so few attractions that they tend to empty out pretty early.

My DD6 and I usually hit the "Dance Party" for about an hour, head to Muppets, Star Tours, then Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, finishing with Toy Story Midway Mania.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We do AM, EMH as long as we can be at the park by rope drop AND we always have hopper passes. Most AM EMH we are leaving by lunch or shortly after so it's not an issue. Now if you plan to return to a park later that day or night and do not have the hoppers, that might not be a good plan. That week can be VERY busy as some school are off the week before Easter so I really would consider adding hoppers as well. If you do not return to the parks after your noon escape you will be fine though that really makes for an expensive am in the park.

 

[danceteachermom]

Thanks for the replies. We will not be doing evening EMH....if we make it through the fireworks or other evening shows that is about all we can handle. I am thinking just morning EMH followed by a trip back to CSR for rest, sun, and relaxation. then we figure IF we feel like back for an evening parade or show.

I have never been the week before Easter before and I am a bit nervous about the crowds. But the good news for us is that we go back at least every other year in January when crowds are low. So we have very few "must do" attractions as we can always wait until next time. We go for quality over quantity.

Have any of you been at a morning EMH the week before Easter?

 

[kadesha]

We NEVER avoid EMH and have never dealt with any unmanagable crowds.

 

[raidermatt]

If our plan is only to tour the parks at rope drop for a few hours each morning then to spend most of the day at our resort and head back only if we feel like it for evening shows...do we really need to worry about morning EMH and the crowd levels?

We are going the week before Easter and will likely not stay in any park past 12:00 noon.

If you are getting there for rope drop I don't see an issue. Spring break will be crowded, sure, but there's no way to avoid that.

If you just wanted to get to the park at 10am, then I would strongly suggest you avoid the EMH days. But in your case I'd say go for it.

 

[saxman]

This was our first year not to use EMH's. I can say we are morning people and we did fare better using EMH's than avoiding them.

 

[rentayenta]

We have done both morning and night and didn't find either exceptionally crowded. Mornings were practically empty.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

We never used the morning EMH because we aren't morning people so getting into the parks before 10:30am for us was impossible. The evening EMH's were great, it wasn't that crowded, especially as the hours went on. The last hour of EMH we found practically empty

 

[heyitsmejosh]

PM EMH are awesome... last night we had the magic kingdom to ourselves for almost two hours and tonight i got to ride toy story 5 times in a row without any line at all... getting up early is for suckers imo

 

[danceteachermom]

PM EMH are awesome... last night we had the magic kingdom to ourselves for almost two hours and tonight i got to ride toy story 5 times in a row without any line at all... getting up early is for suckers imo

That sounds awesome....I could be convinced to go to evening EMH if I could ride TSM that many times. But, I doubt during spring/break Easter week I would be so lucky. Maybe when I go next January I will check it out.

How late were you there?

 

[patclairesmom]

If you're going the week before Easter, everyday is probably going to be EMH in the am, so there is no way to avoid it.

 

[WickedDreamer]

PM EMH are awesome... last night we had the magic kingdom to ourselves for almost two hours and tonight i got to ride toy story 5 times in a row without any line at all... getting up early is for suckers imo

Wow that is very lucky!!! We went on our recent trip in January/February and even during EMH till 10pm, at 9:45pm the wait time for Toy Story was 70 minutes... and people were still lining up after we got in line. It was our last night in Hollywood Studios and we hadn't had a chance to ride TSM due to longer waits and all fast passes had been given out by 10:30am.

 

[kimsuenew]

Great question OP!

We have never done these either, due to crowd worry. Out of curiousity... are AM extra hours worth it? Is the park opening anything special? Something you should experience?

 

[tigeramy75]

We always do AM EMH. We have little kids who are up at the crack of dawn anyway, so we figure we might as well take advantage of it! We absolutely love it and would recommend it if you don't mind being an early riser. We have less experience with PM EMH, because the boys are usually wiped out by closing time. However, last year we did do PM EMH at DHS...our little guy fell asleep in the stroller and DH and I were each able to take three turns on ToT and RNRC in a short amount of time! I know a lot of the touring sites recommend avoiding EMH, but we find that they usually work pretty well for us. Have fun!

 

[Robo]

... are AM extra hours worth it?



Is the park opening anything special? Something you should experience?

Only MK still offers a Rope Drop SHOW along with an inside-the-gates holding area.
They will only offer a the show once per day, so it will only be for the AM EMH guests on AM EMH day.
They might not offer the "full-length" Rope Drop Show on AM EMH days.

DAK no longer offers a Rope Drop SHOW,
but still has a "rope" (guest holding area) either just inside the gates,
or at a location past the Oasis, near the Tree of Life.

Epcot and DHS no longer offer a Rope Drop SHOW, AND no longer offer an inside-the-gates holding area.

As always, it can be an advantage to arrive well before the posted opening time at all parks.