Extra Magic Hour... Yes or No?

[Montana Disney Fan]

We've been going to WDW for a long time now and what used to be Early Entry is now called Extra Magic Hour. Regardless of the name, we've always AVOIDED these parks like the plague.

Are we making a mistake?

My kids wake up early yet start to "turn" around mid-afternoon so EMH for the evenings would be something we probably couldn't do anyway. The only thing up for consideration is the morning EMH.

We've always avoided EMH under the assumption that these would be the busiest parks in WDW after 10 a.m. so we always figured we were being smart by going to other parks and thus avoiding the crowds.

What strategies do you use for EMH and should we consider using them?

Thanks, MDF

 

[disneydoula]

We're not morning people, so the morning EMH didn't interest us. However, we tried visiting parks according to the evening EMH and for us, it was a nightmare. The crowds were too much and it just took too long to get back to the hotel.

For some people, it might work. But for this family of 5, it definitely did not.

 

[manticore]

We sometimes do EMH in the morning and you are right by 11 it is very busy. By then we are usually gone, if not to another park then to the hotel have some lunch, pool time and a nap if needed, then off to another park. Gives the kids the extra sleep needed to keep those youngsters (and me) from getting tired and crabby. It also works well as far as getting on rides, as we are often eating slightly off schedule and hit the restaurants early and then are on rides while most people are standing in lines for food. Remember if you do a EMH morning and decide to go to another park after, try the one that was late the night before. This is especially the case with MK which is sometimes open til 3 am. The place is usually dead til lunch time the next day.

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Morning |EMH was a nightmare, we got on 2 rides and we only got on one of those because a CM gave us a front of line pass as it was our honeymoon. I LOVED evening EMH though. Couldn't you get them to have an afternoon nap and try the evening?

 

[Tink]

Our family generally does MK for early entry. We have two DDs, ages 4 & 7 and they are Dumbo crazy. The go to MK early, hit most of Fantasyland with little or no wait, and then hop to another park. After 11am, the lines in Fantasyland are too long. With the exception of me, my family has all early risers, but hey, it's amazing how fast I can get up when I'm there.

We don't do the evening EMH, since the kids do get up early, they are out cold by 9pm the latest. This just works better for us now. I do see a future where I have teens and they are gonna want to sleep late. I'll change the game plan then.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I say NO... too crowded! Better to avoid them like the plague, always has worked wonders for me!

 

[jenga1030]

I think it all depends on what time of year you are at Disney World. We always go during the least crowded times and morning (and evening) EMH are great!

But if you are there during peak times, I hear they get pretty crowded. But you could always go early, do the EMH and then hop to another park or go back to your hotel when the EMH park gets crowded.

 

[newchic99]

We just did this last week. We did the early park. Got in the rides we wanted . Left around noon and then went to the evening park for a while.
It was just the 2 of us, no children to worry about getting too tired.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

We go every October.

I like the idea of hitting the parks that were EMH the night before. Great tip!!

 

[oogieboogie]

We almost always do the EMH mornings, especially at MK and Epcot. MK has the most rides open for EMH morning and we can usually finish up by 11am/12pm - by that time we're starving anyway and ready to get out of the park to eat lunch. Epcot we do because we like to get in Soarin' more than 1 or 2 times and morning EMHs lets us do that. MGM and AK we don't normally do EMH at all because the offerings aren't things that our kids would do and they're pretty slim pickings.

We don't do EMH evenings unless it's low low times, like September. I find that EMH evenings are way more crowded than necessary. What I like to do is go to the park that had EMH evening the day after the EMH evening. I find the next day, most of the people go to the next EMH park and the park that had EMH evening is less crowded.
This worked on Memorial Day this past Monday. MK had EMH evening on Sunday, which was really crowded - even Snow White's Scary Adventure had a line! Well, MK was open til 2am that day. On Monday, we went to MK right at 9am (opening time) and we breezed thru Splash, Big Thunder, HM and was able to do those rides by 10am, which by then started to get crowded.

 

[Kick Save]

Put us in the "Avoid Like Plague" category.

 

[mrstomrice]

I absolutely recommend you going for morning emh. We were there for busy spring break week, when MK EMH was 7 am. We got to the park by 7:15 and were able to get through Fantasyland without any problem. All rides were done by 8:00, with even our own boat on ssmall world. I don't think the mid day crowds were that bad...we will always do the parks this way. As for AK, we were able to ride the safari without wait and the animals were awesome...even the lion was up and roaring! Then we headed towrds EE to get a fastpass for later, then enjoyed the rest of the park. AK tends to feel busier then it is due to the small walkways...that was the only park where I felt crowded. HAve fun!