EE ... Use it or not?

[Mr. Baloo]

We are staying at VGC and trying to get ready and plan out our days.... Do you use the EE days or do you go to the other park for EE days?

Thanks

Baloo

 

[janc]

I love EE, I'm thinking of switching from the Camelot Inn to the DLH and one of the main reasons would be the EE. That and I really would love to stay at the DLH at least once in my life.

 

[tlovesdis]

We are staying at VGC and trying to get ready and plan out our days.... Do you use the EE days or do you go to the other park for EE days?

Thanks

Baloo

Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't! We usually only use it once and at DCA. It's hard to get everyone up and ready to be at the gate at 6:30am! We've also showed up 45 minutes into the EE at DCA and still only waited about 15 minutes for RSR.

 

[gottalovepluto]

We LOVE EE. We aren't amongst rope droppers. We usually arrive around 5-10 mins after park opening. We get the most done during DL EE, fyi Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open. There is a lot open in a small area. We are hit and miss at DCA, sometimes we have a great EE (single rider RSR, Screamin, Soarin) and sometimes it seems everything is broken or not running yet. To make the most of DCA EE go to the front gate, don't try to enter through the GCH's entry as it can take forever when the park first opens (it's great any other time of day though).

 

[Nevada Jen]

We use it every day at DCA but usually only one day at DL. In that 1 day we can get the fantasyland rides done during the morning and we really only want to do those rides once. The other rides in DL that are open are just as easy for us (with Fastpass and DAS) to hit during normal waking hours. At DCA we basically use it to ride all our favorites every morning before we go about our plan for the day, whether that be DL or DCA

 

[ktlm]

We have done both. It is not like WDW where you have to avoid the EE park because it is more crowded--as DLR is a hoppers paradise--- BUT it is better if you are going at rope drop to go to the park that has not already been open for an hour. EE is great at DLR-- actually DLR is typically great the first few hours of ANY morning-- the lines typically build much slower than at WDW which I think is because of the local crowd. Our problem with EE is that the times we are there it typically starts at 7:00 a.m. Park open at 8:00 a.m. with our time difference is easy-- but even with the time difference 7:00 a.m. is a bit rough. We have done it for RSR when it was new and we did it to make the A&E dash when they were hugely popular with long lines-- but other than that, we typically just stick to park opening.

I will say that it sounds like you do not have hoppers? Be aware that hopping at DLR is nothing like hopping at WDW. To a WDW veteran, DLR is just like one big park. They are separated by a small plaza with bag check on the outskirts so there is no bag check to hop. It is 5 minutes to get out of one park and into the other. We have literally been from the back of DL to the back of CA in 10 minutes. We hop all day long. For example, if the lines get long in the afternoon at DL- we check wait times and then hop over to DCA when the lines are shorter. Last year we hopped over mid-afternoon and wound up riding RSR single rider walk on about 3 or 4 times in a row in the middle of a July afternoon. Also CA often closes before DL- so we often leave CA and then get in some extra time at DL. Last we saw WOC at CA, and then hopped to DLR and saw the late parade of Paint the Night- and we found a great spot for it just about 15 or 20 minutes before the parade. It was terrific because our PTN stake out night was planned for the next night, and we got all that time back that we would have been sitting on the curb the next night. (Actually- since we had seen it- we did not stake out a spot for the early parade the next night for a couple hours- BUT we did stay at DL and catch the late parade again with a minimum of stake-out (15 minutes) because it was SOOO GOOD!!!!!).

 

[WillowRain]

Our first day was magical with EMH. We rode a few Fantasyland rides. PP was down of course so we did Snow, Pinoch, Carousel, and then moved on to POTC and HM within the hour. Then I think we headed over to HSM to get FP. Day 2 at DCA was wasted on Frozen FP. Day 3 at DL was wasted on PP, which took a freaking hour, and made my 4 year old say "That was it?" Luckily we won't need to ride PP again after that. Totes wasted that hour and it made me mad.

 

[AZMermaid]

Today (Thurday) we did EE at DL. We got in line around 6:50- later than we wanted. We got in around 7:10 or so and rode Dumbo, Teacups and Toad by 7:35. My husband took my son over to sign up for the Jedi training and my daughter and I got in line for Alice. The sign said 30 min wait but it was about 15 actually. We then rode the carrousel and met up with DH and DS around 8:15.

 

[Mr. Baloo]

We have done both. It is not like WDW where you have to avoid the EE park because it is more crowded--as DLR is a hoppers paradise--- BUT it is better if you are going at rope drop to go to the park that has not already been open for an hour. EE is great at DLR-- actually DLR is typically great the first few hours of ANY morning-- the lines typically build much slower than at WDW which I think is because of the local crowd. Our problem with EE is that the times we are there it typically starts at 7:00 a.m. Park open at 8:00 a.m. with our time difference is easy-- but even with the time difference 7:00 a.m. is a bit rough. We have done it for RSR when it was new and we did it to make the A&E dash when they were hugely popular with long lines-- but other than that, we typically just stick to park opening.

I will say that it sounds like you do not have hoppers? Be aware that hopping at DLR is nothing like hopping at WDW. To a WDW veteran, DLR is just like one big park. They are separated by a small plaza with bag check on the outskirts so there is no bag check to hop. It is 5 minutes to get out of one park and into the other. We have literally been from the back of DL to the back of CA in 10 minutes. We hop all day long. For example, if the lines get long in the afternoon at DL- we check wait times and then hop over to DCA when the lines are shorter. Last year we hopped over mid-afternoon and wound up riding RSR single rider walk on about 3 or 4 times in a row in the middle of a July afternoon. Also CA often closes before DL- so we often leave CA and then get in some extra time at DL. Last we saw WOC at CA, and then hopped to DLR and saw the late parade of Paint the Night- and we found a great spot for it just about 15 or 20 minutes before the parade. It was terrific because our PTN stake out night was planned for the next night, and we got all that time back that we would have been sitting on the curb the next night. (Actually- since we had seen it- we did not stake out a spot for the early parade the next night for a couple hours- BUT we did stay at DL and catch the late parade again with a minimum of stake-out (15 minutes) because it was SOOO GOOD!!!!!).

Yup.. got hoppers..... WDW veteran as well... just late to the planning party!!!!

Baloo

 

[wdwfan22]

EE is a wonderful perk at DLR. I agree with a PP that it is much, much better than at DW. There is so many fewer onsite folks at DLR. It is good for DL and great for CA. One morning we rode TSMM 4 times in about 20 mins. It was a walk on. Then moved on to RSR where single rider is a walk on early, rode that a couple times and also got a ride on ToT right before general opening. For CA (and really also DL) it makes a big difference what time EE starts.

 

[wench]

We always try to do EMH for both parks. You can get so much done in that first hour that it's totally worth it. But, if you're using the VGC entrance to DCA, you want to be sure to get in line 45-60 minutes before EMH starts. Otherwise you'll spend half of that 1st hour in line. A lot of people will tell you just to go to the front gate entrance, but we really prefer the GC one. And there you can sit down while waiting if you want, so it's not too bad. We'll normally do EMH at one park, getting in 5 or 6 rides. And then we'll hop over to the other park at regular open. So, you can actually have 2 different low crowds first hours in one morning.

I also highly recommend EMH for Peter Pan if you're planning to ride it. Go straight there & make it the 1st thing you do. Then you can be on & off in a few minutes. I've found that if you wait even 5 minutes after the rope drops, you could get stuck waiting an hour or more line. Or you could make it the 1st ride on a non-EMH morning, but the crowds will be bigger those days, with even more people racing for it.

 

[Congo Queen]

In the summer it is painful b/c EE starts at 7am which means getting up at 6am. BUT it is still worth it. Even my two teenagers who cannot be induced to wake before 10am on any day off will rise zombie-like from their DLH beds for EE.

 

[BriannaRuth]

We always try to use EE for both parks. We get there early and have been first in line at the turnstyles on several occasions. Last time we were there, we got to be the family that opened the park!!

Like CongoQueen, I have kids who HATE to get up early. My 16 year-old would get up a 1 pm every day if she could. But ever since they were little we've stayed on site and done EE. When I talked about the possibility of not doing 7AM EE this year, they voted me down! You really can get a lot done.

I also have reservations about using the GCH entrance during EE or first thing in the morning on non-EE. They only have two lines, so the lines get long quickly and if the one you're in gets delayed by anything at bag check, someone can't find their ticket, whatever, it REALLY slows things down.

 

[stardusty21]

My teen daughter won't get up at 5:30am for anything except EE. We stay on site mainly for this perk and take advantage of it everyday. If we don't get enough sleep the night before, there is always an afternoon nap.

 

[jammyjam25]

For us EE or EMH is always worth it. You can truly get so much done. Last year we were able to do Peter Pan, Alice, Matterhorn, Dumbo, Mr. Toad and I think one other ride all in that first hour. Then we swing over to Adventureland and NOS right when park opens and get to enjoy another basically empty chunk of the park because not many people head there straight away.