EE yes or no?

[Fooboy]

hey all!
i've been getting mixed reviews on whether I should go to a specific park on it's EE day. It was to my understanding that MGM and MK is extremely beneficial to go on EE days and get the popular rides over with in the morning? have i been misled or is this a strategy that i should consider? thnx!

foobs

 

[memymomonica]

We were there Sept 27th-Oct. 5th. We didn't do early entry at all. We didn't feel like we missed out. Our crowds were very light though. I hear it is much more crowded now. I avoided EE just because I thought everybody would be heading to those parks. It was our first trip. I know some people swear by EE. We may try it next time.

 

[Pugsley]

foobs, I’m going in a week and I’m trying to make that same decision. I think I’m going to skip EE, except maybe MK. I have always done EE for every park in the past and it was wonderful. But I had a bad experience with EE at AK a couple of months ago (way too crowded), so I won’t do that again. And I’m afraid that with the fairy tale package all of the EE parks will be very crowded. I LOVE EE at MK though. I can finish Tomorrowland and Fantasyland and be at Splash Mountain in time for opening. Then I get the heck out of dodge!

 

[my3boys]

We always plan our days around EE. With little ones, it is wonderful to do all of Fantasyland with no waits and to walk onto Tomorrowland Speedway.

We typically leave around lunch for naps, so we then go to a different park later in the day.

 

[4greatboys]

We never do EE. My family is the sleep in kind. That said, we always go in the off season, like the end of Sept. There really are hardly any lines then and with Fastpass we do everything we want. We dont leave the parks for naps or rest time since we sleep in and the parks close early in the off season.

 

[frndofpooh]

We usually take advantage of EE. It is wonderful for MK - if you have little ones, head straight for Dumbo and Tomorrowland Speedway. The lines for these two rides move very slowly compared to other rides. After that, try Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan and Pooh (not necessarily in that order). I also found EE helpful for EPCOT. We did Mission Space, Test Track, Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Body Wars early in the morning at a leisurely pace. At AK, there was a large crowd lined up waiting to enter, but it still was worth it once they dropped the rope.

Although we very much like doing EE, it really depends upon your own preferences for your vacation. If you are an early riser and don't mind being on the go in the morning, then by all means take advantage of EE. If you prefer to sleep in on your vacations, then I wouldn't suggest forcing yourself to get up just to do EE. EE will allow you to see and do more, but it's a personal choice whether that is what you want. Whatever you choose, have a great time!

 

[Terk-1]

I always do EE (or MH or whatever you want to call it), even during slower months. You get a jump on some great attractions and it is much quieter early in the morning. I typically break up the days where I will do an EE park in the morning, have lunch & take a break in the early afternoon, then head for another park later that day. It breaks up the day.

 

[bub]

I agree with Pugsley (see above) about the AK early entry. We did it last week on Monday morning, and it was a mob scene. Only the Safari, the bug movie, and the trails are open early, so everyone jams up at the Safari and trails. When the whole park opened, it got even more crowded.

I would still do MK early entry, as many others have said - you can do Fantasyland and Tomorrowland easily in that hour. Epcot and MGM would depend on how much you want to see the EE attractions there - probably not necessary, given fastpass.

 

[indyanna]

I was wondering if EE would be more crowded because the Fairy Tale Package encouraged more people to stay on premises and thus get the benefit of EE. Isn't that (FTP) essentially why crowds seem to be up this season? Just a thought.

 

[punkin]

Using EE for MK is must if you have small children.

Epcot is great with EE since you can do test track and mission spece several times without wait and get FPs to do them again later (I'm really bummed we won't get to do Epcot EE this trip because we get there thursday and leave tuesday)

MGM is a waste for us because we do not do TOT or the roller coaster, so jsut for star tours seems silly (especially since later in the day there is almost no line anyway.

AK is a toss up. Didn't I read in the new Unofficial guide that they do not recomend EE at AK because it gets too crowded? Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Strings]

We're only doing EMH for MK and Epcot next week. DH is NOT a morning person. I don't need a crabby daughter AND husband to contend with. That being said, I have scheduled naps for all.
Terk-1
That is an amazing picture! What kind of camera/film did you use?

 

[n2mm]

We USE to be big EE fans, but the FTP has convinced us NEVER again (at least not for a while). We were in WDW in July and it was horrible at MK on Sunday for EE. We couldn't even get close enough to the security tables that morning. AK was a zoo. So we went again in September. I'm thinking, September is a slower time. LET ME TELL you. We tried AK in September for EE. Well folks, the lines were to the security tables and is was horrible. So with my next trip coming up fast (next week), you won't find us at ANY EE until the FTP goes away. We have had heavier than usual crowds on the non-ee parks, but not crazy like the park that is having EE. MK and AK are the worse. We did more at MK from 9-11 one morning than we did from 8-1:00 on EE day. Plus had lunch at the Plaza at 11:30. But please, I hope everyone takes part in EE at least once, which leaves the other parks quieter for us!!

 

[Fooboy]

what's FTP?

 

[XStAnt]

Fooboy,

From your countdown clock it appears as if you will be there during Xmas week, the busiest time of year. I believe EE is a must during that time. The parks will always be crowded, but with EE you'll have an extra hour before the massive crowds build to get some of the major rides out of the way. Then, when the parks begin filling up and people are heading to those big attractions you're hitting the other ones, still staying a little ahead of the crowds for about 2 hours or so.

This assumes you get to the park when EE begins. If you are not going to get there until 30-45 minutes after the EE opening then you lose the benefit and will have to deal with slightly larger crowd levels. Keep in mind that during Xmas the park hours often change. The regular opening times often are about 1 hour earlier than usual (which means EE is an hour before that). Check the official opening time of that park the day before so you can take advantage of EE. (for exampl, Epcot's normal opening time is 9:00 am. Many days during Xmas week the park;s official opening was announced as 8:00 am. This meant that on an EE day the EE time would be 7:00 am. )

Good luck and have fun.

 

[PiperG]

How long does the FTP go on?

We arrive at WDW on Feb 8th, and will be there that day (Sun) Mon, Tue, Wed & Thursday. The following Monday is Pres. Day, so we are hoping to hit the parks prior to the big crowds.

Will we still be dealing with excess crowds at that time due to the FTP?

 

[indyanna]

FTP won't factor in to your trip. It ends mid November!

 

[PiperG]

Thanks Indyanna,

It looks like you are headed off for some park fun very soon. Have fun!!!