MK/Fantasyland “Early Morning Magic” (EMM) FAQ & Discussion

[Brett Wyman]

I’m not worried about the breakfast. We aren’t that picky. I’m more concerned with all the reports of 7dmt being down. I’m definitely planning to keep my reservation and hoping for the best.

Unfortunately, they don’t seem to think SDMT being operational is all that important. We wouldn’t ever book this again unless they change their policy and make refunds standard procedure in the event of it not running. Let’s be honest, for 99% of those who book this, SDMT is THE reason and they have to know that. Getting a refund was like pulling teeth and left a sour taste in my mouth at the very end of our trip.

Look its not like Disney send special mechanics to break the ride. They WANT it to run. If it breaks down they work HARD to repair it. It wouldn't be a good busy model to refund 100% of the people. They do always make accommodations of some kind, but you may need to ask. I went to a TSL EMM where SDD was down until about 25 minutes opening. It was frustrating but we were still able to ride 5 times we the time available plus free anytime FPs they gave us.

 

[DanFromNY]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's sounds funny but its true. I will never forget looking to my right and seeing the mass of humanity heading in my direction. Luckily, my parental instincts kicked in and I was able to grab my children under my arms and beat the rush to Buzz. It's a story I'm going to tell my grandkids one day

 

[cakebaker]

Look its not like Disney send special mechanics to break the ride. They WANT it to run. If it breaks down they work HARD to repair it. It wouldn't be a good busy model to refund 100% of the people. They do always make accommodations of some kind, but you may need to ask. I went to a TSL EMM where SDD was down until about 25 minutes opening. It was frustrating but we were still able to ride 5 times we the time available plus free anytime FPs they gave us.

No one said it was intentional nor did I say it’s neccessary to refund 100%. What I said was, they seem to think it’s not a big deal when their headliner isn’t operational during a special event- and my experience bears that out.

Yes, I got a refund, but it took dealing with an unpleasant CM who acted like I was being ridiculous because it was “ just” one ride. It’s great that yours worked out for you, had I been in your situation, I wouldn’t have complained either.

I’m not one who rags on WDW, in fact, been accused of being an apologist many times. But when they charge a premium price for something, they need to deliver it or happily refund those who don’t want to or can’t accept their alternative offer, not make them argue to get it.

 

[Brett Wyman]

No one said it was intentional nor did I say it’s necessary to refund 100%. What I said was, they seem to think it’s not a big deal when their headliner isn’t operational during a special event- and my experience bears that out.

Yes, I got a refund, but it took dealing with an unpleasant CM who acted like I was being ridiculous because it was “ just” one ride. It’s great that yours worked out for you, had I been in your situation, I wouldn’t have complained either.

I’m not one who rags on WDW, in fact, been accused of being an apologist many times. But when they charge a premium price for something, they need to deliver it or happily refund those who don’t want to or can’t accept their alternative offer, not make them argue to get it.

I mean I sorta agree with Disney on that one and I sorta agree with you. Especially at MK, where you have access to quite a few rides over TSLs three rides. But it shouldn't be an automatic refund because a ride is down(I know you did not say it should). If so you could argue the same thing for your daily park admission. I think the important thing is that they make an effort to please each guest based on why they are frustrated. In your case, assuming the 7DMT came back online sometime that day, it seems 4-5 anytime fastpasses could have fit the bill. Im curious what were they offering you instead of the full refund?

 

[SamanthaH]

I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to post their experiences both positive and negative. We had a EMM booked for August, which I canceled this morning. I think if one of the few offered rides was not operational for us, personally, the value would not be there. I can see how the other rides could develop waits if only one ride was down. Even if they offered additional fast passes for the non operational ride, I would not want the hassle of trying to find a CM and trying to figure out when I could use them. I would want to be moving out of Fantasyland and into Frontierland. The breakfast is of no consequence to us, and there is barely enough time to eat it during the event if you want to maximize the number of rides. I have also read harried accounts of people trying to make it to the MK on time for the event start. Unfortunately, Disney does not publish exact bus, monorail, and boat schedules. They may start running an hour or so before park opening, but not knowing specific times makes it a little more stressful when you have an early ticketed event scheduled.

We love MNSSHP and MVMCP and will continue booking these! Although more expensive, the event lasts much longer and many rides are offered, as well as fireworks and multiple snack stands, tricker treat stations, fake snow, etc... I would consider EMM if more rides were offered or if it was written policy that they gave you free anytime fast passes for the day the ride was down immediately without haggling with a CM, but I doubt they will do this.

Thanks again for everyone’s experiences.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to post their experiences both positive and negative. We had a EMM booked for August, which I canceled this morning. I think if one of the few offered rides was not operational for us, personally, the value would not be there. I can see how the other rides could develop waits if only one ride was down..

Keep in mind the rides are rarely down for the entirety of EMM. The disappointed are just much more likely to post about bad experiences as opposed to the people who had no issues. You're getting a distorted view of the likelihood of 7DMT being down.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I would never cancel over worry about a ride being down, but to each their own.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Oddly enough, for the now hundreds of EMM events that have happened and what would seemingly be a high chance of early AM transportation snafus, it rarely/‘almost’ never gets mentioned as a major complaint/problem. Guests have commented that they screwed up - slept late, didn’t get to the bus stop as early as they should, etc, but really not many “I couldn’t get there on time because of Disney” reports over time.

I’ve always been somewhat surprised it doesn’t get more comments, which to me is a general indication the early AM bus system to MK and other transportation options work reasonably well under normal circumstances and with planning aren’t necessarily a major impediment. (With the usual caveats that one can run into bad transportation luck on any given Disney day)

 

[SamanthaH]

Keep in mind the rides are rarely down for the entirety of EMM. The disappointed are just much more likely to post about bad experiences as opposed to the people who had no issues. You're getting a distorted view of the likelihood of 7DMT being down.

Not just 7DMT, it could even be PP or WTP. Rides go down at Disney all the time, and I am sure they work hard to get them back up and running. We were at HS one morning before leaving for the airport at 1pm. Both RnRC and TOT were down all morning, and we did not get to use our fast passes before having to leave. It was just bad luck. I don’t think I have a distorted view. I have been to Disney numerous times and rides go down all the time for extended periods. It would only prevent me from booking one of the EMM events at HS or MK due to the number of rides available and time constraint of the event. If there was written policy that gave EMM guests an anytime fastpass that day for a ride that was down for more than a brief time without haggling with a CM, I would reconsider. None of this... we’ll let you use your band for 1 additional hour, etc...

 

[cakebaker]

I mean I sorta agree with Disney on that one and I sorta agree with you. Especially at MK, where you have access to quite a few rides over TSLs three rides. But it shouldn't be an automatic refund because a ride is down(I know you did not say it should). If so you could argue the same thing for your daily park admission. I think the important thing is that they make an effort to please each guest based on why they are frustrated. In your case, assuming the 7DMT came back online sometime that day, it seems 4-5 anytime fastpasses could have fit the bill. Im curious what were they offering you instead of the full refund?

They offered a 1 time entrance through the FP line up until 10am. Apparently the ride was down quite some time and they changed the offer several times during the day. Space was down as well so 2 headliners were down. This made for long lines at PPF. Even Winnie the Pooh had a significant wait time. When there are limited rides open and you take 2 of the 3 most popular ones out of the mix, it's a mess.

If your schedule allows for you to take advantage of an alternative offer, great, but when it doesn't, it's my opinion they should give refunds without having to fight for it.

 

[cakebaker]

I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to post their experiences both positive and negative. We had a EMM booked for August, which I canceled this morning. I think if one of the few offered rides was not operational for us, personally, the value would not be there. I can see how the other rides could develop waits if only one ride was down. Even if they offered additional fast passes for the non operational ride, I would not want the hassle of trying to find a CM and trying to figure out when I could use them. I would want to be moving out of Fantasyland and into Frontierland. The breakfast is of no consequence to us, and there is barely enough time to eat it during the event if you want to maximize the number of rides. I have also read harried accounts of people trying to make it to the MK on time for the event start. Unfortunately, Disney does not publish exact bus, monorail, and boat schedules. They may start running an hour or so before park opening, but not knowing specific times makes it a little more stressful when you have an early ticketed event scheduled.

We love MNSSHP and MVMCP and will continue booking these! Although more expensive, the event lasts much longer and many rides are offered, as well as fireworks and multiple snack stands, tricker treat stations, fake snow, etc... I would consider EMM if more rides were offered or if it was written policy that they gave you free anytime fast passes for the day the ride was down immediately without haggling with a CM, but I doubt they will do this.

Thanks again for everyone’s experiences.

Honestly, after having done both last week, I think DAH is the much better value. Parks were near empty, snacks included, more rides open. We will definitely do DAH again. For us, we get an AP discount so the price difference is not that great.

 

[Brett Wyman]

They offered a 1 time entrance through the FP line up until 10am.

That is definitely not enough compensation. We got 3 anytime FPs the day SDD was down and it was even running by 8:30. AND they held back the RD crowd until 9:10. I would have taken that up with guest services as well.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Now that they've made it all of Fantasyland they can use the "only one ride" excuse all day long.

 

[cakebaker]

That is definitely not enough compensation. We got 3 anytime FPs the day SDD was down and it was even running by 8:30. AND they held back the RD crowd until 9:10. I would have taken that up with guest services as well.

As I've probably said before, my real dissatisfaction is not with the rides being down, although that was extremely frustrating. It was with the attitude of the CM's at the ride and at guest services- especially guest services. When I'm at guest services asking for a refund on MM at 8:15, asking me if we ate breakfast and how many things we rode isn't neccessary. It was simply her trying to prove we were out to get something for nothing and it was insulting. Clearly we would not have had time to do much at all. We didn't eat breakfast and we only rode 2 rides because we were waiting and hoping that SDMT would open. When we returned to SDMT shortly after 8, we were told they were sure it would not open during MM at all. We went directly from there to guest services. I wasn't rude or angry. I was polite and tried to explain our situation and disappointment. There was no reason for the attitude I got.

We had a wonderful time on our trip. Outside of a couple of weather issues, it was one of our better ones. The YC staff was amazing. It's a shame my last memory of our trip is very unpleasant.

 

[cakebaker]

Oddly enough, for the now hundreds of EMM events that have happened and what would seemingly be a high chance of early AM transportation snafus, it rarely/‘almost’ never gets mentioned as a major complaint/problem. Guests have commented that they screwed up - slept late, didn’t get to the bus stop as early as they should, etc, but really not many “I couldn’t get there on time because of Disney” reports over time.

I’ve always been somewhat surprised it doesn’t get more comments, which to me is a general indication the early AM bus system to MK and other transportation options work reasonably well under normal circumstances and with planning aren’t necessarily a major impediment. (With the usual caveats that one can run into bad transportation luck on any given Disney day)

Transportation our entire trip was stellar. We used busses and the boats exclusively and have 0 complaints. Normally, we'll grab a Minnie Van here or there, but just didn't need it. Our longest wait was to Disney Springs, but it always is and no surprise at all. And even that was 20 minutes at most. I did find that for MM, bus arrival times weren't available, but we got down to the bus stop early so no problems.

 

[otten]

One thing Disney really needs is consistency around compensation when something goes wrong with Mine Train or another key attraction at this event. When we attended one where Mine Train (and Pooh) were down the whole event everyone was allowed to use the FP line until noon but some people also got anytime FP and some people got refunds. The inconsistency is frustrating for guests.

I'm actually angrier about our more recent EMM though where Mine Train eventually did open because we were offered absolutely nothing, even though the delayed opening had a serious impact on the enjoyment of the event.

 

[ArielSRL]

So I was booked for MK EMM on 9/1 but that got cancelled so I added it for our June trip (6/9). So I am moving plans around and am wondering what's the opinion of what to rope drop: Buzz or Speedway? I'm the only one who does Space so I'm not considering it. Can we get both in? Which should we hit first, logistically speaking? I suppose we will do breakfast around 9:45?

 

[DanFromNY]

So I am moving plans around and am wondering what's the opinion of what to rope drop: Buzz or Speedway? I'm the only one who does Space so I'm not considering it. Can we get both in? Which should we hit first, logistically speaking? I suppose we will do breakfast around 9:45?

Hi we did Buzz, I can’t speak to Speedway because it wasn’t open but Buzz is a fairly quick ride. In fact, we did it twice and never used my 10-11 FPP for it. So long as you’re waiting at Cosmic Rays 8:50-8:55 you’ll be fine. As I’ve stated in previous posts, just be ready to hustle.

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time to post their experiences both positive and negative. We had a EMM booked for August, which I canceled this morning. I think if one of the few offered rides was not operational for us, personally, the value would not be there. I can see how the other rides could develop waits if only one ride was down. Even if they offered additional fast passes for the non operational ride, I would not want the hassle of trying to find a CM and trying to figure out when I could use them. I would want to be moving out of Fantasyland and into Frontierland. The breakfast is of no consequence to us, and there is barely enough time to eat it during the event if you want to maximize the number of rides. I have also read harried accounts of people trying to make it to the MK on time for the event start. Unfortunately, Disney does not publish exact bus, monorail, and boat schedules. They may start running an hour or so before park opening, but not knowing specific times makes it a little more stressful when you have an early ticketed event scheduled.

We love MNSSHP and MVMCP and will continue booking these! Although more expensive, the event lasts much longer and many rides are offered, as well as fireworks and multiple snack stands, tricker treat stations, fake snow, etc... I would consider EMM if more rides were offered or if it was written policy that they gave you free anytime fast passes for the day the ride was down immediately without haggling with a CM, but I doubt they will do this.

Thanks again for everyone’s experiences.

I hate that you canceled it, but I understand given the recent experiences of several on the forum. We had a great experience during our most recent visit last week, and honestly would do it again. My DH said it was a huge highlight of the trip for him, having the whole area to yourself for a brief time. My kids enjoyed every second. Disney does an amazing job of “making it right” when things don’t go according to plan, and we were offered many options throughout our trip when rides broke down or rain set in...they really do aim to please.

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

Hi we did Buzz, I can’t speak to Speedway because it wasn’t open but Buzz is a fairly quick ride. In fact, we did it twice and never used my 10-11 FPP for it. So long as you’re waiting at Cosmic Rays 8:50-8:55 you’ll be fine. As I’ve stated in previous posts, just be ready to hustle.

We did Buzz and Astro Orbiter at rope drop.