How do you spend MM or EMH?

[Dvcfan55]

My family and I are visiting for 2 days April 21-22. With it being spring break and dapper day, I was wondering how would you take advantage of EMH? Meaning if CA opened at 8 what rides would you do in what order? And same for DL, if it opened at 7am on a crowded day, what would you take advantage of for the whole hour? We to start in fantasyland but are clueless where to go afterwards and feel like we waste the rest of our time. We are traveling with ds6 who isn't the biggest fan or space or other roller coasters. Is there a list of rides that are operating for EMH? Maybe that would help as we tend to keep going from one closed attraction to another. Thanks in advance for your insight!

 

[mom2rtk]

We don't even have a set list of what we like to do. We like to mix it up. One day we start with RSR, then explore Carsland after the initial crush clears though. It almost feels like we have the place to ourselves. Then we'll head over to ToT right before park open. So sad we won't be doing that one again. Sigh. Other days we'll just do CS over and over, leaving just in time to hop in line for TSMM right before regular park open.

DL is more complicated because so many people have access to the early hours. We like like early hours for the uncrowded park space even more than the short ride lines. We definitely do rides, but like to do what other people aren't doing. As in, we purposely avoid Peter Pan. Sometimes we do Matterhorn, but with single rider available there it's not a must during early hours. Sometimes we just do stuff like Dumbo, Alice and the dark rides. It sort of depends on our moods, but finding things others aren't doing is a big piece of it for us.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I just did this for DCA on Sunday. I did these in this order: Radiator Springs, breakfast at Flos V8, Toy Story Mania, Mickeys Wheel of Death, Little Mermaid. I was leaving right afterward, so I just did the things that I really wanted to do. By the time I was done with all of those, the wait for Soarin was 45 minutes. If it was 15 mins or less, I would have gone on that, too.

I didn't really use my early DL thing. I walked in half way through it and had breakfast at Carnation Cafe. Then, did Indiana Jones (standby was 15 minutes) and the Jungle Cruise (standby 10 minutes). I go often enough that it wasn't that important to me to utilize my early entry.

In rereading your OP, I'd say go directly to Fantasyland and you can easily go ride to ride in there without much thought.

 

[VandVsmama]

During EMH @ DCA, I would do this:

• Radiator Springs Racers
• Luigi's
• Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
• Toy Story
• whether or not there's time left over in EMH at this point, walk over to Grizzly Peak Airfield and go on Soarin'. If the line for Soarin' is >20 min, don't get in line. Go on Ariel's instead and when EMH is over, get a FP for RSR or Soarin'.

During MM @ DL, if you're focusing on Fantasyland, do this:

• if you want to ride Peter Pan with minimal wait, be in line at the park entrance 30 min before start of EMH. Then when the park opens, walk with purpose (aka fast walk; don't run!) to Peter Pan and ride that first.
• Then go on...
• Dumbo
• Alice in Wonderland
• King Arthur's Carousel
• Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
• Pinocchio
• Snow White's Scary Adventures

At this point, EMH/MM at Disneyland will probably be over, so the park will open to regular guests. You can continue on with:

• Casey Jr circus train
• Storybook Land Canal boats (both this & Casey Jr are "slow loaders")
• then go to Tomorrowland and get on Autopia. If your kid loves Star Wars, grab a FP for Star Tours. And sign your child up for Jedi Training Academy for later in the day if your kid wants to do that.
• Buzz Lightyear
• 1 hour after REGULAR park opening, Toon Town will open. Go to the Toon Town gates ~ 5 min before hand. Goofy or 1 of the other characters will open the gates to Toon Town. Walk straight to Mickey's house and meet him without waiting. Then you can do the other character meet & greets there in Toon Town...they're often right there on the "street" with no wait or very few people in line to meet them. Roger Rabbit's ride is in Toon Town, too.

 

[BriannaRuth]

In DL, we do PP first, but we get there a minimum of 30 minutes before MM opens, or whenever security opens. Because we love PP and don't want to waste the whole MM standing in line for it. From there we do Alice, then teacups, Toad, and Snow White. We do Matterhorn if the line isn't awful. Sometimes we do Matterhorn second, depending. By then MM is over and we send a runner to get FPs for Space while everyone else goes to Indy.

At DCA, we do TSMM first, followed by GSS and Screamin' (usually do GSS and Screamin' twice). We grab RSR FPs soon after the park opens on the way to Soarin'.

 

[agamble]

In DL the only areas open for EMH are Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. If your son isn't in to coasters then I would definitely head to Fantasyland first. As others said if you want to ride PP with minimal wait be one of the first in line for the parks and head straight to Peter Pan. I won't wait for Peter Pan the first hour of park opening unless I can get on it within 10 minutes. Most everything else will be a walk-on. The other two to get out of the way are Dumbo and Alice.

Ideal situation:

Peter Pan
Dumbo
Alice
Casey Junior
Mr. Toad
Snow White
Pinocchio

You could likely get on all of those in that hour, and maybe teacups too. At regular park opening the Canal Boats should open. I would ride those then as they will get a long line later. The only Fantasyland Rides left would be the carousel and Small World (and Matterhorn). We often ride the carousel then just so we don't have to come back later, but keep in mind it will have a short wait most of the day. We generally leave Small World until after we've explored Toon Town. Toon Town opens one hour after regular park opening. Perhaps your son would be brave enough to try Gadget's Coaster. It's small and kid friendly.

Another thought is that the subs get a long line and are slow loading. So you may want to ride the list above through Mr. Toad and then head over to the subs so you can ride before regular opening. Then head back to Fantasyland and ride the canal boats before Snow White, Pinocchio, and Tea Party.

 

[Dvcfan55]

I'm loving reading everyone's great ideas and strategies!!! when do you think it would be a good time to squeeze in adventureland/frontierland rides, after toon town and tomorrowland? That area seems to be DS favorite. Should I maybe send dh to get a fastpass there during EMH? Also, is it true that MM for CA is open to Disney hotel guests only? If so, is this a new policy?? Lastly, when is the best time to get a fastpass for RSR if we don't ride it first thing or just want to ride it again? Thank you again so much for all of your advice!!

 

[agamble]

I'm loving reading everyone's great ideas and strategies!!! when do you think it would be a good time to squeeze in adventureland/frontierland rides, after toon town and tomorrowland? That area seems to be DS favorite. Should I maybe send dh to get a fastpass there during EMH? Also, is it true that MM for CA is open to Disney hotel guests only? If so, is this a new policy?? Lastly, when is the best time to get a fastpass for RSR if we don't ride it first thing or just want to ride it again? Thank you again so much for all of your advice!!

How many days are you going to be in Disneyland? If you have two days in Disneyland I would plan to do Adventureland/frontierland on another day. If not, you'll have to prioritize the attractions, because you won't be able to see everything in one day.

Extra Magic Hour (EMH) is for hotel guests only. It happens at DCA on Mon, Wed, Fri, & Sun and at DL on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. Magic Morning (MM) is for all guests with a 3-day ticket that includes Magic Morning. It is only at Disneyland on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. The days are subject to change, but the general rule is days with the letter 'T' have DL extra hour and the remaining days are DCA. So if you don't stay at a Disney hotel you cannot do extra hour at DCA. My suggestion would be to go on a non-extra hour day if possible. This is not a new policy. It has always been this way. There was a short time after Carsland opened where they allowed AP holders to register for one MM at DCA.

I think the best time to get a RSR FP is first thing in the morning unless you really want a night time ride. The Disney APP tells you the current return time. If you want to ride twice you can go straight to RSR to ride it once and then get a FP afterwards.