Extra Magic Hour and PARK HOP???????

[a texas aggie]

My family and I are going to WDW on 6/14-6/19. CAN"T WAIT! This is "kind of" my first time to WDW. MY DH and I went for 1/2 day on our honeymoon in "97. We are now going with DS 6 and DS 4. I have been reading everything. This site has been so helpful!!!!! I have decided to use the touring plans from the Unofficial Guide to Disney. I was also planning to make use of the Extra Magic hour for hotel guests,BUT everywhere I have read (especially in the guide books) tells me that the parks that offer the magic hour in the morning are by far more crowded than the others for that day. I wonder if I can still use the Extra magic Hour and then hop over to another park fairly early in order to use my tour guides? In order for the touring plans to work best it says I must be there early when the parks open. Can I enjoy the extra hour at one park and follow my touring plans for another park? Any ideas? Help me please. I really need to get my plans down!

 

[tcfdick]

That's exactly what I do. I go to the EMH park, then hop to another park when the EMH park gets too crowded. It's the best strategy!

 

[jaysue]

To be clear, are you thinking of going to the EMH park (remember the EMH schedule may change based on how things go from May 9-22) and then going to another park and following step 1 of the touring plan for the 2nd park?

thanks
jaysue

 

[a texas aggie]

In response to the question above. Yes I was going to try to do the EMH and still try to go to the 2nd park and follow the touring plans as close to Step 1 as possible. Is that wishful thinking?

 

[Turner5]

This is my question exactly. I am in the same boat and wondering how I should do this, too!!!!

 

[lindajo]

I am currently re-reading my UG, and the very first step in all of the tour guides is that you should be at the gate 30-40 minutes BEFORE the park opens. I don't see how you can do that if you are at an EE park. If you stayed the whole hour at the EE park, it would still take you another 45 minutes at least to get to the gate of another park. I think you would end up being at least an hour behind the tourguide at best, and from what I read, the first hour is critical. Personally, if I tried to follow that guide to the letter, I would be a nervous wreck by lunchtime.... I almost hyperventilate just reading it!! Good Luck..

 

[Turner5]

I know what you mean. I get a little nervous about trying to follow the Guide, too. I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes. If it's stressing me out, I'm done with it for the day. I am still trying to decide the best strategy.

I asked this question someplace else. I think the guy said to start at the early morning park and stay there until it gets busy. Next go to the park that isn't so busy. The Guide indicates that you can take advantage of the early hour, but then be ready to start at Step #1 before the crowds enter. You know, be ready and in position. I guess this means that you need to be in line for the first thing in step #1. This is how I read it anyway. I think we will start at the early hour and tour at that park until about 10:30 or 11:00. We are going back to our cabin until about 3:30 or 4:00 and will then go to a different park that isn't so busy.

Thanks!

 

[a texas aggie]

That is how I read my guide also. Is there ever a two hour descepency between park openings? I guess what I am trying to ask is there a chance that I could go to an EMH that began at 7:00 in the morningat MK when AK opens at 9:00 in the morning? Probably a stupid question but I don't know much about the schedules. I know some open earlier than others.

We are going on June 14-19. I have read so much about crowds that I am scared not to follow a touring plan. I am not one to worry so much about leisure I want to see as much as possible! Even though my boys are young (6 & 4). They are great theme parkers. I totally plan to get back from this vacation exhausted. I am a teacher, I will have the rest of the summer to rest up! HA!

 

[lentesta]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the heads-up on this thread, Jaysue. I write the computer software the Unofficial Guide uses for its touring plans. I'll be happy to help out.

A Texas aggie, your best bet is to follow the Guide's plan, starting at step 1, for the EMH park you're at. When you switch parks, pick up the new plan somewhere in the middle.

So, for example, if you're starting in the Magic Kingdom, start at Step 1 of the touring plan, and follow it through to, say, lunchtime. Then leave the Magic Kingdom and go to another park. Let's say that other park is Epcot. Pick up the Epcot plan right after the step that says "Eat lunch." Continue on from there.

Let me know if this doesn't make sense. For general questions on the plans, I'd prefer to answer them here, so others can read the responses. But if you have a specific question, feel free to drop me a note: testa@ncat.edu.

Thanks very much for reading the Guide.

Sincerely,

Len Testa

 

[Turner5]

This was my plan, but I was also confused about where in the middle to start at the new park. It doesn't seem to me that all of the plans tell you when to "eat lunch" or where the break really is. It seems like some did, like Epcot Sunrise/Sunset Plan, but that some of the others did not. Of course, the Guide did seem to indicate that as long as you got through the mornings, the afternoons were not as crucial. Is this correct?

 

[a texas aggie]

Thank you lentesta! Now I can start to write my touring plans! That makes a lot of sense!
One more question, How bad are the crowds In the middle of June. Are we talking about 2 to 3 hour waits if you don't follow a plan?

 

[lentesta]

Turner5, anywhere around steps 8-10-ish should be a good rule of thumb for the comprehensive touring plans. Feel free to e-mail me with specific questions.

a texas aggie, crowds at the most popular attractions (e.g., Splash, Space, Test Track, ToT, etc.) will be at least an hour during mid-day in most of June, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the lines approached two hours. I would guess that following the Guide's touring plans will save you at least 3, and possibly up to 5 hours of standing in line per day.

Hope this helps. Let me know if there's anything else we can do.

Sincerely,

Len Testa

 

[Turner5]

Lentista, thank you so much. This will help me. I truly am going to try and follow this guide. I want to avoid extremely long lines as much as possible. Unfortunately, I don't have as much patience as I use to have!!! I need to have it though. I have three kids counting on me!!! This is our first time to Disney. I'm sure I will have more questions in the future. How do I e-mail you if I can't find this post?

 

[Turner5]

Lentesta,

I'm sorry I misspelled your name in the previous post!

 

[lentesta]

Not a problem. My e-mail address is testa@ncat.edu.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[Turner5]

Thanks!!!!