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

[GADisneyDad14]

That last picture is bananas. How do you even get past that crush of people to get out of TSL when the event is over?

On our morning, we were near Woodie/Jessie when it passed. Pics make it look more unmanageable than it really is. They start shifting the mob to the left past this point and it passes pretty quickly. Just stop, behold the spectacle, take pics, then move on.

 

[KSellers88]

That last picture is bananas. How do you even get past that crush of people to get out of TSL when the event is over?

You don't. LOL. You stand super close to the railing and wait for them all to pass.

 

[Runnsally]

My mom and I attended EMM on 11/5. The main reason we purchased this option was because my mom had a broken foot during our trip and we were afraid of getting trampled during EMH and could not get a SDD fastpass. We drove ourselves to HS as we were driving home from the park and arrived around 6:45AM. We were given wristbands at 6:51 and were able to scan our Magic Bands at 7:05. We arrived at TSL and were on SDD by 7:15. They did not make us go to breakfast first and actually walked us straight back into TSL from the Theater. We rode SDD back to back with no wait other than walking through the line, and were on the ride when it broke down during our third ride. Fortunately they got it working again for us to finish that ride and go one more time, for a total of 4 rides before it broke down permanently.

At that point, we moved on to AS2, which we rode three times back to back with a very short wait after walking through the line. We then moved on to TSM and rode a total of five times back to back with the exception of walking through the queue. They did not let use walk through the FP queue which slowed us down some, especially with my mom's walking boot. They actually let us stay on the ride without getting off between the 4th and 5th ride, which was great.

We were offered two anytime fastpasses to use due to SDD being down, but it is a little frustrating to hear others got refunds and we were not offered that option, especially considering we didn't even eat. LOL. I've emailed Disney to see if even a partial refund is an option, but since we still got to ride everything I will be okay if we don't get anything. In total, we rode SDD 6 times that day, TSM 5 times, and AS2 3 times. I've included some picture comparisons of the park during EMM and around 1:00 that same day. As well as the herd of people coming into TSL as we were exiting at 9:00. Overall, I do think it was worth it!

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I was at this EMM as well. Still deliberating with Guest Services regarding a refund. With SDD down for basically the entire event, lines were longer for everything else..

 

[KSellers88]

I was at this EMM as well. Still deliberating with Guest Services regarding a refund. With SDD down for basically the entire event, lines were longer for everything else..

Did you email them? I just did this morning, but I am not expecting results. Worth a shot though!

 

[mackeymouse4eva]

Looking at those great photos of the Rope drop crowd entering TSL, what would be the best strategy for making our way to ToT & RnRC? We will be attending this coming Wednesday, and are doing a whirlwind 4 park tour that day (making the most out of our old non-expiring Park Hoppers). TSL is the primary focus, but would love to attempt ToT & RnRC before breakfast. How early would they allow the early entry people to mosey to other areas of the park? Should we start walking around 845? If we get to ToT by 850ish, are chances decent to knock both out by 930ish? I was thinking ToT 1st because my mom finds RnRC too jarring, so I figured we could all ride ToT together, then she can take her time walking to ABC while my son&I ride RnRc. Or do you think lines would not make this worth it, and should just we B-line to Star Tours, and do ABC (not attempt ToT & RnRC)?

I DO understand that each day is different, and success will vary, but trying to get a better plan in place.
Seeing the picture made me realize that I need to prepare for the logistics a bit better!

After this,we are hopping to Epcot. Is there only the boat, or do they have busses (that early)? We were there last month and the walk in from HS busses seemed forever!


Thanks for your great postings on this thread.....they have been so helpful!!!!!

 

[Babs1975]

So a lot of questions lately about how to get out or when to get out of TSL before the crush of ropedrop people head in...we are in the same boat. Wondering how and when to leave to get to RNRC and TOT. My plan was to be out of TSL by 8:45. Or earlier? I want ro be out before the crowd comes in. Will CM's stop us somewhere? Where will we get held up? Would like to be at least with the ropedrop crowd getting to that area, not behind them. Anyone have recent experience with this?

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

Looking at those great photos of the Rope drop crowd entering TSL, what would be the best strategy for making our way to ToT & RnRC? We will be attending this coming Wednesday, and are doing a whirlwind 4 park tour that day (making the most out of our old non-expiring Park Hoppers). TSL is the primary focus, but would love to attempt ToT & RnRC before breakfast. How early would they allow the early entry people to mosey to other areas of the park? Should we start walking around 845? If we get to ToT by 850ish, are chances decent to knock both out by 930ish? I was thinking ToT 1st because my mom finds RnRC too jarring, so I figured we could all ride ToT together, then she can take her time walking to ABC while my son&I ride RnRc. Or do you think lines would not make this worth it, and should just we B-line to Star Tours, and do ABC (not attempt ToT & RnRC)?

I DO understand that each day is different, and success will vary, but trying to get a better plan in place.
Seeing the picture made me realize that I need to prepare for the logistics a bit better!

After this,we are hopping to Epcot. Is there only the boat, or do they have busses (that early)? We were there last month and the walk in from HS busses seemed forever!


Thanks for your great postings on this thread.....they have been so helpful!!!!!

I’m not sure if our experience will help with most of your questions, but we had a similar plan (hop to EPCOT after the HS event) so I thought I’d share. For us, we: exited TSM and saw the crowds rushing in. Decided to go on TSM again to avoid the crush of people (since most rushed towards SDD). They let us go through the TSM FP line. Exited, walked over to ABC and spent 25 min or so on breakfast. Started walking towards the exit (leisurely pace) and decided to check ToT line. Waited approximately 5 min for ToT, rode it, exited and were on a boat by 10:15.

 

[mackeymouse4eva]

I’m not sure if our experience will help with most of your questions, but we had a similar plan (hop to EPCOT after the HS event) so I thought I’d share. For us, we: exited TSM and saw the crowds rushing in. Decided to go on TSM again to avoid the crush of people (since most rushed towards SDD). They let us go through the TSM FP line. Exited, walked over to ABC and spent 25 min or so on breakfast. Started walking towards the exit (leisurely pace) and decided to check ToT line. Waited approximately 5 min for ToT, rode it, exited and were on a boat by 10:15.

This is very helpful....thank you for sharing your experience!

 

[bigeyedfish]

Ha! I see you all have the same plan for RnRC and ToT after leaving EMM! I might need to rethink my plan

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

We attended on Wednesday 11/14 - party of 7 (me & my husband and our two kids 7yr & 4yr, and my brother and SIL and their 1 yr baby).

I had read mixed reviews on transportation, but since we needed so many carseats we just rolled the dice on the bus. We were in luck - one arrived around 6:30 at the Contemporary. My group and a couple got on the bus. It went directly there - we walked up to the gates, got our wristbands, went through security and ticketing, and since we were inside a little after 7 (and saw some people being held by the theater) we went in to the Commissary to grab some food.

First food visit: No lines for hot food, so grabbed the kids some eggs and the charcuterie and avocado toast for hubby and I to share. We really liked the avocado toast and kiddos ate their eggs. Baby had cereal and fruit and we took some things to go for the baby. They had hot food plates all ready so it was just place your order and you were immediately handed the food and you were on your way.

We walked over to the theater around 7:15 and they let people in right at 7:20. We heard through the crowd (not sure if true or not) that SDD wasn't running yet, but it didn't matter since based on reports we were going to do EVERYTHING else first. There was a pretty decent line of people waiting for SDD when we walked by - they were under umbrellas lined up outside the queue.

Also, the baby turned out to be terrified of characters, so we got to skip those lines - WHEW.

We rode AS2 over and over until about 7:40. My kiddos LOVED it. We adults thought it was better than expected too! Our enjoyment was definitely increased by how much my kiddos loved it - arms in the air, lots of giggling & yelling. We didn't have to get off the ride at all, so that helped too. I lost count, but we had to have ridden it at least 6-8 times. I kept glancing over at the SDD queue signs and it was long, posted 25 minutes wait.

We headed over to TSMM, which was a walk-on. Rode it once through, and walked over to SDD.

Arrived at SDD around 8:00. Posted was 20. Rode at 8:16. Did a swap (BTW - if you will have a non-rider - there is a decent sized seating/viewing area right up by the queue entrance to make swapping easier! We wasted a few minutes getting my SIL and the baby up near the entrances so we could swap). Rode again at 8:34 - that was probably a 10 minute wait while we did all the organizing of the next group. We did another swap - I rode AS2 again (no wait) with my son, and my husband and brother and daughter rode SDD again and that time said it was nearly a walk on.

After that we left the land around 8:50, just as the rope drop crowd was coming in. I just need to make another comment about the MASS OF HUMANITY coming towards us. The line stretched on and on and on (the cast members kept yelling Slinky line to the right!) and people were so unhappy - lots of comments about rude people and people running and "you just ran right over me" and we were so happy to be leaving!! The SDD line was all the way back to the stairs/ramp where you turn by the time we got up there. It was nuts.

My SIL made a beeline for RNR and ended up riding it 4 times in a row so she was happy (single rider waits were extremely short)! The rest of us went to Star Tours where we did two rides (baby swap) - the first ride was definitely a walk-on and the second waited maybe one loading cycle.

After that we went back to the Commissary for second breakfast. Got there around 9:35. There were much longer lines for hot food, waited maybe 5 minutes? But it seemed a lot more disorganized. We ate - this time we had the shrimp and grits (yes, yummy!) and the chilaquilas (yummy too!). My brother had the chicken and waffles and he was happy too.

Quick bathroom break and the three kids and I were skating into our Frozen FP at 10:14. The rest of the crew was riding TOT and RNR on FP. We met up for Muppets afterward, and then did SDD one more time on a FP.


Opinions on Value of Event:
We universally agreed the event was definitely "worth it". It was our one extra for this trip, and it was the right one for us. Our kids loved the rides (although SDD did not knock off 7DMT as their favorite) and being able to enjoy them a few times in a row was really great. The food was a nice bonus - we were able to skip lunch that day since we had two breakfasts basically, and since we booked this event in place of a character buffet (H&V) the added cost wasn't too much. And while we felt that way before we left the area, seeing that rope drop crowd definitely upped that feeling by a lot.

Opinions on TSL:
The theming is really fantastic, and without the crowd you can see and enjoy all the little touches - the benches and light poles and signs and all the little things they put in there. We thought AS2 was going to be super boring but we were pleasantly surprised with it. SDD was a bit more intense than 7DMT so it ended up not being an issue that we couldn't ride it repeatedly for an hour.


Oh, I know some folks were asking - yes, Buzz was wearing a Santa hat and Woody and Jesse had their christmas garb on.

 

[sophie131]

Looking at those great photos of the Rope drop crowd entering TSL, what would be the best strategy for making our way to ToT & RnRC? We will be attending this coming Wednesday, and are doing a whirlwind 4 park tour that day (making the most out of our old non-expiring Park Hoppers). TSL is the primary focus, but would love to attempt ToT & RnRC before breakfast. How early would they allow the early entry people to mosey to other areas of the park? Should we start walking around 845? If we get to ToT by 850ish, are chances decent to knock both out by 930ish?

Also super interested in this, is the rest of the park open to movement of people from EMM or would you be held at a certain point? We have a similar plan of TOT and RnRC as soon as possible after we've ridden all in TSL before breakfast!

 

[CarolynFH]

Also super interested in this, is the rest of the park open to movement of people from EMM or would you be held at a certain point? We have a similar plan of TOT and RnRC as soon as possible after we've ridden all in TSL before breakfast!

Yes, the rest of the park is open, and since the crowds head to TSL it’s a great time to hit Tower and RnR! Once you pass the crowd entering TSL there are no problems walking elsewhere in the park. DH and I did exactly that (although Tower wasn’t open yet so we rode RnR).

 

[SaintsManiac]

Just thought I would post here that I canceled this EMM on Thursday, 11/15 and received my refund today. Not a bad turnaround. I know this question comes up from time to time.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Yes, the rest of the park is open, and since the crowds head to TSL it’s a great time to hit Tower and RnR! Once you pass the crowd entering TSL there are no problems walking elsewhere in the park. DH and I did exactly that (although Tower wasn’t open yet so we rode RnR).

What time does Sunset Blvd open?

 

[MagicalAdventures]

Has anyone had any luck signing up for Jedi training academy before entering for EMM?

If you can’t do that what time does it open for sign ups? I’m looking for an idea of what time we should leave EMM to be at the start of the sign up queue.

Thanks

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Has anyone had any luck signing up for Jedi training academy before entering for EMM?

If you can’t do that what time does it open for sign ups? I’m looking for an idea of what time we should leave EMM to be at the start of the sign up queue.

Thanks

Not a ton of help, but I’ve been keeping track of people that report in on JTA at the bottom of this post: https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...idays-in-nov-dec-added.3701980/#post-59644646

Unfortunately only two reports so far.

 

[MagicalAdventures]

Not a ton of help, but I’ve been keeping track of people that report in on JTA at the bottom of this post: https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...idays-in-nov-dec-added.3701980/#post-59644646

Unfortunately only two reports so far.

Thanks for doing this. It’s really helpful. It’s another three weeks till our trip so I’ll keep an eye out for any new reports

 

[LMO429]

Has anyone had any luck signing up for Jedi training academy before entering for EMM?

If you can’t do that what time does it open for sign ups? I’m looking for an idea of what time we should leave EMM to be at the start of the sign up queue.

Thanks

We went to HS and had zero issues getting a Jedi training and I did not sign up until 12pm. I think if you are going any time other than a Christmas week I do not foreseen u having any issues signing up after the emm at toy story land

 

[chris benton]

Also super interested in this, is the rest of the park open to movement of people from EMM or would you be held at a certain point? We have a similar plan of TOT and RnRC as soon as possible after we've ridden all in TSL before breakfast!

On 11/5, we were held around the corner from the Rope Drop crowd, on the street that leads to TOT and RNR. We were somewhere close to the shops that are around the corner, a little less than halfway up the street.

The cm's holding us explained the procedure (for that day)
They were going to hold us until the rope drop crowd turned the corner, and then they would walk us to either TOT or RNR. We were definitely AHEAD of the RD crowd, and allowed to stay ahead. As we started walking, the cm's let everyone know who to follow for tot or rnr. We were on the 2nd train of rnr of the day, only because we wanted the front car. I'm not sure if we jumped back in line, but I think we went straight across to TOT after, and it was a 10 minute wait. I'm pretty sure we did TOT twice. Got to the Commissary 9:30 ish, never felt rushed at all. YMMV of course, depending on crowds, but I'd suggest to have a hard stop in TSL at 8:40 to get to RNR/TOT and be first in line for one of them. RNR is probably the better choice - seems to fill up fast.

Also - I gotta say - the shrimp and grits might turn out to be way better than you think. I was quite surprised. The avocado toast was decent, but the egg that came with it was cooked to death. The Chorizo / Chilaquiles thing was mostly filler - powdered eggs with tortilla strips.
The shrimp n grits, and chicken strips with donuts, were clear standouts for the entrees, imo. I'd get two of those for each person. I didn't try the charcuterie plate - doesn't interest me.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Has anyone had any luck signing up for Jedi training academy before entering for EMM?

If you can’t do that what time does it open for sign ups? I’m looking for an idea of what time we should leave EMM to be at the start of the sign up queue.

Thanks

Our plan is:
Leave TSL at 8:40, and head to RnRC and ToT
After ToT (which should be around 9:30), split up. One adult head with teenage DD to order food at ABC. Other adult take two Jedi aged DS to sign up for Jedi Academy, and then meet at ABC to eat.