Extra Magic Hours or Not?

[Davey Jones II]

Currently, all the parks (except Epcot) have EMH every day. Realistically, how early do you have to wake up in order to be in the park for a 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. EEMH?

On our upcoming trip, we will mostly be aiming to close parks. Wait times steadily drop as it gets closer to closing time. Headliners are more accessible than at rope drop!

 

[mdsouth]

I agree that getting teenage boys up and out for RD is going to be a challenge! I think my best bet is going to be to have a few RD days with a couple of days when we sleep in and don’t go to the parks until late afternoon/evening. I think the only EMEH we might do is MK when the park is open to 12am. We’ve never done that before, and it sounds like it could be fun!

That has always been our strategy too... from back to the Tour Guide Mike days! We always avoided the EMH parks like the plague. However, since I’ve come back to reading/researching for our upcoming trip I seem to be seeing so many people saying they are going to RD, I thought that avoiding them might have changed???

I still like the idea of MK super late... does anyone have any experience with that?

Years ago, MK had a late night and stayed open to 1 am. I went with my teenage son and we had a fantastic time! We loved riding the rides and closing down the park. A definite win for us.

Thanks everyone! We will not have park hoppers. Never got them before and have always gone back in the afternoon for a swim/rest and then headed back in the evening. I think I will stick with the old strategy of avoiding EMMH but still going to RD. We have TP, so I will see what they suggest for best park days but also doing the schedule that works best for us. My boys will be 17 and are fine with RD, but I’m sure wouldn’t mind a morning to sleep in.

I never have park hoppers and we just do the mid day break. It works well for us.

We could get there early enough, but we don’t have park hopper tickets so I’m worried that the parks are going to be super crowded later. Our plan is to hit RD and stay until lunch then come back in the evening. It’s way too hot for me to stay all day. I think we’ve may have one day where we sleep in and hit the parks in the evening... that might be the MK night when there is the EMEH until 12am.

Again, I plan to do the same thing. Go early to the park, head back to the resort for a break midday and then go back to the park in the evening. I figure if that doesn't work then we can leave the park and do a little resort hopping or head to Disney Springs or back to our resort for late night swimming which is always fun.

 

[SamFaniam]

I still like the idea of MK super late... does anyone have any experience with that?

A couple of years ago, MK had a 11 PM closing with EMH until 2 AM. That was a wonderful night. It was a little bit chilly, and the park was not really crowded. The last thing we did before we left was take a picture in front of the castle with no one there! If the hours of your trip are like that, I would definitely recommend the night EMH.

 

[3smithboys]

Thanks again for all of your replies. We aren’t going until July, so I’m not sure how much the park hours will change between now and then. I don’t think the real park hours are even published? I’m basing my plan on what TP has on their website. I guess it’s all subject to change.