Extra Magic . . . Is it a mistake???

[icarus]

I've been reading about the Extra Magic hours, and read that because so many people from the resorts go to the parks during these times, that the crowds are actually bigger than when the park does not have the extra open times.

I have already made reservations that involve going to the parks during the extra magic hour times, and now I have second thoughts. I am thinking of changing the times when we are going to the parks to avoid the magic hour all together, and just cancel the reservations that we can.

What has been the experience with regard to crowds during the extra hours time?
(we are going the first week in October)

 

[Robo]

I've been reading about the Extra Magic hours...

I'm amazed at the folks who just "never go" to EMH's.

Each EMH experience can be different.

I always go to AM EMH (virtually every day of the trip
that we did not do a PM EMH late the night before)...
never ONCE regretted an AM EMH... they are amazingly
empty and easy to ride the open attractions.
If that park THEN starts to fill 2 to 3 hours later...
Were happy with "doing" that park for the day and we
can HOP elsewhere or do lunch and take a rest until
later.

PM EMH's are a mixed bag. I've been when they were
PACKED... but on other nights (sometimes within the
same trip), the crowds were basically so low that it
was like "free rides" on all the open attractions.

Those who have attended PM EMH's and say that "they
are TOO CROWDED" are right... but ONLY for the nights
they may have attended.
I can say, from personal experience, that they CAN be
EMPTY, or FULL or somewhere IN-BETWEEN for attendance,
often within the same week.

On our most recent late-April trip from WDW,
we went to PM EMH at AK on a Wed night and PM EMH at MK
on a Sun night.
The EMH's were so EMPTY that we could have stayed on many attractions and ridden around and around.
This included Splash, BTM, and Pirates (and many more) at
MK, and Exp. Everest, Kali, and Dinosaur at AK. And
the crowds during the DAY at these parks were very
LARGE... within the first hour of EMH, they simply
"evaporated."

But, it can change so much (either way), that saying
it was "like X" on a given night, can be meaningless
on another night in the same time-period. So, you
simply don't KNOW unless you go. Its similar to saying
that you attended on a given night and it rained, so
guests should never go on that night because it will
probably be rainy.

The rule seems to be, it is far easier for guests to
STAY UP at the end of the day, than it is for them to
GET UP at the start of the day.

But, considering EMH's are FREE to attend... if its
busy, just people-watch or hit the exit (where ELSE
are ya gonna go at 10pm, anyway?)
But if its not busy... you're ALL SET for EXTRA FUN!

 

[tommymac5]

My experience has been that during busy times EMH tend to be very busy. At slower times of the year my wife and I really enjoy evening EMH's.

 

[MOmousefan]

We always take advantage of AM EMHs. When used with the FastPass, you can experience several of the big attarctions before the parks open later. On our last trip in June we used PM EMH for the first time and I enjoyed this more than the AM. We went to MK on a Friday night in June and after the second Spectro (11:00). the park started to thin out. By 1:00 AM I was walking on any ride I wished, but the best thing was taking pictures with no one in the shot.

 

[Redbudlover]

I have been using TGM and he is interesting on this subject. Some evening EMH days he recommends and others he doesn't, depending upon a lot of factors that sound very logical. I have used evening EMHs before and sometimes found them busy and sometimes not - I am wondering if it is due to factors TGM is talking about. I am going to try to follow his suggestions this time and see what happens. Like the PP said, however, where else are you going to go at 10 pm and if it is busy just leave and if it is not, enjoy yourself!

 

[queenofhartz]

I used Tour Guide Mike for our last trip. Some days he recommends EMH and others, he doesn't. We followed his recommendations and found them to be true. I thought his reviews, website, and suggestions were worth the cost. You might look into his website.

 

[ryley26]

We found EMH'S in summer to be hit or miss. So many people read these forums and get TGM that they avoid EMH. I say always go AM people tend to not get up early on vacation. PM are hit or miss take a chance if you really want to go. I think that many listen and avoid EMH that leads to other parks being as full.Its Disney the parks are always full get there early and you will be fine.

 

[Andyjo0930]

We were there a couple of weeks ago and had planned to be in both MK and MGM when they had pm EH's. We had this planned figuring that we could take a break during the day because of the heat, and then we would have more time in the parks when we came back at night. At MK, it was not that bad. A lot of people were leaving after the spectromagic parade and then again after the fireworks. We were able to get on a bus with no problem. On the other hand, we decided not to go back to MGM and hit DTD instead. My sister and her family went back to MGM for the pm EH's. I texted her at 11:00 to tell her we were on our way back to the hotel and were going swimming and shortly after she texted me back to let me know that there was about 500 people in line for the all star resorts. She ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel (not bad only 9 bucks) and actually when she asked somebody if there was any place around there to do this, a few other families followed her. She said the park was crowded, the lines were long, and the bus line was just plain crazy!

 

[crelange1]

Just got back today...
We went to MK EMH on Sunday. It was a disaster. There were so many people. Waits were much longer than during the day. However, all EMH's may not be like that. MK was open until 1am. In my opinion, my kids are 7 and 10 and the 10pm-1am time is just too late for them. It ruins them for the next day too. Just my two cents.
Chris

 

[DznyDreamz]

I wonder if the EMH are more crowded during the free DDP promotion? As I understand it, there is a higher ratio of guests staying in the resorts during free dining so it would certainly affect the percentage of people who leave the park and are not eligible for the EMH??? Just a thought?

 

[wirki]

Just got back today...
We went to MK EMH on Sunday. It was a disaster. There were so many people. Waits were much longer than during the day. However, all EMH's may not be like that. MK was open until 1am. In my opinion, my kids are 7 and 10 and the 10pm-1am time is just too late for them. It ruins them for the next day too. Just my two cents.
Chris

I was there on Sunday too. It was really crowded the whole time. The crowds never seemed to thin. We FP Buzz but none left for Space Moutain. That wait was 50 min so we decided to skip it. Yet we did not wait more than 30 min for anything we rode. I usually go in Nov/Dec and the crowds are not as bad.

I think the other posters are right. You just never know.

Oh and we went to MGM studios am hours and it was fine. There were people but you could use the FP system better because they have not run out yet. At Pm hours the FP's are usually gone.

Hope this helps
Debbie

 

[BabyFu18]

I find AM EMH to be more crowded than PM EMH for some reason (but it also depends on the park), last year we did EMH at Epcot and the park really cleared out quickly and so EMH was really cool and not bad at all. Now we usually go to Disney in July so of course there is always a crowd, but neither EMH ever seemed more crowded than the peak of the day.

 

[Tigger1221]

We love EMH nights! I had TGM once, he said not to go. As with all of his other advice I ignored it and did what I wanted. No waits at all.

 

[buckylarue]

EMH's are horrible! Morning and evening ones! I discourage anybody from going to any of them...especially between September 23rd and 28th!

 

[SereneOne]

Maybe it is the time of year too. We are going during the second week of December. We went last year around this time and mostly walked on rides or had short waits. Now we did not do the rollercoasters, I would have to ask my teens. I figure though if it was that easy to get on rides during normal hours, maybe it will be even easier during EMH/pm.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I agree with most that morning EMH's are always worth getting up early for. Afternoon/evening ones are a mixed bag, but worth it more often than not in my experience. We're hitting all early EMH's we can next trip, and a couple of PM ones.

 

[ShuisFan584]

I think it mostly just has to do with the time of year. We've gone to evening EMH in late August, mid January and late May, and they've always been great! We've never noticed heavier crowds when we go to parks that have EMH. If you're going in October, that's usually a slower time, so I don't think you really have anything to worry about.

 

[MassMom94]

We did evening EMH at AK last week and it wasn't worth it - too few attractions open. We did Lion King and that was it, as we were not willing to wait 50 minutes for EE or Dinosaur. And this was during a relatively slow season!

The only early EMH we did this time was LOMH and that was a lot of fun.

I think I am cured of EMHs.

 

[Enchanted]

EMH's are horrible! Morning and evening ones! I discourage anybody from going to any of them...especially between September 23rd and 28th!

Robo, I think we might've been there at the exact same times in April because our experiences with evening EMH during that time are practically identical! In fact, if it weren't for evening EMH, we might not have gotten anything done at all! We literally walked on such rides as ToT, RNRC, Kali (we rode this one five times around without getting off...we were soaked! ), EE, and Space Mountain. It was great!

 

[melanieh1]

What about Memorial Day week and 1st week of June? How are the early and late EMH's? I am trying to decide if I need park hopper tickets for those times.Thanks for any info.