EMH: Yay or Nay?

[Muskegon78]

I'm busy planning for our August trip and it's time to think about what parks to go to on each day. First, when will the EMH be released for August? Can I safely assume they will follow the days used in June?

Now, how should I use this info? We'll be staying onsite, so we can take advantage of the extra hours. My question is, do we want to? Do EMH make that park significantly more crowded on that day? I'd love input on how everyone uses EMH (PS- we're not very early risers so we probably would not use morning EMH).

We are going for 2 days next month amd stying onsite. Both epcot and mk have EMH the days we are there and those are the 2 parks we plan to visit. However, we are going to the park without EMH both days because of the crowds that come with it later in the morning.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I agree, but my teenage boys just aren't buying it! I will insist on them getting up for RD for our morning at MK, as I have never seen the opening show and I really want to. I'm also planning on RD at AK, and have no problem leaving them behind if they won't get up!

HA HA, my teen has a hard time waking up early too! Its a challenge. When im in disney with him, we're realistic with our goals and do rope drop once. On my recent solo trip though, I do rope drop all the time. So i totally encourage you to go alone if your kids arent early risers. They can meet you in the park afterwards. This way you'll get some time alone. its a win win!

 

[goofyintoronto]

It depends, I've seen it go both ways. Last trip after a week of walk on, friday night EMH there was lines like I've never seen. Space mountain had people all the way back to the people mover entrance and the line was 4-5 people wide. but other times, I agree much of the park is walk on or minimal wait especially near the end of the night. If it rains near EMH start, it'll be dead pretty fast and the night is great.

yes youre right, i should have added that part in...it all depends on the season youre going. At the end of august, its usually pretty quiet towards the tail end of PM EMH. But this past October on a solo trip, OMG!!! IT WAS RIDICULOUS!

I do enjoy the rain because the crowds thin out quite a bit.

 

[Shellyb84]

I was just about to ask this same question myself! I'm planning for July and I tentatively have 6 out of our 11 days using EMH, some morning, some evening. I've been trying to use the crowd calendars too but it just feels like a waste not using the EMH...

 

[kwdw]

I love AM EMH - but only if you are actually getting there when the park opens. Those couple of light hours first thing in the morning are wonderful. We hit a ton of stuff first thing, then slow down and enjoy lower crowd attractions/shows the rest of the day. But I agree, these parks are normally packed by 11 am those days because of the resort guests that came early plus everyone by that hour.

Evening EMH - IMO - are ONLY good if you are going to stay until the very end for the ones that end between midnight-2am at MK. For me, staying up that late means I'm not getting to the park until dinner time - and the parks are usually stuffed full at that point. But if I've got energy - that last hour or two (after Wishes) can be awesome. At the other parks, evening EMH are rarely that late - and I find the parks too full to make it worth my time - so those don't dictate my touring pattern.

I have to admit, I rarely pay attention to crowd calendars.....

 

[goofyintoronto]

I was just about to ask this same question myself! I'm planning for July and I tentatively have 6 out of our 11 days using EMH, some morning, some evening. I asked DH to see what he thought of the itinerary and he's griping about not using them everyday! He thinks the only point of staying on property is EMH. But, he needs to stay out of it as he's not the one reading the

Honestly, if you guys have park hoppers, its very easy to just switch to another park (provided that another park is open!). If anything, if youre sick of fighting the crowd at EMH at night, you can go to Disney Springs.

 

[Shellyb84]

Honestly, if you guys have park hoppers, its very easy to just switch to another park (provided that another park is open!). If anything, if youre sick of fighting the crowd at EMH at night, you can go to Disney Springs.

I hit enter before I finished that post..

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Another option is to hop into a park that had morning EMH later in the evening. Many people believe that this is a bad idea but that's not necessarily the case. Parks that had morning EMH tend to be the busiest during the day but can be the best option for late night touring. The reason is that the early arriving guests will tire out before the day is complete, while the later arriving guests will become frustrated by the larger than average crowds and leave early also.

This can leave the park wide open for some really short lines during those precious last few hours of operation. Here's just an example of what we were able to accomplish from 8 pm to midnight on a recent crowd level 8 summer evening that happened to be an EMH morning. We found bumper to bumper traffic leaving the park when we were arriving at 8 pm:

Big Thunder 3x
Splash Mtn 2x
Space Mtn 2x
Mine Train (10 min wait right a closing time)
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Pooh
Peter Pan
Speedway
Barnstormer 2x

We also watched the parade and fireworks and had a couple of Dole Whips.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I hit enter before I finished that post..

Just read your edited post. I feel the same way, it feels like a waste to not use PM EMH. I always go, even if i only do a couple rides, get a snack, watch the parade, then people watch, im happy.