Does the rule about EE days still stand?

[loriandmatt]

I know that crowds are not dead, but not as big as they used to be say 5 years ago. Back then and for some time after the rule of thumb has been: Avoid a park on its EE (now known as Extra Magic Hour) day, or at the very least be prepaired to get out of there by noon.

With the somewhat smaller crowds and the short sebatical of EE, does this rule still apply?

(Should i be avoiding MK on thursday and AK on monday because those are EMH days for those parks?)

- lori

 

[angey77]

Even in slower seasons, avoid EE. We were there in October, for the first EE day at AK, and it was a nightmare (by slow attendance standards) by noon. But thankfully, because of EE and my compulsive go-go-go nature, we were done by 1 p.m.

 

[ScarletIndigo]

This is interesting, because I got the impression that you should ONLY avoid the EMH parks if you're not using the EMH. Otherwise, that hour is worth taking advantage of. For instance, DF and I fully intend on using the EMH privelages for AK, because there's no so much of interest for us in that park, and I know we can be out of there by noon.

But on average, do people take advantage of EMH, or do you skip it altogether, get some extra sleep, and go to the parks that don't have their EMH that morning? I'd be curious to know!

 

[angey77]

EE was worth it that one morning at AK. We were the firsts on the safaris when the animals are just coming out and we were done with Conservation Station before the gates opened to the public.
But IMHO, I'd rather sleep the extra hour and hit a less crowded park that day. You can definitely tell the difference in park attendance when EE is going on.

 

[ScarletIndigo]

Now I can understand that mentality! To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of getting a wake-up call from Mickey at 6AM every morning, but I was willing to make sacrifices for the Mouse!

I guess we'll just play it by "ear", ha ha! Alright, I'm going now ...

 

[DrTomorrow]

Over the years I've seen two different approaches evolve.

1. Hit the EE park early early early. Use the time to hit the popular rides but be prepared to leave the park around 10-11 when the EE crowds plus the regular crowds overload the park. This works well if you want to hit the biggies (or the slow-loaders in Fantasyland), don't mind getting up early and plan on an afternoon break.

2. Hit a non-EE park. This works better when the resorts are busier (most resort folks do go to EE, I'm told), you want to catch an extra hour of sleep and want to spend more than a few hours at the park.

I've never been to AK, but I've read that the animals are more active earlier in the AM - like angey77 said. And keep in mind what rides are open for EE to make sure that fit your situation - if you're not into Dumbo and Space Mtn, EE in MK might not work out for you. Finally, if you're at WDW during short hours (like MK 10-6) that extra hour might mean a lot.

Erick