EMH and Park Touring

[MissMaryQC]

In the past I've not paid much attention to EMH; we did a combo commando/ADR touring thing. This particular trip, however, is a big deal for my family as it will be 10 years since our last visit all together, and there are lots we want to see and do, with only a week in WDW.

I've been looking at the September crowd calendars and I'm seeing that it is suggested to avoid parks with EMH as these parks tend to be busier on those days. How true is this for Septemebr crowds? Will it be awful if we go on an EMH day? Or am I looking at 30 minute waits for rides? Any help is appreciated!

 

[Robo]

In the past I've not paid much attention to EMH; we did a combo commando/ADR touring thing. This particular trip, however, is a big deal for my family as it will be 10 years since our last visit all together, and there are lots we want to see and do, with only a week in WDW.

I've been looking at the September crowd calendars and I'm seeing that it is suggested to avoid parks with EMH as these parks tend to be busier on those days. How true is this for Septemebr crowds? Will it be awful if we go on an EMH day? Or am I looking at 30 minute waits for rides? Any help is appreciated!

Never attending EMH's because they will be "too crowded or overly-stressful,"

is like never eating grapes because they will be "too sour."



CAN be that way.

Doesn't HAVE to be that way.



Each EMH experience can be different.



We always go to AM EMH (virtually every day of the trip

that we did not do a PM EMH late the night before)...

never ONCE regretted an AM EMH... they are amazingly

empty and easy to ride the open attractions.

If that park then starts to fill 2 to 3 hours later...

We're happy with "doing" that park for the day and we

can HOP elsewhere or do lunch and take a rest until

later.



PM EMH's are a mixed bag. I've been when they were

"packed"... but on other nights (sometimes within the

same trip), the crowds were basically so low that it

was like "free rides" on all the open attractions.



The rule seems to be, it is far easier for guests to

STAY UP at the end of the day, than it is for them to

GET UP at the start of the day.



Generally speaking:

Expect a PM EMH which begins before 10PM to be much busier than one that begins much later.

Expect the first hour of PM EMH to be busier than the last hour.



Those who have attended PM EMH's and say that "they

are too crowded" are right... but that may have been only on the nights

they have attended.

I can say from personal experience that EMH's CAN be

virtually empty, or overly full... or somewhere in-between for attendance,

often within the same week.



The crowd situation at PM EMH can change so much (either way,)

that saying it was "like X" on a given night, can have little relation

to another night in the same time-period. So, you

simply "won't know unless you go."

It's similar to saying

that you attended on a given night and it rained, so

guests should never go on that night because it will

probably be rainy.



But, it can all boil down to your particular timing.



If you just consider that EMH's are FREE to attend...

You might just take a chance.

If it's too busy, just people-watch... or hit the exit.

(Where ELSE are ya gonna go at 10pm, anyway?)



But, if its not busy... you'll be ALL SET for EXTRA FUN!



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[Lillian Gracey]

It can be a hit or a miss. I did evening EMH at MK twice on my trip in October and it was DEAD. Absolutely DEAD! 7DMT had a long line and I believe Peter Pan had a decent line as well, but most everything else had maybe a 5 minute wait at most or you were able to walk right on. It was wonderful! I was quite surprised because I believe both of those days were Saturdays. I agree with Robo. If it seems too busy you can always just leave. As for parks during regular hours, I didn't see any difference in how busy a park was based on whether or not it had EMH, but I do not go to Disney World often enough to really tell if there is a difference. During the time I went the parks were not extremely crowded.

 

[PeasandCarrots]

I think several things affect your choice. First, if you are doing early magic hour, it's important to make sure you can get there 15 minutes before the park opens to take full advantage of that hour. I don't find early magic hours very crowded during that hour, but it really picks up quickly.

Second, if you have park hoppers, it can be good to go to the EMH but spend the rest of your time in a non-EMH park.

Lastly since you are going in Sept and crowds tend to be lower than usual, I don't think it will be as big of a deal as say going to the EMH park in the summer.

On my last trip we tried to do early magic hours but due to disney transportation being slow we almost always go there 15-30 minutes after opening and it just wasn't worth it. Those parks did seem more crowded during the day. So our next trip we are just going to the most recommended parks and avoiding EMH. But I'm not saying everyone should do that - just personal preference.

 

[Robo]

On my last trip we tried to do early magic hours but due to disney transportation being slow we almost always go there 15-30 minutes after opening and it just wasn't worth it.

For those looking in... the remedy to the possibility of missing a bus and
arriving past your intended park arrival time is to be at the resort bus stop earlier.
The resort-to-park buses begin rolling at about 6:30AM every day.

If you're at the resort bus stop by 45-60 min. before you want to be standing at a park gate,
there is little chance that you'll arrive "too late."

And, I can say that as I have been to WDW on dozens of mornings.

 

[MissMaryQC]

For those looking in... the remedy to the possibility of missing a bus and
arriving past your intended park arrival time is to be at the resort bus stop earlier.
The resort-to-park buses begin rolling at about 6:30AM every day.

If you're at the resort bus stop by 45-60 min. before you want to be standing at a park gate,
there is little chance that you'll arrive "too late."

And, I can say that as I have been to WDW on dozens of mornings.

I've read that when using WDW transportation you need to allow at least one hours time before you have to be at your destination.