Early Entry?

[Hidden_Mickey]

We've been to WDW twice, and are firm believers in the Unofficial Guide. They advise to go to the park that does not have Early Entry, to avoid the crowds that flock there. Avoiding Early Entry like the plague has worked well for us in the past, at WDW, but, I'm wondering if we should take advantage of it at DL? We will be there for three days, and are staying at a "Good Neighbor" hotel. We have 3 day passes, so we are eligible for one Magic Morning at DL. Should we try it? I can't decide! We did get Park Hoppers, so we can always hop to DCA if we find long lines and change our minds.

 

[figment_jii]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a big fan of the Unofficial Guide at WDW and I've often found that their recommendations don't really work for my family. With that being said, I don't think DL's MM really creates as much of an impact on crowds in the morning as morning EMH's can at WDW. (I haven't really noticed substantial differences in afternoon/evening crowds at early EMH versus non early EMH parks in WDW, but I've generally gone in October, so perhaps it makes a bigger difference in summer.) Back at DL, I think MM does impact the A&E line and Peter Pan. For DL, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open during MM, so the rest of the park is pretty much the same at opening as it is on a non-MM day. Basically, I think early entry affects A&E and Peter Pan in DL and RSR and TSMM at DCA. So if those were on your plans AND you don't have early entry, then it would make sense to go go the non-MM/non-EMH park. If you have access to MM (or EMH, but that's only at DCA and only for on-site hotel guests), I would probably take advantage of it to either go ride Peter Pan or do some of the less busy rides multiple times.

 

[luulu1999]

I would def do your magic morning on the day you can, you can get SO much stuff done in the mornings.

 

[madasax12]

I think we are going to use our early entry / MM to combat the A & E line so my daughter can see them. We will use it and I can run to the line and hold a good spot

 

[zaz]

Madasex12 : I am also thinking of walking very quickly to Anna and Elsa on early morning. I would hope for my daughter to meet them under 2 1/2 hours!

 

[madasax12]

We are going mid/late sept. so with the hopefully smaller crowds and MM hoping to have a shorter wait time to see the frozen girls.

 

[Rubygoose]

We are going mid/late sept. so with the hopefully smaller crowds and MM hoping to have a shorter wait time to see the frozen girls.

The thing about MM in Sept. though, is that the parks open later, often at 10am on a weekday. So, that puts MM at 9am. It's much easier to get up and to the gates for MM at 9am than it is for a 7am MM in July. When we went in Sept. 2012, I found that DL on a Sunday at 8am, regular park opening, was so much quieter than the 9am MM on the following Tuesday. This is likely because of the earlier time, but also because there are less attractions open during MM.

 

[sunflare]

ABSOLUTELY use your MM. The major difference between DL/DCA and WDW is that DL/DCA has a large amount of local AP holders who go regularly. When you can go more often, you tend to skip the "getting up early" part (or go after you get off work), because you can always go back to do the rides you missed. Yes, the later opening time will affect the amount of people at MM somewhat, but it still will be much less than later in the day.

 

[mummabear]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a big fan of the Unofficial Guide at WDW and I've often found that their recommendations don't really work for my family. With that being said, I don't think DL's MM really creates as much of an impact on crowds in the morning as morning EMH's can at WDW. (I haven't really noticed substantial differences in afternoon/evening crowds at early EMH versus non early EMH parks in WDW, but I've generally gone in October, so perhaps it makes a bigger difference in summer.) Back at DL, I think MM does impact the A&E line and Peter Pan. For DL, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open during MM, so the rest of the park is pretty much the same at opening as it is on a non-MM day. Basically, I think early entry affects A&E and Peter Pan in DL and RSR and TSMM at DCA. So if those were on your plans AND you don't have early entry, then it would make sense to go go the non-MM/non-EMH park. If you have access to MM (or EMH, but that's only at DCA and only for on-site hotel guests), I would probably take advantage of it to either go ride Peter Pan or do some of the less busy rides multiple times.

EMH is daily for on site guests with DCA being Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun and DL being Tues, Thurs and Sat

 

[ktlm]

Not at all the same at DL. We avoid EMH parks at WDW, with the exception that we will hop over and take advantage of evening EMH after spending the day at another park. We take advantage of EMH at DL. DL/CA is a whole different dynamic. It is basically like one park and hopping is the norm (takes 5 minutes to get out of one and into the other). Because a lot of people just go back and forth, it really doesn't make that much difference. Unlike WDW, DL/CA draws a big local crowd, who often do not get there until later in the morning, and who don't have EMH. As such EMH and the first couple of hours in the morning are fantastic. You can get a ton of stuff done.

 

[5forMickey]

Absolutely LOVE early mornings ....... we get so much done. Now, we typically go during the summers during high attendance time and we are early risers by nature, but if you can swing it, do it! We love the feeling of being almost alone during the first couple hours of the day and a lot of times you can ride the rides two or three times without hardly waiting -- it's so wonderful. We usually leave around 11:00 because the crowds get so large I don't like it and we return later in the evening. Really helps avoid melt downs. Gives us the best of both worlds -- time to ride and time to relax. Early Mornings are one of the things that make our trips!!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, early entry at DLR is a completely different beast than it is at WDW. You can almost look at DLR as one big park with separate entrances into 2 areas. It's so easy to hop from one park to the other that early entry in one specific park does not impact overall attendance the rest of the day.

ABSOLUTELY do your early entry. Pick your day based on which park has early entry that day.

 

[alvernon90]

The thing about MM in Sept. though, is that the parks open later, often at 10am on a weekday. So, that puts MM at 9am. It's much easier to get up and to the gates for MM at 9am than it is for a 7am MM in July. When we went in Sept. 2012, I found that DL on a Sunday at 8am, regular park opening, was so much quieter than the 9am MM on the following Tuesday.

This is so very true! If you intend to do EMH, you should definitely try to be there on a weekend so you can take advantage of the earlier hours. A 9:00 early entry can be worse than a normal day, because tons of people go and the open rides are limited.

Another thing to keep in mind is that early entry at DL can include anyone who has a multi-day ticket, whereas at DCA only on-site hotel guests can take advantage. A 9:00 early entry at DL might end up being one of the most crowded times during your whole visit -- you'll be glad when 10:00 rolls around so the rest of the park opens and you can move to a less crowded area.

 

[Blue32]

This is so very true! If you intend to do EMH, you should definitely try to be there on a weekend so you can take advantage of the earlier hours. A 9:00 early entry can be worse than a normal day, because tons of people go and the open rides are limited.

Another thing to keep in mind is that early entry at DL can include anyone who has a multi-day ticket, whereas at DCA only on-site hotel guests can take advantage. A 9:00 early entry at DL might end up being one of the most crowded times during your whole visit -- you'll be glad when 10:00 rolls around so the rest of the park opens and you can move to a less crowded area.

I agree with this. I won't do another MM at 9 am again if I can help it.

 

[superlarz]

I dont understand why you would spend your whole MM standing in line for E&A. You can go on a nonMM day and get in the line and meet the quickly. They dont open early on MM days so you spend an extra hour in line.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I dont understand why you would spend your whole MM standing in line for E&A. You can go on a nonMM day and get in the line and meet the quickly. They dont open early on MM days so you spend an extra hour in line.

Yes they do. We had a 7am EMH/MM in June and we were through the line, having met them at 7:30. We still had 30 mins left of our EMH and still managed to say ahead of the crowds.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

Awesome, that is what I thought!!! We will be there in 2 weeks, on a Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I'm already planning to go to DL Sunday, DCA on Monday and DL for the MM on Tuesday.

I am expecting to get a lot done on Sunday when it's quiet. Also, being from NY, we will have the time difference on our side. Getting up early will not feel like getting up at the crack of dawn.

Both times we went to WDW with the kids, we never made it to rope drop. We were close a couple of times, but it is like a military maneuver getting the kids out the door in the am, especially after a late night the night before. I have told everyone that I plan to be there for rope drop all three days, with or without them!!! DH is an early riser anyway, so I'm hoping he can help me light a fire under them. Also, I can't believe it but it's been 7 years since our last trip to WDW, so we now have 2 high schoolers, not elementary school kids. They should have more stamina then when they were little.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

Oh, and I'm embarrassed to admit this, but we haven't seen Frozen yet! I do plan to watch it before we go. DD 16 wants to meet Thor, but other than that, I am not planning to wait in line to meet any characters unless we have extra time. Certainly not a huge line for new princesses. Also, I am not planning any character meals. Blasphemy! I want to be on rides in the morning, not sitting in a restaurant. DH wanted to plan for table service dinners, not lunches, and I didn't see any character dinners, so that ended the discussion about character meals. I also think the food at those tends to not be great, and they are expensive. I'd rather have a nice meal and go meet Mickey in Toon Town if I have a chance.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

OK, first, I watched Frozen last night - it was really cute! Not Snow White, but not bad either, lol. Beautiful animation. Walt would be proud!

Second, we will be there in one week, for 3 days, and I am now seeing a kink in my well laid plans. Sunday and Monday DCA has early entry for park guests, which we aren't, so we plan to start at DL both days and run to get Fastpasses for RSR around mind morning. It's OK if the return time is later in the day, as long as we get on it. We will get Fastpasses for TOT and California Screamin' later in the day. Or should get get one of them at the same time we get the RSR ones?

Tuesday is Magic Morning at DL, which we are planning to take advantage of, but, it's also the only morning of our stay that DCA is not open early, and we will have a shot at DCA rides without facing crowds if we get in line early and get in at 8:00. Should we got to DL and stay there, or go to DL for 45 minutes, then hop to DCA to be in line at 8:00 to get on RSR first thing? I do want to take advantage of our Park Hoppers, but don't want to spend the day running back and forth between the parks either. I see that Carsland is way at the back of DCA, of course! I also would like to spend one morning at DCA, not all 3 at DL.

Tough decisions. Or am I overthinking this? Maybe I need to get out more, lol.

 

[figment_jii]

We will get Fastpasses for TOT and California Screamin' later in the day. Or should get get one of them at the same time we get the RSR ones?

It's worth noting that RSR FPs are now connected to the rest of the FP system in DCA (WOC is still disconnected). So if you get a RSR FPS, you have to wait two hours or until the time window opens to get the TOT or Screamin' FP.

In terms of the morning, it depends on whether or not you're interested in any of the MM/EMH a rides in DL. It's probably a good morning for things like PP and the TL rides. That being said, I do like being at DCA on non-EMH mornings because you can often go straight to TSMM and get in a couple of rides and then go get RSR FPs.