Early Morning Magic worth it with SDMT and PPF FPs?

[CanadianEmily]

There's almost no way I'm wiling to spend the money on Early Morning Magic, but they've announced it for our day at MK, and I can't help but contemplate it. The thing is, we already have FastPasses for SDMT and Peter Pan's Flight. Those are the only rides that are really important to us out of the ones offered at EMM. We're also planning on staying for fireworks, so it will be a long day for my 5 year old already. I'm 90% sure it's not worth it, but if I was rolling in money, I'd do it for sure, ha. I'm also Canadian, so add 30% to the price. For the three of us, it would come to over $300. This is about equal to what I just saved yesterday by calling and asking them to apply the Canadian ticket discount, but we'd maybe rather spend it on a droid, lol.

An empty area of the park sounds really nice, but is it really worth it? I guess the advantage is more that you can go on these rides multiple times in an hour? That would be neat, but not sure if it's worth $300. I know "worth" is all perspective. How's the breakfast? Seems like just standard stuff, although I love standard breakfast stuff, lol.

 

[Alison S]

The advantage is knocking out those rides without needing a FP, so that you can get FPs for other rides instead. Plus being able to do multiple rides, empty park, etc. If you don't care about those things it's not worth it.

 

[Joey M]

Like you said it is all perspective.
For us, it is worth it. The amount of people is very small. The kids love going on 7dmt multiple times as well as peter pan, pooh, etc....

It is relatively peaceful to say the least. It is a staple for us now versus the early hours for those staying on disney property (those mornings are packed!)

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Are you staying at the park all day with no breaks? That does make for a long day with a 5 year old (in my opinion) and would steer me away from something like EMM (despite the fact that we enjoy EMM quite a bit).

 

[CanadianEmily]

Like you said it is all perspective.
For us, it is worth it. The amount of people is very small. The kids love going on 7dmt multiple times as well as peter pan, pooh, etc....

It is relatively peaceful to say the least. It is a staple for us now versus the early hours for those staying on disney property (those mornings are packed!)

Yes, we were trying to avoid extra magic hours altogether, but we are scheduled to be at Epcot on an extra magic hour day. We'll have to be there in that crowd, lol. I am contemplating the early morning magic just because it's our only day at MK. Also they're having a special edition of it when we're going for Cinderella's anniversary. It doesn't say quite what it is other than characters walking around and something special added to the breakfast, but it would be our only chance to meet Cinderella, for sure. It wouldn't fit into our schedule otherwise. But... $300... for us that's a lot at the moment.

 

[CanadianEmily]

Are you staying at the park all day with no breaks? That does make for a long day with a 5 year old (in my opinion) and would steer me away from something like EMM (despite the fact that we enjoy EMM quite a bit).

Yes the plan was to stay with no breaks, but a break might be possible if we did this. We're also planning a slightly shorter day the following day at Animal Kingdom, we're not planning on getting there until 9:30am and leaving around 6pm. It would be a long day, for sure. We really wanted our MK day to be our fireworks day.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Yes the plan was to stay with no breaks, but a break might be possible if we did this. We're also planning a slightly shorter day the following day at Animal Kingdom, we're not planning on getting there until 9:30am and leaving around 6pm. It would be a long day, for sure. We really wanted our MK day to be our fireworks day.

I'd say if you can do a break, then I'd consider it. It is really invaluable for getting in multiple rides on things like PP and 7DMT in a more relaxed setting - while also freeing up your FPs for other things in the park.

If you do it, my advice is to keep 7DMT until the back part of the event - more like 8:30+. Everyone goes to 7DMT first which can create a bit of a line (think 5-10+ mins) - time is valuable at EMM so you want to avoid lines as much as possible. Later on the SDMT line clears considerably, becoming more and more walk on as you get to 9am (based on my experiences).

I think DS and I rode 6 times from 8:30+ last summer (you do have to get off, walk out, then walk back in).

 

[MomOTwins]

We have three kids so spent around $300 as well. I was expecting to feel ripped off, but I did think it was worth the money in the end. The thing about kids is they get off a fun ride and say "I want to go again" and you can't really do that once you've used your fastpass in regular hours. My kids were blown away by the ability to ride 7DMT over and over and over, and it was convenient to knock out everything else in Fantasyland as well with no wait. If you do get it, you can rebook your 7DMT and PP FPs to something else in MK.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I was expecting to feel ripped off, but I did think it was worth the money in the end.

Not really sure why, but this sentence made me laugh a bit.

I guess the willingly spending $300 with the expectation of feeling ripped off part. Disney is a funny place this way, I guess!

 

[MomOTwins]

Not really sure why, but this sentence made me laugh a bit.

I guess the willingly spending $300 with the expectation of feeling ripped off part. Disney is a funny place this way, I guess!

Lol, I guess that is true. But the things we do for our kids — I normally wouldn’t spend $200 on a lightsaber toy either but such is Disney

 

[TammyLynn33]

I always look at the boat and then subtract the cost I’d spend on a QS breakfast and we usually grab a drink to go too when it ends . So let’s say $15 for breakfast $5 for another drink so in my mind I’d take $20 off the price and then decide .
If you can go back to the hotel for downtime I’d contemplate it if not I wouldn’t . I know my 5 year old would still make it at least not happily

 

[jvalic33]

We loved this, but I would definitely not do this if planning to stay in the parks. We did it on my twins birthday and it was awesome. It was like we had a party in the park for them. We rode SDMT 10 times and then Peter Pan 5 and then WTP a few more. This was a few years ago when SDMT was a little newer. We loved the breakfast, it was just enough to tide us over until lunch reservations at BOG and then it really freed us up to do other things in the park. But the plan was ultimately to get back to the hotel a little earlier and enjoy the pool, which why I'll never understand, is up there for my kids along with all the other amazing things at Disney. Anyway, I think it would be a long day. You get so much done in that first EMMH that it almost wipes you out. It's not easy to ride SDMT that many times. It was amazing, but still, it wipes you out!

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

If you want ride the same attractions multiple times in one day I say worth it.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Fellow Canadian here so I certainly hear you on that exchange rate! That being said I would look at the extra expense as 1) pre-paid breakfast buffet which in itself is quite expensive at Disney and will cover a good part of your food budget for the day (if you do not have the ddp) 2) get through all your must do's in Fantasyland with no wait which would allow you to book fp for other rides later on in the day. This could enable you to get a mid-day break. We have done MK opening to closing with teenagers and we were basically exhausted by the end of the day. It is amazing what a small nap in air conditioning can do. You can return to the park late afternoon with your 3 fps refreshed and ready to last the night. This is especially true if you are visiting during the hot/humid months of summer.
Enjoy your trip whatever you decide to do.

 

[StarSeven7]

I'm not sure how old your kids are but would they enjoy riding 7DMT several times? We've never done EMM so I can't speak for that but we usually like to ride the coasters more than once so we get a FP for 7DMT and then we also rope drop it in the morning. Those 2 rides are generally enough for that because the ride is definitely fun but not overly exciting for us. We prefer to ride BTM and SM more times.

 

[TeacupsForever]

We did EMM with my 2- and 4-year-old last May. It ended up being worth it for us, even though they didn't want to (and the youngest wasn't tall enough) to do 7DMT. It was their first trip to Disney and their first park day, so it just felt like there really was magic in the air as they got to run through a nearly empty fantasyland and go on their favorite rides over and over with no wait. It really hit home how worth it EMM was when we went back to fantasyland a few days later and had to wait for those same rides that they still wanted to do multiple times.

 

[CanadianEmily]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I'm leaning toward just sticking with our original plan. This is essentially our first trip. I haven't been since I was 10 years old (I'm nearly 40), so part of the issue is I have no idea how my son (5) is going to react to any of the rides. We're bringing our own car, so while it would be relatively straight forward to leave and come back, that seems like such a hassle to me. My son would likely only nap if he fell asleep in the car, so our afternoon would end up consisting of driving around random places until he fell asleep and then parking for an hour or so and sitting in the car, lol. Not very restful for me and my husband. We also have a BOG reservation at 12:55. I suppose it would be fine to just leave after that and come back several hours later, maybe even just for the fireworks. We're not planning on going on any of the three bigger roller coasters, so with EMM, we'd really be done the rides very quick. But then, I wonder, what's the point of paying for EMM if we know we'll have enough time to cover everything anyway? It seems that riding multiple times is the main advantage. For me it's just the idea of being in there with a virtually empty park. It would be so nice to experience a little bit without the heavy crowds and actually be able to take it all in, but I don't know if I can justify $300 for that hour of peace, lol. Thanks for all of the different perspectives, though. I think it definitely is worth it if you can swing it and maybe if you have another night to catch the fireworks. I'll probably keep debating it until it sells out, lol.

 

[CanadianEmily]

Lol, I guess that is true. But the things we do for our kids — I normally wouldn’t spend $200 on a lightsaber toy either but such is Disney

I hear you on this, lol. We are getting a lightsaber, which is also weighing into my decision about EMM. I said no to a lightsaber for the longest time, but then he decided to save his Christmas money for it, which only covers half, but $100 isn't as bad, lol. I'm also contemplating getting a droid, which would basically put the last nail in the coffin for EMM, lol.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I hear you on this, lol. We are getting a lightsaber, which is also weighing into my decision about EMM. I said no to a lightsaber for the longest time, but then he decided to save his Christmas money for it, which only covers half, but $100 isn't as bad, lol. I'm also contemplating getting a droid, which would basically put the last nail in the coffin for EMM, lol.

Our two lightsabers are in the corner collecting dust.

Just sayin’!

 

[Isabelle12345]

I am also hesitant about the EMM with a 5 and a 2 year old
Also Canadian so I ageee that the cost is hard to justify...
I am planning on deciding in the days before
If it’s sold out, the decision will be made for me!