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

[Iowamomof4]

Does anyone wonder if the reason for the smaller date release of EMM at TSL (only May opening this week vs MK EMM dates opened thru August) has anything to do with Disney's statement this past week of SWGE opening no later than September? Wonder if they are still waiting to see how far along they get prior to summer release dates?

Disney made no such statement. The woman who said that misspoke and was immediately corrected by Iger in the call. She meant to say calendar year instead of fiscal year.

I was listening to the call with earbuds and could hear all of that very clearly. Some "journalists" and bloggers ran with the slip-up as if she "let the cat out of the bag". Ugh.

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

Just booked for May 15th. I’ve already done an After Hours event at HS but my daughter hasn’t seen TSL. This will be a great way for her to do that On our May trip. Yay!!!!

 

[4vrdreamin]

Disney made no such statement. The woman who said that misspoke and was immediately corrected by Iger in the call. She meant to say calendar year instead of fiscal year.

I was listening to the call with earbuds and could hear all of that very clearly. Some "journalists" and bloggers ran with the slip-up as if she "let the cat out of the bag". Ugh.

And this is why I'm on disboards!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Does anyone wonder if the reason for the smaller date release of EMM at TSL (only May opening this week vs MK EMM dates opened thru August) has anything to do with Disney's statement this past week of SWGE opening no later than September? Wonder if they are still waiting to see how far along they get prior to summer release dates?

Even if this were the case, and they weren't sure about Aug, SWGE would have nothing to do with June or July EMM.

My complete guess is that's a more a question of how many times per week to offer it.

 

[ashmac8]

Even if this were the case, and they weren't sure about Aug, SWGE would have nothing to do with June or July EMM.

My complete guess is that's a more a question of how many times per week to offer it.

Good guess. I was also worried that it was selling well enough that they’d make a modest change, repackage it and up the price. Waiting for August so I guess I’ll keep waiting.

 

[Jfletch106]

Anyone know if the merchandise stands are open during EMM? Or do they open when the park opens

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Anyone know if the merchandise stands are open during EMM? Or do they open when the park opens

The one just before the SDD bridge has been open when we've done EMM, at least later on in the event. I think the other one more towards the land entrance has been open too, but not totally sure about that.

 

[cakebaker]

Now that I got this booked, how to get there! We’re staying at the YC. Do the boats run early enough and if not, I would guess Uber or Minnie Van? Definitely do not want to walk there. Also, is the temporary entrance situation over? Last trip the walk from the drop off to the gate was a hike!

 

[LMO429]

Now that I got this booked, how to get there! We’re staying at the YC. Do the boats run early enough and if not, I would guess Uber or Minnie Van? Definitely do not want to walk there. Also, is the temporary entrance situation over? Last trip the walk from the drop off to the gate was a hike!

We did the walk with al the construction and it was not bad at all would do again in a second we stayed at the beach club, I would plan on an uber/mears. Minnie vans sometimes are hard to come by esp so early in the morning. i don't think the boats were running that early

 

[ninafeliz]

Now that I got this booked, how to get there! We’re staying at the YC. Do the boats run early enough and if not, I would guess Uber or Minnie Van? Definitely do not want to walk there. Also, is the temporary entrance situation over? Last trip the walk from the drop off to the gate was a hike!

I know you said you don’t want to walk, but I’ll say that unless you have mobility issues and no ECV walking is by far the easiest and would be my recommendation. We did it from the BCV and I wanted to stay in that area just so we could walk. Easy, and no reliance on anyone else or anything else to make sure you arrive, and when you arrive.

If you really can’t walk, I would schedule a mears or take an uber/Lyft/Minnie van. It’s very close, so I can’t imagine it would cost that (except the Minnie van would be more). It is technically a lot further distance to drive than walk though, since you can walk right along the waterway. When we went from CBR we scheduled mears and it worked perfectly, and was $18 plus tip.

From my reading a Disney bus would likely work just fine, I’m just too nervous to chance Missing it or being late since it’s short and expensive! The boats do not run early enough.

 

[cakebaker]

Thanks, looks like Uber for us then.

I know you said you don’t want to walk, but I’ll say that unless you have mobility issues and no ECV walking is by far the easiest and would be my recommendation. We did it from the BCV and I wanted to stay in that area just so we could walk. Easy, and no reliance on anyone else or anything else to make sure you arrive, and when you arrive.

If you really can’t walk, I would schedule a mears or take an uber/Lyft/Minnie van. It’s very close, so I can’t imagine it would cost that (except the Minnie van would be more). It is technically a lot further distance to drive than walk though, since you can walk right along the waterway. When we went from CBR we scheduled mears and it worked perfectly, and was $18 plus tip.

From my reading a Disney bus would likely work just fine, I’m just too nervous to chance Missing it or being late since it’s short and expensive! The boats do not run early enough.

From what I can gather, it would seem the walk from the bus stops and where Uber would drop off is still a decent walk. I was hoping that had changed. So it may just be walking from the resort is not a bad option afterall. We don't have any serious issues about walking, it's just that it's only my grandson and I ( he's 7 today) and he's a bit of a challenge to get in gear early in the morning. Guess I'll just dangle riding SDD as much as he wants as a carrot to get him to move. lol

Edited to add- Just watched a video of the walk. I didn't realize walking would put you in the temporary bus stop. Definitely going to Uber it. Thanks for the replies. Sure wish the boats were up at that time to avoid all of it.

 

[Kmgordon]

Just did EMM today. We were able to ride Slinky 5 times, Saucers once, and Toy Story Mania twice and met Buzz on our way out. We then walked onto Tower of Terror and back for breakfast by around 9:30. For those wondering about Jedi Training, we headed to sign up at 10:20, waited about 15minutes and the only shows left were 4:20 or later. My kids got in the 11:40 show as alternates and at that time there were spots left in the 7pm show. I hope that’s helpful, I found this thread very helpful during my planning.

 

[Newcastle]

The only problem will be that you cut yourself short on time there

This is an excellent point. However, the more I thought about it and after a little research, my understanding is that the land still doesn't open until 7:30 a.m. so having the earlier 7:00 a.m. only means that you can eat breakfast earlier but we have no interest in eating before we go on the rides (we plan to eat after). That being said, the 7:30 time slot would probably be better for us but does anyone know if we keep our 7:00 a.m. time slot, will there be any issues with us arriving slightly later (i.e. closer to the 7:30 time slot)? I won't bother changing our reservation time if they are somewhat flexible on the entry times. Sorry if I didn't explain that very well .

 

[cakebaker]

This is an excellent point. However, the more I thought about it and after a little research, my understanding is that the land still doesn't open until 7:30 a.m. so having the earlier 7:00 a.m. only means that you can eat breakfast earlier but we have no interest in eating before we go on the rides (we plan to eat after). That being said, the 7:30 time slot would probably be better for us but does anyone know if we keep our 7:00 a.m. time slot, will there be any issues with us arriving slightly later (i.e. closer to the 7:30 time slot)? I won't bother changing our reservation time if they are somewhat flexible on the entry times. Sorry if I didn't explain that very well .

The time slots mean nothing. Everyone enters at the same time. The two time slots are just for booking purposes. Most reports I’ve read is guests wait at the Chinese Theatre and are being allowed in 7:10-7:20. Personally, the time is so short that I wouldn’t do it at all if I couldn’t be there well before that time. If you don’t mind cutting your time short, you’re free to get there whenever you want, regardless of your reservation time.

 

[Newcastle]

The time slots mean nothing. Everyone enters at the same time. The two time slots are just for booking purposes. Most reports I’ve read is guests wait at the Chinese Theatre and are being allowed in 7:10-7:20. Personally, the time is so short that I wouldn’t t do it at all if I couldn’t be there well before that time. If you don’t mind cutting your time short, you’re free to get there whenever you want, regardless of your reservation time.

Thanks very much for the clarification! That is definitely helpful .

 

[Suejacken]

Just did EMM today. We were able to ride Slinky 5 times, Saucers once, and Toy Story Mania twice and met Buzz on our way out. We then walked onto Tower of Terror and back for breakfast by around 9:30. For those wondering about Jedi Training, we headed to sign up at 10:20, waited about 15minutes and the only shows left were 4:20 or later. My kids got in the 11:40 show as alternates and at that time there were spots left in the 7pm show. I hope that’s helpful, I found this thread very helpful during my planning.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I keep,hoping they will open up for when I am there. I need 7/1 and I am afraid they won’t offer it because it’s 4th of July week

 

[OKC Disney Fan]

We are doing EMM on Mon, 2/25 (planning on moving to MK in the afternoon so that's where we booked our FP's for the day). We would like to hit TSL at EMM, rope drop RnRC and TOT, then eat breakfast near the end of the food time, and hit Star Tours after that. We have a BOG ADR at 1:25 and then FP's are after that. Does that all sound doable or am I overestimating what I can get done at HS in the morning? I'm willing to take a Lyft to MK if that makes it more possible.
Thanks!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thanks, looks like Uber for us then.


From what I can gather, it would seem the walk from the bus stops and where Uber would drop off is still a decent walk. I was hoping that had changed. So it may just be walking from the resort is not a bad option afterall. We don't have any serious issues about walking, it's just that it's only my grandson and I ( he's 7 today) and he's a bit of a challenge to get in gear early in the morning. Guess I'll just dangle riding SDD as much as he wants as a carrot to get him to move. lol

Edited to add- Just watched a video of the walk. I didn't realize walking would put you in the temporary bus stop. Definitely going to Uber it. Thanks for the replies. Sure wish the boats were up at that time to avoid all of it.

FYI, you saw an old video - the walking path from the Epcot resorts to DHS is no longer detoured around/through the temporary bus stop. It’s back to the “normal” old path as of mid December.

We did EMM from YC and in my opinion walking is the best option if able. Uber/Taxi/etc are also options of course, although the drive takes longer than you might think despite the close distance. The drop off point is currently closer than the temporary bus stop by roughly a 1-2 minute walk (depending on your speed). Note the front entrance plaza area is a big construction scene and the exact ride-share/taxi drop off point is subject to change by your date. The current location is better/closer than it was awhile back.

Good luck!

 

[MonaMN]

We are doing EMM on Mon, 2/25 (planning on moving to MK in the afternoon so that's where we booked our FP's for the day). We would like to hit TSL at EMM, rope drop RnRC and TOT, then eat breakfast near the end of the food time, and hit Star Tours after that. We have a BOG ADR at 1:25 and then FP's are after that. Does that all sound doable or am I overestimating what I can get done at HS in the morning? I'm willing to take a Lyft to MK if that makes it more possible.
Thanks!

I think that is doable. Biggest question is probably whether you can get both ToT and RnRC in before eating... will depend on crowds.

 

[cakebaker]

FYI, you saw an old video - the walking path from the Epcot resorts to DHS is no longer detoured around/through the temporary bus stop. It’s back to the “normal” old path as of mid December.

We did EMM from YC and in my opinion walking is the best option if able. Uber/Taxi/etc are also options of course, although the drive takes longer than you might think despite the close distance. The drop off point is currently closer than the temporary bus stop by roughly a 1-2 minute walk (depending on your speed). Note the front entrance plaza area is a big construction scene and the exact ride-share/taxi drop off point is subject to change by your date. The current location is better/closer than it was awhile back.

Good luck!

Thank you, that’s very helpful!