Extra Magic Hour strategies???

[cantwait!]

I have read mixed thoughts on Extra Magic Hours....what would you guys suggest?
Going to the park that has the extra magic hour that day and staying there the whole day? Going to the park that has EMH that day and then hopping when it gets busy? Avoiding the park tha thas EMH that day? Or hopping to the park that has EMH that night and just begin your day at another park that a.m.? Help!

 

[MinMouse]

If your group are early risers I would recommend going to the a.m. EMH park. We usually go til lunch then hop to another park or back to the hotel for a swim then on to another park. Our experience with evening EMH has been that the park is just mobbed and we can get done more in one hour of a.m. EMH than three hours of p.m.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

We tend to avoid EMH. We normally pick a less crowded park (per UG) and arrive at opening.

Sometimes after dinner we will head over to MK when it is open untill 2:00am. The crowds at MK EMH started to thin out a little after midnight on our last visit. But other than that we avoid EMH.

 

[notnothin]

We typically take advantage of EMH and then plan the rest of the day according to the crowd level.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

On my familes last trip to WDW we did EMH in the morning & got to the parks before they opened, so we got to see a lot of attractions. So I say if you can get there before they let you threw the gates, you can see a lot of attractions.

 

[Dznypal]

did a park that had EMH the nite before in the AM

so we got to WDW Tues which was EPCOT late nite we got there around 10am on Wed this way we missed the first rush of people

this worked so good--

we did and saw everything we wanted to by 6pm!!!

we went on things we havent done in a long time since lines were usually to long
most waits were 15 to 20 minutes long---the only thing we FP was Soarin'!!!

we didnt have time to go on things again since we only had 3 full days but we saw everything we wanted to

it was just great!!!!

 

[Psychometrika]

My advice is to look at the parks. They are very, very different, as are the times.

AK - Both A.M and P.M. hours tend to be pretty good ideas. The P.M. in particular, as the crowds really thin out after 5 or 6.

MGM - Can be cool in A.M. but only because there are so few rides to go on. Get a FP for one and ride the other. The P.M. can be a hassle as many people are there for Fantasmic anyway and hang around.

EPCOT - A.M. is O.K. but not terrific. Future World is pretty spread out and if you REALLY want to take advantage of that single hour, you've got to hustle. Nevertheless, because of the distances between rides, you should get on one or two with little wait. P.M. is much better, even though the World Showcase is open later.

MK - This is the real problem. A.M. I find to be a zoo. Tomorrowland and parts of Fantasyland are open, but they tend to get really crowded, really fast and often don't have the F.P. open in the magic hour. The P.M. is better, but still very, very crowded as everyone wants to see the fireworks. While all parks have fireworks, MK seems uniquely problematic for exiting in crowds.

Remember too - everything depends on the season. Off seasons, everything works better even though the extra magic is limited.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Zoie]

I have a question about EMH in Epcot. On the day we're planning to go to Epcot, Future World closes at 7, and World Showcase at 9:30. What does that mean for evening EMH? That Future World is open until 10 and World Showcase until 12:30? Or will the whole park close at 10? If World Showcase is open to the public until 9:30, how will they know which people in Future World are allowed to be riding rides and which ones aren't after 7? How is this handled?

 

[Panna]

When I check on the Disney site, it show's which parks have EMH, but how do you know if they are morning or Evening?

Color me a tad confused.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

When I check on the Disney site, it show's which parks have EMH, but how do you know if they are morning or Evening?

Color me a tad confused.

It should say EMH morning & EMH evening. So if you look carefully you can figure out which is which. Also you can get a times guide while at WDW, saying which parks have upcomming EMH for moning & evenings.

 

[SnwflkCts]

Going to try Extra Magic Hours in the morning at MK in November ... hope it isn't too much of a zoo but I will find out!

Hey Panna -- when you go to the monthly hours at the WDW site ... click on the link in the monthly calendar on whatever day/park calendar you are in where it says Extra Magic Hours. It takes you to another page that lists August 06 - Feb 07 at the moment and says which parks are EMH morning and which are night. Also at the bottom are the rides open during EMH.

Here is the link to that page: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/extraMagicHour?id=CalendarExtraMagicHoursPage

 

[Psychometrika]

Indeed on the Disney home pages there are calendars as well as lists of extra hours. The extra hours are a bit clumsy...they should just put them on the calendar, but instead they list the specific parks in a "list" that looks like:

Extra Magic Evening Hours
Animal Kingdom 2, 11, 23 etc.

As for how they distinguish eligible riders ... about 5 O'Clock in the magic park, they begin handing out hospital style wristbands. Be SURE to bring ALL your room keys or the ticket if it's on the same thing. You get in line - usually short - show one person your key - they'll swipe it through a machine - then go to the net person - they'll put on the wristband. If you can't see a wristband station, just ask. They're usually placed at the entrance to the World Showcase, on either side of Future World and here and here. Just ask a CM.

When you go to get onto a ride, they'll be checking for wristbands... they do a great job.

Enjoy!

 

[JulielovesDisney]

We also usually avoid those parks. They tend to be busier. The AM EMH makes the whole day busier, and PM EMH makes the park busier after dinner.

But if you are going to do one, then plan on doing the popular rides during the day, not during EMH. A lot of people tend to do the more popular rides during EMH. Then do the less popular rides during the EMH. This way, you can almost walk on them and get more rides done.

 

[Caitsmama]

Yes, we will be one of the wacko's at MK on Thanksgiving day for A.m. EMH!! LOL But, my dd wants to go on Dumbo, and that is the only time i am willing to do it!! LOL We are going also a couple days before, So, hopefully it will just basically be Fantasyland for EMH..

 

[Dan Murphy]

Welcome to the DIS, cantwait!

I avoid the EMH parks, I prefer less crowded to early or late.

 

[wdwobsessed]

I have read mixed thoughts on Extra Magic Hours....what would you guys suggest?
Going to the park that has the extra magic hour that day and staying there the whole day? Going to the park that has EMH that day and then hopping when it gets busy? Avoiding the park tha thas EMH that day? Or hopping to the park that has EMH that night and just begin your day at another park that a.m.? Help!

I didn't read the other responses first so sorry if this is a repeat!

I would say go to the AM EMH and then leave for either an afternoon break or hop over to another park no later than noon when the crowds start to swell. The biggest challenge with AM EMH is getting everyone up that early on vacation! If you can do it I think it's worth it.

As far as PM EMH I (as you) have heard mixed reviews. Logic would tell me that people (who don't know any better) would opt to sleep in and hit the park later in the day ... planning on staying for EMH ... at least until they tire out. So if you can go to the latter part of a PM EMH it may be more benificial than say hitting the first hour of it.

For the most part we are hitting the park that just had EMH on the day before with two exeptions ... we are doing MGM & MK for AM EMH, but will probably only stay about 2 - 3 hours for each one ... hitting another park later in the day. We have other non EMH days in those parks as well.

WDWO

 

[MickeyMaz]

We are planning which day in each park based on the EMH days.
We get into Orland at 9:00 on a Wednesday. I figure by time we get to the Poly and check in it'll be 11:00. We'll try to get a little lunch at Capt. Cooks and then head to A.K. which has EMH for that night. Since the hours for AK are 9-5(8 hrs.), we still have eight hours there if we need if we get to the park by noon. And, if the park does thin out around 5 or 6, cay you say, 'ride everest till I puke' ?

And, the moral of the story, I won't feel as bad wasting this day at the 'half day' park and EMH played a part.

 

[Panna]

Heh thanks for pointing out the non bolded wording at the top. I have stared at that page many times and just ignored what it was. Sheesh!

Thanks a bunch!