Evening EMH at Magic Kingdom? Avoid?

[JB212]

We'll be at Disney World from March 6-11. March 9th is evening EMH at MK. (10pm-12am)
Our plan for that day is Epcot, but my 13 year old is quite interested in heading over to MK for the EMH. At first I thought yes, leave Epcot in the afternoon, head to the resort and swim a bit, let the younger kids take a nap, etc and head over after dinner, but now the more I'm reading I'm not sure. Would it be super crowded? If we went, what time would you suggest showing up? (We'll have already had one full day at MK by that point and so it would purely be re-riding stuff.) Thanks!

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

We never miss EMH at MK. When DS13 was 7 he and I stayed at MK until 2 am and then rode the boat back to WL and I had to carry him to our room because he was sound asleep. There are lots of rides to keep people going at MK and we have never had a problem with long lines. In September DS13 and I rode Space Mountain 5 times in a row with almost no wait nearing the end of EMH.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Evening EMH at MK is our favorite. The park is busy, but the later the night goes on, the less and less busy it becomes. DD and I stayed at MK until 2:00 AM, it was practically empty. We saw no one at all until we reached the castle and got a beautiful picture with no one behind the castle.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

10 pm seems awfully early to start evening EMH this time of year. I checked Josh's crowd calendars, and found that closing time for most days in March was pushed back to 11 pm or midnight last year. Final adjustments to the operating hours weren't made until February 9th.

If you can stay after midnight, you'll find some very short waits and multiple reride opportunities.

 

[sharonabe]

If you can stay after midnight, you'll find some very short waits and multiple reride opportunities.

This! If they don't change the hours and late EMH truly only goes until midnight, the park will not empty out all that much. It will be less crowded than before Wishes, etc, but in truth, midnight just isn't that late for most people. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it, just don't expect an empty park or the multiple rides on headliners that you would for a 2 am late EMH. If they do change the hours, and you have a 1 am EMH closing, then every quarter hour after midnight will get less and less crowded.

 

[EdmondD]

Results may vary.... Last May I went to the 11 - 2am EMH (by myself since my family was too "tired" because I "work them too hard" during our "vacation" ) thinking it would be empty. My point of reference was a virtually deserted MK after midnight from June 2004. Ha! At 12:30am it was just as crowded as 12:30pm. Even the lines to get food (like at the bakery) were out the door. I stood in a 40-minute line for HM and then left.

 

[jsrj21]

My family and I enjoy it alot! My DS20 has loved it since he was like 8 years old. Like another poster mentioned, I usually had to carry him back to our room, but those are the priceless memories that I have. He's older now so he sometimes has to carry me back! It's definitely a long night but usually we plan it out where the next morning, we sleep in and chill around our resort before heading to a park for the afternoon.

Maybe just ride the stuff you want/like, and then call it a night....or just play it by ear. Either way, you'll have a blast!

Good luck!

 

[hakepb]

Results may vary.... Last May I went to the 11 - 2am EMH (by myself since my family was too "tired" because I "work them too hard" during our "vacation" ) thinking it would be empty. My point of reference was a virtually deserted MK after midnight from June 2004. Ha! At 12:30am it was just as crowded as 12:30pm. Even the lines to get food (like at the bakery) were out the door. I stood in a 40-minute line for HM and then left.

MK EMH are generally only have shorter lines in the last hour.

It's nice to go to EMH because nothing else is open, but it's rarely a super-secret ride-a-palooza.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Evening EMH is the best. But don't expect that you won't have to wait in some lines. Especially in Halloween/Christmas party season because then they get everybody who can't go when there's a party on.

The later you can stay, the emptier it will be.

 

[jolene63]

Evening EMH at MK are the best!!! We never miss them. You can get on so many rides during that time. Many of them you can stay on and ride over and over. My DD went on the Barnstormer 15 times in a row this fall. She thought that was so cool. I would definitely recommend trying it out on your next trip. Just make sure to have some down time in the afternoon so you can stay late.

 

[Neesy228]

YMMV, but as others have said, MK late nights are one of my favorite things to do. The later they run - the less people will be there. I'm guessing since you're going around prime Spring Break time, those EMH will be extended until at least 1am.

Most people with younger children head for the exits right after after Wishes. Some will stay if there is a second MSEP, but leave after that...then it's just the night owls/Disney-crazed crowd that's left standing -- and those are my people!

My sons are both night owls like me, so when we are there as a family, DH and DD will head back to the resort for bed, and my boys and I will spend the evening. One night we were the last riders on Splash Mountain, another time we went on Buzz Lightyear three times in a row. We stop for a treat on the way out the door...Those are some wonderful memories and both of my children talk about it years later. There's something very cool about an almost empty Magic Kingdom.

 

[Delirium]

As others have said, it does clear out quite a bit in the last hour. The quality of the experience also depends on what you are trying to do. If you're thinking doing standby for Mine Train, you're going to fee crowded. Start in Adventureland, move to Frontierland, then Tomorrowland, and end in Fantasyland. Even Peter Pan is virtually a walk on the last 5-10 minutes. The only time we ever ride Dumbo, Pooh and Barnstormer is late on a EMH night. They are automatic walk-ons that late at night.

 

[scrapquitler]

We'll be at Disney World from March 6-11. March 9th is evening EMH at MK. (10pm-12am)
Our plan for that day is Epcot, but my 13 year old is quite interested in heading over to MK for the EMH. At first I thought yes, leave Epcot in the afternoon, head to the resort and swim a bit, let the younger kids take a nap, etc and head over after dinner, but now the more I'm reading I'm not sure. Would it be super crowded? If we went, what time would you suggest showing up? (We'll have already had one full day at MK by that point and so it would purely be re-riding stuff.) Thanks!

We have always found that the crowds are EMH at night are much smaller than we expect. And the crowd gets smaller as the night goes on. No matter what other plans we have during the day or evening, we always head to EMH at MK and we try to time it so that we arrive as the parade crowd is exiting.

 

[galaxygirl76]

We did the EMH last September and got a good amount of rides in with little to no wait. Also walked on to see Ariel and waited 15 minutes to meet Anna and Elsa around 10pm.

 

[footballmouse]

We never pass up an EMH for MK, morning or evening.

 

[HopperFan]

We LOVE night EMH at MK

For us, it's the best perk of staying onsite, even better than 60 day FP+.

 

[Dentam]

Our evening EMH's at the MK this past September were the least crowded of our entire trip! We walked right onto several rides. Loved it!

 

[pens4821]

We are going in a couple weeks and they will be open until midnight with EMH. We are excited to stay in the park so late (last time we left the parks by 8 as it was also winter but less hours than this time). Going to be a long day, but will have a break at Chef Mickey's for dinner so hoping that'll give us a rest. IMO, we will have to have a plan for a few must rides, and as we're walking through if things look short we'll stop.

 

[bluezy]

Results may vary.... Last May I went to the 11 - 2am EMH (by myself since my family was too "tired" because I "work them too hard" during our "vacation" ) thinking it would be empty. My point of reference was a virtually deserted MK after midnight from June 2004. Ha! At 12:30am it was just as crowded as 12:30pm. Even the lines to get food (like at the bakery) were out the door. I stood in a 40-minute line for HM and then left.

Yikes!! We had much shorter waits at 10:00 on a non-EMH Wednesday night last June! We've never been able to do a nighttime EMH at MK because they were always on a Saturday night. We typically leave for home very early on a Sunday morning, so Saturday night EMH just didn't work in our schedule. This year the nighttime EMH is on a Wednesday and works out perfectly in our touring plan. I'm hoping the lines this June are shorter than what you experienced.

 

[Three cats]

I was wondering about this for October. My fear is that with all the parties going on at that time of year that evening EMH will be extra busy. Anyone have any input on this?