Gimmie the REAL scoop on evening EMH's please!

[wdwobsessed]

First let me say that I loved the old EE mornings. We'd get up, arrive before opening and get the heck out by noon. They were awesome! The MK one especially!

BUT

My family does not like to get up early so it was kinda like pulling teeth some mornings. They were not agreeable with getting up early the last trip and I was not "drill sargeant" so we hit CROWDS. They wouldn't get with the program of getting up and out early so we paid for it by dealing with crowds. My DH is really bad about this. He hates crowds but is a night owl and can't get up in the AM. Drove me crazy this last trip and we had to skip a lot because of it!!!!

I have stayed away from EMH in the evening due to other advice I recieved elsewhere. Is it really true that EMH evenings are crowded?

I figure they are crowded because of all the people like my DH who want to sleep in, get up at noon, eat and head to the parks.

We are going Labor Day Week so I do not anticipate too many crowds as that is one of the lowest attendance weeks of the year.

I am INSISTING on one MK EMH AM. I was wanting more input on the evenings ones at the various parks please.

Thanks!

WDWO

 

[kittythepoohbear]

The two times I have done evening EMHs (week after Labor Day last Sept. and late this Jan.) I didn't encounter many crowds and was able to enjoy many attractions, especially at Epcot. The only thing we had a long wait for was Soarin. Other than that, everything was pretty much a walk on at both Epcot and MGM studios. Plus, we were able to score a river-side table at San Angel Inn right after Illuminations as walk ins.
Being that you are going in Sept., I think it is worth a shot since crowds should be managable. BTW, I am similar to your hubby - it is my vacation and I am not getting up before 9 am! My fiance jokes with me since he is a morning person, but even with getting to the parks around noon we have not encountered many crowds during off season. We have found evening EMH to be a wonderful compromise - I get to sleep and we still get extra park time! We will be there Sept 14 - 19, so prehaps we will bump into each other at EMH!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

Last October we did an MH in the evening at MK and we loved it. You get a wristband & only people with those can ride the rides after the regular park hours are over. The park was not crowded, lines were very short & it was a lovely, cool night. I loved it because I have always loved being in the parks at night & since we now only go on the off season, we rarelt get to be in the parks after 7pm. It always has seemed so special to me at night with the lights in the trees...some rides like Big Thunder & Splash Mountain feel so different at night, too!

I would make sure you do this during your trip...I think your family will enjoy it.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Thanks. I am thinking about adding these to our schedule ... especially since it is so HOT that time of year!

WDWO

 

[MagicMe]

We went the first full week after labor day last year and the crowds were very light. Even during the day the most we waited was 10 minutes except for Saturday of course. They didn't even have the fast pass machines open on the rides as they were all walk-ons.

Having said that - it was really still very hot!!! We did the evening EMH hours in MK and Epcot. MK was fantastic! We were able to ride everything we wanted several times and it was a little cooler. Imagine walking through Adventureland and only about 20 people!!

 

[battricia]

We went to EMH nightss last july, it was GREAT. But we did stay up LATE. We got to ride all the rides with little to no wait. I think we got more done in the EMH nights than we did all day because it was SOOOOOO CROWDED during the day. We'll be doing them again this sept.

tricia.

 

[bobcat]

It can't be any more crowded than arriving late at a park! LOL We traveled with family last summer and we had the same problem with them. Thankfully we had been to WDW many times or I would have felt more inclined to strangle them. We have never found evening EMH to be too crowded, and we are are not a crowd loving family even though we visit in the summer. I know it sounds like an oxymoron but true. We have just learned how to cope with the crowds.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

We do EMH at night during every trip. We purposely sleep late (until about 10 am) and go to every EMH offered. They are the best and worth it.

When we were there last, it was the week of Easter and pretty crowded. We went to all the EMH's and the longest wait was 15 minutes. This was for Test Track which had JUST opened for the first time. All other attractions were 0-5 minute waits.

 

[FINFAN]

I have the same thoughts...even if it is just as or more crowded, it may be easier to take at nigth w/out the sun . As much as I love being out in the sun, DH has to watch it. He is a morning person, but will drink the java to make it through EMH nights.


Pam

 

[lucysdad]

I have been wondering how to handle the EMHs, too. Thanks for this information. We loved the E-Ticket Nights because we could ride our favorites over and over. I read that the EMHs were so overcrowded that you should go to the park that just had the EMH the night before and avoid the park hosting the EMH completely. Does anyone have info about EMHs in May? That's when we'll be going.
Lucy's Mom

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We love EMH nights, but they can be crowded, especially during peak times of the year. MK appears to be the most popular, but that too thins out as midnight approaches. AK was awesome the first time we hit EMH, but last March, with the new ride, it was more crowded than in the past. Better then during regular hours, but not as clear two years ago. Even with the crowds, the parks at night are magical. The downside of Epcot EMH is that you kind of run out of rides - how many times can you go on Test Track? I can ride the mountains numerous times, and I love TT, but that preshow starts to get to me by the second or third ride, and they never seem to want to let you skip it. The WS is pretty at night, but many of the eateries close after 9, so your options for 'dessserting (or drinking) around the world' get limited.

Still, there's nothing like entering a park just as the day-crowds are leaving it.

 

[IHeartWayne]

My FI and I are getting married in Disney next week. (can't wait) We are planning on taking advantage of the EMH at MK on Friday. Does everything stay open during the extended hours in the evening (shops, restaurants)? Thanks for your help!!
-Beth

 

[wdwobsessed]

We do EMH at night during every trip. We purposely sleep late (until about 10 am) and go to every EMH offered. They are the best and worth it.

When we were there last, it was the week of Easter and pretty crowded. We went to all the EMH's and the longest wait was 15 minutes. This was for Test Track which had JUST opened for the first time. All other attractions were 0-5 minute waits.

If this was when TT just opened you are talking about E-Ticket nights where you paid for a seperate ticket (which were limited) to go into the park during those hours. EMH is for all guests staying on property so I'm thinking could be a little more crowded.

WDWO

 

[tmt martins]

I just got back ( June25th- July 2nd) We hit every EMH but 2 mornings .Some of the nights ( MK ) we closed MGM then rode over to close MK . You can get a lot done also they reopen some of the fastpass machines just for EMH.

I think the biggest wait was 30 min on Space Mt and then Sorin & test Track at epcot was busy as well .We fastpassed both to go on.

We hit the morning EMH until 11:00 or 12:00 , then the water parks until 4 or 5 , and then to the night time parks EMH.

We never rush, all morning EMH was just DD and myself , most nights DW and DM joined in.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Hmmm .... well considering we will be there Labor Day week I expect things to clear out on Monday. The extended evening hours seem very attractive and I don't expect bad crowds during the day so they shouldn't be bad at night either ... AND we will beat the sun.

I think we will pick one and try it!

Thanks

 

[clonetothebone]

We did EMH morning at Epcot on June 25th and were only able to ride Soarin and get in the stand by line for Test Track before 9 am when the park opened to everyone. We were there at 0720 am sitting at the parking lot entrance waiting for it to open at 0730 and were some of the first people in the park. By 11 am it was so crowded compared to non emh days we experienced that DW and DD decided to bail out after we ate at Sunshine Season's. DS and I stayed until 2 pm and didn't get much done.

Went to Epcot on June 29th when they had evening EMH but were there at 0840 for 0900 opening and stayed only until 11 am. It was again much busier than other parks on non EMH days. DD and I road Soarin in Stand By line (posted wait time was 30 minutes but only waited 20) and then rode again with a Fast Pass we obtained before we got in the stand by line. We then went to Imagination Pavilion and goofed around in the Image Works area for 30 minutes, got a Blueberry Frozen Drink from a cart between Imagination Pavilion and Land Pavilion and walked through Innoventions West on the way to meet DW and DS at Gateway Gifts at 11 am.

For our family, DW and I decided that getting up that extra hour early for morning EMH was not worth it and although we didn't stay late on the day they had evening EMH we noticed many more people there than when we were there in afternoon/evening on June 28th. For families with older children I could see the advantage of EMH evenings but for us (DS8 and DD6) it doesn't work staying up late and then getting up the next day to avoid the heat and get to a park at opening.

We will avoid EMH mornings and nights on future trips. With that being said, I could see where if you lived in the area and were able to pick and choose which days you go based on weather, time of year, etc. it might be worth it. For those of us who fly in for 9 days once every couple of years and want to experience as much as possible with minimum delay I would say avoid EMH if possible.

 

[NurseJamie]

My FI and I are getting married in Disney next week. (can't wait) We are planning on taking advantage of the EMH at MK on Friday. Does everything stay open during the extended hours in the evening (shops, restaurants)? Thanks for your help!!
-Beth

When you get to the park in the afternoon, if you pick up the daily schedule guide there's a list of eateries that will be open during the EMH and what times they will be closing - so you can definitely still get food and drinks during the EMH. Of course, all the stores stay open

I've only been to WDW once, and my DBF and I are the type who think "It's vacation, we'll wake up when we wake up" and go from there. However, we found that the crowds in the park with the morning EMH were prohibitive - so many extra people went to the park for the one extra hour that it wasn't worth getting the extra hour of time! We ended up NOT going to the park with the morning EMH to avoid all the people.

Evening EMH, on the other hand, we thought were great!!! You get up to 3 extra hours in the evening as opposed to 1 in the morning, and by the time the evening EMH start, most of the families with little kids have long since gone back to their hotels to put the little ones to sleep. The parks are a LOT less crowded, and there are fewer stroller families and people rushing from place to place. Evening EMh were GREAT - take advantage of them if you can!