TheTXTaylors5
He's the Mickey to my Minnie
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2006
- Messages
- 7,381
We will be at the Magic Kingdom for the EMH until 3 am on November 22nd. I can't wait!!!! 
We attended an EMH at the MK until 3 am this past June. It was THE BEST night/morning of the trip!!! However, we did sleep until noon the next day.
If you plan to attempt this, I HIGHLY recommend taking a nap that evening and don't have plans for the next morning.
We didn't head to the park until around 10:40 pm. As you can imagine, the bus was pretty empty heading to the park. It was just us and one other family. That was a GREAT sign of things to come. 
Here's an excerpt from my Trip Report regarding our 3 am EMH experience ...
Okay, where did I leave off???? Oh yeah, Magic Kingdom at 11 PM.
SUNDAY (June 21, 2009) continued ...
When I was planning the itinerary for this trip, I checked and re-checked the WDW website for park hours. The closer it got to our vacation dates, the park hours kept getting later and later. Which led me to believe, this was going to be a busy week at WDW. I was shocked to find out that the Magic Kingdom was open until 3:00 am our first night. I am a night owl. However, I didn't know how the children would do. So, after we had a light in-room dinner, I tried to get everyone to lay down for a nap. If we were going to MK for EMH (PM), I wanted to stay until the very end. Getting the kids to lay down was easier said than done. Around 10:00 PM, I started getting everyone refreshed and dressed for the evening. Earlier in the day, I had the kids decorate the mister fans with stickers I bought at home. That was a fun little in-room project.
Decorating the misting fans.
I knew the evening was going to still be warm. So, I made sure to pack the newly decorated mister fans and lots of water. With the backpack fully stocked, we headed for the bus stop. Our building was so close to the bus stop I could have thrown a rock. By this time it was around 10:40 PM. We waited about five minutes when a MK bus appeared. As you can imagine everyone was getting off. We were the only fools getting on the bus. Then again, maybe THEY were the fools.
One other family got on at another stop and we were off. Next stop ... 
I love the feeling of entering a park as the crowds of people are leaving. They looked so tired and beaten down. Here we were at 11 PM all refreshed, bright-eyed and ready for an evening/early morning of fun. Entering the MK and walking down Main Street never gets old. Turning the first corner and seeing Cinderella Castle in person always puts me in awe. I didn't take too many pictures this evening. I was having too much fun. So, I may post some from our May 2009 trip for your viewing pleasure.
DS3's favorite ride at all of WDW is Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. So, we were off to Tomorrowland for our first ride of the trip. We normally visit WDW during non-peak weeks. So, we were not expecting the 20 minutes posted time at 11:30 PM for Buzz. We decided to ride it anyway. The wait time ended up being closer to only 10 minutes. That line moves pretty quickly. While on the ride, EMH (PM) started. Hopefully, that will clear some of these people out of the park.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - Tomorrowland
This is a really neat ride, not just for Toy Story fans. You enter a two person car that has built-in laser guns. The object is to shoot at the Z on circles throughout the ride to gain points. I am a terrible shot. I can never tell where my laser is. But, it is still fun. We are always comparing our scores afterwards. DS9 and I both got 999,999 this past December. It didn't hurt that we were stuck on the ride in the first room with the big robot. We kept shooting at the back of his hand for bonus points. Before we knew it, we both had 999,999. However, the rest of the ride was pretty boring because we maxed out our points. This is a "must ride" for us each visit to the MK.
After Buzz, we walked over to Fantasyland. There were still long lines for Dumbo and the Carousel. By this time, we could start getting FastPasses. We walked by Peter Pan's Flight and the wait time was 40 minutes. We don't wait in line unless it is 20 minutes or less. So, DH grabbed us some FPs for later and on we went to ride The Haunted Mansion. This is DS9's favorite ride at the MK. It had a posted time of 20 minutes.
The Haunted Mansion - Liberty Square
This is a classic MK attraction. When waiting in line, makes sure to check out the tombstones to your left. Some of them have very clever sayings. Also be warned, someone is watching you.
When you enter the mansion you are first led into the library. Here the CM tells you to move into the middle of the room. Before you know it, the room is stretching. If you have younger children, I would hold on to them tightly in this room. At some point all the lights go out and that may freak them out. A secret door is opened and the guests are ushered into a queue to wait to board a doom buggy. These can fit two adults comfortably or one adult and two children. The line goes pretty quickly as it is a continuous flow of cars (like Buzz and Peter Pan). The doom buggy takes you through different rooms in the mansion being narrated by your Ghost Host. The owner of the mansion, Master Gracy, is not home right now. I'll let you figure out why. My favorite scene is the dining room with the ghosts having a birthday party. Make sure to look for the hidden Mickey in this scene (hint: plates). It amazes me how old the technology is on this ride. We had a great ride. Also, it was a great place to get into the A/C for about 30 minutes. It was cold in there! But, I'm NOT complaining. After the HM, the park looked like it was starting to thin out a bit. We walked through Liberty Square to Frontierland. We had planned for this to be the first trip our whole family would ride Splash Mountain together. In the past we would have to do the Rider Swap. So, DH and I never got to ride together. DS3 was finally tall enough and willing to ride it. However, when we got to the ride entrance, it was DD6 that started to freak out. She had a scare last year where she felt like she was falling out of the log. She wasn't, but it scared her. We decided to not ride at that time and hope that she would calm down enough to maybe ride it later. We casually walked over to Adventureland. We noticed no line for Pirates of the Caribbean. So, we entered into the queue.
Pirates of the Caribbean - Adventureland
Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirates life for me! You will be singing that after riding this attraction. I was surprised even at this time of night, there was no line. We walked all the way through the queue into a waiting boat. If you have younger children, I will warn there is one drop on this attraction towards the beginning of the ride. After that, even with the skeletons and darkness, the ride is pretty mild. Keep an eye out for sneaky Jack Sparrow. With the refurbishment a few years ago, they added some new touches to this old Disney classic. Like HM, this is another great attraction to ride on a hot Florida day or night. It was like being in a dark cave, cool and damp.
After POTC, DH went to get the family FPs for Splash Mountain while I took the kids towards Aladdin's Flying Carpets. I totally forgot to get our KTTW cards from DH. So, we were not able to ride. The kids had fun playing at the tiki drums/water sprayer across from the ride. DH met back up to us with FPs in hand. By this time the kids didn't want to ride The Flying Carpets. We were right near The Jungle Cruise. So, we decided to hop on a waiting boat. I kid you not, we walked straight through onto a boat.
The Jungle Cruise - Adventureland
If you like puns, you'll love this little voyage through Asia and Africa. You board a boat with a very corny Skipper. He (or she) leads you on an adventure where you encounter wild natives, hungry hippos and the backside of a waterfall. The narration by the Skipper is what makes the ride for us. They make corny jokes left and right. We love to heckle the Skipper and give a "Booooooooo!" to a bad pun where needed. We've ridden this ride in the daytime and at night. It is very eerie and takes on a whole different vibe at night. It was pretty cool.
By now our FPs for Peter Pan's Flight were valid. So, we left the peacefulness of Adventureland for the chaotic Fantasyland. It was still bustling with people at 2:00 AM. The posted wait time was 30 minutes. However, there was no way that line was only 30 minutes. It snaked around the building. Luckily, we had our FPs. We rode this a few years ago. I didn't remember too much about it and was underwhelmed at the time. I could never figure out why people rave about this ride or are willing to wait an hour to ride it. I now have a newfound appreciation for this ride.
Peter Pan's Flight - Fantasyland
You enter a two/three person flying ship on your way to Neverland. It swoops you into different scenes of the story Peter Pan. Keep an eye out for Ariel. My DD6 spotted her a mile away. This is a whimsical ride. I wouldn't wait an hour to ride it. But, I would ride it again with a FP. Very cute!
After PP, we decide to ride one last ride before calling it a night ... Splash Mountain. By now, DD6 had calmed down and was willing to ride it for DH. Since this is his birthday trip and she wanted to make him happy. We walked through a deserted Liberty Square to an even more deserted Frontierland. We didn't need the FPs for SM, there was no line.
Splash Mountain - Frontierland
We boarded our log and were on our way to see Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. DH rode with DS3 to help comfort him if needed, DS9 rode in a row by himself and I rode behind him with DD6. I've never seen the movie Song of the South. So, I don't know how the movie ties into the ride. I like the storyline and theming of the ride. It is cute and colorful. You know going through all the scenes what is to come ... the big fall. DH had already gotten wet earlier in the ride when the log coming down splashed on his side of the log. So, he didn't care about getting wet on the big fall. He was already soaked. DD6 started freaking out when we made the ascent up the hill. However, by that time it was too late. DH said DS3 was fine. Go figure. When we went down the fall, DH said DS3 said "More!". That's my boy! Needless to say, even the cheerful Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah at the end of the ride couldn't get DD6 to smile. She wasn't happy. We'll try her on the ride again in a few years. Happily, DS3 has found a new ride he loves and can't wait to go back to MK and ride again and again.
After Splash Mountain it was around 3:00 AM. We closed the park down. By this time, we were all VERY tired. We made the slow long trek down Main Street to the exit. Walking into the park earlier in the evening Main Street looked so short. However when heading out, the exit seemed so far away. It was like one of those movies where the hallway keeps stretching. Finally, we made our way to the line already formed for the SSR bus. It wasn't too bad. We'd definitely get a seat. We waited about ten minutes before a bus arrived. As soon as the driver turned off the lights on the bus, all three of our kiddos were fast asleep as well as a lot of other children on the bus. I was surprised how many children were still up this late. I guess when on summer vacation at WDW, all "normal" schedules go out the window.
DH took this picture with his phone. DS9 and DD6 on the bus after a late night at MK.
We got back to our room at SSR around 4:00 AM. We'd definitely be sleeping in tomorrow morning. Oh wait, it was already morning. I had plans of going to Epcot later. Will we make it? You'll just have to stayed tuned to find out ...
Coming Up: Did we make our Nine Dragons ADR at Epcot? What time will we actually get up? Extra Magic Hours (PM) at Animal Kingdom tonight!
Who else was at the Evening EMH at MK on Sunday, November 22nd????? I am so bummed that Space Mountain shut down early. Does anyone know what the problem was? All I know is when we approaching it around 2:30 AM the CM said it was experiencing technical difficulties and that they were not re-opening the queue that evening. When we first got to the MK, the line for SM was well over an hour. So, we decided to wait until later to ride. Now, I wish we had hopped into line earlier. 
Jennifer
John and Katherine will be at the seminar too. 
