DHS/Toy Story Land "Early Morning Magic" (EMM) FAQ & Discussion

[rxbeth]

I saw the same post and was shocked!!

My favourite part was that she tried to justify it by saying they paid $38 per person for breakfast at h&v. At first she said she did all the rides and characters and then she said just sdd and characters and was only there 30 minutes like it was NBD. I'm sorry, but even a few groups who shouldn't be there pushing back lines is too many.

 

[RachaelA]

They checked our bands on every ride back on Halloween.

 

[kniquy]

Just back from our trip. I want to share a review of our experience attending the EMM on Wed 11/28. We ordered a MEARS pickup for 6:30am. The driver was waiting for us as we walked out of the lobby right on time. I really didn't want to worry about bus transportation so going with a set time for pick up definitely helped release any transportation stress. We arrived about 6:50 and after the walk in were checking in and getting our bands by 6:55. At that point there were some people lining up but we decided to go and get some pastries and coffee to tie us over until our real breakfast. We headed out to get in line between 7:15-7:20, at that point we waited about a minute and then the line started to move. We opted to go for TSM as we figured the line for SDD would be long at that point. We came out and headed towards SDD only to find out that the ride was down. We went to AS2 and did one ride on that. It was a fun ride but certainly a one and done for us. Getting off we come to find that SDD was still down. This had to be around 8am, at that point the CM's were say that they were not sure if the ride would open up before park opening, so they started scanning 2 FP for the ride to the guests. We went on TSM another 2 times. Love the ride but 3 times was enough. At that point we were around 8:40am. We were scanned for our 2 FP and were told that Star tours, ToT and RnR were open to EMM guests only. We were able to ride ToT before RD guests entered and then rode a second time with RD guest. We felt that it was pretty good guest recovery to give the 2 FP and have the other rides open, so we did not feel the need to complain or try to get our money back. It was about 9:25 after our second ToT ride and we went off to breakfast. The food was ok, but we did feel there was a good selection of items from the hot items, pastry, fruits, yogurt and cereal.

I do feel that the CMs did not make any great attempts to inform guests as to what the options were. At breakfast I ran into a mother in the bathroom who said she was able to get one ride on SDD before the RD crowd came in. I asked if she received her 2 FP and she didn't know anything about getting them. It seems that if you don't seek out the CM's you have no clue as to what is going on. Even with the other park rides being open we only happen to hear about the rides as we walked by the SDD entrance. Maybe there should have been away to make an announcement throughout the TS land to inform guests about what is going on.

we did go back after breakfast and rode SDD twice with our FP. Once in the front and once in the back -- the back is much better. Loved the ride and glad that we were able to experience it.

 

[mwheatley]

Solid experience this morning, 12/3. They let us into the land around 7:10. We did AS2 2x, TSM 2x, SDD 4x, met buzz.

Left the land just as the RD CROWD was coming. We then did RNRR and ToT (rider switch for both). Made it into the breakfast around 9:45.

We felt it was a good value before we even had the breakfast.

 

[iujen94]

Solid experience this morning, 12/3. They let us into the land around 7:10. We did AS2 2x, TSM 2x, SDD 4x, met buzz.

Left the land just as the RD CROWD was coming. We then did RNRR and ToT (rider switch for both). Made it into the breakfast around 9:45.

We felt it was a good value before we even had the breakfast.

Sounds like a great morning!! What order did you do the rides? From some reports, it sounds like it might be a good idea to save SDD until later in the event. Just wondered what your experience was. Thanks!!

 

[BissyBobbitiBoo]

My husband and I did EMM on Friday, 11/30. I am a super early person to avoid any potential kinks in plans, so I booked a MEARS from AKL at 6:10. We were the second people at security. There were very few people there when they let us into HS around 6:50am--like, maybe 15--if that. We opted to hang out in front of the Chinese Theatre instead of going to get breakfast. Again, very few people waiting to go into TSL, even the cast members were asking where everyone was. They walked us to TSL between 7:05-7:10am, and we went straight to SDD. Based on picture times, we were loading our second ride of SDD at 7:19am. By 7:30am, we rode SDD 4x. After that we took a SD break, walked around, took pictures, and rode TSM and AS2. Then we went back and rode SDD 4 more times. Honestly, we could have ridden SDD at least 5 more times (SDD was a walk on at the end of the event), but my husband was getting motion sick and could not handle more. Throughout the event, we never waited more than one slinky dog car--unless we chose to wait longer to ride in the back. We happened to run into the couple who were the first to arrive at the event, and they had ridden SDD nonstop until they hit 12x--that was around 8:30am. TSM took a while to walk through the queue and ride--maybe 12-15 minutes total.

I kept waiting for the RD crowd to arrive, but at 8:47, they was MIA. My husband was hungry and ready to leave, so we started walking to ABC. But when I saw nooo RD people, I walked back into the land--I was amazed how much time we had to ride and enjoy the land. Buzz had one person in line, so we stopped to take a picture with him. When RD crowd FINALLY arrived at 9:00am, we were in a decent line for Woody and Jesse. Eventually we got out of the line because characters aren't a priority, and we were hungry. As we exited the land at 9:02 am, SDD line was all the way out to the Little Mermaid theater and growing rapidly.

I enjoyed every second of this event and would do it again in a heartbeat! The crowds were extremely low, and we had basically no waits. We could've easily ridden SDD 4+ more times while also riding the other two attractions. We had an absolutely incredible experience. Finally tally was SDD 8x, TSM 1x, and AS2 1x.

Side note: if you go to TSL right before they close (for us, it was 8pm), the wait times usually decrease a good bit. We rode AS2 2x and TSM 1x at night between 7:45-8pm on a Saturday night.

 

[mwheatley]

Sounds like a great morning!! What order did you do the rides? From some reports, it sounds like it might be a good idea to save SDD until later in the event. Just wondered what your experience was. Thanks!!

Yes, loved it. We did AS2 first (we were the first riders), then TSM, took a break and then did SDD (we used rider switch). We could have done more SDD at the end because there wasn’t much of a wait, but we were satisfied.

 

[duck524]

We went today, 12/3, and it was amazing! We got to the gates about 6:50 and started heading to the Commissary for a quick bite and coffee. When we walked past the Chinese Theatre, there were probably 50-100 people already lined up to get into TSL and I was a bit apprehensive. We got back and joined the end of the line, just in time for it to start moving at about 7:06. We went to TSM—walk-on. Got out at 7:28 and went right into the J&W line. We were about 5-10 groups back. It went pretty quick. Did Buzz after that and it was a short wait. Then we did AS2 once before splitting up to ride SDD/TSM. TSM had a very very short wait and the SDD folks were done before us. Then I went over to SDD and rode it once while the others went to ABC. It was about 9 minutes from getting into line to being off the ride and walking back to ABC. We ate and split up again right around 9. One group went to RNRC and had about a 5-10 minute wait. The other group went and saw Mickey and Minnie and were done before the RNRC folks.

We were in TSL in from about 7:06-8:33 and did 2 TSM, 1 AS2, 1 SDD, and both meet & greets. We could have done more, but our party was happy and hungry. I am very glad we did the meet and greets right at 7:30 because the lines got very long later.

Food was tasty and service at ABC was wonderful. It was very busy between 8:30-9:00 when we were there, which surprised me, but maybe our ride lines were so favorable because today’s guests decided to eat earlier than some other days. We would definitely do this event again.

 

[Apopper74]

My favourite part was that she tried to justify it by saying they paid $38 per person for breakfast at h&v. At first she said she did all the rides and characters and then she said just sdd and characters and was only there 30 minutes like it was NBD. I'm sorry, but even a few groups who shouldn't be there pushing back lines is too many.

She got what she paid for with H&V. What she did is theft. I remember a few years ago some guy in a FB group was at MK on a party night. Earlier in the day he tried to do Jungle Cruise (w/holiday overlay) but it went down. As he was exiting the park due to the party he passed JC and asked if he could ride it even though he didn't have a party bracelet. He explained it was down earlier and the CM let him on. He then proceeded to exit the park. I remember such an uproar on the page, how dare he even ask he didn't have a party ticket. I thought the reaction was excessive, it was the CM's decision to make. Now this lady at EMM infuriates me, entitled because she had a PPO at H&V and spent $38 pp. Yeah, well I am spending $79 pp and I don't expect them to let me into H&V and start going around the buffet helping myself.

 

[BissyBobbitiBoo]

Also, just as a warning, you may want to check your camera and.or photopass account before leaving a meet and greet area at EMM (or at any meet and greet). Our Buzz pictures never made it to our account and the pictures on our phone are EXTREMELY blurry--you can only see the outline of our bodies. Disappointed, but if that's my only complaint from the morning, I'm a happy camper.

 

[chelynnah]

Also, just as a warning, you may want to check your camera and.or photopass account before leaving a meet and greet area at EMM (or at any meet and greet). Our Buzz pictures never made it to our account and the pictures on our phone are EXTREMELY blurry--you can only see the outline of our bodies. Disappointed, but if that's my only complaint from the morning, I'm a happy camper.

You may be able to get them found if you go to a photopass help desk. Especially if you have your own photos do know the time fore sure. They should be able to find and load them for you.

 

[neverenoughtime]

You may be able to get them found if you go to a photopass help desk. Especially if you have your own photos do know the time fore sure. They should be able to find and load them for you.

Where are these help desk located?

 

[jsmla]

Solid experience this morning, 12/3. They let us into the land around 7:10. We did AS2 2x, TSM 2x, SDD 4x, met buzz.

Left the land just as the RD CROWD was coming. We then did RNRR and ToT (rider switch for both). Made it into the breakfast around 9:45.

We felt it was a good value before we even had the breakfast.

This is my plan for next month-glad to see how well it went. Thanks for taking the time to post!

 

[chelynnah]

Where are these help desk located?

Honestly it’s been a couple of years. There should be a photopass office in each park. We used one at Animal Kingdom when photos were missing from there. Ask any CM where you can go to talk to someone to find missing photos.

 

[Lisa F]

I just saw a report from someone in a Facebook group who says she's just walked in to EMM for free after her PPO ADR. Maybe that increases the crowds if several people are trying that. Sounds like they weren't checking bands.

I'd not get too worked up about this, she sounds like a troll.

If PPO at H&V gave any meaningful leg up on the RD crowds then it would be the hottest ticket in HS. I don't think it helps that much with beating the RD crowds at TSL, which she'd have to do to "sneak in" to EMM at TSL. The logistics just don't seem to work - even if you get seated RIGHT at 8am (which I never have with an 8am PPO, usually about 5-10 minutes in), pay the check, wolf down your food in 20 minutes, run over to TSL to get in by 8:30 so you have 15 minutes before the event is over and the wave of people arrives.

It does not seem like the average guest would be willing to compromise their very expensive character breakfast to steal a couple of rides on SDD, but Disney probably should control access to the land for the entire event and I am sure they will if it becomes a big issue... but I don't think it will. Doesn't sound like a great strategy and you'd have to be a real nutjob to choke down breakfast to try to steal what amounts to 2 fastpasses worth of rides. Sure you save $40 over the cost of the event but you get a small fraction of the rides and a miserable breakfast vs. having it during the hour AFTER the event. Like what is even the point of doing all that?

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I'd not get too worked up about this, she sounds like a troll.

Sure you save $40 over the cost of the event but you get a small fraction of the rides and a miserable breakfast vs. having it during the hour AFTER the event. Like what is even the point of doing all that?

I agree, assuming you actually intend to go to the ADR. If they're not checking wristbands (and I can't remember being asked specifically to see mine during EMM), someone could think it worth the ADR no show fee to give it a shot. If they get turned away, at worst they show up late for an ADR they may or may not want and risk not being seated. I don't like that someone would game the system like this, but I don't think it can be discounted, either. Wristbands should be checked to protect against this possibility.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

Also, just as a warning, you may want to check your camera and.or photopass account before leaving a meet and greet area at EMM (or at any meet and greet). Our Buzz pictures never made it to our account and the pictures on our phone are EXTREMELY blurry--you can only see the outline of our bodies. Disappointed, but if that's my only complaint from the morning, I'm a happy camper.

I’ve had to have many pictures retrieved by PhotoPass over the years! Sometimes I don’t realize it until I get home. I send an email to the PhotoPass support people describing the park, time of day, and what we were wearing and they’ve always been able to find it!!

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

I’ve had to have many pictures retrieved by PhotoPass over the years! Sometimes I don’t realize it until I get home. I send an email to the PhotoPass support people describing the park, time of day, and what we were wearing and they’ve always been able to find it!!

You can also have the “magic” added to Magic Shots after the fact if they don’t show up at first

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

Had a great time this morning! The event never felt crowded. We were let into the land around 7:20 and were led to SDD.. thank goodness no running, pushing or shoving Walked straight onto SDD, got off and got back in line and had about a 5 minute wait. Took a few pictures around the land then walked straight onto Alien Swirling Saucers. That was a one and done for us so we went to TSMM and that one was a walk on too. When we were getting off there wasn’t anyone in line waiting to get on.. crazy!!

There was a good amount of people in line for Woody and Jessie, so we headed for Buzz who only had one other family in line. Then took a picture in front of the Toy Story land sign. It was 8:10 at this point, so we headed for one more ride on SDD.. about a 8 minute wait that time. Could’ve done it again when we got off but it is COLD this morning.

Now we are eating breakfast I thought it was well worth the money! It felt like we had the land to ourselves!

So in total we did SDD x 3 (could’ve easily done it 4-5 times), Saucers x 1 (this was walk on all morning), TSMM x 1 (again, walk on), and met Buzz (wait was a couple of minutes). All of this was done by 8:10 except the last ride on SDD.

 

[czmom]

Had a great time this morning! The event never felt crowded. We were let into the land around 7:20 and were led to SDD.. thank goodness no running, pushing or shoving Walked straight onto SDD, got off and got back in line and had about a 5 minute wait. Took a few pictures around the land then walked straight onto Alien Swirling Saucers. That was a one and done for us so we went to TSMM and that one was a walk on too. When we were getting off there wasn’t anyone in line waiting to get on.. crazy!!

There was a good amount of people in line for Woody and Jessie, so we headed for Buzz who only had one other family in line. Then took a picture in front of the Toy Story land sign. It was 8:10 at this point, so we headed for one more ride on SDD.. about a 8 minute wait that time. Could’ve done it again when we got off but it is COLD this morning.

Now we are eating breakfast I thought it was well worth the money! It felt like we had the land to ourselves!

So in total we did SDD x 3 (could’ve easily done it 4-5 times), Saucers x 1 (this was walk on all morning), TSMM x 1 (again, walk on), and met Buzz (wait was a couple of minutes). All of this was done by 8:10 except the last ride on SDD.

Awesome! Do you know if today was sold out for both 7 and 7:30 slots?