Just back...new extra magic hours is a joke!

[Okiemom]

I agree. If the had the extra hours at more parks on the same nights, the crowds were be distributed around more evenly. So hopefully they will re-think the plan. They are having more people stay on property for the perks, so they need to make the perks work.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

I'm reading this, and I'm hearing things like, "Right after the fireworks things were crowded" and "we left after the first hour because it was so crowded".

Of course they were. People like to go on one last ride before the fireworks - just like during MNSSHP's right after the fireworks the line at Haunted Mansion is HUGE - went out to Mme. Leota's cart last year.

The first hour or two of late hours is full of cranky kids who will loose steam by 10-10:30; the hour between 11 and 12 you can ride 3-4 E-tickets if you go quickly.

If you simply expect it to be a direct extension of your touring day, you likely will be disapointed. But if you instead see it as a nice time to just hang out in the parks without expectations you will enjoy it. And, then, at the end of the night, it's almost like morning EMH - only more stuff is open. Very few people stay until the very end - you will even notice this at MNSSHP and MVMCP's when people actually pay to be there.

Don't let unrealistic expectations keep you from experiencing the parks after dark. For many, they don't usually get to do so because we travel during off seasons. No, the parks won't be empty - but that doesn't mean they can't be magical, just that you can't commando the rides the whole time.

N.E.D.

 

[notnothin]

They start giving out wristbands two hours prior to park closing (9:00 pm this day) for guests staying at Disney resorts. Supposedly you have to show a resort ID to get a wristband - they didn't ask to see mine.

This is ridiculous! So why do we pay extra to stay at the resorts if they just give the perks away to everyone? This makes me reconsider staying on-site for future visits after this one in May. One of the main reasons I stay on-site is for EMH. If it's now available to everyone, I'll be saving my money and staying off-site!

 

[madge]

Guests without wristbands are supposed to be denied entracne to rides and shows. Wristbands are supposed to be given out at all times.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

we were not asked to show resort ID or wristbands last Wednesday night.

It was packed.

 

[Sorcerer Figment]

This is ridiculous! So why do we pay extra to stay at the resorts if they just give the perks away to everyone? This makes me reconsider staying on-site for future visits after this one in May. One of the main reasons I stay on-site is for EMH. If it's now available to everyone, I'll be saving my money and staying off-site!

While I agree that it limits your perceived value, I have to take a second to plug staying onsite. So while this may not make it the best option for you , I prefer to stay onsite because:

• Theming. Storytelling is what makes Disney what it is. I want to stay surrounded by this magic, not have to leave it for a plain hotel.
• Transportation. While standing in a line for a resort bus at park close is less than enjoyable, I love being able to walk right out of the lobby and pick any major destination and my bus will be there within minutes. The last thing I want to do at the end of the day is find my car in the parking lot and drive.
• Proximity. I love being just a short ride away. Staying offsite means I have to get up earlier and get back later.
• Disney's Magical Express. If you're flying in, this could be a godsend.
• Package Pickup. Having my park purchases sent straight to my hotel, so nice!

That said, this trip I will be staying offsite, because it's the only way I can afford it... But I am sorry to hear the EMH isn't quite working out. [End of "I'm sad I must stay offsite" rant.]

 

[donaldsgal]

... with Sorcerer Figment's last point. there are many reasons and perks to stay onsite. after a terrible, TERRIBLE experience offsite last year, i doubt we will ever stay offsite again.

we did get to do one E-Ride night, and that was a lot of fun and worth the money. maybe the new EMH program doesn't look just like E-Ride nights, and that's to be expected because Disney has to find a way to keep changing things and appealing to the masses to keep guests coming back or starting their love affair with WDW in the first place.

that being said, i've not experienced the new EMH so i don't have an informed opinion. just wanted to throw in my two cents. it sounds like some CMs are enforcing the id-for-a-wristband rule and some aren't. this may change in the future but if not, keep in mind that there are lots of reasons to love Disney and experience as much of it as possible when you're there!

Jenny

 

[disneycrazzzy]

I was also at MK on Wednesday, April 6th for Extra Evening Hours and it was disappointing. Why?

1) No fastpasses were being offered...although at about 10:30 we saw that Peter Pan had fastpasses.

2) Lines for Space, Splash, Big Thunder, Pooh, Peter Pan, Buzz, and Stitch were as long or longer than earlier in the day.

3) We were not asked to show our resort ID to get a wristband.

4) Walkways were crowded with guests with and without wristbands. Lines got clogged by guests trying to get on rides without wristbands.

We stayed until about 11:30 after riding Buzz, Philarmagic, HM, and Stitch (after Wishes). We made a loop of the park from Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, and Adventureland before and after Wishes and if anything it was more crowded after Wishes until about 11.

We won't be using evening EMH at MK again. We had much better luck when the park was open until midnight on Thurday, March 31st in the hours from 10pm until midnight than during EMH. We had a great time anyway and loved seeing Wishes again. Mickey's Philarmagic is also a must-do. Anybody else see the hidden mickey? My DS7 saw it first.

 

[kilee]

I think that many more guests are taking advantage of the evening EMH-- it's a lot easier to stay up a few hours later than to get the whole crew up and showering at 5am for morning hours (for a lot of people anyway).

They should be asking for resort ID's and then checking wristbands prior to entering a ride. Unfortunately, I guess you can only chalk the lack of doing so up to human error. Any system that has to feed tens of thousand of guests through it is bound to have some flaws.

 

[famcruisefun]

We were in WDW the week before Easter. We were concerned about crowds - but managed to do very well by doing the "anti-emh shuffle". We headed to whichever park was not having EMH. Also if a park was open EMH late the night before - we hit it the next morning. This worked great - crowds were never too bad.
The one exception was the night MK was open until 3am with EMH. The kids really wanted to ride Buzz at midnight. The rides closed to "outsiders" at midnight - and at that time there were still a fair number of people in the park. We DID have to show resort IDs to get out wristbands and we DID have to show our wristbands to get on the rides. We had come to MK in the morning that day (not too busy as people were waiting to come later and stay for EMH I think). While we were there we picked up fast passes for Buzz and Space Mountain. Then we left the park, hung out at the hotel for a bit, and went to the early show of Cirque Du Soleil. We headed back to MK around 10:30pm. When we came back at night we used the fastpasses - no, they weren't issuing fastpasses anymore after midnight- but you could use the ones from earlier in the day. Right at Midnight it was still fairly crowded - but things cleared out fairly quickly. When we left around 2am it wasn't crowded at all. We got a bus back to the Swan with no trouble.
We had a great trip - by avoiding EMH except for the one time - and by using Fastpasses.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

In fact have you ever been asked to show a resort ID to go to and early morning park??? In over 10 trips I have never had to prove I was an onsite guest.

I have ALWAYS had to show my resort ID to get into an early morning park. When I stayed onsite and had LOS passes, your key is your ticket so it's easy to see that you are a resort guest. My last stay was onsite with a PAP ( ) and in order to enter an early entry park I had to show my resort ID card with my PAP.

D4D

 

[valeriekc]

I have ALWAYS had to show my resort ID to get into an early morning park. When I stayed onsite and had LOS passes, your key is your ticket so it's easy to see that you are a resort guest. My last stay was onsite with a PAP ( ) and in order to enter an early entry park I had to show my resort ID card with my PAP.

D4D

Well that is news to me....we have never had too and I'm talking about several trips with 5-9 day stays. And this was when they had the early opening each day of the week at different parks. We had AP or hopper tickets so they were never even seeing our resort IDs.
And obviously many people are obtaining wristbands now in the eve. without having to show ID's.
The system is not that great but will certainly be worse if they don't enforce it.
Seems like the smart thing to do is avoid extra "tragic" evenings until after midnight!

 

[Ducky4Disney]

Well that is news to me....!

Who knows? But I hope it gets better!

D4D

 

[the kabuki]

Love, love, love EMH evenings...look at it this way, it's 3 extra hours that the parks would normally be closed and they're OPEN!!!

Sounds as if spring break crowds hung around a little longer after they're breaks were done.

 

[KimR]

Wow...I feel like I'm in the twilight zone or something. We were there that night and the longest line we waited in was 20 minutes to get water on our way back to the resort at midnight. I wonder if we were just lucky to hit the rides at the right time? I did notice, though, that when we went through Fantasy Land the lines for Peter Pan and Small World seemed rather long, but DD wasn't interested in those anyway so we just hit Buzz, Philharmagic, and the Teacups and were able to walk right on. That was such a special night for us: it was just DD7 and I since everyone else turned wimpy and decided to head back to the resort after wishes.

 

[3for Me]

I have to say, that we tried in February - before Presidents day week, so crowds were supposedly low. Everyone I spoke with was GREATLY disappointed with evening EMH at both MK and MGM. It was difficult to ride many rides even with FP.

All of the people we spoke to liked E-nights better. (And there were many.)

Now, that being said, I agree that at least it is three more hours that the parks are open, so if you are there to just experience being in the park, soaking up the atmosphere and maybe riding a ride or two - then it is GREAT!

However, given my experience and the experiences of many that I have read on these boards, I would not necessarily DEPEND on evening EMH to get all my rides done.

I really can't decide where I stand, but I am leaning toward liking E-nights better, even though it was just for the MK.

By the way, we were asked to show resort ID's both times in Feb. and were asked again on most occassions as we boarded the rides, but that was just our experience.

 

[Lizzybee]

I only used the early EMH hours and that was wonderful. We had to use our resort IDs to get in. We never ended up staying for late EMH at any park BUT since it was Spring Break MK was open every night til Midnight and we decided to ride Peter Pan and IASW after Wishes and that was the ONLY time we had to wait. The park remained crowded. Granted it was still open to the public but I think even though the early EMH was only 1 hour, it was more effective than waiting for the crowds to leave at night. Using early EMH at MK we were able to ride Peter Pan, IASW, Dumbo, see Philharmagic, ride the tea cups, ride the Indy cars, eat breakfast and (with a fastpass) ride Buzz --- all before 10am. We were done with MK by 2pm and by then it was getting packed. Bedtime at home for the kids is a strict 9pm nightly so I didn't plan on using any late EMH unless absolutely necessary and it just wasn't.

 

[Kaybee]

we LOVED the EMH!! I was so happy to hear they were going to continue. We went last May during the trial period and absolutely loved it!! You can still fast pass at night if the ride times are long. We stayed at Magic Kingdom till 1am. It was great. At Epcot we rode test track at least 3 times without a hardly a 5 minute wait. Rock N Roller coaster was a virtual walk on!! I hope they will continue the EMH forever!!

 

[KTink14]

We are going in July and i hope by them all these gliches with the EMH's are done with. We havn't had the chance to experience them yet, but we did do the Eride nite last July and absolutly loved it! I was hoping it would kind of be the same. I just hope I'm not disappointed in the end July, with these EMH's, especially since i know we are going during a crowded time to begin with!

Now if they did Eride nite for all the parks that would be nice, i wouldnt even care about spending what$10 extra dollars or something!! Just my thoughts

 

[John Dobbertin]

We were there all of January from the very first the EMH-Late was introduced. Please keep those EMH-L hours so more & more people stay up until midnight. By the way, from the beginning MK was packed at EMH-L. They were checking resort IDs before issuing wristbands. When we realized MK was going to remain jammed for EMH-L -- even in January -- we ducked. Came back the next morning at regular opening hour -- guess what! Almost nobody there. For the first two hours we could walk on any attraction at MK (except Jungle Cruise which doesn't open in January until 10 a.m.). Suggestion: Check to see which Park has EMH-L . . . then hit that Park the next day at opening hour.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We were there when they tested EMH last May and found that if you were in the park after it closed, you would be turned away from rides but you could still hang out in the park. If you arrived after closing and were not a resort guest, you would be turned away. We thought it was great to have mopre time to ride our favorite rides.
I dont think anyone should expect that parks will be empty or even less crowded....It is regular season in WDW isn't it? I am not surprised that it would still be crowded at 10pm. If the park is open a few hours later, the smart people are the ones arriving at 10pm if the crowds are such a big issue.
I thought EMH was extra hours in the parks not extra hours in empty parks. Silly me.