Early/Late Magic hours- Crowd question

Nfatuated

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Messages
29
I have read that while these events are nice for resort guests, they also make for the busiest park in the kingdom. Also have heard from my TA that AM extra hours don't really affect the parks crowd levels, however parks that have the evening extra hours are affected.

We are going Feb 4-11 and are not getting park hoppers so as ADR date is fast approaching I am trying to nail down which park to visit each day. Love some input.
 
If you are a resort guest using the early EMH you will get more done than the non-EMH day, but if you arrive after an EMH, I think you would notice the impact.
 
Since you're not getting PHs, I'd recommend following Josh's recommended days (easywdw). I've done this, with good results.
He leads you to non-EMH parks (both morning and evening EMH).
I always recommend arriving EARLY. You can get so much done in the first hour or so of a park opening :thumbsup2
 

my advice is do whatever works best for you.

personally my family loves EMH especially in the AM because we can get so much done in that first hour alone.

we never find that the EMH park is that much more crowded than a non EMH park.
 
I never look at what EMH are or any thing for that matter I just go to what ever park I want or what park I would like to go t most like my next trip is during Food and wine so Iwill spend more time at EPCOT
 
Thanks for the replies. We really want to avoid doing Park Hopper as we think that all the bouncing around would be exhausting for our 5 year old, well maybe even for me :). So is the consensus that the parks are busier throughout the day on EMH?
 
Thanks for the replies. We really want to avoid doing Park Hopper as we think that all the bouncing around would be exhausting for our 5 year old, well maybe even for me :). So is the consensus that the parks are busier throughout the day on EMH?
Bouncing around = 30min bus/car naps for the 5yr old. People always advise to take that afternoon nap break but my kids always pass out as soon as their fannies are in a seat in AC on the way back to hotel. They have their nice 20min nap and then are wide awake back at the hotel when mommy and daddy are ready to lay down.
 
Thanks for the replies. We really want to avoid doing Park Hopper as we think that all the bouncing around would be exhausting for our 5 year old, well maybe even for me :). So is the consensus that the parks are busier throughout the day on EMH?
I use hopping as a way to rest And it really is a nice rest
 
We visited the first week of June and were torn about doing EMH as well, since we didn't have park hoppers. We ended up doing morning EMH at MK and AK, and evening EMH at Epcot and MK. I enjoyed both the morning and evening EMH at these parks. Morning EMH at MK and AK allowed us to experience a few of the more popular attractions before it got too crowded (PP, Winnie the Pooh, Ariel Meet and Greet at MK, Safari and Everest at AK). Evening EMH at MK was great, although we did stay until 1 am. The lines for the popular rides were still quite long (for us <20 minutes) so we didn't get to ride SDMT, SM, or anything like that. But we did get to ride Dumbo, Barnstormer, IASW, Buzz, Teacups, carousel, etc, multiple times with no wait (sometimes we didn't even have to get off because no one was waiting in line). Because my kids are young, DD6 and DD6, they enjoyed these rides just as much, if not more than the "popular" rides, especially since we were all alone on some of them. Evening EMH at Epcot wasn't as great since it was pouring down rain the whole time and there is a lot of walking involved, but we still had a good time.. TT was closed due to the weather, so the line for Soarin' stayed pretty long. We managed to ride it just before closing with about a 20 minute wait. We did get to ride Figment, Nemo, etc multiple times. I did feel as though it made the parks a little more crowded than the parks without EMH, but since we tried to avoid being in the parks between about 1pm-6pm (especially if it was an EMH park), it never felt too bad. With a good touring plan, FP+, and EMH, the we never waited more than about 20 minutes for anything. I would recommend you try EMH, just try to avoid being in that park midday!
 
Thanks for the replies. We really want to avoid doing Park Hopper as we think that all the bouncing around would be exhausting for our 5 year old, well maybe even for me :). So is the consensus that the parks are busier throughout the day on EMH?

I did it only to save money. I don't think hopping is any more exhausting than spending all day in one park.

Mondays are very busy in the MK so avoid that, if possible.
AS easywdw advises, "Magic Kingdom is not recommended [on Mondays] due to the number of people that will arrive over the weekend and naturally want to visit the Most Magical Place on Earth on their first full day."
Yes, I believe that the EMH park is busier than the others.

Here's a post on EMH from touring plans:
https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/extra-magic-hours#
 
Bouncing around = 30min bus/car naps for the 5yr old. People always advise to take that afternoon nap break but my kids always pass out as soon as their fannies are in a seat in AC on the way back to hotel. They have their nice 20min nap and then are wide awake back at the hotel when mommy and daddy are ready to lay down.

Same thing here!
 
We have 16+ trips to WDW/DL and was last at WDW in early June, and we never get PHs and always avoid morning EMH parks, mostly because getting up for 7am or 8am RD is not our idea of fun while on vacation. Now we can make a regular park opeingin of 9am RP by 815-830a no problem so that is our strategy for selecting park days.
 
I did it only to save money. I don't think hopping is any more exhausting than spending all day in one park.

Mondays are very busy in the MK so avoid that, if possible.
AS easywdw advises, "Magic Kingdom is not recommended [on Mondays] due to the number of people that will arrive over the weekend and naturally want to visit the Most Magical Place on Earth on their first full day."
Yes, I believe that the EMH park is busier than the others.

Here's a post on EMH from touring plans:
https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/extra-magic-hours#

With hopping you at least have some built in rest time in the transportation
 





Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom