First Timer with Kids - need advice / strategy for EMH hours

[winifred]

I am planning our first Disney trip as a family this May (12-16). Our vacation will coincide with my daughter's 7th birthday which is very exciting (though keeping this a secret is so hard!!!). I have another daughter that is 3, close to 4 by the time of our trip.

As a family, we need to schedule down-time each day, either to nap or lounge poolside (we are staying at the YC).

After much research, I think I have come up with a strategy to take advantage of morning EMH, schedule a late breakfast / early lunch, head back to our hotel to rest, then switch parks for late afternoon / evening. My husband HATES crowds (who doesn't), so am trying to plan our first trip so that he will want to go again. I am hoping some veteran park goers can weigh in on this strategy. This strategy comes at a price of the park hopper, which I was hoping to avoid... But might cancel our ADR at an $$$ TS to get it. Are the crowds any better in the afternoon of a park without EMH? If we go with this strategy, I assume we should schedule our fastpass+ selections for the second park?

Thanks!

 

[Robo]

I am planning our first Disney trip as a family this May (12-16). Our vacation will coincide with my daughter's 7th birthday which is very exciting (though keeping this a secret is so hard!!!). I have another daughter that is 3, close to 4 by the time of our trip.

As a family, we need to schedule down-time each day, either to nap or lounge poolside (we are staying at the YC).

After much research, I think I have come up with a strategy to

1- take advantage of morning EMH, schedule a late breakfast / early lunch, head back to our hotel to rest, then switch parks for late afternoon / evening.

My husband HATES crowds (who doesn't), so am trying to plan our first trip so that he will want to go again. I am hoping some veteran park goers can weigh in on this strategy. This strategy comes at a price of the park hopper, which I was hoping to avoid... But might cancel our ADR at an $$$ TS to get it.

2- Are the crowds any better in the afternoon of a park without EMH?

3- If we go with this strategy, I assume we should schedule our fastpass+ selections for the second park?

Thanks!

1- Looks very good, to me.

2- Depends on the park, the date, etc. but that's a good plan.

3- Yes. (Which will mitigate any crowd level at that second park.)

You've got a good strategy planned.

Just stay tuned to these boards and keep up with any
changes in FP+, etc.
Be sure to post any new questions you have as your trip approaches.

to posting on the DISboards, winifred!

 

[patty57]

First...welcome. Your plan sounds like a good one. The caveat would be to keep checking back to see if the FP+ program changes because it is still in "testing". For the way things stand right now thought, it makes sense.

 

[sharonabe]

You can still do your plan without the park hopper. Just plan to go back to the same park after your break and use FP+ for the evening. Will the park be more crowded than a non-EMH? Yes it can be, but if you just go back to hit the FP+, the nighttime entertainment, and some of the non-headliners, you'll be fine.

 

[nymary]

I had the same idea when we went in 2012 - kids 7 and 5. They loved the pool so much (AKL) we never went back to the parks after our afternoon rests. We didn't see everything but we had a wonderful time. I was glad I hadn't bought park hoppers!

 

[PrincessTiggy]

I went last spring and did not buy a park hopper. We just picked a park per day-based upon whichever park had emh... got there as early as possible which for us is not particularly early....we were on the dining plan so we would eat lunch in the park and then head back to the resort. Usually one or both of my kids would konk out on the way back...esp my 2 year old. I would stay in the room with the napper while my DH would take the older one to the pool or we would all nap.

Later we would return to the same park either eating dinner there or at an adr somewhere along the way and return to the same park and stay as late as we could stand it. It can really cut down on the lines if you have the stamina to be there later... I recall riding the barnstormer with my elder daughter repeatedly while my DH took the 2 year old on Dumbo... then we switched kids. I think that same night we may have ridden the small world ride more times in a row than I would care to admit

A couple of things... bedtimes are OUT the window on this schedule. Totally. So if you are strict about that sort of thing maybe this won't work.

Also I brought oatmeal packets and milk to keep in the room so my kids had breakfast while I got ready in the AM... I had DH fill up our resort mugs with coffee while I showered and/ or got the kids ready.

At this pace we also had our relaxation day where we went to DAK in the am and spent the rest of the day at the pool.

 

[PrincessTiggy]

oh and if you can, try to make your MK days on a weekday rather than a weekend...we went to AK on a Saturday and another non MK park on sunday (cant remember which). Save the MK for weekdays and you will avoid the influx of people making a day trip.

 

[robinb]

I went last spring and did not buy a park hopper. We just picked a park per day-based upon whichever park had emh... got there as early as possible which for us is not particularly early....we were on the dining plan so we would eat lunch in the park and then head back to the resort.

If you can't be at a park for EMH rope drop you should pick a park that is NOT the morning EMH park. The EMH parks start out busier and stay busier the whole day.

 

[steph12]

I would check out the recommended parks on easywdw.com and go with those parks. It is really hard to be at the parks by 7:45 for EMH hours. Do you think your little ones will be able to be up early enough to make it there? You would need to leave your resort no later than 7:00 to get there, so that would mean getting up by 6 each morning. That's really early on a vacation if you have late nights also. And as the OP said, if you can't be there by rope drop on those EMH days then avoid those parks! I've been several times and always use the calendars on easywdw and have had wonderful times! I would also second to not buy parkhoppers. You really don't need them.

 

[Brian Noble]

After much research, I think I have come up with a strategy to take advantage of morning EMH, schedule a late breakfast / early lunch, head back to our hotel to rest, then switch parks for late afternoon / evening. My husband HATES crowds (who doesn't), so am trying to plan our first trip so that he will want to go again.

If it were me (and, it was me many years ago, on my first trip with kids about that age) I would avoid the EMH parks. Yes, you start one hour later, but even with mid-day breaks and relatively early closing hours, we still felt like we got a full day's worth out of each of our park visits. And, as a first-timer, it can be hard to imagine how tiring a Disney vacation can be---even if you are in good physical shape, the hyper-stimulating environment can get to you.

You might still want a hopper because you won't go back to Animal Kingdom with a 6PM close, but that could also be a fine day to take the evening off by the pool, or have a character meal in a resort, etc. The EMH-through-brunch plan could work really well, or you could find the parks get busy faster than you've planned. They probably won't, but if your husband's main concern is crowds, I'd hedge my bets as often as possible to avoid them.

 

[summermac]

You can always add the hoppers during your trip if you decide to hop.

Morning EMH if you are morning people is AWESOME. However if your family isn't typically awake by that time, I wouldn't push it just for that extra hour of ride time. In other words, it isn't worth the grumpies. LOL

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I have two WDW visits under my belt - we've never park hopped and purposely avoid EMH parks.
Have you visited www.easywdw.com ?

 

[winifred]

Thanks, everyone for the advice! I may rethink the park hopper until I know whether we can handle it or not! Its quite possible that the pool at the BC/YC will be as big a hit with the kiddos (and two tired parents) as any park, so we very well might just spend our afternoons relaxing and heading back to the same park in the evening.

I appreciate the input - trip planning for disney is fun, but is definitely pushing my type-a vacation planning type personality to the limit. I have to keep reminding myself that we will NOT be able to see everything, but, the kids won't know the difference! I suppose that's the beauty of a first trip!

 

[mrsp1030]

We've gone with kids similar in age and we always do rope drop, take a break and go back. I actually like how fast pass + gives you the option of scheduling in the afternoon/evening b/c normally headliners would be a long wait. Also you can schedule for parade viewing which is prime!
We would usually do a quick breakfast in the room like granola bars/yogurt and I take snacks inside and then eat late breakfast/lunch. Just depends on the park and selections. We have had day where we didn't make it back to park and instead went to downtown disney or the boardwalk area.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

If your kids can get up early enough to be at the EMH park 30 minutes before the EMH opening, then definitely hit morning EMH.

When I travel with young kids, I find they get MUCH more out of doing lots of attractions in the early morning than they do out of staying late in the parks. They are fresh in the morning, and not so much so at 8 PM. If you stick to regular-ish wake up and bedtimes, everyone will be happier. Most kids are used to getting up early, so I find early to bed, and early to wake makes young kids happier at Disney. There will be plenty of time for fireworks and nighttime entertainment when they are older!

I think your plan sounds good.

 

[JimmyV]

Thanks, everyone for the advice! I may rethink the park hopper until I know whether we can handle it or not! Its quite possible that the pool at the BC/YC will be as big a hit with the kiddos (and two tired parents) as any park, so we very well might just spend our afternoons relaxing and heading back to the same park in the evening.

First...WELCOME!

Here's the viewpoint of someone who has never paid for a Park Hopper. (We "hopped" occassionally when hopping was included in the base price). With young children (assuming they are early risers), EMH are a terrific thing at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The MK really focuses on the little ones. For example the MK is having EMH right now, and all of the rides for the little ones are open. Attractions for the older crowd are hit or miss. For example, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean are closed. So the EMH are a great opportunity to hit some of the things that your kids will enjoy the most, and then you can move over to Adventure Land and Frontier Land at 9:00 and still get 1.5-2 hours of touring in with limited crowding, taking you until 10:30-11:00 when you might want to leave.

The same is true for DHS. You can hit many of the best age appropriate rides early (though there are fewer of them), and make your way over to some of the other attractions and have that park practically finished by 11:00.

EMHs are less important at Epcot and Animal Kingdom for kids who are the ages of yours. At AK, the Safari Ride will obviosly be a hit with them, but you can either do that first thing during an EMH day, or first thing on any other day. The only other rides that really develop big lines at AK are Everest and Kali Rapids. Kali is not a "need to do" ride first thing in the morning. Who wants to get soaked to the bone at 8:00 a.m.? And will your kids be riding Everest? If so, you can still do that on any morning within the first hour of park opening without too much trouble. So bottom line: I would plan to do EMH at MK and DHS. The other parks are really optional. Rope Drop on a regular day should be fine with an almost 4 year old and a 7 year old.

Now, if you plan to leave the park (and I think that is a fine idea), I would not return to that same park later in the day. DHS really does not handle crowds very well, and the extra people that the EMHs draw seems to always put that park over my tolerance level. Going back there in the afternoon would seem to be a waste. Instead, use that afternoon to tour around World Showcase and the KidCot stations. And the MK can be a zoo on EMH days as well. Use that afternoon to hang by the pool, or maybe head over to DHS to use some FP+s for Toy Story and Disney Jr. Live. There are other strategies for using EMH days that involve staying in the park and finding relaxing afternoon events. But if you want to leave the park, relax and head back to a park later in the day, I see no compelling reason to throw yourself into the crowds of the MK and DHS. So, the advice from this non-hopper (who doesn't have a young child that needs a break any more), is to hop.

 

[fairy8i8]

I have wondered the same thing myself. Getting there early for an 8am EMH will allow you to visit more attractions in the first 2-3 hours of the day. After that, it all depends on your expectations for after the break. With FP+, you could visit the same park and just focus on parades, your FP+ selections, and then a nice dinner. Because I want to keep my 4 year old well rested, I am planning on getting him to bed at his regular bedtime for all except the last 2 nights of our stay when we will see Wishes and Fantasmic! However, even then I am willing to leave if he is more tired than interested.

Really, it is important to plan ahead and gather information. However, it is more important to let go on the vacation and consider what will make your family most happy at that moment. Plan for early mornings and bedtimes for the young ages to keep their stamina up. However, if they just want to play on Tom Sawyer's Island for 2 hours or stay at the really cool pool all afternoon and then crash into bed, don't feel bad that you didn't get your "plan" done or ride as many rides as you would like.

We are constantly told that more rides = more happiness at Disney World. I would say shorter waits are valuable with young kids (hence the importance of early touring any day or at any park). That way you get some great rides in, and then you can take the rest of the day as it comes. Make your FP+ reservations, then read easywdw to remind yourself that you CAN change them day of without ruining your vacation, and you CAN get ride times for just about every ride (just not the parades and fireworks). If you don't use all 3 FP+ reservations, no harm done if you did something else that made your family happy. There have been times where we have used fewer than 3 FP tickets in the past or given unused tickets away. Remember that DIsney is a vacation and that the focus is to have fun, not necessarily be in the parks all day to "get your money's worth," and you will have a great time.