EE or NOT? Please help!

[bamadisney]

Okay all you Disney experts please help me out. We are going for a week DH, DDs 5 and 9 in October. Are the parks with EE more crowded during the day thatn the other parks? In other words, do we do the EE or do we go to another park that day? Ive heard that sometimes the EE parks tend to be more crowded. Opinions please. Thanks so so much. (We are counting down the days.......anyone know how I can put a countdown clock on my threads?)

 

[HunnyPots]

I personally love the extra hour for resort guests only. We were able to walk through MK in June and get pictures with no one else in them! Of course there were people there; they were just more spread out than at normal opening time. If it gets too crowded, you can always hop to another park. In October, crowds may not be that big of a deal anyway.

 

[Amirah95]

Get your countdowns here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=381216

 

[bethzfl]

We like to stay at one park for the majority of the day.. therefore, we avoid EE days because those tend to be crowded most. Everyone has diff preferences on this issue. Good luck

 

[Scullyrules1013]

We avoid EE parks like the plague. Or maybe chicken pox.

I personally don't think it's worth it- an extra hour to fight with the thousands of other people who are also staying on site- but as HunnyPots said if you have something special you need to do like take pictures with popular characters that may be the time to do it. It's really something you have to try and see if it suits you or if it's too much of a hassle. We did that a few years ago, and thought it was okay, but now we enjoy going to non-EE parks first thing in the morning because they tend to be less swamped for opening. (Not to mention it's easier to catch a bus when it's not the one going to an EE park!)


Scully

 

[DrTomorrow]

We will do an EE at MK - you can get a lot done, particularly in Fantasyland - but you have to be prepared to leave by 11 or noon. The crowds are just too crazy. The other three parks, we always go on to a non-EE day.

 

[RLewis]

With small kids, you definately want to take advantage of EE for MK.

Only go to MGM if you want to ride R&RC without a wait.

I would suggest EE for EPCOT, if only to ride TT. The lines for TT are so ridculous that you have to get there early to either ride or get a Fast Pass.

There's no reason to go early to AK. You can easily manage it in one day.

 

[inmyis]

We love to take advantage of EE at MK, Studios and AK. You can get a lot done and at AK the animals are very active first thing in the morning! The key, however, is to be willing to leave the EE park if it gets too crowded. We are the types who never want to wait in any significant lines and take advantage of all that is out there (EE, FastPass, etc) to accomplish this goal. Whether it's with our four kids or just DW and I we usually leave the parks in the early afternoon for a swim and a nap. That way we are ready to hit another park or Jellyrolls at night. We LOVE to get up early and be one of the first ones in the parks, but we also like to be there at night as well. That means naps are a MUST!! If you don't mind getting up very early on your vacation, take advantage of EE. If you like a little more shut eye in the morning hit another park.
Remember to do what fits your family best and have fun!

 

[LoveThoseLabbies]

I agree with Scully, we also avoid them like the plague.

We use the day after strategy (MK early day is Sunday, go to MK on Monday). It worked wonderfully in July during a very busy time at the parks. What you gain in the early hour, you more than lose in the next few hours.

Experiment. Try an early day and try a day after. See what works best during the time of year you are going.

 

[bamadisney]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think we will try the morning after idea. Except we may try MK for EE and switch parks.

 

[dgaston]

I think EE at MK may only be good for families who need to tour Fantasyland. In April I did my own two day test--one the day before EE, and one on a Thursday EE. This was one week after Easter, so large numbers, but not peak (Patriot's Day for New England).

I got much more done the day before EE in Tomorrowland than on the EE day. The numbers of people lining up for Space Mt and Buzz were far heavier.

October has become a pretty busy time too, so I would recommend non-EE days, and EE at MK just for Dumbo etc, then travel to another park after lunch or around 11:30.

 

[bamadisney]

This site is so great! Thanks for all the info and ideas!

 

[MyboysluvBuzz]

We just got back. We did EE for Mk and it was great. We were able to do all of Fantasyland within that first hour. I will say that the park was pretty crowded when we left around 2pm. We avoided EE parks on the other days because we didn't want to get up early. It worked realy well and we never ran into any big crowds. I would say it just depends on whether you want to get up early or not. We stayed at the parks late and wanted that extra hour of sleep, so for us, going to non-EE parks was great. However, if you have little ones that like the Fantasyland rides, I would suggest doing it at MK. It was the only time these rides didn't have waits.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

We do EE because our children are used to ESTime. They get up at 6:00 so at Disney they are already awake. We might as well to EE and get a lot done. We can get done in 2 hours what might usually take 3 or 4. Then we leave and go to another park.

Lori