Is the extra hour at EE worth the crowds later?

[vasoccermom]

Historically, we've always stayed off-site. Therefore we've always avoided the park that had the EE day that day because we were told crowds were larger on that day. Now, for the first time, we'll be staying on-site this Nov(8-12). I was wondering if the extra hour you are entitled for EE (is it called something else now?) is worth it if the park does become more crowded than normal for the rest of the day (and we're not fans of jumping to various parks during the day).

What are your opinions on this?

Thanks as always for the great advice and insight provided by everyone on this site!

karen

 

[beattyfamily]

I've always had great success with EE mornings and it was a life saver for my first ever summer trip this past August. We got a lot done those first 3 hours and then the place would be packed and we'd take a break and swim or go to another park.

We've also done EE in Oct and Dec and stayed for hours and I never thought it was that crowded.

 

[LindaR]

We don't care for EE. Maybe its because my daughter is 15 (just me and her) and we have been enough times to have a more relaxed attitude. It just seems crowded, people are pushy/shove-y, rude, run you over, etc. So we avoid the park that has EE. Just our opinion.

 

[WDW LOVR]

If getting to ride some of the more popular rides is what you want to do, go to the early entry, ride whatever you can til 10 or 11 and then go to a different park.

Personally we've never thought the early entry hour or so was worth fighting the crowd that will be there when the normal park hours arrive.

We've had very good luck looking at the guidebooks or websites and planned our days avoiding the early entry days and the historical busy days they list.

And the best reason to avoid the early entry.....you have to get out of bed an hour earlier. It is vacation after all.

 

[NMAmy]

Dh and I are early risers. Dd is not but she'll hop right outta bed at WDW! So we always take advantage of EE. We'll go to the EE park and I'll make a PS for lunch at that park. We love the smaller crowds, ride all we want, eat lunch, then head back to the hotel for a little rest. Then we pick another park for the evening.

I just LOVE EE. I have the best pictures from our last vacation. It looks like we're the only ones in the parks!

The way we look at it--we're up anyway, why not go enjoy ourselves?

 

[vasoccermom]

OK, some good replies but that leaves me with a few more questions...just how much can you accomplish in that one early hour? We tended to get to the parks by rope drop anyway when we stayed off site so the getting up early part wasn't a big deal. If you only get a ride or 2 in during EE, then would it not be better to go to a less crowded park that day? Or is it really worth it? Can you actually walk on to things like SP, Buzz, BTMRR?

Another related question: we've always stayed at a particular park all day in the past. How long does it take to get from one park to another (I know there's the monorail between MK & EPCOT) and does it really take a chunk out of the day to switch parks?

Thanks again!
Karen

 

[cardramblues]

I 100% agree with WDW LOVR. Get in, FP one then ride another, then see if there are any other short waits and get out.

MGM on EE day was CRAZY. This was in June mind you, but the standy queue was 45 mins for both RoR and ToT and we were at there entrance 10 mins after EE. Not worth it.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

During the slow season it's nice to have that extra touring hour since the parks close early. During busy periods it's nice to go to the EE park like others have mentioned, take a pool break, and then return to a different park. During busy times I wouldn't plan on EE if I was going to stay at the same park all day long.

I do like EE at the MK, though, at least when doing Fantasyland. It's nice to get all those rides out of the way quickly, along with Buzz and the racecars, and then head over to do BTMR and Splash.

This trip we're going to avoid EE since we'll be staying up later at night than we've stayed up on past trips (we're going to Cirque, Pleasure Island, etc). We'll plan to get to our chosen parks by opening, but figure we can use the extra hour of sleep.

There really isn't one right way of doing things, which is why you're getting different advice. Just decide what works for your family.

T&B

 

[vasoccermom]

Well then how do my travel dates look as far as how busy these parks are? We are going to be there Nov 8-12th...I know early Nov tends to be slow but this is Veteran's day week, they've extended EPCOT Food & Wine to continue through this week and Super Soap weekend starts that weekend (the 12th or 13th I think). If you all still think it would be considered a slow period, then we might play it one way, if you think it'll be busier, then we'll reconsider our plans.

Thanks,
Karen

 

[Bojangles]

It will probably be very busy. Especially MGM and Epcot.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I haven't been that time of the year so can't help you there. I did want to say that you should also look at the rides that would be open during EE and decide if they are rides that you would want to do. IE, at MGM if you are not planning on doing RnR and ToT (I know, hard for me to imagine, but you never know ) then EE might not matter for you. If you aren't going with young children and don't plan to do many rides in Fantasyland then going to MK isn't quite as important. Same with Test Track at Epcot.

Are you going with kids? If so, how old are they and do you all like to do thrill rides?

T&B

 

[vasoccermom]

T&B Thanks for your input. My kids are 10 and 8 and are somewhat wimpy. My 8 yr old DD does want to do thrill rides but might not meet the height requirement (she's currently at 43 inches and a little).
I was thinking about EE mainly for MK for SP, Buzz, BTMRR.
I think I"m the only one in the family who will ride RnR at MGM
Where would i find a listing of the rides open for EE at the various parks? That would certainly be of help!

Karen

 

[Tigger&Belle]

This should give you what you need: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/earlyentry.htm

Wow, your 8yo is petite! If that is a barefoot measurement then she should be 44" with shoes and able to do most everything. When I brought my 4yo last Feb he was able to do all but a handful of rides and when I bring him back we will be able to add Space Mt and Mission to Space (if I dare bring him on Mission) to our list. He is daring, though, and does fine on Tower if Terror.

Sorry about your wimpy family. If I were there I'd go on RnR with you! My 11yo promises to go with me when I bring him in January. Tower of Terror is my obsession and I'm glad that my youngest likes it ok.


T&B

 

[vasoccermom]

Hey T&B THanks for all the helpful info!
Yep, my family is a little wimpy...when we went 2 years ago with another family we got 8 FP for RnR and only me and one other adult wanted to go so we ended up using all the FP and went 4 times in a row...what an awesome ride! MY DD is tiny but tough. She'll be 8 on Halloween so she's a young 8 when we leave for WDW.

I also noticed you're in MD. I"m in VA...you need to check out the cheap fares on Independence air out of Dulles. They're starting direct flights early Nov (that's why I jumped on this trip).

Tell me a little about Mission to Space since it hadn't yet opened when I was there last.

And one last unrelated question.... how do I get the countdown timer at the bottom of my post?

karen

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'll look at Independence again. Tried for this trip, but they weren't up and running yet as you know. I'm debated taking the auto train to FL when I go with my 4yo in early December, but I could get some cheap Southwest fares, which means I might just be flying and renting a car.

Do a search about Mission to Space. It's hard to describe--it spins, but if you follow the instructions you don't feel the spinning. If you look off to the side (like I did ) you are more likely to feel sick. It's a fun, unique ride, though, and if your kids don't mind spinning they might not even view it as a thrill ride.

Go to the technical board and read about the countdown timers. There's a certain way to do it and you can follow the instructions, do a test to make sure everything is ok and you'll be good to go.

I need to do a countdown timer for my Decemer trip once I figure out the dates.

T&B

 

[vasoccermom]

Thanks!
If my kids don't mind spinning! Ha! My son gets dizzy on the teacups!

karen

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Dizzy isn't the problem. Feeling sick from the dizzy can be a problem...

I remember being a kid and spinning around until I couldn't stand anymore. I loved it. Now, if I spin my son around just a time or two I just about fall over. Age is a pain sometimes, but it sure beats the alternative!

T&B

 

[disneyrunner]

We have always done the EE. We have been there early June, Sept, Oct, Dec and will be there 11/3-11/9. We usually are able to ride three or four rides before the normal opening time. In fact on our last trip in June 03 we were able to ride SM three times and Buzz two times before we had to wait more than five minutes. Another thing to consider is ride the main attractions during parades or at MGM during Fantasmic if you don't want to see those. On our last trip DD (6) and I rode ToT seven (yes seven) times in a little over an hour! This trip we will probably try EE and when it gets crowded move to another park. We are early risers like NMAmy so why not!

 

[vasoccermom]

I was planning on doing the EE mainly for MK but just realized that their EE day is Thursday (we'll only be there M-F) and that is Veteran's Day. I had read that many locals who have school off that day tend to hit MK so I wonder if our best bet might be to use EE for the first hour and then hop the monorail over to EPCOT that day! Is there a direct monorail from MK to EPCOT or do we need to transfer?

Karen

 

[oogieboogie]

I think the only worthwhile EE park to go to is MK since they have the most rides open.

When we do MK on EE, it's always this way:

Rope drop, go to Tomorrowland, ride Buzz 3-4 times in a row, go to Indy Speedway 1-2 times, then off to Fantasyland - ride Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Snow White, then on to Haunted Mansion. By the time we get to Frontierland, the line for Splash Mtn and BTMRR is typically only 5-10 minutes.
Ride those 2 and we're done by 10am.

By this time, we take the train to Toontown where it opens at 10:00am, ride Barnstormer, go see some characters, play in the playground, and do Toontown things. By the time we're done, it's time for lunch. If we feel like it after lunch we'll do the rest of adventureland, otherwise we leave to come back another day.

It's worked for us 3 trips so far.