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

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Slinky down entire EMM.

Ugh...why can't they get this ride running consistently!?!?! If you don't have the time (or desire) to deal with GS today, definitely email them when you're home. Though it took nearly a week to get a response, I was satisfied with the outcome when SDD was down for us, too.

 

[Brett Wyman]

We went this morning 11-28, 7:30am reservation. Temp was about 48 degrees I believe. We arrived about 6:55 on the dot. Left the Polynesian in our personal car about 6:40. Zero lines at security. Bracelet handout took about 5 mins. We went straight to ABC at 7 to have coffee and pastries and the kids had some cereal and fruit (went back for hot breakfast at 9:45). We walked out of ABC at 7:25 and followed the crowds to TSL where we saw SLINKY DOG WAS DOWN. Mass hysteria! Not for us, but there was a LONG line to speak to the CM in front of the non-functioning ride. We knocked out Aliens twice and Mania twice and went to check on Slinky again at about 8:15am. Still down! Oh no. Wife took the little one to meet Buzz and I took our daughter for a third round of Mania. After that we spoke with the CM handling the Slinky outage, he informed us everyone who asked (too bad for people who don't know to ask!) would get two free "any experience" Fast Passes for HS for that day, which was good enough for me. Line for Woody and Jessie was LLLLOOOOOONNNGGG. I guess because Slinky wasn't running to eat up the number of people they had to go somewhere. So we skipped that. After one more Alien Spin we saw they were allowing people to queue for Slinky. It started up at 8:55 on the dot and the CM there said the Rope Drop folks were being held later than normal so the EMM people could get a couple rides in. We were able to ride three times before the hordes arrived. The standby line was all the way out to the entrance of TSL by the time we left at 9:30. Overall good experience. In my opinion Disney handled the outage quite well. I was never frustrated. I can imagine the CMs got an earful from some less forgiving guests though. It must have been a light morning as even with Slinky down Aliens was always a direct walk on, and Mania never took more than 5 minutes. On to Epcot for the afternoon/evening!

 

[bigeyedfish]

So that (of course) would be disappointing, but it sounds like Disney handled it well. I’ll be happy if we get to ride SDD x3 along with the other rides during our EMM event.

 

[Kdp2]

Oh man. We were also there this morning. It was me, hubs, MIL, 3yo, and 10mo. It was pretty cold out for Florida but we had several layers on. Family was very cranky with the early time + cold weather. I underestimated their ability to complain lol.

We’re staying at Bay Lake. We left our room (miraculously) at about 6:25. Bus arrived at 6:34 and we arrived at HS about 6:50. We went right in, no lines, received bands. We got in line at the theater bc it was about 7:05 and I thought they might open at 7:15. MIL and I went over for a coffee and some pastries and brought to hubs and the kids. 3yo had a complete meltdown waiting in line. If you heard screaming that was probably us. Everyone went ahead of us bc we were dealing with him, but it ended up not mattering anyway since Slinky was down the whole morning.

Wrangled family into Mania. Long wait. By the time we got off it was 8:00 and Slinky still down. We didn’t want to go back on Mania and wait another 20-30min, so went to Aliens. That was a walk on. 3yo was obsessed (so glad he didn’t keep asking for Slinky!). Rode aliens 5x with no wait except the last time the wait was 10 min. Slinky STILL DOWN after all that. Went for Mania one more time, walk on, ride went down as soon as we got on it. We were stuck on it for about 10 minutes. Came out, Slinky finally up.

We did not get FP added to our bands for Slinky, but I knew from disboards that they were likely to allow us to ride with our EMM bands, so we just went up the the FP line and asked. They did! So me, hubs, 3yo rode Slinky. Kiddo LOVED it. He just lit up. Totally made the morning for me. Went for breakfast which was decent. We are not picky eaters! Then back to beg for one more Slinky ride. I guess the CM remembered our 3yo (he had a distinctive Mickey hat/gloves). This time hubs and MIL went with him. They told me the CM said something like “make this your last time”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. I’m sure we could have asked for more FP or even a refund, but we didn’t. I feel like ultimately we all had a good time and enjoyed it!!

 

[neverenoughtime]

We went this morning 11-28, 7:30am reservation. Temp was about 48 degrees I believe. We arrived about 6:55 on the dot. Left the Polynesian in our personal car about 6:40. Zero lines at security. Bracelet handout took about 5 mins. We went straight to ABC at 7 to have coffee and pastries and the kids had some cereal and fruit (went back for hot breakfast at 9:45). We walked out of ABC at 7:25 and followed the crowds to TSL where we saw SLINKY DOG WAS DOWN. Mass hysteria! Not for us, but there was a LONG line to speak to the CM in front of the non-functioning ride. We knocked out Aliens twice and Mania twice and went to check on Slinky again at about 8:15am. Still down! Oh no. Wife took the little one to meet Buzz and I took our daughter for a third round of Mania. After that we spoke with the CM handling the Slinky outage, he informed us everyone who asked (too bad for people who don't know to ask!) would get two free "any experience" Fast Passes for HS for that day, which was good enough for me. Line for Woody and Jessie was LLLLOOOOOONNNGGG. I guess because Slinky wasn't running to eat up the number of people they had to go somewhere. So we skipped that. After one more Alien Spin we saw they were allowing people to queue for Slinky. It started up at 8:55 on the dot and the CM there said the Rope Drop folks were being held later than normal so the EMM people could get a couple rides in. We were able to ride three times before the hordes arrived. The standby line was all the way out to the entrance of TSL by the time we left at 9:30. Overall good experience. In my opinion Disney handled the outage quite well. I was never frustrated. I can imagine the CMs got an earful from some less forgiving guests though. It must have been a light morning as even with Slinky down Aliens was always a direct walk on, and Mania never took more than 5 minutes. On to Epcot for the afternoon/evening!

Very nice writeup. How did the anytime fastpasses get added? Did the CM just scan your magic bands and they were then added?

 

[Babs1975]

So back to condo now, can expand on details. Was really a bummer for us that Slinky was down for EMM as it was the reason we did the experience. We rode TSM twice and AS2 once. AS2 was cute but a one and done for my family. We ended up heading back over to breakfast around 8:15 because we really didn't know what to do with ourselves. Then headed to RNRC and TOT at 8:40. Ropedrop crowd was held until 9. They didn't get to us at TOT until 9:02. I was surprised and thankful at that. Then headed to guest relations. We had gotten the 2 multi experience fp's in TSL but I didn't think that was enough. Since our EMM was already comped for an earlier snafoo in the planning process leading up to our trip, I couldn't ask for money back. So I asked for fp's. CM was reluctant to give Slinky fp's. Offered us Star Tours which we declined. Then tried to give us fp's for tomorrow, which we declined. Finally gave us 1 extra fp for Slinky and 1 for Star Tours, which we didn't need but he threw in anyway. So we ended up with 3 anytime Slinky fp's. Was okay. If I would have actually paid for the event, I would have been very dissatisfied with Slinky being down the whole time and the 2 fp's they were offering. Ridiculous. Saw and heard many very unhappy people. The day worked out fine for us, but definitely wasn't what we expected with EMM.

 

[EmCredible]

We were also there this morning. We arrived at 6:45 and went straight to the line so we could be first for SDD. At 7:20ish they let us into the land and we went straight for the SDD line. Discovered it wasn’t running so went to TMM. The wait was about 20 minutes. Then did Woody and Jesse since SDD was still down. (SDD is the reason we booked this event) rode AS2 and none of the kids wanted to ride again. We got in line for TMM again and it went down while waiting in line. Super frustrating for us. We ended up heading to TOT and rode once before rope drop crowd came. Went to guest relations and they gave us a partial refund. I felt that was deserved after the long waits on the rides available. If it would have been running I would say the event was totally worth it! We are on day 3 of our trip so that early morning really wore the kids out and it was disappointing that the entire reason we got up early and went was to ride Slinky. Thanks to everyone here that has given reviews and info. I found it extremely helpful!

 

[ilanakan]

We were also there this morning. We arrived at 6:45 and went straight to the line so we could be first for SDD. At 7:20ish they let us into the land and we went straight for the SDD line. Discovered it wasn’t running so went to TMM. The wait was about 20 minutes. Then did Woody and Jesse since SDD was still down. (SDD is the reason we booked this event) rode AS2 and none of the kids wanted to ride again. We got in line for TMM again and it went down while waiting in line. Super frustrating for us. We ended up heading to TOT and rode once before rope drop crowd came. Went to guest relations and they gave us a partial refund. I felt that was deserved after the long waits on the rides available. If it would have been running I would say the event was totally worth it! We are on day 3 of our trip so that early morning really wore the kids out and it was disappointing that the entire reason we got up early and went was to ride Slinky. Thanks to everyone here that has given reviews and info. I found it extremely helpful!

What kind of refund did they give you? Did they offer it or did you have to demand it?

 

[Brett Wyman]

Oh man. We were also there this morning. It was me, hubs, MIL, 3yo, and 10mo. It was pretty cold out for Florida but we had several layers on. Family was very cranky with the early time + cold weather. I underestimated their ability to complain lol.

We’re staying at Bay Lake. We left our room (miraculously) at about 6:25. Bus arrived at 6:34 and we arrived at HS about 6:50. We went right in, no lines, received bands. We got in line at the theater bc it was about 7:05 and I thought they might open at 7:15. MIL and I went over for a coffee and some pastries and brought to hubs and the kids. 3yo had a complete meltdown waiting in line. If you heard screaming that was probably us. Everyone went ahead of us bc we were dealing with him, but it ended up not mattering anyway since Slinky was down the whole morning.

Wrangled family into Mania. Long wait. By the time we got off it was 8:00 and Slinky still down. We didn’t want to go back on Mania and wait another 20-30min, so went to Aliens. That was a walk on. 3yo was obsessed (so glad he didn’t keep asking for Slinky!). Rode aliens 5x with no wait except the last time the wait was 10 min. Slinky STILL DOWN after all that. Went for Mania one more time, walk on, ride went down as soon as we got on it. We were stuck on it for about 10 minutes. Came out, Slinky finally up.

We did not get FP added to our bands for Slinky, but I knew from disboards that they were likely to allow us to ride with our EMM bands, so we just went up the the FP line and asked. They did! So me, hubs, 3yo rode Slinky. Kiddo LOVED it. He just lit up. Totally made the morning for me. Went for breakfast which was decent. We are not picky eaters! Then back to beg for one more Slinky ride. I guess the CM remembered our 3yo (he had a distinctive Mickey hat/gloves). This time hubs and MIL went with him. They told me the CM said something like “make this your last time”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. I’m sure we could have asked for more FP or even a refund, but we didn’t. I feel like ultimately we all had a good time and enjoyed it!!

Glad you finally got your 3yo on! I’m sure we passed each other as we did all three of our SDD rides between 8:55-9:10!

What kind of refund did they give you? Did they offer it or did you have to demand it?

I’m guessing you would have to push pretty hard for money back. It seems like they deal in fast passes as the currency for disappointment.

 

[Maine Disney First Timer]

I am not trying to have an “entitled” attitude but if our family of five has spent $388 on basically an hour and a half of toy story land fun and THE MAIN RIDE of three is down, I would expect some compensation. That’s a lot of money spent for this event and if they can’t have their rides working properly then they need to do something more than a fastpass.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Very nice writeup. How did the anytime fastpasses get added? Did the CM just scan your magic bands and they were then added?

Yes the CM had to scan everyone in the parties band individually for some reason (I’m guessing that reason is Disney not wanting to give out that many FP, so they bank on some people not asking). They clearly have the power to “push” an any experience fast pass. I had that happen just yesterday when FOP was down during my FP window.

 

[DisneyDogFan]

I’ve got to say - I understand that rides go down but I don’t think two anytime FP+ is anywhere near appropriate compensation for SDD being down the entire event.

In addition to not getting to ride Slinky, that makes the lines that much longer for everything else, particularly the character meets, and in all likelihood throws off plans for the rest of the day. I’m so on the fence about this event. The money is worth it to me for avoiding the rope drop frenzy, ease of scheduling, and getting to see TSL without hordes of unhappy people. Extra FP+ wouldn’t make me feel better if I spent hundreds of dollars, got up at 5:15, and still had to deal with frenzied hordes and scheduling chaos. Potential extra access to Slinky the rest of the day also wouldn’t make me feel better because I actually dislike HS, particularly with all of the construction, and want to leave it as soon as possible after EMM and a few rides on RnR. At minimum, they ought to be figuring out how to open a few more rides or persuading a few extra characters to do meets as a back up plan for when things fail.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

I am not trying to have an “entitled” attitude but if our family of five has spent $388 on basically an hour and a half of toy story land fun and THE MAIN RIDE of three is down, I would expect some compensation. That’s a lot of money spent for this event and if they can’t have their rides working properly then they need to do something more than a fastpass.

And it sounds like TSMM went down too near the end of the event We are going to this on 12/5 and if SDD is down someone is going to get an earful from me. I’m normally pretty forgiving because I realize they can’t 100% guarantee ride operation and things happen, but I only booked this because I couldn’t get a FP for SDD on our DHS day. And that’s not because I wasn’t online at 7 am at 60+5 days. MDE wouldn’t recognize ANY of my family’s APs as tickets. I called and they had to escalate the problem. After multiple phone calls (me calling them because no one would call me back) I finally got a CM (it was around noon by now) that offered to make them manually for me... and of course all of the SDD FPS were gone

To me, 2 anytime Fastpasses aren’t the same as paying for an “exclusive” upcharge event that is supposed to feature lower crowds. I’d imagine the FP line is probably still longer than the 3-5 minutes waits we’ve seen reported on here during EMM. And as PP mentioned, SDD being down makes the lines for the other attractions longer. And we have plans to leave DHS after lunch on our EMM day.. so what happens if SDD is down for an extended period of time??

I wish DHS After Hours was offered during our trip. I’d much rather risk SDD not being open when there are other rides to ride and I didn’t get up at 5:30 am in 48 degree weather

 

[EmCredible]

I didn’t push hard for it at all. I was very calm and very kind and simply told not of the cast members in charge of the event (as they were giving out fast passes for later) that we were super disappointed as Slinky was the entire reason we booked the event. She immediately told me that if I’d like to request a refund I could go to guest relations and they would take care of me. (I had a party of 5. 3 adults and 2 children. ). I was given a gift card for $200. Again, I was not giving anyone an earful or demanding. Once I explained that we were super disappointed about slinky being down the cast member at guest relations immediately offered me the partial refund and I felt it was very fair as we had enjoyed breakfast and the kids rode TMM and AS2 and met Woody and Jesse. I absolutely think the event was worth it and would book again in the future, especially given the ease of compensation when something went wrong. Hope this helps someone else.

 

[dachsie]

And it sounds like TSMM went down too near the end of the event We are going to this on 12/5 and if SDD is down someone is going to get an earful from me. I’m normally pretty forgiving because I realize they can’t 100% guarantee ride operation and things happen, but I only booked this because I couldn’t get a FP for SDD on our DHS day. And that’s not because I wasn’t online at 7 am at 60+5 days. MDE wouldn’t recognize ANY of my family’s APs as tickets. I called and they had to escalate the problem. After multiple phone calls (me calling them because no one would call me back) I finally got a CM (it was around noon by now) that offered to make them manually for me... and of course all of the SDD FPS were gone

To me, 2 anytime Fastpasses aren’t the same as paying for an “exclusive” upcharge event that is supposed to feature lower crowds. I’d imagine the FP line is probably still longer than the 3-5 minutes waits we’ve seen reported on here during EMM. And as PP mentioned, SDD being down makes the lines for the other attractions longer. And we have plans to leave DHS after lunch on our EMM day.. so what happens if SDD is down for an extended period of time??

I wish DHS After Hours was offered during our trip. I’d much rather risk SDD not being open when there are other rides to ride and I didn’t get up at 5:30 am in 48 degree weather

I am right there with you. I too will be there on Dec 5 and I don't have the option for FP as that is the day I leave. I also couldn't get a SDD FP due to a glitch. Thankfully I did get FoP

 

[Babs1975]

Agree with previous posters. 2 fp's are not enough when Slinky is down the whole event. You had to actually know to find these CM's standing in the middle of TSL, which I'm sure a lot of people had no idea. You just went up to one and they put the fp's on your band. I said, 2 fp's? That's it? She said, yes. Wow. Again, if you didn't know to further go to guest relations...no compensation in fp's or money. It's just wrong. Glad some requested half their money back. I would have definitely done that too had mine not already been refunded due to prior problem. I have never once had to deal with guest relations before this trip and we had 3 issues in the planning process and then this EMM. Makes you think, what is going on???

 

[SaintsManiac]

It's simply awful that they didn't offer refunds. I don't care what the fine print says. The most popular ride in the whole park is down for the entire event? Come on, Disney. They know that Slinky is why people book this event.

The more I read the happier I am that I canceled this. I've read more bad than good so far.

 

[Maine Disney First Timer]

I didn’t push hard for it at all. I was very calm and very kind and simply told not of the cast members in charge of the event (as they were giving out fast passes for later) that we were super disappointed as Slinky was the entire reason we booked the event. She immediately told me that if I’d like to request a refund I could go to guest relations and they would take care of me. (I had a party of 5. 3 adults and 2 children. ). I was given a gift card for $200. Again, I was not giving anyone an earful or demanding. Once I explained that we were super disappointed about slinky being down the cast member at guest relations immediately offered me the partial refund and I felt it was very fair as we had enjoyed breakfast and the kids rode TMM and AS2 and met Woody and Jesse. I absolutely think the event was worth it and would book again in the future, especially given the ease of compensation when something went wrong. Hope this helps someone else.

$200 gift card is basically half of what you paid ... to me that is fair. I wouldnt expect to necessarily get ALL of my money back bc we still got to "enjoy" the rest of the stuff & have breakfast ... but just being offered 2 fastpasses is not acceptable for spending almost $400 on the event and the main ride is down.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Darn I should have pushed for the gift card

 

[Lisa F]

I feel like ultimately we all had a good time and enjoyed it!!

that was not the ending I was expecting but so happy to hear it. Anyone with kids has been there, sometimes that's how they "express" themselves. Honestly that stuff doesn't even register at Disney, there are so many people and so much noise and commotion. I'm glad you turned it around and what a great attitude!