EMH without hoppers?

[ClapYourHands]

Conventional wisdom says to be in a different park for the rest of the day because the EMH park is most crowded.

Do we know if this is still really true or if it’s just something that sounds logical so it gets repeated as truth?

I assume someone has looked at numbers, but I’m not sure how to find the information.

Also, on another thread someone cautioned me to avoid MK on weekends. How much more crowded is it there really?

 

[a1tinkfans]

I think it’s just busier everywhere, overall and the off season has dwindled to almost non existent. I choose less busy times and avoid the holiday weeks mostly.
That being said, we have res AP, with hop and have not hopped once with it. We also do not go to EMH parks.
Just works for us. I’m typically a planner so I book FP’s and honestly tweak before and during our visit with much success.

 

[cakebaker]

Conventional wisdom says to be in a different park for the rest of the day because the EMH park is most crowded.

Do we know if this is still really true or if it’s just something that sounds logical so it gets repeated as truth?

I assume someone has looked at numbers, but I’m not sure how to find the information.

Also, on another thread someone cautioned me to avoid MK on weekends. How much more crowded is it there really?

It's absolutely still true by my experience and it makes sense. EMH's themselves are way too crowded for my tastes. Add the regular guests and it makes for even more crowds. We have hoppers and sometimes will go to an EMH morning, then hop out shortly after regular opening. Most days, we just avoid them altogether. Without hopping, we'd never go to an EMH, morning or evening. WDW is more crowded than it used to be, but you can pick days where it's at least not quite as crowded.

 

[evlaina]

Conventional wisdom says to be in a different park for the rest of the day because the EMH park is most crowded.

Do we know if this is still really true or if it’s just something that sounds logical so it gets repeated as truth?

I assume someone has looked at numbers, but I’m not sure how to find the information.

Also, on another thread someone cautioned me to avoid MK on weekends. How much more crowded is it there really?

We always avoid EMH (when possible...last trip was October when every park had EMH or EEMH), and we made the mistake of going to MK on a Saturday once...it was my daughter's birthday and we did it for her and it is absolutely as bad as everyone says. Do not do it!!!

On a Friday or Sunday, that's a different story. We always go during either MNSSHP or MVMCP time, and we love MK on party nights because it's less crowded - people can't get their full "money's worth" if the park closes at 6pm, so they avoid it.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

MK on a Saturday is very crowded.
MK on a Saturday during party season is obscenely crowded.
MK on a Sunday is quite crowded.
MK on a Sunday during party season is mildly crowded.

The moral of the story is WDW is crowded all the time now.
It’s just a matter of figuring out what level of crowd you want to deal with.
And then plan accordingly.

And I agree with PPs.
EMH does in fact increase crowds.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Conventional wisdom says to be in a different park for the rest of the day because the EMH park is most crowded.

Do we know if this is still really true or if it’s just something that sounds logical so it gets repeated as truth?

I assume someone has looked at numbers, but I’m not sure how to find the information.

Also, on another thread someone cautioned me to avoid MK on weekends. How much more crowded is it there really?

I've used EMH and stayed in the parks. The only downfall IMO is is you arrive late to Morning EMH. But I've really never noticed this significant uptick people are talking about, outside of not being able to rope drop attractions during normal opening hours

Don't rely on very short waits to in demand rides to SDD & FOP as a replacement for Fastpass, which will have at least a 30 minute wait if you're not near the front of the line. I saw FOP skyrocket to a 3 hr wait in the first half hour of MEMH.

That said, you can make good use out of EMH with less popular rides.

 

[CastAStone]

Conventional wisdom says to be in a different park for the rest of the day because the EMH park is most crowded.

Do we know if this is still really true or if it’s just something that sounds logical so it gets repeated as truth?

Somewhere in between. The parks are more crowded earlier, so those 9-10:30 golden hours go away, but by mid-day it's not dramatically different;

Here is TouringPlans take:

How Crowded are the parks during EMH?
Crowds typically range from slightly below average to average at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom on days when those parks host Extra Magic Hours. Crowds are larger than average at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and slightly higher than average at Epcot, on days when they have EMHs.

Remember Touring Plans tracks crowd levels based on the wait times between 11 and 5.

If you know what you're doing or have a good plan it shouldn't impact you much

Also, on another thread someone cautioned me to avoid MK on weekends. How much more crowded is it there really?

Its pretty busy on Saturdays. Sundays can be OK. I generally agree with the assessment of @Mickey's Best Girl

 

[ClapYourHands]

We always go during either MNSSHP or MVMCP time, and we love MK on party nights because it's less crowded - people can't get their full "money's worth" if the park closes at 6pm, so they avoid it.

In 2018, I went during Jersey week and was in MK on the day it closed early for the CM party. It was one of the best days in the park ever - crowds were so reasonable and we pulled FP after FP for great rides! Of course, we had hoppers, and made the mistake of hopping to Epcot that evening - which ended up being a 10/10 crowd plus Food and Wine in WS, and I've never been so claustrophobic in an outdoor space in my life! We could barely move on the walkways.

This trip is a make up from the trip we had to cancel this past fall. We were planning to go during party season, and you can bet I had us booked at MK on the party days!

 

[Leigh L]

In 2018, I went during Jersey week and was in MK on the day it closed early for the CM party. It was one of the best days in the park ever - crowds were so reasonable and we pulled FP after FP for great rides! Of course, we had hoppers, and made the mistake of hopping to Epcot that evening - which ended up being a 10/10 crowd plus Food and Wine in WS, and I've never been so claustrophobic in an outdoor space in my life! We could barely move on the walkways.

This trip is a make up from the trip we had to cancel this past fall. We were planning to go during party season, and you can bet I had us booked at MK on the party days!

We went to MK on a party day last August. It was fantastic! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I agree Saturdays are so busy at MK. In 2017 we went for a day since we were passing through town to get to MCO and picked up one-day park tickets on the fly. Our previous trip had been in 2011 and we didn't know about FP+. We spent the day standing in long lines and navigating busy crowds. Since then, we've done MK on a Saturday (did it during our recent January trip) and with a good plan, we find it to be OK, but definitely much busier in our experiences. Our youngest just became a teen, so it's easier now. (We've all also become pros at grabbing extra FPs, very different from that Saturday in 2017!)

(We are EMH people, but we usually stay until about 11 a.m. to noon and then go somewhere else. Our strategy is to hit up the less popular rides during this time and try to nab FPs during mid-morning for the headliners)

Hope you have a wonderful make up trip!

 

[ClapYourHands]

I’m doing a trip that goes mid-week to mid-week (probably Wednesday-Tuesday depending on flights). With a 4-year-old, my focus will probably be MK. I thought to do it first day, last day, and in the middle. But there’s no way to do middle without hitting MK on a weekend, with Saturday being preferred.

I’m pretty good at pulling additional FP (or I was last trip), and it’s easier when it’s only for two. We will probably be doing a lot of “smaller” rides and character meets. She’s too short for Space Mtn, BTMRR will be closed for refurbishment, and I think the drop will make Splash Mtn a no-go as well.

My plan is to FP 7DMT and PPF. Everything else we would want should be available same day. I do, however, worry about navigating the place when it’s a sea of bodies, only some of whom actually know where they’re going. And I’d like to be able to view the parade and HEA with a semi-decent view. The dessert parties are out of my price range for preferred views of the castle, though.

 

[mrsap]

We love evening EMH and always plan to be at any park with evening EMH. They are definitely more crowded, and we may not get on the ‘big rides’, but we’d rather be in the park than sitting around the resort doing nothing. It’s a fun atmosphere!! Give it a shot!!

 

[ClapYourHands]

We love evening EMH and always plan to be at any park with evening EMH. They are definitely more crowded, and we may not get on the ‘big rides’, but we’d rather be in the park than sitting around the resort doing nothing. It’s a fun atmosphere!! Give it a shot!!

View attachment 470960

No evening EMH during our trip dates.

 

[mrsap]

No evening EMH during our trip dates.

Well, that’s disappointing ☹ I personally will not do morning extra magic hours because I will not get up that early to go to a park! But I will go to parks with morning EMH (usually around 10), and I honestly don’t think they’re that bad. Just make sure you get your fast passes, and you will be just fine! Have a great time!

 

[ClapYourHands]

Well, that’s disappointing ☹ I personally will not do morning extra magic hours because I will not get up that early to go to a park! But I will go to parks with morning EMH (usually around 10), and I honestly don’t think they’re that bad. Just make sure you get your fast passes, and you will be just fine! Have a great time!

It is, but with a four-year-old, it’s questionable how much enjoyment we’d get out of the parks at 10pm anyway.

A big part of wanting to attend morning EMH is that our usual wake-up time is 6-6:30, so starting early works well with our circadian rhythm. Of course, she was still awake at 10:30 last night, throwing a fit because I finally left her room at 10:20, after sitting with her for almost an hour waiting on her to fall asleep.

 

[mrsap]

It is, but with a four-year-old, it’s questionable how much enjoyment we’d get out of the parks at 10pm anyway.

A big part of wanting to attend morning EMH is that our usual wake-up time is 6-6:30, so starting early works well with our circadian rhythm. Of course, she was still awake at 10:30 last night, throwing a fit because I finally left her room at 10:20, after sitting with her for almost an hour waiting on her to fall asleep.

Totally get it!!! Morning EMH sound like they would be great for your situation! Go for it! But if you do ever get a chance to go for evening EMH, you’d be surprised how good the little ones sleep in a stroller just walking around the park for awhile!

 

[Skippyboo]

What time of year are you going? Epcot is pretty useless right in the mornings until World Showcase opens up. HS is still crazy at rope drop because Rise of Resistance. I love AK in the mornings before the heat of the day becomes too much.

You can probably brave morning EMH at MK but I would recommend trying to hit the less popular rides and use FP for Mine Train, Mountains, Peter Pan.

 

[gharter]

We used to avoid EMH parks. Last trip we did some parks on EMH days. As long as we arrived before th parks opened, EMH worked well. IF you arrived late for EMH, you lost the advantage. The rest of the day, didn't really notice much difference.
I suspect there are a lot who hit EMH and leave for a different park.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Going mid-May. I would like to try for a BG to do ROTR, and don’t know if the Sunday morning EMH is an advantage at HS or if it just means crazy all day.

Looks like no parks open past 9 on any of our evenings there, and all 9am openings, except for the 8:00 EMH mornings.

 

[Skippyboo]

I would read up on the various strategies for getting a boarding pass. I know that ROTR doesn’t run during magic hours but don’t know when bg distribution starts on morning EMH days at HS. I am going in April. It’s seems that they are still playing around with park hours and opening before the listed time. My last trip was in September. Those 6am Extra Extra Magic Hours everyday we’re pretty sweet.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I would read up on the various strategies for getting a boarding pass. I know that ROTR doesn’t run during magic hours but don’t know when bg distribution starts on morning EMH days at HS. I am going in April. It’s seems that they are still playing around with park hours and opening before the listed time. My last trip was in September. Those 6am Extra Extra Magic Hours everyday we’re pretty sweet.

I bet those EEMH were pretty sweet! I'm following ROTR info on other threads, but I'm tying not to get too caught up in planning because I'm still a month out from my FP day, and I know Disney can change the procedure at any point. I'm especially interested to see what happens to SB waits once the Tiers are rearranged at HS, and MFSR has FP. Plus, MMRR will be open then, and it remains to be seen how that will be handled.