MK open until 2am...what's it like?

[Aurora0427]

So the MK is open from 12-2am for EMH the Saturday I'm there and was wondering if anyone has been in the park for those EMH. Is it pretty empty? I imagine it's pretty much walk on for all rides right?

I'm thinking of taking an afternoon/early evening nap, eating a late dinner and heading in around 11pm or so...what do you all think??

It depends on the time of year you're going. We went in early August one year back when EMH ran until 3am. It was packed. Lines for everything. But we've also done late EMH in slower times of the year, and it's been quiet. Like a PP said, you'll get a lot of locals on a Saturday.

 

[Aurora0427]

Because some kids are night owls. My kids aren't morning people. They can sleep until 12 pm with no problems and stay up until 2-3 am.

From your signature, your kids are older. I think the posters are talking about little ones- I am always a little shocked at the toddlers out that late. We napped our 3.5 year old for MVMCP and she only made it until 11. And boy did we pay for it the next day! But hey, to each their own!

 

[Andipandi]

I'm sorry I haven't been to Disney in a while. What is EMH? We will be in Disney December 6th thru the 12th of this year, will this be happening when we are there? We're staying at BWV.

 

[Island Eagle]

My 10-year-old still talks about being out at MK till 3am when she was 7. You can walk on pretty much any line at 2:30 am.

 

[snowweisz]

Late night MK EMH is my favorite kind of EMH!

The park is much emptier, and the quieter atmosphere with all the beautiful night lights is indeed magical.
You may not get to ride 7DMT but other rides will have super super short waits. We walked in at Peter Pan last September, for example.

Also, if you're after characters? The lines aren't just shorter but you get much better quality time with characters during EMH.

Go for it! Take a nap in the middle of the day so you can be super fresh and then hit the MK night!

 

[candacewi5]

We fly out tomorrow for our first WDW trip. Saturday MK is open until 2am and I am so so tempted to change our plans from Epcot (the recommended park per TP & Easy WDW) to MK. It is our first trip ever and our first day in the parks. I think it would be an amazing and magical experience for my 8 & 11 year olds to go to MK on their 1st day and get to be in the parks until 2am. We are sticklers for bedtime 98.9% of the time so staying up late is a real treat! I am afraid it will be crowded all day and I will have to change FP+ around if I can even get any, change ADRs, change another days plans to get our Epcot day in, and adjust our plans for the Sunday after our 2am night. That would eliminate making rd at MK Sunday morning.

Decisions? decisions? I don't know which way to go on this one. I tossed around the idea of adding PH onto our tickets, but I would rather use that $ somewhere else in our trip.

 

[tinkerbee]

I have found most times the parks clear out after the fireworks. We went to MK December 23 and the park was open until 1 am. Lines for 7DMT was 20 minutes and Anna and Elsa was 30 around 10 pm. We walked on everything else or had less than a five minute wait.

 

[MommaRN]

I think the later it gets, the more magical it gets. I love p.m. extra magic hours. I highly suggest going!

I agree, some of my best memories from our trip was arrival day and staying at MK until 2am. My DD got to ride the magic carpets with her 72 year old Grandpa over and over again. I don't know if it was because it was misting rain or what, but as soon as Wishes were over the park cleared out. It is so much easier to enjoy the scenery with fewer people around too. The themes are incredible.

We only have one 2am EMH day at MK during our 8 night stay at the end of April, and its the night before we leave. Praying for a late check out from the hotel, because I know we will be out as late as possible that night.

 

[MiniMosca]

My fiance and I stayed late twice for EMH in MK last June. We walked onto most every ride, although we waited a bit for Space Mountain (I think 15 minutes max). It was really nice to just walk around the park and see everything at night with less crowds and less heat. New Fantasy Land looks really pretty at night.

I loved the night hours and would always choose to go to them, I just can not get myself up for early extra hours. Epcot EMH at night are also great, it feels like it becomes adult only in the World Showcase.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

question? if some one did an morning EMH at say AK or HS or something, could they do the Late EMH at MK? i've seen a few days where they have two.
I will be taking advantage of a late night EMH at mk.

 

[kcool]

We love EMH!!! Our last trip was this past Christmas. It was open until 3 a few nights they we were there. It is just magical. My 14 year old son wanted to see Elsa & Anna and I told him I was not waiting 2 hours to do anything. We saw them at about 1:30 AM with maybe a 5 minute wait. We waited about 20 min for the mine train. I wanted to see all the cool stuff you miss with fast pass. Most things are walk ons. We have kept the kids up late for every trip. The youngest was 4 on the first trip. It is vacation! Who cares about bedtime! Our motto is from Pirates. You can sleep when you are dead. EMH are part of our best memories. It isn't hot. Less people. Just a different atmosphere. Something is just in the air!

 

[evilqueenmindy]

question? if some one did an morning EMH at say AK or HS or something, could they do the Late EMH at MK? i've seen a few days where they have two. I will be taking advantage of a late night EMH at mk.

as long as you have a park hopper, yes, you could do that.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Do it! Every WDW fan has to be in the MK at 2 or 3am at least once. Most rides will have very short to nonexistent lines. As a pp said, sometimes it's even ok to wait in a little bit of a line in something like 7DMT to see the theming you miss in the queue using FP. A few people mentioned Saturday possibly being busy because of locals, but it's EMH so unless there are lots of locals getting a room for the night just for a couple hours in the MK I'm not sure that's a big factor. Something about being a little punchy, in the wee hours, in an uncrowded park makes it an experience you have to have. Others mentioned Laugh Floor. Now, we've come to like Laugh Floor anytime. It's funny in a kinda cheesy, silly way. However, when you are sooo tired you will laugh at anything.....it's hilarious!

 

[Ms. S. White]

Word to the wise--don't do Stitch's Great Escape after 1am. The chili dog odor made our family so nauseous we had to leave the park. LOL. Haven't been back to Stitch since 2006!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Unless things are really crazy, the park will very much clear out after the 2nd MSEP (there's usually two when it's open that late). Then you can have most everything to yourselves.

 

[richmo]

I've found that many leave after the second MSEP, usually 11:00...and the second MSEP is much quieter than the first...I wouldn't bother with the 9:00 MSEP at all. The big rides will still have lines...especially Space and 7DMT, but much less than during the day and I think most everything else will be very short lines. Be sure to do BTMRR at night...different experience!

 

[BrianL]

I'm sorry I haven't been to Disney in a while. What is EMH? We will be in Disney December 6th thru the 12th of this year, will this be happening when we are there? We're staying at BWV.

EMH is Extra Magic Hours, a perk for on-site resort guests only. It will either be one extra hour in the morning or two at night at a certain park. The schedule varies, but if the Evening EMH is at Magic Kingdom, and MK is scheduled to close at 10, then you can stay until midnight...if it closes at Midnight, that's how you get to the magical 2 AM (unless it's one of those 24 hour deals)! Staying at Boardwalk, you will qualify to use this perk.

 

[BarbieGal457]

We love doing the EMH as late as we can! We always have, and have been there extremely late before. This past NYE we left at 3am! Of course the rides closed but by the time we actually left the park it was much later, as everyone was taking photos on Main Street and such. It's my favorite time of day to be in MK! Almost everything is walk-on or usually very minimal waits, it's not as hot as usual (if you are there during the summer), and overall just very fun. There will still be people there, but compared to heavy crowd days, it feels like nothing!

 

[mm1971]

So the MK is open from 12-2am for EMH the Saturday I'm there and was wondering if anyone has been in the park for those EMH. Is it pretty empty? I imagine it's pretty much walk on for all rides right?

I'm thinking of taking an afternoon/early evening nap, eating a late dinner and heading in around 11pm or so...what do you all think??

It's AWESOME!!!!!!!

The only ride that STILL had a reasonably long line the last time we were out that late was Peter Pan. Everything else was pretty much walk on to a 5 minute wait. We rode Splash 6 consecutive times (DD and I) without ever having to leave our log. It was one of the things she will always remember. Have you ever wondered how people get pictures of Main Street and the Castle without people in front? Yup, stay really late and it's like a different world around there. You'll feel like you have been sprinkled with pixie dust.

It's a lot of fun, but you do get tired by the end. Our kids always wanted to do it just to stay up as late as possible. We typically rested at the resort in the afternoon and then went back around 7/8PM and then stayed until close. Our first time was when the kids were pretty young and MK was open until 3AM. Still have the pic at 3AM in front of the castle on the way out.

 

[Bullseye]

I think the later it gets, the more magical it gets. I love p.m. extra magic hours. I highly suggest going!

Ditto, we love MK late, late at night, we always plan on it. It's really pretty and the place isn't crowded. Rides lines are usually short other than SM.