Extra Morning Magic at Hollywood: Worth it?

[Taylor.Steffen]

During my next trip the first day will be at hollywood studios. My boyfriend and I missed out on Fantasmic last time we went so that's the main goal of being there again (because we all know the state of "attractions/entertaiment" lol). The day we plan on going, there are extra magic hours in the morning. Anyone think it'll be worth it to get up early or just have a chill day at hollywood that starts in the afternoon? (BTW not planning on having park hopper this trip to see how it goes.)

Thanks

 

[anomamatt]

Nevermind... i answered the wrong question.. You asked about "Extra Morning Magic"... I was saying no more Early Morning Magic.

There are still EMH (extra magic hours), of course. Which I assume is what you are looking for.

 

[Taylor.Steffen]

Nevermind... i answered the wrong question.. You asked about "Extra Morning Magic"... I was saying no more Early Morning Magic.

There are still EMH (extra magic hours), of course. Which I assume is what you are looking for.

yes extra magic hours sorry I was confusing with the title lol

 

[BigredNole]

If I am onsite, we go to EMH mornings. Simply put, you can hammer out the big rides early and thin out the herds. If we are offsite, we avoid Morning EMH parks.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

Are you staying onsite or offsite? If you are on onsite, I would go to Extra Magic Hours. That's when you could get a lot of the big rides (Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, Great Movie Ride, etc.) done with little wait. I would then go back to your resort in the middle of the day to relax and maybe swim in the pool. After that, I would then come back to DHS toward the late afternoon/evening and use fastpasses. Since you want to see Fantasmic, I would get a fastpass for that. Then possibly get a fastpass for Tower of Terror and Star Tours before Fantasmic? That would be your decision though. To get good seats for Fantasmic, I usually show up 45-60 minutes before showtime.

 

[ArielSRL]

Are you staying onsite or offsite? If you are on onsite, I would go to Extra Magic Hours. That's when you could get a lot of the big rides (Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, Great Movie Ride, etc.) done with little wait. I would then go back to your resort in the middle of the day to relax and maybe swim in the pool. After that, I would then come back to DHS toward the late afternoon/evening and use fastpasses. Since you want to see Fantasmic, I would get a fastpass for that. Then possibly get a fastpass for Tower of Terror and Star Tours before Fantasmic? That would be your decision though. To get good seats for Fantasmic, I usually show up 45-60 minutes before showtime.

This is what we plan to do. I would recommend this. It helps all of us (adults and children alike) make it throughout the day and into the night to catch the nighttime entertainment.

However, if you don't want to fool with a break, do a later start.

 

[mrzrich]

If you are early risers, Morning EMH is never a mistake. Especially with the tiered FP system. It helps to get a headliner or 2 out of the way without a FP. If you feel you have seen everything that you want to, you can take the boat over to the boardwalk. Check out Ample Hills Ice Cream Parlor or have a nice dinner before returning for Fantasmic. By the way, once you have used your 3 initial FP, it is very likely that you can snag a same day fp for Fantasmic.

 

[ArielSRL]

By the way, once you have used your 3 initial FP, it is very likely that you can snag a same day fp for Fantasmic.

Totally agree with this!

 

[brockash]

During my next trip the first day will be at hollywood studios. My boyfriend and I missed out on Fantasmic last time we went so that's the main goal of being there again (because we all know the state of "attractions/entertaiment" lol). The day we plan on going, there are extra magic hours in the morning. Anyone think it'll be worth it to get up early or just have a chill day at hollywood that starts in the afternoon? (BTW not planning on having park hopper this trip to see how it goes.)

Thanks

I might just for the low lines and then go back to the resort and rest for a while before going back for Fantsmic! I'll be honest, there probably isn't enough to do, especially with just 2 adults for a full open to close (especially with early morning hour), but like I said I'd consider getting up early and going for the low crowds for a couple hours and then maybe going back for a rest or you could boat/walk over to the boardwalk and have a long lunch and stroll around maybe???

 

[chris benton]

My opinion:
Since you are paying for the EMH by staying onsite, use them.

I would:
Book a Fantasmic Dining Package for late afternoon. - that's about an hour and a half of resting and gorging right there.
Plan fastpasses early, probably start them half an hour after the park opens to offsite guests, to give your window a little leeway to account for crowd levels being high or low.

Have breakfast in your hotel room using groceries.
Be there right when EMH opens.
HARDCORE tour the big attractions you want.
Hope to score addl fastpasses of your choice, but don't worry about having to hold onto a Fantasmic FP all day so you can't get any others.
If the the crowds get unruly, Hollywood has good shows to look into - Indiana Jones, GMR, Muppet Show is WAY better than it gets credit for, IMO. Launch Bay is easily worth a peak for displays, and the Jawas - not just the character meets. TGhe Jedi training shows are actually very funny for passersby to watch. The trainers also do color commentary of the the kids' battle skills, and they are FUNNY. The street characters put on little skits, if you dig star wars, there's the march which is pretty cool.

There's also the Boardwalk (use the friendship boat) to pass time.

 

[mindeola]

Are you staying onsite or offsite? If you are on onsite, I would go to Extra Magic Hours. That's when you could get a lot of the big rides (Rock 'N' Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, Great Movie Ride, etc.) done with little wait. I would then go back to your resort in the middle of the day to relax and maybe swim in the pool. After that, I would then come back to DHS toward the late afternoon/evening and use fastpasses. Since you want to see Fantasmic, I would get a fastpass for that. Then possibly get a fastpass for Tower of Terror and Star Tours before Fantasmic? That would be your decision though. To get good seats for Fantasmic, I usually show up 45-60 minutes before showtime.

This is our approach to parks as well.

 

[HopperFan]

Extra Morning Magic at Hollywood: Worth it?

No longer listed on website, only Fantasyland.

But I did do it and loved it.

 

[Taylor.Steffen]

Thanks so much everyone for all the good ideas! Last year that we went we somehow picked a day where hollywood was SUPER crowded and you couldn't even find a place to plan out your next move. I'm hoping to make this vacation slower paced and staying in one park per day seems like a great way to do that. Hollywood is one of those parks that I never really pay too much attention to so I appreciate everyone sharing their ideas about planning the park.

Thank you!!!



Taylor

 

[tlmadden73]

I just want to add on to this.

How much (realistically) without practically running to/from each ride can you do during that first hour for EMH?

All the rides are so spread out .. Star Tours, TSMM, and ToT/RnRC) are in each of the corners of the park.

I am going with my son (4) and daughter (5 mo) and just not sure realistically how many of those we can hit in that first hour to maximize that time (since we won't have Fast Passes)(I don't have any Fast Passes as I plan to use them at MK for the afternoon park hop).

So which to hit first? TSMM? or if we hit Star Tours first .. will TSMM have a long wait? (or because it is EMH does the wait never get above 15 minutes?).
I just don't want to criss-cross the park a lot if I can help it.

I just want to make sure we hit Star Tours twice (rider swap) and TSMM at least once (maybe twice) . .GMR .. maybe ToT/RnRC probably not since I am the only one who can/wants to go on it. I may join the other groups we are traveling with if they decide to hit it during EMH . .but again . .I don't want to make my son/wife/daughter criss-cross the park and tire them out in the first hour!

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I just want to add on to this.

How much (realistically) without practically running to/from each ride can you do during that first hour for EMH?

All the rides are so spread out .. Star Tours, TSMM, and ToT/RnRC) are in each of the corners of the park.

I am going with my son (4) and daughter (5 mo) and just not sure realistically how many of those we can hit in that first hour to maximize that time (since we won't have Fast Passes)(I don't have any Fast Passes as I plan to use them at MK for the afternoon park hop).

So which to hit first? TSMM? or if we hit Star Tours first .. will TSMM have a long wait? (or because it is EMH does the wait never get above 15 minutes?).
I just don't want to criss-cross the park a lot if I can help it.

I just want to make sure we hit Star Tours twice (rider swap) and TSMM at least once (maybe twice) . .GMR .. maybe ToT/RnRC probably not since I am the only one who can/wants to go on it. I may join the other groups we are traveling with if they decide to hit it during EMH . .but again . .I don't want to make my son/wife/daughter criss-cross the park and tire them out in the first hour!

You can defintely do everything here except GMR in that first hour. You have to remeber that no one can pull FP for EMH so there will be no one using the FP line. I would do TSMM twice first using rider swap, then ST twice. It's really not that far between them if you cut across in front of the frozen sing along. Then, get on GMR for a foot rest if meed be. At that point ,if you don't want ToT or RNRC the only things left are low line. Muppets, BATB, LM, the indy stunt show, and I would be done for the day and finding a spot for F! or fireworks. if you have a star wars fan in the group add in the Path of the Jedi and some time in launch bay. Most of those involve a lot of sitting and will give some rest time. Should be easily doable without tiring them out.

 

[tlmadden73]

You can defintely do everything here except GMR in that first hour. You have to remeber that no one can pull FP for EMH so there will be no one using the FP line. I would do TSMM twice first using rider swap, then ST twice. It's really not that far between them if you cut across in front of the frozen sing along. Then, get on GMR for a foot rest if meed be. At that point ,if you don't want ToT or RNRC the only things left are low line. Muppets, BATB, LM, the indy stunt show, and I would be done for the day and finding a spot for F! or fireworks. if you have a star wars fan in the group add in the Path of the Jedi and some time in launch bay. Most of those involve a lot of sitting and will give some rest time. Should be easily doable without tiring them out.

Thanks .. i was under impression that TSMM doesn't do Rider Swap since there is no height limit.

We'll try that route then .. TSMM, Star Tours, then ToT/RNRC.
It may be up to the other group (with older kids) what order we do things (if we want to stick with them) .. they are staying all day and have Fast Passes for TSMM, Star Tours and ToT. They are going to beeline to the Jedi Training signups (my son is a little scared of the thought of it) .. so not sure how long that will take.

We'll probably hit GMR and Launch Bay around the end of the Magic Hour and then just hit the low-line shows for the rest of the morning .. ending our morning with the first show of Indy at noon.

Thanks