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

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Any idea when May dates will be released????

I'm right between you waiting for July.

I'm over here waiting for September to be released !

 

[cakebaker]

Waiting for May too, but really hoping they open it before my 60 day FP window opens!

 

[Icecoldpenguin]

I am considering doing this for our trip in June-July does anyone know when they typically open the dates up? Also, what food options are available if anyone has a run down of that it would be great? Do you get a special little badge or something so ABC knows that you are an EMM person and not a regular guest if you go to breakfast after the park opens? Also can you go grab juice and pastry then go ride rides and then go back and eat again later?

 

[bperk3]

Also, we plan to walk from BCV. What time would you suggest leaving?

Didn't see an answer to this yet, but I have the same (or similar) question. We will be at Beach Club and trying to decide best way to get there. Walking is certainly an option, but that would be a relatively inexpensive Uber, right?.. and it would save some steps on what will be a long day.

Anyway, I am pretty sure we will just walk it. I plan on leaving out the front door of BC no later than 6:30. Hopefully the rest of the family is in line with this plan.

 

[AntJulie]

Do you get a special little badge or something so ABC knows that you are an EMM person and not a regular guest if you go to breakfast after the park opens? Also can you go grab juice and pastry then go ride rides and then go back and eat again later?

Everyone gets a wristband...yes you can grab juice and pastry and go back later to eat again.

 

[Rachel GB]

We’re going to this event for the first time in two weeks! I know this can (and will) change, but it’s currently forecasted to rain that day. What happens to the event if it’s pouring/ lightning? Because we’re counting on it, we don’t have any TSL FPs- can’t imagine what we would do if it were to be cancelled !
TIA!
P.S. I see this has been discussed previously on this thread, but I haven’t read any actual accounts of it happening and what Disney did as a result.

 

[RachaelA]

Waiting on May dates as well here!

 

[Suejacken]

I am considering doing this for our trip in June-July does anyone know when they typically open the dates up? Also, what food options are available if anyone has a run down of that it would be great? Do you get a special little badge or something so ABC knows that you are an EMM person and not a regular guest if you go to breakfast after the park opens? Also can you go grab juice and pastry then go ride rides and then go back and eat again later?

I’m waiting for the same dates lol. We will be there 6/27 and leave 7/3

 

[Suejacken]

Wow. Thanks to everyone who posted about their experience. I really want to do this when I go. I have a group of 11 so I think this is the best way to do the toy story land rides

 

[GADisneyDad14]

So this is a really delayed report from 12/31/18. I posted a brief comments at the time that I've also cut/paste below:

Not sure what I was thinking booking this on 12/31 (long day!), but great EMM this AM. 4 SDD rides ranging from no to 7 min wait, plus 1 TSM and 1 AS2. I know that’s not a impressive list, we could have done much more but we’ve done this before and slowly meander around for the atmosphere more than try to max rides.

TSM must have been down or had problems late. Got in line which was pretty long and not moving, so bailed after 7 mins. Only one track was running, I think. That was about the only low point.

Woodie and Jessie line was long throughout but Buzz was very lonely.

SDD waits and the overall experience were better this morning than when we did this in October.

Land was open early - I didn’t see exactly but I estimate 7:05-7:10. Our first ride on SDD was 7:15.

Fun way to start NYE.

I had previously done TSL EMM on the Monday of Columbus Day weekend (10/8) and I thought this morning was a more enjoyable experience overall, although I can't pinpoint exactly why. If I had to bet, I'd say the crowd was slightly less than 10/8. Both were sold out for both time slots. These events are funny in crowds can be lumpy or spread out in different areas and it's hard to get a true picture of just how many people are there, so really hard to tell.

Anyway, we were at Poly. Eyeballed the bus wait (one was coming at 6:39pm for a 6:50am estimated park arrival), but opted to take a taxi instead. There is 'usually' at least a taxi or two at the deluxes in my experience even at off/early hours, can't speak for other resort types. On this morning there was one taxi waiting.

6:45am.


6:49am outside the tapstyles. It looked to me they started letting people in right around/a few mins before this time, but was a bit hard to tell exactly. Always makes me laugh - no matter how much you think you're the only person crazy enough to be there this early, there are ALWAYS many others that beat you to it!


6:51am, inside the park.


6:54am.


They were directing folks to the ABC Commissary, time is 6:54am.


6:57am. We grabbed a cup of coffee and quick pastry, but knew we didn't want to linger here too long. People were in line getting the real food plates - to me that's not a good strategy. Just spend a few minutes in here and then head out.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We headed out quickly. This pic was 7:09am and the land was open at this point. I'm pretty sure it had just opened.



7:11am


7:13am in front of SDD. Posted 10 min wait time. Actual was <5 mins (I didn't time it exactly).


End of the line was around here. 7:14am.


After SDD ride #1 we got right back on and had a 6 minute, 37 second wait this time around. So, two rides before 7:30am. I was surprised that the early SDD crowd was so low as I expected it to be much longer based on our Oct experience.

7:30am. Can't wait for this to be open and improve traffic flow in TSL.


Also 7:30am. Pretty empty.


I have a selfie pic of us on AS2 at 7:33am, effectively a walk on - the only wait being for the next ride to start.

This pic was 7:37am - a decent line for Woody/Jessie. It was like this and longer for much/most of the event. For folks that are trying to balance time and need/want to see Woody/Jessie, I'd be inclined to come up with a strategy of what to do.... such as timing it right around 7:30am when they come out, or maybe wait until the end and just know you'll be in line a bit while the rope drop crowds arrive - but at least at that point you're not 'wasting' valuable event time.


From there one I stopped taking many pics and we mostly just bounced around between rides.

I timed a 6 minute, 41 second wait for SDD at 7:58am. (Ride #3)

This was the SDD line at 8:25am, effectively a walk on. (Ride #4)


We tried to do one more ride on TSM but it must have been down because the line inside was crazy backed up, so we bailed.

Met Buzz at 8:34am with no wait.

We had a long day ahead (it was New Years Eve after all) and had had our fill of TSL, so we decided to head out a bit early and grab breakfast. Four rides on SDD with mostly coffee in the tank gets to me, so we were hungry.

Pic is 8:41am. No wait for food at all. Very pleasant CMs throughout the ABC Commissary. I see bad comments about the "egg puck" - but I thought the eggs/avocado toast were very good for Disney standards.


The shrimp and grits were very good too - decent sized shrimp, good flavor. Presentation is a bit lacking given it sits for a time under a hot lamp and the oil rises to the top, the grits get a film on them, etc - but good taste (if not too rich).



Anyway - that was our morning on 12/31. With a few bumps (eg, TSL backup late in the event), it was a well worth-it morning for us and a great way to start off New Years Eve at WDW. Still surprised at the contrast with October. I guess the takeaway being these events can have different ebbs/flows in terms of crowds on any given EMM morning.

 

[schmass]

This looks like a great event! I'm hoping that they will have EMM on May 6th!

 

[Iowamomof4]

Has the continental part of the breakfast changed at all since it opened? I really don't like the looks of any of the hot dishes and I'm trying to decide if we could make a meal out of the other options or if we would feel it just isn't worth it.

 

[LMO429]

Waiting for May too, but really hoping they open it before my 60 day FP window opens!

Yes this is my biggest concern as well!

 

[otten]

Also waiting for May. I have 3 more things to book: EMM for MK and HS, and the Star Wars Dessert party. Come on Disney!

 

[Branderson610]

We headed out quickly. This pic was 7:09am and the land was open at this point. I'm pretty sure it had just opened.
View attachment 377841


7:11am
View attachment 377842

7:13am in front of SDD. Posted 10 min wait time. Actual was <5 mins (I didn't time it exactly).
View attachment 377845

End of the line was around here. 7:14am.
View attachment 377855

After SDD ride #1 we got right back on and had a 6 minute, 37 second wait this time around. So, two rides before 7:30am. I was surprised that the early SDD crowd was so low as I expected it to be much longer based on our Oct experience.

7:30am. Can't wait for this to be open and improve traffic flow in TSL.
View attachment 377859

Also 7:30am. Pretty empty.
View attachment 377861

I have a selfie pic of us on AS2 at 7:33am, effectively a walk on - the only wait being for the next ride to start.

This pic was 7:37am - a decent line for Woody/Jessie. It was like this and longer for much/most of the event. For folks that are trying to balance time and need/want to see Woody/Jessie, I'd be inclined to come up with a strategy of what to do.... such as timing it right around 7:30am when they come out, or maybe wait until the end and just know you'll be in line a bit while the rope drop crowds arrive - but at least at that point you're not 'wasting' valuable event time.
View attachment 377862

From there one I stopped taking many pics and we mostly just bounced around between rides.

I timed a 6 minute, 41 second wait for SDD at 7:58am. (Ride #3)

This was the SDD line at 8:25am, effectively a walk on. (Ride #4)
View attachment 377866

We tried to do one more ride on TSM but it must have been down because the line inside was crazy backed up, so we bailed.

Met Buzz at 8:34am with no wait.

We had a long day ahead (it was New Years Eve after all) and had had our fill of TSL, so we decided to head out a bit early and grab breakfast. Four rides on SDD with mostly coffee in the tank gets to me, so we were hungry.

Pic is 8:41am. No wait for food at all. Very pleasant CMs throughout the ABC Commissary. I see bad comments about the "egg puck" - but I thought the eggs/avocado toast were very good for Disney standards.
View attachment 377867

The shrimp and grits were very good too - decent sized shrimp, good flavor. Presentation is a bit lacking given it sits for a time under a hot lamp and the oil rises to the top, the grits get a film on them, etc - but good taste (if not too rich).
View attachment 377868


Anyway - that was our morning on 12/31. With a few bumps (eg, TSL backup late in the event), it was a well worth-it morning for us and a great way to start off New Years Eve at WDW. Still surprised at the contrast with October. I guess the takeaway being these events can have different ebbs/flows in terms of crowds on any given EMM morning.

Thank you for this review! You put a lot of time a detail into this post!

 

[RachaelA]

This looks like a great event! I'm hoping that they will have EMM on May 6th!

That’s the day we are planning too if it follows the same schedule!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

@jkwilliams
I just wanted to add, that whatever time you see tickets for, grab them. It doesn't seem to matter at all about the actual start times, everyone is let in to TSL at the same time.
Also, come back to this thread and let us know if you scored enough tickets.

 

[mtrib]

We headed out quickly. This pic was 7:09am and the land was open at this point. I'm pretty sure it had just opened.
View attachment 377841


7:11am
View attachment 377842

7:13am in front of SDD. Posted 10 min wait time. Actual was <5 mins (I didn't time it exactly).
View attachment 377845

End of the line was around here. 7:14am.
View attachment 377855

After SDD ride #1 we got right back on and had a 6 minute, 37 second wait this time around. So, two rides before 7:30am. I was surprised that the early SDD crowd was so low as I expected it to be much longer based on our Oct experience.

7:30am. Can't wait for this to be open and improve traffic flow in TSL.
View attachment 377859

Also 7:30am. Pretty empty.
View attachment 377861

I have a selfie pic of us on AS2 at 7:33am, effectively a walk on - the only wait being for the next ride to start.

This pic was 7:37am - a decent line for Woody/Jessie. It was like this and longer for much/most of the event. For folks that are trying to balance time and need/want to see Woody/Jessie, I'd be inclined to come up with a strategy of what to do.... such as timing it right around 7:30am when they come out, or maybe wait until the end and just know you'll be in line a bit while the rope drop crowds arrive - but at least at that point you're not 'wasting' valuable event time.
View attachment 377862

From there one I stopped taking many pics and we mostly just bounced around between rides.

I timed a 6 minute, 41 second wait for SDD at 7:58am. (Ride #3)

This was the SDD line at 8:25am, effectively a walk on. (Ride #4)
View attachment 377866

We tried to do one more ride on TSM but it must have been down because the line inside was crazy backed up, so we bailed.

Met Buzz at 8:34am with no wait.

We had a long day ahead (it was New Years Eve after all) and had had our fill of TSL, so we decided to head out a bit early and grab breakfast. Four rides on SDD with mostly coffee in the tank gets to me, so we were hungry.

Pic is 8:41am. No wait for food at all. Very pleasant CMs throughout the ABC Commissary. I see bad comments about the "egg puck" - but I thought the eggs/avocado toast were very good for Disney standards.
View attachment 377867

The shrimp and grits were very good too - decent sized shrimp, good flavor. Presentation is a bit lacking given it sits for a time under a hot lamp and the oil rises to the top, the grits get a film on them, etc - but good taste (if not too rich).
View attachment 377868


Anyway - that was our morning on 12/31. With a few bumps (eg, TSL backup late in the event), it was a well worth-it morning for us and a great way to start off New Years Eve at WDW. Still surprised at the contrast with October. I guess the takeaway being these events can have different ebbs/flows in terms of crowds on any given EMM morning.

Thank you! So helpful.

 

[carolann210]

I snatched tickets for our date in March when I was not able to get FP+ for SDD. So glad I did because our date is now sold out. I am concerned about a large crowd for the event - what does sold out mean? Any guesses on how many tickets are sold? The appeal of EMM is low crowds but now I’m concerned about a sold out crowd for the event...

Also, we will have our car so I was just considering driving ourselves, guessing we could leave the Poly around 6:45? I thought I read about construction at the HS entrance. Any one have insight into the parking/entrance situation?

Thanks in advance!