Early entry a good thing?

[noopy]

I'm staying at the Contemporary (1st time visiting WDW), so I guess I'll be able to take advantage of early entry days at the various theme parks. However, I've read many threads here that warn people to avoid a park if it is an early entry day. Is this advice intended for people who do not have early entry privileges? Some of the posts I have read make it seem as if these days are so crowded that we should all avoid them. It's just my 6 year old and me, and I'd love to avoid the most crowded times (although we're going the 1st week of April).
Thanks!

 

[Shells9]

We've done EE at MK only, and to us, it was well worth it. We were able to get just about everything in FantasyLand done during the hour before the park opened to non-resort guests.

I don't have EE experience with any other parks other than MK.

 

[maps]

i am definitely pro early entry. you can get a lot done in a short period of time. although the park does get crowded within a few hours, we just leave and go to another park (the benefits of park hopping).

 

[kitkatsmom]

I don't think we will do EE
We will be there for 8 days and within those 8 days I am sure we will get to ride everything we want to without having to get up so early.

I just feel this is my vacation and I don't want to have to set alarm clocks or rush and get nuts just to get to a park an hour before everyone else.

I think I am one of the few who sees it this way ha ha.

I do intend on taking advantage of fastpass for the crowded rides.
Hopefully it will work out for us.

 

[stinkerbelle]

we never take advantage of EE days.
think of all the people staying in all the Disney resorts going to the same park on one day.
yikes.

we follow this rule of thumb - if (for example) MK has EE day today, we'll go to MK tomorrow - generally it'll be less crowded. (the day AFTER EE day.)

or - hit that park in the afternoon...lines are more managable then.

besides...the bus rides to the EE park is a nightmare...always packed.

 

[meeko_33785]

I'll usually do EE for MK, but that's about it. The early morning is my favorite time at MK so I take every advantage to have to be there. To me, it's so much more beautiful in the early morning. There are fewer crowds and it feels like you have the park to yourself. Plus, you have the ability to ride lots of rides in not too long of a period of time which is great. Usually though on EE days, I leave the park about 11 or so and head to another park since it usually gets very crowded at that time. You can always go back to the park to see everything else the next day when it won't be so crowded.

 

[frndofpooh]

We always take advantage of EE days, and it works out well for us. We go to the EE park during the morning and then usually hop to a different park for the afternoon. We have done this for many years on many trips and it always allows us to do more, even at a relaxed pace.

Having said that, it is not worth doing EE if you are not interested in getting up early. As kitkatsmom said, many people like to sleep in for their vacation, and you cannot do this if you want to take advantage of EE. If you like to get up and go, then I strongly recommend EE (especially at MK). If you want to sleep in, however, I would not suggest changing your preferences just for EE.

 

[Mickey76]

I definitely take advantage of Early Entry. I like to get up early when I'm at WDW, anyway, so I might as well do something. The parks can be crowded on thier EE days, but it's worth it ot me. You have more time to do the thing s you want and to see or do the things that you normally don't have time to do.

Mickey76

 

[laurabelle]

Hey noopy, we'll be there at the same time - Easter Week! This makes a difference in whether I do emh or not. When I've been during low season, I found I really didn't need it. I haven't been during Easter before, but have been in the summer when it was busy. We won't be in the parks every day of our stay, we'll do Typhoon lagoon and Downtown disney, hang out at the Dolphin pool. But on park days I'll def do emh, leave when it gets busy around lunchtime, take a break at the resort, then back to the parks for dinner and fireworks. The mornings will be the best chance to ride our favorites without a wait, the evenings will be busy, but I'll feel more laid back about it, since we will have gotten to see our favs before then. HTH

 

[jellydisney]

EE days are nice once you finally get inside the park... however, riding a packed bus to the park is not fun.

It seems to me that EE days might be better transportation-wise if you are staying at a monorail resort (for the MK) or an Epcot resort (for Epcot) because then you don't have to deal with crowded buses.

 

[frannn]

It was a pain getting up early, but since the parks closed early the night before, we weren't up too late. We only did EE at MK, because that was the only park we needed it. Once we did it the first time, I saw the benefit of it. I scheduled CRT two times during our trip, both around 10 am. This way, we were able to go to EE, do a lot of Fantasyland, then have a hearty breakfast. After CRT, we stayed at MK until mid afternoon (or hung out and grabbed a decent parade spot), then headed back to the room for a break. We had a lunchtime snack, and were refreshed enough to do whatever we wanted afterwards. I am a big fan of EE at the MK!

 

[kitkatsmom]

This isn't an early entry question but reading about EE it made me think of it.

What time do you all usually go to sleep at night while at disney?

I was thinking if we are at a park till closing then leave...
Where do we go?
Do we just go back to the hotel room? Head to downtown disney?

Just curious what others find to do at night.

 

[frannn]

The resort tv gets Lifetime Movie Network, which I love, but it drives DH crazy! We can usually compromise and watch the Disney World channel, and see the same Disney songs, clips, etc 20 ka-gillion times and still smile every time.
I usually have to convince DH to go to DTD at night. He is not a big commando-type person, so for him, there's always tommorrow. Unfortunately, tommorrow gets here all too soon, and we miss out on stuff. But, that's okay, because then we have to go back "tommorrow" (usually about a year later)!
By the time the parks close, we are usually tired enough to go back to the resort, get our mugs, and heat to the food court for drinks and possibly a snack. Sometimes we sit there for a while and talk about our day, the plans for the next day, peruse the resort gift shop, then go back to the room and call family on cell phone.