EMH - should i attempt it?

[Jenny]

i'm trying to make an itinerary - what parks on what days. we're going 1/28-2/3 - hopefully a low crowd time & only focusing on kid attractions/shows/etc w/ 1 or 2 exceptions (Mission, Splash). we'll have our 2 DDs w/ us - 6 1/2 months & 2 yrs. 10 mo. they comfortably get up around 7:30 so i feel that we can get to the parks by regular opening at 9 a.m. With the parks closing early at that time of year, should i wake the kids up to attempt early entry? i'm thinking that one day of using an alarm clock might be realistic & we'll do that for MK. we're going to try to keep a regular nap/bedtime schedule in place but the 2 y.o. is a tough customer on vacations. we'll eat breakfast in the room. what do you think? i'll probably figure this out at the time of the vacation but wanted to hear from some experienced travelers w/ kids. it's our first big family trip on a plane, etc.

 

[crisi]

We've had great luck with EE, particularly in the MK for little ones with Fantasyland being open. Just keep in mind that you may want to park hop by 11:00 am or so (but maybe not in January). If your little ones are nappers, EMH is a great way to get a lot of stuff done, get your nap in, and still get something done in the evening.

I discovered by kids were up really early (at 2 1/2) at WDW. They understood the excitement.

 

[turnerx5]

We had the opposite experience this November. On Wednesday, MK was empty all morning long, all rides in Fantasyland were walk ons well up to Noon (maybe a 10-15 min. wait for Dumbo). Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain were walk ons till 11:30 that morning.

By contrast, the next day, Thursday, the EMH day, MK was MUCH more crowded. Buzz had a 15 minute posted wait by 8:30, and Space Mountain had a 25 minute wait by 9am.

We found EMH to be not so "Magic", even in the off season.

Have fun.

 

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

Just a question....
What is EE and EMH??? I feel SO stupid!!

 

[lindaso]

With the new policies just announced, you might not have the option. From Mousesavers:

Extra Magic Hour is Changing!

In 2005, Disney will be switching to a new schedule for Extra Magic Hour. Each day one of the theme parks will open one hour early OR stay open three hours later so Disney Resort hotel guests can enjoy select attractions. (A valid theme park ticket and Resort ID are required.)

This system was tested earlier this year. It appears this will begin on January 2, 2005. The specific schedule has not been announced yet.

This kind of screws up planning for early 2005 trips.

 

[oogieboogie]

Gosh darn it. I finally memorized the daily mantra of EMH park days and now they go on do this to me! Aargh...

Oh well, I was there during the evening magic hours test back in May and I do enjoy it. I just wished they would open up the entire park instead of just a few rides.

I do think that MK is the best for EMH. We've always done MK EMH and we've been able to do every ride in Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Toontown, HM, and Frontierland all before 11am, and this includes Dumbo, PeterPan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz about 5-6 times, and Philharmagic. By then it's time to go to Adventureland.

 

[DisneyPhD]

We found that the morning EE was only worth it is with kids at MK to do FL and other kids attractions. MGM, Epcot and AK didn't have enough stuff open to make it worth your time. The parks will be more busy on EE days so do oppiste or park hop.

With the new EMH at night that will work well for us. Going back to take a nap around 3 in the afternoon, it can be 6:00 until you are ready to go back and if the park closes at 7:00 or even 8:00 (as they often do in the winter) it isn't worth going back. I am really looking forward to trying out the new evening hours (3 is better then 1 and the magic is so nice at night.) Even with young kids, since they tend to fall alseep in the stroller anyway.

It is worth it to get there right when it opens for any park though.

 

[tiberius]

Just a question....
What is EE and EMH??? I feel SO stupid!!

Gina,

EE and EMH are basically the same program with a different name. It used to be known as Early Entry, then it was cancelled, then it was brought back later as the Extra Magic Hour, when another program flopped that was the original EE replacement.

 

[Julanne]

I'm reading all your posts that say it isn't really worth it for EE in January, but what about during Christmas week (Dec 21st - 2th)? I had planned our itinerary around EE figuring it was going to be so crowded - and also planning on leaving the EE parks around lunchtime and going to another park after naps (the 2 yrs olds and mine - 4 months pregnant!). What do you think about EE during that week - worth it?

 

[ebarj1098]

Thought I'd bump this up, I'm interested in knowing more pros/cons of EMH also. Though I'm not going till June, and things will be different then I guess.

 

[crisi]

Pros:

If it isn't crowded, you can get through the open attractions quickly - as I posted before, we got through Fantasyland pretty much completely in that hour.

If you are up anyway, and the parks don't open late, you might as well be in a park.

In the summer, the animals on the safari are most active in the morning. Doing EE, heading straight back (with the crowds) will let you see the animals active - very different than they will be at 11:00 am in the summer heat.

Cons:

You have to get up early (unless you have the nighttime option and take that - I'm a little frightened of that with small kids myself, my kids are more morning than night kids).

If it is crowded, you may have gotten up early for no reason.

There are a limited number of attractions open - so do your research. EE at MGM is pretty worthless if what you want to see are the stage shows.

Strategies:

There are two popular "in the know" strategies. One is to go the the Early Entry Park on Early Entry day - and get out by lunchtime when it gets really crowded. We found about 11:00 to be the point where we were wondering why we were still there. I'd guess with the evening thing, you'll be better showing up just as they close the park to non-onsite guests - and maybe even starting your morning there - but doing something else mid day when the park is full of both people waiting for the extra hours and day guests.

The other is to do a different park on EE day - most commonly the park that had EE day yesterday.

We combine strategies....doing EE first thing - leaving as soon as it gets crowded, and hopping to a park (and ideally, yesterday's ee park) for the afternoon.

 

[Jenny]

after all the planning, etc., the new EMH plan has been posted. funny, i had decided to get up for EE only for MK & it's not EE while we're there! i'm not using EE for the other parks & will try the late evening at MK only. MGM, probably not worth it for our little babies to be up late & AK will not have the animals out past 5:00 on the safari & the trails, so not worth it to us. back to the drawing board!

 

[disneychrista]

I thought it would be ONLY the MK that would open later in the evening and all the other would keep the regular morning EMH??

 

[Jenny]

The info. is on a thread on this website under "Theme Parks Attractions & Strategies" - chat/forum. The hours seem all different to me - at least Sat-Wed...the days i'll be there. re: late nights, they have Sun. MGM, Tues. AK, Wed. MK - & I didn't take notice of Epcot but I think it's listed. All the parks have an a.m. EE (1 hr. early) & a late evening (+3 hrs).