Do EMHs or avoid them?

[Samsma]

What is your best strategy? Right now I'm thinking I'll avoid EMH's everyday and do the opposite. Going 4th of July week.

 

[luvsgrumpy]

I can't give you any help as far as a holiday week, but I can definately say that EMH morning hours were wonderful for us last week. We were there 4/20-4/26 and always got to the parks early. The best example was doing ALL of Fantasyland in less than 1 1/2 hours with DD4. At Epcot, we were able to get on Test Track and Mission Space with very little wait as well as only a 10 minute wait for the Safari at Animal Kingdom. Weren't there for MGM early hours. Things definately got more crowded later in the morning but by then we had done so much of what we wanted to do that it was great to take a break then.

 

[NCombs]

We go to a park that is not having EMH. We still get there at opening but get to sleep in a little later than an EMH park. It seems to be a good strategy to pick a park that won't be as crowded with the EMH crowd. IMO.

 

[Bob P]

Hi Samsma,

Despite what the books say, we have ALWAYS done the early entry park as far back as they have offered early entry in one form or another. it is one of the best, if not THE best, perks of staying on site.

Now as far as evening EMH, we've never done those but I would imagine they are much more crowded than the morning.

I know you'll get differing opinions on this but I can't imagine staying on site and skipping morning EMH.

Have fun!

Bob

 

[Lizzybee]

We used early EMH at MK and AK over Spring Break. At MK it was ESSENTIAL to use the early EMH (we weren't there for MK late EMH). It seemed things got pretty crowded by 11:00 am or so there. Since we got there at 7:00 am though, we had done all we wanted to do at MK by 2:00 pm. As far as AK, I wouldn't go there for early EMH ever again because unlike MK where there are several different areas/types of rides open, it seems at AK 80-90% of the people were dashing to the Safari and the rest were going to It's Tough to be a Bug. Our plan was to do the Safari then go to our PS for Donald's Breakfastasourus. We ended up getting a FP for the Safari during our PS time. We were able to get into the PS early and make it to the Safari on time so it ended up working out ok. It wouldn't have made any difference if we had skipped early EMH. We didn't use EMH for other parks and didn't feel the need since there was hardly any wait for the rides we wanted.

 

[JudithM]

We were at WDW the week before last - everyone in the Northeast was on spring break . We did evening EMH at the Studios & at MK & loved it! It was nice to go to a park during the day, return to the resort for a swim, nap, food, etc., & to return at night to the park with EMH. An extra three hours at night was well worth it for us!

 

[mhingher]

4th of July week is going be be tricky. I was there at that time last year, well 6/26-7/4. The crowds were close to unbearable on 7/4, but EMH wasn't around then. We did all evening EMH except for AK on our last trip in March, and it was great. Since parks closed around 8pm or so this time of year, we were in the parks pretty much the whole day. We would start out in a non-evening EMH park, and then hop to the evening EMH park late afternoon. This worked out really well for us, esp the MK EMH... it rained that whole day so I guess people were scared off. We went on a ride and then CMs would let us stay on and ride again!

 

[momsgoofy]

What is your best strategy? Right now I'm thinking I'll avoid EMH's everyday and do the opposite. Going 4th of July week.

Hey there Samsma...

Just wanna say hi from your DIS neighbor down the road on RT. 13...right next to the Williamson County Airport! Didn't know there was another DISser so close...oooh, and a DIS CM even!

I'm pondering the same thing for our trip 6/1...late EMH or not? Since I promised DH and DS I'd not make them get up and moving quite so early this trip, I'm thinking we'll just give late EMH a go and if it's too bad, head back to the resort or to DTD. They promised me in return that they will get up early on our December trip!

Well, take care neighbor!

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Interesting how we all have our own opinions. I would AVOID morning emh AT ALL COSTS. I have never been to evening emh so I can't comment on that, but we went to morning emh at MK last year thinking what a great plan it was, we got on one ride and only because we were given a front of line pass by a CM as it was our honeymoon. We couldn't move for people, so we are definitely avoiding it this year. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[newholidayx2]

DS13 & I are doing a combination. Four mornings (once each) we'll be at the parks at their regular openings - not doing EMH in the morns. The other 10 mornings we'll either sleep in or go out for brkfst or hit the pools while DS is sleeping.
We're planning each of the parks once for their late hours and once for their regular closings.
We're also planning on not entering the parks until our third full day.

 

[kirbsam]

For us, morning emh is a must do. Evening emh is more hit or miss. It seems sometimes it is advantageous and sometimes it is a mess. Never missed yet on am emh. Good luck!

 

[swilphil]

I would do EMH at MK (but not on July 4th if it happens to fall on that day), then hop to another park around 10 or 11 a.m. During the two weeks around Easter, they had EMH EVERYDAY beginning at 7 a.m. It was great. Maybe they will do the same thing during other holiday weeks

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Well I usually always travel in July and I avoid the EMH.

First of all the park hours are longer in the summer and we usually get to do pretty much what we want to see during the normal hours. Instead of going back to the hotel for a dip in the pool we sometimes take it really easy in the afternoon and stay all day, depends on crowds and heat.

Another factor is the crowds, I think the evening EMH will be VERY popular this summer, so I don't want to stand in more lines than I did during the day.

If I were going at a time of year when the parks are less busy or close earlier I would take advantage of it.

As for the morning EMH, my kids don't want to get up earlier than they really have to, we make it in time for the regular opening and try to make the most of that time on a non emh park. Usually works well, we'll see this summer if it still does.

 

[shelleyz]

Back in October 2003 we did EMH at MK and AK. It gives you a jump on the regular crowds. We got a few rides done in Fantasyland before everyone else started to come in at MK. Also at AK we headed to the Safari first with very little wait(5-10 minutes). We just did EMH at night at MK on April 20th and it was great. We got there about 7 that evening and the crowds werent that bad. After Wishes(which we didnt watch,we rode its a small world) the park cleared out a lot. I think we got more rides done that evening than we did the whole first day we were at MK earlier in the week. DH left with DS4(sleeping) a short while after Wishes was done and waited almost an hour for the bus back to All Star Sports.

 

[oogieboogie]

I think the best morning EMH is MK because of the sheer amount of rides open during EMH. We always do morning EMH at MK and we can knock Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Liberty Square, Frontierland, and Toontown by lunchtime. Epcot is next in terms of number of rides open - Spaceship Earth and JIIF are the only 2 that we really do so it's not worth it for mornings.
We don't usually do MGM and AK mornings just because there really isn't enough rides/attractions to hold us for an hour. I mean, I'm not about to do Kali first thing in the morning.

As far as evenings go, we went when they had the trial back in May 04 and then when it was fully instituted in Jan 05. I find that evening EMHs do tend to be more crowded than mornings - that's a given - but when you're faced with an early closing park and an additional 3 hours of fun, I'll take the added 3 hours any day. After surviving Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve where the parks are packed, evening EMH doesn't feel crowded at all.

So, it's all in perspective to me.

 

[disneyfanfamily]

We went a couple of days before the 4th 2 years ago. We did the EMH at MK and thought it was wonderful. We got to ride 6 rides in fantasyland within that 1 hour. We will be there again the week of the 4th this year! See you there! (However we will not be IN the parks on the 4th. SeaWorld...) Can't wait!