Magic Hours-Owning the time :D

Smith0697

Earning My Ears
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Feb 9, 2014
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5
Only a few days away until our trip to WDW! We will have 4-full days in the park, plus 1/4 of a day on the day we get there. We will be staying on Disney property and my question is,
If we go to Extra Magic Hours at the parks each day, what are your tips for getting the best and most out of our days? What should we do as soon as we get through the gates. Lines, fastpasses, etc.
Thanks Everyone!
3 DAYS! :banana:
 
First of all :welcome:

Since you are staying onsite have you scheduled your fastpasses for each day?
Personally at park opening I like to hit the bigger attractions first while there is no to little wait. Then you can just enjoy the parks at your own pace and use your fastpasses.

Hope you enjoy your trip!
 
I don't know if it's your thing we we always enjoy the PM EMH's much more than the AM. The parks and amazing at night all lite up IMO and you don't have to worry about it getting busy because the park is winding down.
 
Thank You for the replies! How do you schedule fast passes ahead of time? Can you not do it in the parks anymore? :)
 

Thank You for the replies! How do you schedule fast passes ahead of time? Can you not do it in the parks anymore? :)

Fastpass+ can be pre-booked if your staying on-site(book 60 days out). If your an AP holder(book 30 days out). Or if you happen to be randomly selected as a "tester" for off-site FP+ advanced booking. Otherwise if you don't fit into those three categories you will have to book your FP+ reservations the same day(no advanced booking) at one of the in park FP+ kiosks.
 
Anybody just skip the park that has the EMH? Doesn't it just attract more crowds?

Their are two schools of thought on this. Some say run away from the EMH parks others love taking advantage of them. I lie somewhere in the middle we particularly love PM EMH's at Epcot for WS and Magic Kingdom because of how late it remains open. We also stay at a monorail resort so it makes coming and going to those parks a breeze. I would try it out yourself and see what works best for your family. I can tell you their is nothing like riding SM or BTMRR at 2 am with no wait time. Than walking back up Main street USA to exit knowing you can take "the highway in the sky" to your bed.
 
We love EMH. For am, we hit the headliners then enjoyed the park at our own pace. The one time we went in July, I was there for work. We hit HS for am EMH and did TSM, ToT, and RaRC all before I caught a cab at 9:00 for my conference. dD and DH then did other rides and M&Gs until they were tired and then left for the pool. For PM, crowds tend to be lighter and we could get stuff done but often found rides like Soarin and Space Mountain still had long lines. FP+ - if you are staying on site, which it seems since you are asking about EMH, is only available if you booked a complete package through Disney. If you booked a room only, you do not get FP+ Unless you already have tickets you can link to your reservation. If you are getting your park tickets when you arrive, you will need to wait until you arrive to book your first FP+. You can then link the ticket to your reservation and book the rest go your trip or do it day to day at the parks.
 
Only a few days away until our trip to WDW! We will have 4-full days in the park, plus 1/4 of a day on the day we get there. We will be staying on Disney property and my question is,
If we go to Extra Magic Hours at the parks each day, what are your tips for getting the best and most out of our days? What should we do as soon as we get through the gates. Lines, fastpasses, etc.
Thanks Everyone!
3 DAYS! :banana:

EMH isn't what it used to be now that it's just 2 hours instead of 3. (I'm assuming you're talking about PM EMH?). We did an 11-1 PM EMH in the MK last June and the line for Space was still 90 minutes long at 12:45 AM.

I would say to temper your expectations. It might go great and offer tons of access with short lines. Or it might stay really busy throughout the EMH. It really varies a lot.

With only 4 days in the parks, you might be able to get more done by hitting rope drop every day.
 
EMH isn't what it used to be now that it's just 2 hours instead of 3. (I'm assuming you're talking about PM EMH?). We did an 11-1 PM EMH in the MK last June and the line for Space was still 90 minutes long at 12:45 AM. I would say to temper your expectations. It might go great and offer tons of access with short lines. Or it might stay really busy throughout the EMH. It really varies a lot. With only 4 days in the parks, you might be able to get more done by hitting rope drop every day.

I would add that the EMH parks will be more crowded each day than the non-EMH parks. So with only four days at the parks, you'd get more done each day at a non-EMH park than you would by going to EMH. PP is correct, EMH used to be a far better proposition when it was three hours. The parks would be a ghost town by the end of hour two, but now EMH is only two hours, they stay busy they whole time.
 
We love EMH. For am, we hit the hit the headliners then enjoy the park at our own pace. The one time we went in July, I was there for work. We hit HS for am EMH and did TSM, ToT, and RaRC all before I caught a cab at 9:00 for my conference. dD and DH then did other rides and M&Gs until they were tired and then left for the pool. For PM, crowds tend to be lighter and we could get stuff done but often found rides like Soarin and Space Mountain still had long lines. FP+ - if you are staying of site, which it seems since you are asking about EMH, is only available if you booked a complete package through Disney. If you booked a room only, you do not get FP+ Unless you already have tickets you can link to your reservation. If you are getting your park tickets when you arrive, you will need to wait until you arrive to book your first FP+. You can then link the ticket to your reservation and book the rest go your trip or do it day to day at the parks.

This post made me smile.
 
I didn't read if you had park hoppers or not, but if so....
Go to the most recommended non-EMH park during the morning/afternoon, then hit MK for evening EMH. Wait times might be longer at 12:45, but if it's open til 2, it's usually empty between 1-2. If you're still awake, that is. I rarely make it past 1am anymore.
 
A couple of questions:
- do you have parkhoppers? (If not, then consider skipping EMH. Those parks tend to get extra crowded after about lunchtime. But if you do have hoppers, you can hop to a much less crowded park later. That's what we normally do.)

- Do you have kids? And if so, how old? That will determine which rides you hit first.

- do you already have your FP+ done? If not, than do them today. There's no reason NOT to reserve the rides you think you'll love (this goes back to the previous point.) No one is saying you have to USE your FP+ if plans or moods change, but you may as well have them.

In any event, here's the plan:

Arrive at the parks ahead of opening. Have a good idea of which rides and attractions are at the top of your list. When you enter the park, knock off those headliners first. Save the FP+ for later in the day, when the crowds have built a bit... no point in wasting then on those golden first few hours wehn the waits are low.

We tour like crazy all morning, hitting the headliners.

Then, at lunchtime, the parks hit the point of diminishing returns. (we go over the summer; March may be different.) So we head back to the resort after lunch for a few hours of pool time.

We return for dinner, more relaxed touring, and fireworks.

The trick is to have a plan. Not necessarily a minute by minute plan, but at least a general idea.

Try www.touringplans.com for some ideas on touring plans.
 
Their are two schools of thought on this. Some say run away from the EMH parks others love taking advantage of them. I lie somewhere in the middle we particularly love PM EMH's at Epcot for WS and Magic Kingdom because of how late it remains open. We also stay at a monorail resort so it makes coming and going to those parks a breeze. I would try it out yourself and see what works best for your family. I can tell you their is nothing like riding SM or BTMRR at 2 am with no wait time. Than walking back up Main street USA to exit knowing you can take "the highway in the sky" to your bed.



I thought the monorail no longer ran for nighttime EMH???
 

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