Early Morning Magic - opinions please

[ww52]

EDIT - ouch. I just now saw the FAQ thread - for some reason it did not come up from a search I did. I suspect all my questions are answered there!

Despite the expense I'm considering Early Morning Magic - Fantasyland for our trip in July.

(For those who might not realize it, this is NOT the same as the extra magic hour. This is a paid event where MK opens 75 minutes early for those who bought the ticket. Several rides are open).

I have several questions. None of which are "is it worth it?" Obviously for $89 adult, $79 for a child, it's the epitome of Disney taking advantage of the crowd situation to make more money. And so what? They are a business. Good for them

1. I think I read they limit this to several hundred. Still true?
2. Are there STILL lines or are all the rides essentially "walk right on"?
3. Is there an advantage of doing things in a certain order? Like Mine Train first?
4. Do they possibly get going even EARLIER than 75 minutes before rope drop? That is, for a 9AM opening, it woudl be 7:45. Maybe they actually get going at 7:30?

Now - logistics. One of the other advantages is a breakfast buffet that I've read is actually pretty good (hey, it's Disney and it's all relative).

I would guess it's best to NOT do that right away. So ...

5. Does the breakfast buffet run out, or is it significantly less closer to its end (which I read is 10AM)

And - in a way - the most important question for us

6. Is there a special Castle Good Morning show for the people paying for the event? If not, can we go back to the castle to see the one at around 8:45?

Why? Because MK will be our first park on our first full day. Last time it was - well, magical, to say the least. (We had two grandkids with us - this time we'll have all four) I absolutely do not want miss that. But if we have to cut short our $89 a head advantage to do it, then I'd be even more hesitant to buy that ticket. And if buying that ticket means we are NOT able to get back in front of the Castle, then it's a deal breaker.

For those who took the time to read all this - thank you VERY much. And any thoughts or opinions are much appreciated (Except for the obvious "are you nuts?? $89?!?!? EACH? The answer to that is yes, I'm nuts.)

 

[DWillowBay]

1. As far as I know, yes.
2. Less than 10 minutes at the most (Usually for Mine Train)
3. Not really. I'd go with priorities...it might be Peter Pan for some, rather than Mine Train.
4. Not in my experience. They run pretty much on time when we've done it.
5. There's plenty of food and, yes, we save it for last...when the thundering herd enters the park.
6. I wouldn't lose time on that day to see the Castle Show. But that's just me. You can walk out at 8:45 to see it, but you lose the exclusive ride time you paid for. Can you see it on another day?

** One of the distinct advantages we have found, especially in the summer, is that EMM allows for us to be in the parks and accomplish many rides in the cooler part of the day. Depending on how hot/ humid it is, that alone is worth the price of admission.

I hope this has been somewhat helpful and I hope you and your grandchildren have a great time!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

1. I think I read they limit this to several hundred. Still true?
2. Are there STILL lines or are all the rides essentially "walk right on"?
3. Is there an advantage of doing things in a certain order? Like Mine Train first?
4. Do they possibly get going even EARLIER than 75 minutes before rope drop? That is, for a 9AM opening, it woudl be 7:45. Maybe they actually get going at 7:30?

5. Does the breakfast buffet run out, or is it significantly less closer to its end (which I read is 10AM)

And - in a way - the most important question for us

6. Is there a special Castle Good Morning show for the people paying for the event? If not, can we go back to the castle to see the one at around 8:45?

1) The guest count is higher now than the “few hundred” people it once was, but it’s still relatively small. Exact numbers are not know, but I suspect something like 500-700, although I could be way off.

2) Most will be walk on or a short few person wait. 7DMT is the main draw - it can have a wait 5-15 min’ish.

3) I do not recommend going to 7DMT first - because that’s what everyone does and the line builds. Everything else shouldn’t really matter. I save 7DMT for the last 30 minutes.

4) 7:45am is pretty much it. Walking from the MK entrance to Fantasyland eats into event time. Some don’t like that fact, but it’s just the way it is.

5) I’ve never read wide scale reports of it running out. An occasional report, perhaps. But not something systematic.

6) The only opening show is the one on the castle at 8:55am. I personally would not try to make your way back into the Hub for this. Too time consuming for otherwise costly EMM time.

 

[ww52]

Thanks much -

Everyone has their own "Disney thing" that others might be puzzled with. The Good Morning (or whatever it is) became that for us rather unexpectedly. Of course simply for the kids - once is enough for me. But the idea of being specifically welcomed there the first full day kind of got to all of us as we saw the kids reactions

Doing that another day - well, it's not quite the same being welcomed to a place you were at a couple days ago. But it's a option for sure.

The thing is, we planned on MK our first full day and just happened to see EMM is there that day. If it wasn't, there is no way we'd rearrange things and pay that money. But since it is...