Extra Extra Magic Hours! Post Your Experiences Here!

[pangyal]

Has anyone been to HS in the last couple of days? We will be there Tuesday and my plan was to go to SDD first and then SR, but now it is looking like SR is keeping a steady wait time and that it is higher than we would like to wait w/ kids in tow... Any advice? Should we stick to the idea of hitting other stuff first and come back to SR toward the end of EEMH? Or not risk it and head there first? I think I lean toward sticking w/ my original plan, but DH and the kids are itching to hit SR early.

I’m not an expert by any means, but I have also been tracking the wait times daily and noticed that in the past few days, at least one headliner has been out of commission for at least an hour at DHS. Never the same one, either, but I’m sure it is bumping up the wait times for the other rides when this happens. We are there next week as well and plan to do the same as you, start with TSL and head to GE around 8.

 

[Akck]

Has anyone been to HS in the last couple of days? We will be there Tuesday and my plan was to go to SDD first and then SR, but now it is looking like SR is keeping a steady wait time and that it is higher than we would like to wait w/ kids in tow... Any advice? Should we stick to the idea of hitting other stuff first and come back to SR toward the end of EEMH? Or not risk it and head there first? I think I lean toward sticking w/ my original plan, but DH and the kids are itching to hit SR early.

General thoughts are if you’re near the front of the crowd at RD, go to SR first. Near the front is in the first 500. Once done, take the TS path and do everything there next. You can then go to the other major rides and then return to GE, hopefully before 9:00 am. Arriving further back in the crowd, go to SDD and other TS rides first. Once you’re done with TS, go to the other major rides and then return to GE before 9:00 am.

 

[chimoe]

7am this morning.

MFSR is posted -195mins
SDD is 70mins.

I wonder if some of the PODs are offline that is causing such a long wait.

 

[Carolyn Louise]

At HS this morning. We arrived about 5:40, started walking back by 5:50. It was about 20 min from the time we entered Galaxy’s Edge to boarding SR. We then went to TS and got on SDD with a shockingly overestimated wait time of 70 min—actual time in line was about 20. Rode Saucers with a posted time of 25 and an actual wait of about 15 min. Now in line for TSMM. Says 45 min and we’re still outside but we’ve only been waiting about 5 min at this point.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

In the past it has always been my experience that any time there is a week with a Monday holiday following it’s pretty busy. Extra travel day. I have inadvertently gone the week before Presidents Day and Memorial Day and they have always been super busy. I’m always off on Mondays so I don’t think about it. I do now and will not go a week preceding a Monday holiday.

 

[glamdring269]

I know it's not for everyone but the 6AM DHS openings absolutely made our trip. We did it twice and had massive success both times. We even went back one night in order to see the Star Wars Spectacular (not so spectacular) and enjoyed some late night shorter ride times as well as some excellent FP refresh success. Wish they would do these types of hours at one of MK or DHS permanently.

The only negative is that I'm pretty sure my right arm is going to fall off. I did finally break 300k on TSMM though.

 

[sophy1996]

I know it's not for everyone but the 6AM DHS openings absolutely made our trip. We did it twice and had massive success both times. We even went back one night in order to see the Star Wars Spectacular (not so spectacular) and enjoyed some late night shorter ride times as well as some excellent FP refresh success. Wish they would do these types of hours at one of MK or DHS permanently.

The only negative is that I'm pretty sure my right arm is going to fall off. I did finally break 300k on TSMM though.

Only twice? My DH went for EEMH every morning for 5 mornings in a row, mainly for GE.

When I went, I wanted to do TSMM, so we were among the first people on the ride. And since there was no one in line when we finished, we got to ride again without getting off!

 

[only hope]

Wait times for this morning. Very crowded today, checked wait times randomly throughout the day and many attractions were 40+ minutes, with quite a few that are normally 40 or less reaching 60mn+. I don't think I've seen wait times this high since before the hurricane. A lot of people must have a three day weekend. 10mn and under not listed.

6:36
13mn ToT
50mn SDD
120mn SR

6:47- AK times popped up at exactly 6:47, I don't know if it was a mistake or if they opened early. Anybody there today that can confirm?
13mn ToT
20mn TSM
60mn FoP
70mn SDD
165mn SR

7:35
15mn Meet Ariel/Cinderella & Elena/Mickey, Philharmagic, Speedway
25mn Saucers, PP
40mn Space
45mn 7DMT, TSM
50mn ToT
60mn RnR
65mn SDD
90mn FoP
125mn SR

7:46
15mn Meet Cinderella & Elena/Mickey
20mn Astro, Meet Rapunzel & Tiana, Speedway
25mn Saucers, PP
30mn Space
45mn 7DMT, TSM
50mn ToT
60mn RnR
65mn SDD
105mn SR
120mn FoP

7:57
15mn Astro, Meet Mickey/Cinderella & Elena
20mn Meet Rapunzel & Tiana, Na'vi, Speedway
25mn Saucers, PP
30mn Space
45mn 7DMT, TSM
50mn ToT
60mn RnR
75mn SDD
105 SR
135 FoP

8:08- EMH over at MK and AK
15mn Enchanted Tales, EE, HM, Meet Mickey, Space
20mn Astro, BTMR, Celebrity Spotlight, Pooh, Meet Cinderella & Elena, RnR, Speedway
30mn Saucers, Na'vi
45mn PP
50mn ToT
55mn Safari, 7DMT, TSM
75mn SDD
115mn SR
150mn FoP
Closed Meet Tink, Pirates

8:51- as usual, HS times drop just before opening but today SR actually stayed longer than SDD
15mn Astro, BTMR, Enchanted Tales, Jungle Cruise, Meet Mickey
20mn Celebrity Spotlight, Dino, HM, Carpets, Pooh, Meet Cinderella & Elena/Rapunzel & Tiana, Space, Speedway
25mn Saucers, Splash
30mn Meet M&M at HS, PP
35mn EE, ToT
40mn TSM
45mn RnR
60mn Safari
65mn Na'vi, 7DMT, SDD
115mn SR
180mn FoP
Closed: Tink

For a bit of comparison, this is how busy it was today:
11:09 SR and RnR, 90, Space 105, Safari 110, Na'vi & 7DMT 115, SDD 120, FoP 135
1:37 SR 80, Na'vi SDD, Soarin, TSM 95, Splash,105, Safari, Space, ToT 110, 7DMT 125, FoP 210
6:38 SR, Na'vi 75, SDD, 7DMT 90, Space 105, Splash 120, FoP 135
8:07 SR down to 55, SDD 70, 7DMT 85, Space 95, FoP 130

 

[Cinderella94]

Guest relations is open right now. I actually walked past ticket booths and forgot to look there. Sorry!

Great! Thank you very much.

 

[heartpumper]

With the reports of how busy the parks are right now, has anyone experienced EEMH recently? We're going next week and I'm curious. Thanks!

 

[Stargellstars]

I would highly recommend getting there by 6:00 am. Head straight to TSL and ride SDD first followed by AS and then TSM. After you have completed those three rides then go tackle MFSR. You should have a minimal wait for all three Toy Story rides. When you finish in Galaxy s Edge head to Aerosmith and TOT. Star Tours was our final ride with a 5 minute wait at 9:00 am. We used this strategy two weeks ago and it worked extremely well for our family of four. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[jina]

This has been my favorite thread to watch and our EEMH is only a week away. Thanks to all for your recommendations and keep on posting - I want to make sure the plan still makes sense (exactly what @Stargellstars just posted in #691 except instead of TOT we want to hit Oga's) although we were planning to get there around 6:15am (walking over from IG resorts) - now rethinking to get there @ 6 (which will feel like 3am pacific to us... will be quite a start to our trip...)

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Lol, we showered the night before and had our clocks set for 4:55 am but we didn't need it as we woke up before they went off. Our plan was to hit TSL first then hitSWGE but that flew out the window also as my husband was too excited and wanted to go straight to MFSR. Walked right on, then we went to Ogas to get coffee and a breakfast dish, we were headed to TSL around 6:55. AS2 was walk on SDD was posted 38 minutes but took 21. TSMM posted 13 but was walk on. Only waited for car in front to load. Talked to someone who left SR and he said he went straight to RnRC and ToT no wait then back to SDD and was on right behind us.
For us, next walk on ST and met Minnie Mickey. I was able to move ToT up to 9:15 so used that and at RnRC now. It was down earlier for around 25 minutes or so. It is 10.:03.
We also saw Darth Vader, Chewbacca and did the Mermaid attraction (all walk ins) and we were out by 10:20. Went back in the evening for dinner, Indiana Jones; to go through SWGE at a more leisurely pace and Fantasmic.
I also felt we would have been more efficient if we did TSL first, but as I said before I met someone who did MFSR, then ToT, RnRC, then back to TSL for SDD and the other attractions. As we were headed to the front he was going back to Ogas.

 

[Tissa]

We are going next week but only have one morning to do EEMH. (staying offsite rest of the time) I'm interested to see how the wait times are. It used to be that any strategies found here on the DIS were awesome because not everyone was on the DIS. Now with all the vloggers spreading the same info, I'm wondering if the strategy of going to TSL 1st will hold up for long.

I just checked and at 7:36 SR has a 30 minute wait and SDD has a 15. I'm okay with those numbers for next Saturday.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Just noting it’s raining at WDW right now. That tropical system is moving across the state this AM. May be impacting some crowds.

 

[Bobobob]

Just back from the semi-crowded Columbus Day Week at WDW and was able to hit HS on Tuesday (15th) and Friday (18th). One day we went to SWGE first and then TSL first on the second day. (We were a group of 8 with 4 kids, so our plans were a little slower with various bathroom breaks, snacks, etc. along the way.)

On the 15th, we left AKL at 5:00, waited through a long bag check, but were lined up at rope by 5:45. (About 1/2 way back in overall crowd by RD. Not bad.) Walked back to SR where it backed up to the Milk Stand. From there, we were on the ride in 24 minutes, so by 6:45ish we were off to TSL. In TSL, Slinky was posted at 40 minutes, but we rode in 24. (Slinky line was growing quickly.) After that, we were able to walk onto AS and TSM. Most of our group then went to TOT and RNR. Two of us walked back to SWGE and rode SR in the single rider line. The first single rider wait took us 22 minutes and the second only 16 minutes. So by 9, our main group rode every ride once, and me and my little guy did SR 3 times and all of TSL once. (Wandered Batuu before our Oga's reservation and victory drinks!)

On Friday the 18th, we got a little later start as we were going bagless, so left AKL around 5:25. Arrived at the park and of course, zero people in bag-check lines this time. Walked into the wait and were only slightly farther back than our previous day. We went straight to TSL, but is seemed like a lot of other people did as well! We rode Slinky twice, with waits of 15 and 28 minutes. After that we rode AS twice and TSM twice. The entire group then went to SR with a posted wait of 60 minutes, but the actual wait was only about 38 minutes. (Our only real mistake was Oga's. When we walked by at 8:00, there was no one in line and servers standing outside with menus. We could have walked right in. Our goal was to go in before opening, but by the time we got off SR, they had cut-off the stand-by line since 9:00 reservations were starting.)

If we had a choice of which strategy to follow, I would do TSL first. Yes, we got on SR quickly the first day, but that allowed TSL to get crowded quickly. When we looked at times, (before opening at 9:00) SR can almost always be done in under an hour, whereas Slinky lines were growing past 80 to 90 minutes posted before the park opened at 9:00. Your mileage may vary as we were there during a busy week and our second park day was a Friday.

Thanks to everyone who had posted over the last month! Although we had to wake up early, it was worth it to hit all the rides during EEMH.

 

[JennLTX]

Just back from the semi-crowded Columbus Day Week at WDW and was able to hit HS on Tuesday (15th) and Friday (18th). One day we went to SWGE first and then TSL first on the second day. (We were a group of 8 with 4 kids, so our plans were a little slower with various bathroom breaks, snacks, etc. along the way.)

On the 15th, we left AKL at 5:00, waited through a long bag check, but were lined up at rope by 5:45. (About 1/2 way back in overall crowd by RD. Not bad.) Walked back to SR where it backed up to the Milk Stand. From there, we were on the ride in 24 minutes, so by 6:45ish we were off to TSL. In TSL, Slinky was posted at 40 minutes, but we rode in 24. (Slinky line was growing quickly.) After that, we were able to walk onto AS and TSM. Most of our group then went to TOT and RNR. Two of us walked back to SWGE and rode SR in the single rider line. The first single rider wait took us 22 minutes and the second only 16 minutes. So by 9, our main group rode every ride once, and me and my little guy did SR 3 times and all of TSL once. (Wandered Batuu before our Oga's reservation and victory drinks!)

On Friday the 18th, we got a little later start as we were going bagless, so left AKL around 5:25. Arrived at the park and of course, zero people in bag-check lines this time. Walked into the wait and were only slightly farther back than our previous day. We went straight to TSL, but is seemed like a lot of other people did as well! We rode Slinky twice, with waits of 15 and 28 minutes. After that we rode AS twice and TSM twice. The entire group then went to SR with a posted wait of 60 minutes, but the actual wait was only about 38 minutes. (Our only real mistake was Oga's. When we walked by at 8:00, there was no one in line and servers standing outside with menus. We could have walked right in. Our goal was to go in before opening, but by the time we got off SR, they had cut-off the stand-by line since 9:00 reservations were starting.)

If we had a choice of which strategy to follow, I would do TSL first. Yes, we got on SR quickly the first day, but that allowed TSL to get crowded quickly. When we looked at times, (before opening at 9:00) SR can almost always be done in under an hour, whereas Slinky lines were growing past 80 to 90 minutes posted before the park opened at 9:00. Your mileage may vary as we were there during a busy week and our second park day was a Friday.

Thanks to everyone who had posted over the last month! Although we had to wake up early, it was worth it to hit all the rides during EEMH.

This was SUPER helpful. We'll be doing the RD thing on Saturday, and I'm definitely sticking with the TSL first plan. Thank you SO much for your detailed post!!!!

 

[sara_s]

I was also there 2 weeks ago and had great success at HS. Drove in, arrived around 5:45, grabbed a coffee, did SDD in about 5-10 min wait. Waited around 40 mins to get on MFSR. Explored GE a bit (had breakfast at Docking Bay 7, BIL walked up and was able to do Savi's in about 20 mins), then we hit RnRc (walked on around 8:30), and finished out just after 9 with Star Tours. Probably could have done all the rides by 9 but we took our time walking/shopping instead.

I'm hoping they extend the EEMH into November but haven't heard anything official...

 

[Greystar]

I did HS on 10/17. Got to the bus stop at Poly just as a bus pulled up and arrived at HS at 5:37. Got through bag check by 5:44 and was on the first SDD ride of the day in the second row. Got on TSMM at 6:07 and rode twice without getting back in line. Rode RnRC at 6:33 after waiting one ride for the front row. Did ToT at 6:45 twice (walk-on both times). Stopped at Starbucks at 7:20 and got to GE at 7:33. Walked around, took pictures, and then rode MFSR twice in the single rider line (walk-on both times). Stood in line for photopass pic in front of the ride at 8:20, then walked over to TSL and did the Jessie meet before leaving at 9:00.

 

[wisblue]

Today, we got a bus at SSR at about 5:40 and got through security and entered the park at about 6:05. Of course, the initial crush was out of the way and we walked directly to SDD where the posted wait was 10 minutes and we were on and off in 10 minutes. We then did TSMM, TOT, and RNRC (all walk ons) and got to MFSR at about 7:20. The posted wait was 30 minutes and we were on in 20. We then were able to get into Oga’s Cantina for a snack and a drink (non alcoholic), and strolled through GE for awhile and got some pictures. We had gotten our first look at GE on our arrival on Saturday night.

The TSL first approach worked perfectly for us without having to wait for park opening.