Plan for EMH at DCA

[czmom]

We are staying at VGC and plan to use early entry to our advantage Last time we went to straight to RSR. This time we would like to ride other rides and grab a FP at 8:00. That being said, what's the best strategy to do the following rides during EMH:

ToT
Screamin
TSMM
Soarin

Thank you!!

 

[Girimama33]

Head to TSMM first. No FP available and this will be the shortest wait. You may even be able to ride a second time with little to no wait.
Then I would hit Screamin' next, then Soarin' and then ToT.

 

[czmom]

Head to TSMM first. No FP available and this will be the shortest wait. You may even be able to ride a second time with little to no wait.
Then I would hit Screamin' next, then Soarin' and then ToT.

Great! Every time I look at the wait times, ToT is long. I wonder if they only are running one side?

 

[Girimama33]

I have heard that they have been running one elevator the last week or so.

 

[czmom]

Hopefully next week it goes back to two

 

[plutos1fan]

Head to TSMM first. No FP available and this will be the shortest wait. You may even be able to ride a second time with little to no wait.
Then I would hit Screamin' next, then Soarin' and then ToT.

Hi,

I agree with Girimama33, go to TSMM first because if you head there first you have a good chance of walk straight on to the ride. Plus, TSMM is in the back of the park so you can start at Toy Story and then work your way to the front of the park. If you work your way from the back of the park to the front of park during the EMH you could easily go to Disneyland afterward if you wanted. Have fun!

 

[czmom]

So if we start in the back, would it be safe to enter through the Grand Californian? Or should we still go to the main entrance?

 

[Aladora]

So if we start in the back, would it be safe to enter through the Grand Californian? Or should we still go to the main entrance?

Main entrance will be faster to get in to the park. The GC entrance is always slow slow slow during EMH.

 

[Eosphotog]

When do RSR passes run out these days? In the past you had until mid-morning to pick up a pass then they were out for the day. Part of a EMH strategy involved timing the pick up of that pass.

 

[czmom]

I hope to do those above rides and be in line at 8:00 for a FP.

 

[Sith]

Head to TSMM first. No FP available and this will be the shortest wait. You may even be able to ride a second time with little to no wait.
Then I would hit Screamin' next, then Soarin' and then ToT.

I agree with this strategy. We did it mid May and it was great. Paradise Pier was nearly empty, since EVERYBODY goes to RSR. We went on TSMM twice and CS three times in like the first 35-40 minutes!

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Make sure to ask a cast member at the turnstiles which rides are up and running, when you get in. I don't know if it's the summer heat, but during our early morning hour on Wednesday (Aug 5), RSR, TSMM, and California Screaming were all closed through most of that hour. Big Bummer. Then they opened up TSMM and we got into the (by now fairly long line, since lots of the people who were originally planning to ride RSR first thing then walked to Paradise Pier for TSMM), just to watch the ride break down again, just when we were about to board. Fortunately the cast member who let us out scanned one of hour tickets with a kind of virtual fastpass for the four of us, so we were able to ride it later during the day without any day at all, so that ended up ok for us. Also, because RSR was down throughout all of EMH, they ended up distributing FPs early (which the people without early admission probably weren't happy about, since it resulted in FP return times being much later than what they usually are at the general park opening).

On our day 3, yesterday (Fri, Aug 8) the above rides were all running, but Soaring was not opening until 8am (I seem to remember they were open during EMH on our last trip a year ago, but maybe I remember that wrong...).