morning emh

[sleepymouse]

I am having a really hard time deciding if we should hit emh for all the parks or only for MK. We are going in mid-August and all parks are slated to open at 9am. Is it really helpful to do morning EMH at HS/EP/AK? Or does avoiding the EMH park and doing rope drop elsewhere work just as well? I can't seem to make up my mind. Also, we are traveling from the west coast so 8am EMH will feel like much earlier initially.

If it makes a difference, we plan to go rope drop until about 1pm and then take an afternoon break before heading back to parks in the evening. I plan to purchase parkhoppers.

 

[Robo]

We love AM EMH at all parks.
Then, as the park gets busier, we hop out.

 

[asbyrneva]

we love morning EMH too. Also if you are going in Aug it will be warm so the earlier you go the better in my opinion.

 

[ZoZo]

FYI, I found out the hard way that it's a really good idea to find out which attractions are open during EMH - not all attractions are!

I was surprised to find at my first morning EMH at Magic Kingdom that several of the bigger "headliner" rides were not open yet. Morning EMH at MK only includes Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides, not things like BTMRR, Splash, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc. Those don't open until regular park hours.

Might make a difference in whether you plan to attend a morning EMH.

 

[wisblue]

We do AM EMH whenever possible because it is a great opportunity to enjoy some of the top attractions in the parks with short waits. In the summer it also allows you to take advantage of one of the less sweltering hours of the day.

If you are buying hoppers you can stay in the first park until it gets too crowded or too hot for your tastes and then have FPs scheduled for a different park in the late afternoon or evening.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We prefer park opening time at non emh parks. We like lower crowds.

 

[sleepymouse]

Thanks for the heads up about limited attractions being open. We are DLR vets so already knew to expect this. Also, I was thinking about the heat when I started thinking EMH would be a better plan. I am a native Californian now living in the Pacific NW so not accustomed to the humidity. We are going to make all of our FPP reservations for the evening park, so worst case scenario, we can adjust the mornings on the fly if necessary.

 

[gtpoohbear]

We've generally found EMH to be worth it at MK and AK. The times we've done it at Epcot and DHS, it's been more crowded than a non-emh rope drop. I think there are fewer attractions open at those parks, so the crowds can't disperse as much, and thus wait times are no shorter.

 

[Robo]

We've generally found EMH to be worth it at MK and AK. The times we've done it at Epcot and DHS, it's been more crowded than a non-emh rope drop. I think there are fewer attractions open at those parks, so the crowds can't disperse as much, and thus wait times are no shorter.

Except, that at 9AM on non-EMH mornings at the same week, you'll generally find MORE guests, as many just can't/won't get up early enough
to be at a park before 8AM.

And, that's a key point.
IF you DO attend an AM EMH, it will be much better to arrive well before the AM EMH opening time, as you will encounter the lowest number of guests of the day at that time.
It's a game of "the early bird gets the worm," so to speak.

If you're going to go early... go EARLY!

 

[gtpoohbear]

Except, that at 9AM on non-EMH mornings at the same week, you'll generally find MORE guests, as many just can't/won't get up early enough
to be at a park before 8AM.

And, that's a key point.
IF you DO attend an AM EMH, it will be much better to arrive well before the AM EMH opening time, as you will encounter the lowest number of guests of the day at that time.
It's a game of "the early bird gets the worm," so to speak.

If you're going to go early... go EARLY!

In theory, that should be the case, but it hasn't been our experience recently.

Last year, we went to DHS two consecutive mornings, one EMH (8am) and the following was a regular 9am open. We got there about 30 minutes early both times. The hour from 8-9am on the EMH morning was WAY more crowded than the hour from 9-10am the next morning. On the EMH morning, DD and I were able to ride TOT and RNR once each just before 9am. The next morning, we split up the other way, and I was so mad because DH and DD rode both of them twice by 9:45!

At the time, I thought it was just an anomaly, but that sane week we had a similar experience at Epcot. Arrived at 7:30am for 8am EMH, and were so far back in the entry line that we couldn't even see the front. We didn't ger through the gates until 8:20, and it was well after 9 before we finished TT, the only thing we did during EMH. Later that week, we got there at 8:40 for a 9am open and breezed right in. Lines didn't start building until at least 9:30.

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with luck, and what percent of the onsite guests decide to get up early on a given day. But I do know that when we've gone to MK for EMH, even when it looks hopelessly crowded at the entrance, nothing ends up having a wait for the whole hour, because there are so many places for people to go. And I've just never seen a lot of people at AK EMH, we've even had the walkways to ourself!

 

[sleepymouse]

Not sure if it makes a difference, but what time of year did you experience this at HS and Epcot?