Early Magic Hour or not need expert advice!

[tweetie]

We will be at Disney April 9th - 15th, I have heard some people say use the early entry others say stay away from the parks that have it. What's your advice? Thanks for any input!

 

[hyzdufan]

Usually you can do it, if you get your attractions out of the way early and depart the park by 11am. It just gets way out of hand after then. So unless your brave, transfer parks before lunch.

 

[4407mark]

If you are able to take advantage of early entry, by all means do it! You can get a lot done in that hour, no matter which park it is. As for staying away from the parks, that advice is typically given to those who are staying off property and can't use early entry. For instance, the Magic Kingdom is early entry on Sunday so expect the crowds to be heavier that day, especially in the morning. We go for early entry, make the most out of that hour and stay perhaps another hour or so and then go to another park and avoid the crowds....

Hope this helps!

 

[amyrajo]

My family and I leave in 8 days for our first-ever disney trip! We have planned our park schedule around the early magic hours, because I thought I had read somewhere that that's what you should do...(???) I seem to be reading from lots of others that you should then leave the park after, because those days get really crowded. BUT, I don't get it....if it's an EARLY entry, why is it more crowded than normal LATER in the day??? Am I missing something?!!! I have been eating/sleeping/breathing DISNEY for the last two weeks as we prepare for our trip, but I just don't get it!

what do you think - will I regret planning my park schedule according to the EE hours??! Thanks for your help!!

 

[RescueRanger]

amjrajo-

What you have is a great number of resort guests who take part in EE. Alot of these guests stay at the park for the whole day. You then have to add the amount of guests from offsite hotels and daytrippers who arrive at or near regular opening. It can get quite crowded around 11am at the designated park. That is why, as others have suggested, it is usually better to hop over to another park around this time. This is what we always do. We go to EE and leave around 11 or 12 to beat the crowds. The crowds are then usually lighter at the non-early entry parks as most resort guests are at the park you just left. I know it can be very confusing, but it is really a good plan to go by. I hope this helps.

 

[XStAnt]

Amyrajo,

RescueRanger is correct: all the extra resort guests going to the EMH park that day can bump the overall crowd level up by midday, when the rest of the crowds also get to the park.

However, you are going at a time of relatively low crowds. It's quite likely the parks can handle the extra capacity without much difficulty. Don't forget, it could take up to an hour for you to exit the EMH park, wait for a bus/boat/monorail, travel to the next park, enter that park, and get to the attraction you want to see. You may want to see how crowded the EMH park is and how long the lines are before deciding to switch parks.

 

[MinniMama]

I was a firm believer in EMH for a long time but now I avoid it and here is why.
First a CM told me it is always the most crowded park of the day- they order twice as much soda etc for that day. The reason is all the EMH people come in and then all the off the street people join in (many don't even know about EMH)and the EMH people are ahead of the others and lines fill up. If you stay off site don't try it if you stay on site get out by 12:00!!
Lately I have gone to EMH parks in Feb, April and August been and wall to wall we've left to go to another park and found it nearly empty most often this happens in MK and MGM they crowd up fast!
Now I don't bother getting up so early I get to the gate 15 minutes before opening and have the same EMH advantage in a less crowded park with more sleep
I don't think you have to redo your plans amyrigo but if you find yourself fighting crowds try an experiment and switch- Epcot for MK is easy and MGM and Epcot switches are easy by boat- a pleasant side trip also. You'll have fun!

 

[XStAnt]

Amyrajo,

RescueRanger is correct: all the extra resort guests going to the EMH park that day can bump the overall crowd level up by midday, when the rest of the crowds also get to the park.

However, you are going at a time of relatively low crowds. It's quite likely the parks can handle the extra capacity without much difficulty. Don't forget, it could take up to an hour for you to exit the EMH park, wait for a bus/boat/monorail, travel to the next park, enter that park, and get to the attraction you want to see. You may want to see how crowded the EMH park is and how long the lines are before deciding to switch parks.

 

[Bete]

You can get at least three times as much done in that one hour from a normal, regular hour at the park. If you are one of the first ones in the park, it becomes an experience in itself. There's a special feeling when you are by yourself in an area. Also, I find it a wonderful time for pictures. There shouldn't be anymore walking in front of you, etc.

Next, you should make your way to the area farthest from the gate by the end of that early hour. This way it will take a while for those entering at the regular time to catch up to you. Again, this affords about another hour of getting alot more accomplished then the regular hours because noone has reached that area of the park, yet.

Finally, I'm a believer of leaving the early park by noon. If you want a late evening at another park then I would suggest a nap, first or at least a relaxing swim, etc. Now, you are ready to tackle the non-early park for the rest of the day.

The shorter your vacation at Disney, the more important, I believe, it is to use early entry.

For families on a budget this stratregy really pays off because I truly believe it's like getting an extra 3-4 hours per day at regular park hours based on what you can accomplish.

I strongly recommend that you and family don't come on vacation tired or stressed out if you are going to take this approach. It is a little bit of commando style vacationing; so, you need to be well rested for this to pay off. It's best to have a rest day before you leave for the trip.

I hear so many Disney guests getting frustrated that they haven't accomplished more on their trip. You need to take advantage of this perk. It's probably the best advantage you have as a Disney resort guest.

I think another good idea is to perhaps do early entry for two days on and one day off. This way you can sleep in on a few mornings.

 

[HaleyB]

I agree with above posts.
Early entry is a must for MK for us.
We don't bother for MGM, but it is not our favorite park and half of us do not like ToT or RRC.
I like it for AK, because it is a park that is much nicer early in the day.
For Epcot it depends on if we need the sleep or not...

 

[kparc]

When you get to the park, go immediately to the back of the park and work your way to the front, when the crowds get to heavy, exit and head for the next park. By then it should be lunch time anyway.

 

[baseballmom94]

Okay, I'm confused!! We are going to Disney next week. We are only buying 1 day non-hopper passes to each park (MK - Thursday and Epcot - Friday) If we do MK on Thursday with early entry, we won't be able to transfer to another park because we won't have a hopper pass. So should we do Epcot on Thursday and MK on Friday??? Please help...leaving for Orlando on Monday am.

 

[tweetie]

What about the early entry at the MK when it falls on Easter Sunday? Is it still ago?

 

[bengalfreak]

Originally posted by baseballmom94
Okay, I'm confused!! We are going to Disney next week. We are only buying 1 day non-hopper passes to each park (MK - Thursday and Epcot - Friday) If we do MK on Thursday with early entry, we won't be able to transfer to another park because we won't have a hopper pass. So should we do Epcot on Thursday and MK on Friday??? Please help...leaving for Orlando on Monday am.

If you don't have the ability to park hop, I would stay away from the EE park. Just be at a non EE park at opening time.

 

[MinniMama]

Do MK on Friday or you will fight crowds most of the day.

 

[disneydad22508]

Have fun!