Extra Magic Hours- To use them or not?

[momof2inapril06]

We are visiting for our 1st time April 19th-26th. I am workign with a Disney Specialist and she HIGHLY recommended that we stear clear of the parks that have the extra magic hours that day due to high volume that week.

I am kinda bummed as one of the perks of staying on site is to use those hours. We have a 5 1/2 year old and almost 3 year old and would love to hit a couple of parks a bit early so we can knock out some things before it gets too busy.

I was thinking of using our park hopper passes and going to a place early and then leaving around early afternoon for naps and then hitting another park in the afternoon.

Thoughts? Would you use the EMH or take the advice of the Disney Specialist?

Thanks!
Brenda

 

[mjkacmom]

Since young kids tend to be up early, I'd hit the EMH park at rope drop, spend a few hours there, back to the resort, and then another park.

 

[bgirl29]

I think your plan sounds perfect. Sometimes the park that has emh can get crowded, but if you have hoppers that is the best way to see the most rides. If you can be there for park opening you should be able to ride alot more than you would be able to later in the day.

 

[adventure_woman]

My DD2 is an early riser, so we had NO trouble being at the park aroung 7:30-7:45 for rope drop at 8:00. I always shoot for early EMH. BUT, you'll want to leave around 11 or so, it will be too busy. We never did the evening EMH, she goes to be too early (being out to 9 is really pushing it for her).

 

[ascolti]

If they are early birds, do the rope drop thing. Otherwise they are going to be REALLY tired by days end.

It might be better to do rope drop, do three hours, go home for a nap (if they will sleep!) then go back. If they sleep for a couple of hours this is fine.

However, 3 and 5 year old are not really going to appreciate the dark parks as much as our 5, 9 and 10 year old.

Get their early.

 

[mrstomrice]

We swear by the EMH morning hours. We have not hopped the past 2 trips and had few issues with the crowds during busy summer months. The last trip the boys were almost 2 and 4. We get to the emh park for rope drop and have had luck doing the following:
MK: All of Fantasyland, beginning with Dumbo. We can do everything there in less than an hour with very little wait, then leave the area for the rest of the day, heading over towards BTMRR and Splash to get which ever fastpasses are more convenient. We ride one, then hears towards POTC or HM. We never wait more than 15 minutes in a line...no need to!
DHS: DH goes to Toy Story Mania for fastpasses at rope drop. We headed to Playhouse Disney Live and Little Mermaid, then TOT and RNRC.
EPCOT: Head directly to Soarin for fastpass, then ride Nemo and head over to character greeting and Test Track or Spaceship Earth.
AK: Head directly to Safari as a group..>DH has headed to Everest to get fastpasses and meets us at the end of the line, as it takes longer with the stroller (no line cutting Then we head to the walking trail and Camp Minnie Mickey and Festival of the Lion King, then we make our way over to EE.

Just know that with early EMH, you are getting an hour head start on everyone else. When they are arriving to the popular area, you are leaving it. It takes some planning and good use of fastpasses, but it is so worth it!

 

[DISNEYNV]

We were also advised to stead clear of the EMHs. We have used them in the past and have to AGREE with this strategy. The only exception would be early hours. We have had good luck with the parks early admission but the evening is crazy! And trying to get a bus afterwards...good luck!

 

[ashisdancin2]

When I was young my parents always went home for a middle afternoon nap and back for the later hours(Back then it wasn't called extra magic hours although I can't remember what it was called). If I wasn't tired we'd watch tv or take a dip in the pool. That plan worked excellent and it's not as crowded as you would expect because believe it or not a ton of WDW goers stay off site because they don't know the excellent benifits like free transportation/parking.

Tip: Call and get a wake up call at an odd time(6:47 for exampe) and let your kids answer it and a disney character like Mickey or Goofy will call and make waking up in the morning a lot better for them.

 

[momof2inapril06]

thank you! So, if you had to pick 2 parks to do early EMHs at, which would they be? I think we will try 2 of them!

Bren

 

[mooneyda]

I would for sure use EMH especially with a young child and get out of the park before the crowds get to full

 

[mrstomrice]

thank you! So, if you had to pick 2 parks to do early EMHs at, which would they be? I think we will try 2 of them!

Bren

I recommend MK for sure. I guess DHS would be 2nd due to the trouble in getting fastpasses for Toy Story Mania. Another thought would be AK because the animals tend to be more active in the earlier hours and the overall park hours are shorter. We've had good luck at all parks using early EMH.

 

[adventure_woman]

MK for sure - DUMBO DUMBO DUMBO!! Also, if you wanted to see Ariel (sometimes she is there before 10am) and/or the princesses and the fairies.

Then, I would say DHS - for TSM. That is crazy. There was no chance we could ride on it if not for getting there early. Get a FP if needed.

Oh, I forgot, you MAY be able to do evening EMH for AK. We went on a late safari - it was almost 5pm (the park closed at 5), and it was AWESOME! But, make sure you go about 1/2 hr before the last safari, they start bringing in the animals before the safari is over.

 

[zarvgirl]

I too am going to WDW for first time with my family and was so on the fence what to do about emh.
It's so great to have the Dis and get all this insider info by those of you who have done it.

 

[8disneyfans]

We have 6 kiddos and we do take advantage of EMH. It depends on what time of year you go. We went in spring and fall the three times we have been.
We go to EMH in the morning and then hop to the park that has it in the evening. It didn't seem to be too crowded, especially the morning.
Have fun on your first trip!!! There is nothing like it (expect your 2nd,3rd, ect )

Oh can you tell me what a Disney specialist is???

 

[mom_to_2]

Since young kids tend to be up early, I'd hit the EMH park at rope drop, spend a few hours there, back to the resort, and then another park.

I think this id definitely the way to go!

 

[srwarden1928]

A key in this decision is do you hop?

Those of us who do NOT hop should avoid EMH like the plague. The EMH parks tend to be extra busy during the day, so much more can be accomplished by hitting rope drop at a nonEMH park.

Those who DO hop can enjoy the EMH then hop to a recommended park for the bulk of the day, then hop again to the PM EMH if they want.

Paying $50 + tax per person may be worth it to you. This will make the EMH more positive. If you choose to save the money and not hop, those EMH parks will likely get so busy later that you lose your advantage.

 

[star sweeper]

We did the early magic hours, which was great at MK and AK this past week. However, we avoided the park with the late magic hours. Those parks began filling up around noon when we left for naps, so we hopped to another park after naptime and had no problems getting on rides quickly.

 

[PrincessAtta]

...hop to whichever park had EMH the previous day.