Extra Magic Hours are they worth it?

[Maresc]

We are staying on property and have read the Extra Magic Hours are not really worth it and those parks are typically more crowded on that day than any other park. I've also read that it would be wise to visit the park that had Extra Magic Hours on the previous day as that park won't be as crowded. Any logic? Suggestions, advice, etc. greatly appreciated.

 

[jmkjr72]

We have always gone in the slower times and never really noticed a diffrence in crowds
I will say if you go to the park with am emh at regular opening you will be behind the power curve

 

[wdwjeffc37]

We always make good use of EMH, but we always buy Parkhopper passes. We hit the AM EMH and get a lot done first thing in the morning and then when the park gets too crowded we hop to another park. We will usually hop to the PM EMH park in the late afternoon if we want to take advantage of the extra time. If the park is open really late, you can get a lot done in the final couple of hours that the park is open. Be sure to check and see which attractions are operating during EMH as not all of them are. I there are not a lot of things that interest you it might not be worth it. Do some research and have fun. Cheers!!!!!

 

[willowsnn3]

Early morning hours are the greatest!

 

[MrKnight]

IMO its most worth it for Evening EMH as it is normally longer than Morning EMH and more attractions are open.. Evening EMH is essentially an extension of park hours and has more of an impact allowing you to enjoy the magic at night!

 

[Maresc]

Thanks for your replies and help. As all of you have suggested, EMH are great and will be taking advantage of those.

 

[MrKnight]

Early morning hours are the greatest!

I guess it is a matter of opinion, I beg to differ, I prefer Evening EMH..

 

[buzznina]

Our family love evening EMH Outside rides seem so much better at night, especially BTMRR.

 

[tstidm1]

The question you should be asking yourself is whether you can be at a Bus stop or in the car between 6:45 AM and 7:00 AM for an Morning EMH and/or up until 11 PM or later for Evening EMH. I'm not able to do either of those things easily. I generally avoid both due to it being significantly more crowded during the 12 Noon-5 PM timeframes.

 

[lovndisney12]

I think it depends on how heavy the crowds will be at the time you go- but all in all - we have had excellent success in the first hours the parks are open. If there is an EMH it just extends those precious hours a little longer. Please note that not all rides are open during EMH so make sure to look at the list. We have gone over Christmas and I'm not sure how we would get in all we want and without the horrible crowds without AM EMH rope drop.

 

[lovndisney12]

The question you should be asking yourself is whether you can be at a Bus stop or in the car between 6:45 AM and 7:00 AM for an Morning EMH and/or up until 11 PM or later for Evening EMH. I'm not able to do either of those things easily. I generally avoid both due to it being significantly more crowded during the 12 Noon-5 PM timeframes.

Absolutely correct! We love AM EMH but we also are ready to leave the parks by mid afternoon for a rest (and my "little ones" are 14 and 17 - and the rest is probably more for my DH and me). We then can head back to the parks, boardwalk, or Disney Springs in the evening.

 

[DVCcurious]

Evening EMH are only good after midnight. The Epcot, HS, and 10PM MK extra magic hours are jam packed.

Morning extra magic hours are always great.

 

[willowsnn3]

I guess it is a matter of opinion, I beg to differ, I prefer Evening EMH..

I love both but I am an early riser anyway and love being out in the early hours, lol. That being said we have been known to open a park at 7am (during Spring break trips), leave around noon for a meal and pool time, go back to a park (MK) at 10pm and stay til 3am then get up and do it again the next day.

 

[disneydude365]

totally worth it its extra time in the park without non resort guests usually we end up getting 1 night on our day trips if our park has EMH option

 

[Dan Murphy]

We like emh as it lets us know what park/s to not visit. We prefer the lower crowds of the non emh parks.

 

[norjack]

If used properly they are. Since those parks will be more popular that particular day, make sure you plan accordingly. Be in that park before the masses come at regular gate opening, and then leave before it gets flooded so you can hop to another park. That's what we like to do anyway.

 

[lustergirl]

We like evening EMH.

 

[Linda T.]

We always do the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom EMH. But the park is usually packed by noon and that is when we head back to our resort for pool time.

 

[ArielSRL]

We are avoiding all AM EMH because to get there we would need to be up around 5:30 and we don't want to do that. As it is we will get up around 6:30 to do rope drop on non EMH mornings. We really pretty much tried to avoid all EMH because of the AM issue and bc we have a 2 yr old and 4.5 yr old so they probably won't be able to last that late at night (even with a daily break). We are going in June and I'm fairly certain they will extend hours anyway, so EMH really isn't necessary. Unfortunately, even though we tried to avoid it, the schedule changed, or else I messed up, and we will be at DHS one EMH night. Its the last night of our trip so I doubt we will take too much advantage of it, but I'll have to wait til closer to the dates to see the true hours before I decide for certain.

 

[ParrotBill]

I agree with the posters about morning EMH - you need to be a morning family and be able to get there by opening time to take advantage - and wait until EMH is done to have breakfast! That hour goes by fast and it's a lot of effort for a few rides. Worth it if the season is crowded and you can get out early.

Evening EMH is my favorite, as my teenage daughter is a late owl and not an early bird. So she and I stay late - the later you stay the less crowded it gets. We were able to almost walk on 7 Dwarves in the last hour the last time we did it.