EMM Fantasyland with kids 2 and 5?

Isabelle12345

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 9, 2019
Hi
I am currently trying to decide whether or not to get EMM tickets for our February trip
We will be doing 5 park days, 2 MK and 1 for each other (Thinking of maybe getting hoppers as we will be at the Boardwalk Villas for the second part of our stay - but still unsure)
Our first MK day will be focusing mainly on rides. My kids are not thrill seekers so we will be doing Ariel, Dumbo, Buzz, Peter Pan, etc. We will be taking a midday break after lunch to be able to come back for fireworks that day.
On our second day, I have booked the FoF dining package and will leave afterwards. I was thinking of focusing on meet and greets that day (princesses, Jasmine and Aladdin, ...) and adding a few Fantasyland rides, but I saw that and EMM is available that day...
That would let us meet the princesses and knock out PP, Pooh, IASM, Arien and 7 dwarves before park opening, saving fastpass for Tink / Mickey, and maybe Jungle cruise or Buzz...
Do you think it’s worth the cost considering we won’t be riding 7DMT over and over, but mainly focusing on riding all the rest of fantasyland?
 
My mom and I did EMM Fantasyland with my daughter, ages 2 and 4 at the time, last May. The cost benefit will depend on a lot of factors, but we ended up deciding it was worth it for us for a few reasons:

  • It was my kids' first trip and EMM was our first park day. So their first experience of Disney was literally walking into a mostly empty Fantasyland and getting to do their favorite rides (Teacups and Carosel, of course) over and over. It was truly magical for them, and that's the #1 thing that made it worth it for me.
  • Being their first trip, we had no idea what their ride preferences were. EMM allowed us to discover that my 4yo loves roller coasters but hates dark rides, and my 2yo was up for anything (she was very bummed she wasn't tall enough for 7DMT). This helped us pivot our plans to more adventurous rides and away from dark rides for the rest of the trip—which was a pretty big shift from what I'd planned on, so it was nice to make that discovery early on without waiting in huge lines first.
  • They loved meeting all four princesses available in Fairy Tale Hall and getting to spend a little extra time with them. We definitely wouldn't have waited in two lines or used a FP if we hadn't had EMM, so this was special as well.
  • We have so many great pictures of them in Fantasyland without anyone else in the background, and because it's in the morning, they're still smiling and full of energy.
  • The breakfast situation worked out perfectly (even if the food isn't fantastic). They were starting to get tired by the time the park opened, so having breakfast (prepaid for!) while avoiding rope drop crowds was a bonus.
  • From my perspective, it was honestly nice to knock out a bunch of those Fantasyland rides without having to use FP on them. It made the rest of our day go smoother and feel less hectic since we already had a head start during EMM and could use our FP elsewhere.
Being that your EMM would be your second day in MK, you might be missing out on some of that excitement factor if they got to do those Fantasyland rides already earlier in your trip. Then again, there's just something so special to a kid (and adults, who am I kidding?!) to be able to hop right back on a ride you loved with no lines. That never happens at Disney!

I'd also think about your kids' morning temperaments. You have to be up way early to get there on time and make the most of it. Will your kids be okay with that, or are they going to be crabby about an early wake-up call? You'll probably have at least an hour, if not more, between waking them up and them experiencing "the magic" and that can be a long time for kids to wait. My kids are very much "we're up, let's go" types, so it wasn't an issue for us, but having crabby kids definitely would have made me rethink if it was worthwhile.
 
Well the 2 year old is free. Can you make it there on time for it to be worthwhile would be my sticking point.

We'd be a bunch of grumps we can't even make regular rope drop...
 
Thanks for sharing your experience
My kids are usually early risers (they rarely make it after 6:00) so that shouldn’t be a problem (although by the end of 5 days in Disney it might be different)
Staying up till the parade may be the biggest problem if we get going so early... I will have to think about it!
 
We did the old format of EMM in May 2017 and my kids were 2, 5, and 7. We loved it and thought it was a great value. We took turns riding SDMT over and over with the older 2 while the other parent took the 2 year old on PP and Pooh over and over.

If you aren't looking for repeated rides on SDMT, I do not think the event is worth it. With 2 MK days, you can hit many Fantasyland attractions with little to no wait if you rope drop and plan strategic fast passes. Also, take into consideration how long the attraction itself takes IASW alone takes 15 minutes to ride.
 
We're opting not to do it and our kids are similar ages (2, 3, 5). However, we've done Disneyland with them a few times and know they ARE total thrill seekers (the 5 year old especially, but the 3 year olds game for everything too)... but the cost just didn't seem worth it to me overall. We'll rope drop (kids are early risers too) and fastpass and I think they'll have more than enough ride time in the week. We are also doing parkhoppers so IF there is something we don't get to that I think they'd really really love, we'll come over to MK after an Epcot or Animal Kingdom day. I do like having that option so the cost was worth it to me to do the hopper in that sense.

Maybe if I was going on an insanely busy week I'd feel differently though.
 
Thanks for all the great advice!
It is a good point about the hoppers - almost the same extra cost but a lot more flexibility...
I don’t know how the crowds will be - last week of February which is typically slow but this year is Mardi Gras week...
I am having a hard time making a decision!
 


Staying up till the parade may be the biggest problem if we get going so early... I will have to think about it!

That's a good point. We didn't make it to the parade the day we had EMM. We left for naps around 1. We saw the parade our other MK day.

You might want to look at the EMM Fantasyland thread to see what people's experiences have been lately. It's a mixed bag sometimes, depending on if a ride is down or if transportation is wonky and you miss the start time. The value tanks if you're running late for any reason and you miss even five minutes of the event.
 
A lot of those rides are really easy to walk on early in the morning if you're not worried about doing continuous rides on 7DMT. Also, those rides are the easiest to pick up additional fastpasses for so I personally wouldn't bother, but we're also cheap! ;)
 

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