new EMH crowds?

[kbhehl]

What's the buzz on the crowds for evening EMH? Anyone seen a good thread about this yet, or should I give it another couple of weeks?

Thanks all!

 

[kilee]

The overall general impression is that it is much more crowded than the morning EMH. I do think that was expected though. It's probably going to take a few months before we get a real feel for the overall crowd levels.

 

[bubba's mom]

I agree...it's going to take awhile to see how the EvEMH's pan out. It will definately be more crowded for the evening one vs. the morning...Guests were telling Disney they love the extra time in the park, but they can't/won't get up that early....that's why they decided to give them the EMH at night. Here's a couple of links on the boards:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=7215792#post7215792
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=7222686#post7222686
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=7264861#post7264861
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=7269329#post7269329

 

[ktbugsmom]

We just got back from an 8 day stay at WDW (January 1-8). My impression was that the evening EMHs were pretty bad. We went to MGM for the evening hours and the lines were terrible - 35 minutes for great Movie Ride, 60 minutes for RNR and ToT... but during the day, those lines were 10-20 minutes max. I heard from another person that Animal Kingdom evening hours were just as bad, so we skipped the Magic Kingdom evening hours.

The extra morning hour at MK was great as usual - rode Space Mountain, did Buzz and a couple Fantasyland rides before the park opened to the public. Then at 9am went over the Haunted Mansion, then Splash Mountain (2 times) and BTTRR 2 times... waits were only 5-10 minutes - Splash was a walk on.

So - my impression for the first week of the new evening hours is that they were a bust. However, we still had a great time and we are more of a morning family anyway.

 

[Inga]

Bump!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I was there that first week, also, and I agree about MGM. I gave up and left my 8:00 rather than battle all those crowds. But I did go to MK EMH Wednesday eve and it was better. Not great, still crowded, but not as bad as MGM. Dumbo had about a 45 minute wait, but Cinderella's Carousel was only a few minutes. I had thought TTA would be open, but unfortunately it wasn't. And there were alot of people waiting for Pooh (don't remember the exact time). If I remember correctly there was no FP option so everyone had to wait in the long lines!

 

[KBFinFan]

Ill second..err third.. the thoughts about MGM. We left before 10:00 as well because the crowds seemed worse than they were during the day. The MK extra hours were much better especially as the evening wore down. Towards 10:00 Splash and BTMR were pretty much walk-ons, and Space had a 20 minute wait time if I remember correctly. We didn't take advantage of any of the early entries, in fact, simply avoiding the parks on the day of early entry.

 

[bubba's mom]

So far it sounds as if EvEMH at MK is not too busy.....maybe because the little ones who can enjoy Fantasyland are sacked out early?? hhmmmm....

 

[opal]

I was there the 1st - 7th. MGM was very crowded and they were not doing fp. ToT was having technical difficulties so the line for that was very long and slow moving. MK was not too bad. We skipped AK. Epcot was not bad at all. They were doing fp that night and there was little or no wait even without it. We left about 10:30 because we had done everything we wanted at least once, twice for Test Track.

MGM and MK had earlier regular closing.. 7 p.m., so I think that is why those parks stayed busy.

All in all, I think the parks in general were much busier (at all hours) than they have been on our Jan trips the last 4 years. Maybe because of how the holidays fell on weekends this year, or maybe the economy is picking up.

While in one of the shops in ToonTown, a CM was telling us how even Disney underestimated the crowds for that week. We have been at the end of summer, in March, Nov., Dec. and this trip really was unusually crowded.

Once they work out the kinks with the new ticket options and staffing for the extra hours, I think it will get better. 3-4 extra hours a day can only make the trips better!!!

 

[Pig Pen]

I was somewhat disappointed that no EMH for MK will be offered while I am at WDW (Jan 19-25...we leave on the 26th), but otherwise I am happy to avoid the EMH parks altogether. Last year the parks were pretty dead from Feb 1-5, so I am hoping for the same this year.

My parents are Fl residents and live nearby and were going to visit the parks with us, but since they would not have resort keys, they would not be able to attend EMH with us anyway.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

So far it sounds as if EvEMH at MK is not too busy.....maybe because the little ones who can enjoy Fantasyland are sacked out early?? hhmmmm....

I wish Disney would realize the little ones were much better off during Morning EMH. Is there any reason they can't add another morning of MK? Wouldn't that be wonderful!

Eventually the people will hear of the crowded EveEMH and chose to avoid them and eliminating the best perk of staying onsite.

 

[bubba's mom]

...... a CM was telling us how even Disney underestimated the crowds for that week.

At Disney Day at my local AAA this weekend, the CM doing the presentation told me they schedule the EMH's according to attendance. Going by the same day last year, if attendance was busy, that will be the park with the EMH....maybe they are off a week since last year was leap year!?!

 

[bubba's mom]

I wish Disney would realize the little ones were much better off during Morning EMH. Is there any reason they can't add another morning of MK? Wouldn't that be wonderful!

probably for most....but my DS (& us too) are by no means, morning people! I was literally dragging DS outta bed for MorningEMH at MK last year....took him like 2 hours to wake up and get with the program! Evening works better for us...and it's 3 hours, not 1!!!!

Eventually the people will hear of the crowded EveEMH and chose to avoid them and eliminating the best perk of staying onsite.

Maybe they will stay onsite, but maybe they will not bother going to EvEMH therefore cutting down on the crowds for me!!

 

[UBSHANG]

Just returned from our January 4-8 trip. MK crowds on Wednesday, Jan. 5 were low in the morning with 10 to 15 minute waits for Peter Pan's Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion. Crowd levels became moderate in the afternoon with 20 to 30 minute waits. As evening approached, crowd levels increased substantially as a result of the EMH night, and we left the park by 5:30 PM.

Attendance on Thursday, January 6 and Friday, January 7 was also low in the morning and moderate in the afternoon. The attendance on Thursday evening, January 6 was high because of the SpectroMagic Light Parade. Saturday, January 8 became very crowded in the afternoon with 50 to 60 minute waits for Winnie the Pooh and Splash Mountain.

 

[rwodonnell]

Eventually the people will hear of the crowded EveEMH and chose to avoid them and eliminating the best perk of staying onsite.

This sounds sort of like a Yogi Berra type saying... "It's so crowded, nobody goes there any more."

 

[MaryKatesMom]

This sounds sort of like a Yogi Berra type saying... "It's so crowded, nobody goes there any more."

Yep, that's what I'm saying. Disney may be a victim of its own success!

 

[ktbugsmom]

I was glad to hear that others felt the parks were a bit more crowded than anticipated. I had heard over and over about how the parks are "dead" in January, so I was quite surprised to see the crowd levels. But, that being said, we rode Tower of Terror on January 8 (Saturday) at 1pm with about a 10 minute wait. RnR had about a 25 minute wait. Much better than the 60+ minute waits during the evening EMH.

However, I do think the crowd levels had to do with how the holidays fell this year. Usually people leave right after New Year's - but since New Years day fell on Saturday, and many people had Monday off, I think some folks planned their trip like we did - for right after New Years.

Anyway, I am still a big fan of early morning hours, but it was fun to see the parks at night... plus, we got to see the Osborne lights on January 2 without too many people. In December 2002 when we saw them, it was packed to the gills and you could barely move.

 

[kbhehl]

Thanks for all the input! I'd like to see what happens (with Evening EMH crowds) over the next couple of weeks, especially because it sounds like the crowds last week were bigger than usual.
I've never tried morning EMH because I can't get my traveling companions (whether kids, spouse, SIL, or mother) to get up that early. With my upcoming Feb. trip, I thought "Finally! A chance to spend extra time in the parks!" But now I'm not sure that it will be worth it to hit the parks with evening EHM.

 

[Turner5]

Thanks for all the input! I'd like to see what happens (with Evening EMH crowds) over the next couple of weeks, especially because it sounds like the crowds last week were bigger than usual.
I've never tried morning EMH because I can't get my traveling companions (whether kids, spouse, SIL, or mother) to get up that early. With my upcoming Feb. trip, I thought "Finally! A chance to spend extra time in the parks!" But now I'm not sure that it will be worth it to hit the parks with evening EHM.

We are really looking forward to the evening hours in March. We are not morning people and when we did get up early, everyone (all 5 of us) was so grumpy. We were working too hard to have a great time. When we gave this up, we had a much better time. This time - no early mornings!!! I hope the crowds aren't too bad!

 

[ktbugsmom]

kbhehl,
While it may not have been "productive" for those evening hours, it was still kind of neat to be able to wander around the park for a couple extra hours at MGM. My 4 year old loves the Great Movie Ride, so we did end up waiting in that line for 30+ minutes. Normally I would not do that, but she was being patient, so I figured I could be patient as well. We also had a leisurely dinner at the ABC Commissary (sic?) and as I stated before, we saw the Osborne lights - so all was not lost.

I guess if you just go with the idea of taking your time and just enjoying the sights, you will be fine. I sort of wish we had tried Magic Kingdom evening hours - but we were tired and had been to MK 2 times already that week - with plans to hit early morning on Friday - so my husband did not want to deal with crowds again.

It will be great - it's Disney!