Extra Magical Hours

[jeannie1962]

We are going to Disney August 6th, there are 5 of us, myself and my husband, our 22 yr old daughter and 16 yr old son and 17 yr old nephew.

Are the extra magical hours worth it to pay the extra $$ to stay on property?
We are toying with the idea and would love to know what everyone thinks.

Besides yes or no, can you explain what you like/dislike about the extra hours.

Thank you so much for your advise.

 

[kilee]

The evening EMH hours have been reported as being pretty busy. Aside from that, how early of risers are you?

We stay onsite or offsite depending on who is going, time of year, how long we're staying, ect

Anyhow, during the HOT, HOT, HOT months staying onsite would be a must for me. I'm not a big fan of mid-day breaks most of the time. However, when it's 90+ and very humid it's nice to get that little break. Being onsite really makes it a lot easier to do. I'd spend the extra money in August just for this.

 

[jeannie1962]

The heat does not bother us, we live in Naples Florida, so we definately get our share of heat and humidity, even more, since we are 3 hrs south of Orlando.
We would probably take more advantage of the evening hours, but we usually stay at the park all day, all we do at the hotel is sleep and shower.

We are only there for 3 days this time, so we want to make the most of it!

thanks!

 

[Ashes8380]

as someone who is around the age as some of the people you're traveling with (i'm 21), I have to say that i LOVED the evening hours. My last disney trip was with a friend of mine, and we stayed as late as possible, so that we could sleep in later in the morning. I think the evening hours are a godsend for anyone who hates mornings. As far as crowds go, we found it to be inconsistent. I remember the one in MGM was deserted (literally no wait time) while the Magic Kingdom was still rather crowded.

 

[jeannie1962]

Thanks for the info

does anyone know if there are other hotels that offer Extra Magic Hours other that on Property?

 

[Harmony]

The EMH were horrible when we went. (2nd wk in June) It was busier during those hours than during regular hours. JMO

 

[Mister Disney]

The first week of June EMH were also HORRIBLE.

I would never waste my time with them again.

The parks were PACKED and they don't offer fast pass, so all the rides had wait times of over an hour.

I SO miss the E-ride night, which was an extra cost thing.

 

[Harmony]

Same here. I seriously doubt we will ever waste time trying to go to one. And on the way to MGM one day, the bus driver announced that MK would be having EMH's that evening with "little or no wait time." LOL! Imagine our surprise when the lines were longer than they had been the day previous! hehehe!

 

[Pixie Mommie]

Then only hotel I believe besides Disney properties that offer magical hours is the DTD Hilton. We're trying it out next month.

 

[the kabuki]

From allearsnet.com:

EXTRA MAGIC HOUR, a program that allows you to visit a particular theme park on a designated day beyond regularly scheduled operating hours, is offered ONLY to guests staying at:

-- Walt Disney World-owned resorts
-- Walt Disney World Dolphin & Swan Resorts
-- Shades of Green
-- Hilton Resort at Downtown Disney

 

[BraveMom3]

My three children and I just returned from WDW, and I am so UNimpressed with the new EMH. There was nothing "magical" about it. We couldn't ride anything (except about 3 things) because the lines were too long. I was more than happy to pay extra for the old E-night tickets for MK and wished they had them available for the other parks. We would ride the major attractions over and over. This new "free" EMH does not offer anything for my family. I love WDW and will be back in November, but we will not be using the EMH, just get up, be at the parks at opening, do what we can early and with fastpasses, and get out of there!

 

[Ashes8380]

I just realized that the reason why we had so much luck with it, might have been because of when we went. We were there the first week in Jan. this year. So not only was it off season, but it was the first week of the new hours. Just got lucky, I guess.

 

[dgcampagna]

I agree with you that EMH at the beginning of June were a complete waste of time. However, we were able to get FP for RRC at MGM. That way, after waiting in the incredibly long standby line, we had the option to get right back on -- we ended up giving our FPs away, because my sister in-law couldn't handle another ride so quickly.