real comparison between emh and normal drop rope???

[Babs1975]

For anyone who does both emh and a regular rope drop...what is the comparison? Are emh more busy than if you were there on another morning without emh at rope drop? Or is a regular rope drop day more busy? What's the comparison for wait tiimes, in any of the parks, but especially in MK in Fantasyland? Especially for that first hour or so, but do the emh affect the rest of the day too? We have always stayed off site and avoided emh like the plague, but wondering what the comparison is if we stay onsite. Thanks!

 

[Pats Dragon]

emh is the absolute best for fantasyland! No lines for anything. You can ride all the emh rides before the park opens. What is weird is that the rides become packed much more than at rope drop on other days. Don't know why. We stay onsite just for mk emh. Epcot, on the otherhand can have HUGE lines at emh because there are so few attractions. Worse than rope drop.

 

[CAS239]

If you're onsite and up early enough then am emh are great. Especially if you have park hoppers. Go there, get in an hour early and get a ton done, then leave after a few hours and park hop.

Generally parks with am EMH are busier than non emh day. That's why if you're offsite you'll want to avoid

 

[Robo]

The earlier in the morning a park opens, the fewer guests will be in attendance.

The fact is that many guests simply will NOT get up early "on vacation."

So, those who do make the effort will be rewarded in that first 60-120 minutes of the day.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

emh is the absolute best for fantasyland! No lines for anything. You can ride all the emh rides before the park opens. What is weird is that the rides become packed much more than at rope drop on other days. Don't know why. We stay onsite just for mk emh. Epcot, on the otherhand can have HUGE lines at emh because there are so few attractions. Worse than rope drop.

So for the morning emh hour, the waits at SDMT remain low? We normally avoid EMH with a passion, but with our schedule for next year, we are going to hit Magic Kingdom with two of them and possibly one at Epcot.

 

[CAS239]

So for the morning emh hour, the waits at SDMT remain low? We normally avoid EMH with a passion, but with our schedule for next year, we are going to hit Magic Kingdom with two of them and possibly one at Epcot.

7dmt is one of the most popular rides at Disney, so a bunch of people will be heading there during emh and park opening. So you'll probably be looking at a 30-45 min wait.

I'd recommend trying to get a FP for it like 2-3 hours after emh opening and take advantage of the other rides

 

[JohnDaleswife]

7dmt is one of the most popular rides at Disney, so a bunch of people will be heading there during emh and park opening. So you'll probably be looking at a 30-45 min wait.

I'd recommend trying to get a FP for it like 2-3 hours after emh opening and take advantage of the other rides

Gotcha! I was thinking this might be the case.

 

[Madzac]

We had never done EMH before but in July we only had one park day and wanted to do MK which was EMH. We were there before EMH rope drop and from the end of the welcome show to the 9am regular park opening we rode Buzz, Barnstormer, Dumbo, pooh, carousel, little mermaid and tea cups all in the first hour. We then were able to hit thunder mountain and splash mountain when the park officially opened with minimal wait. We got SO much done!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Scratching my head why anyone would get up that early....

If I'm up at 10:00 that's pretty early. After coffe, shower, and other morning duties I am EARLY if I'm out by noon. Usually 2 pm is closer to reality.

MG

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

What is weird is that the rides become packed much more than at rope drop on other days. Don't know why.

Here's why: People like my family like the idea of EMH more than actually getting up before dawn while on vacation. We try, we push, we drag people out of bed and try to get there for 7am or 8am (depending on the season). For my family, we fail 50% of the time and get there more than 30 minutes in to the EMH. Between late would-be EMH attendees and regular RD people, the regular opening has more people than usual. I have found this to be more true when the regular opening is at 9am than at 8am. 8am is still early for people on vacation. Also, EMH people who already have knocked out Fantasyland are gunning for the same big rides elsewhere in the park that many RD people are running to.
So yes, EMH is a fantastic "early bird gets the worm" situation if you get there at the start of EMH.

 

[Babs1975]

If you're onsite and up early enough then am emh are great. Especially if you have park hoppers. Go there, get in an hour early and get a ton done, then leave after a few hours and park hop.

Generally parks with am EMH are busier than non emh day. That's why if you're offsite you'll want to avoid

This is what I'm afraid of. I don't want to do emh if the day is going to be busier than a non emh day. Yes, we are early risers and get to parks at rope drop. So that first hour of the emh might be great but will the rest of the day be nuts and not even worth it? Dilemma!

 

[Robo]

This is what I'm afraid of. I don't want to do emh if the day is going to be busier than a non emh day. Yes, we are early risers and get to parks at rope drop. So that first hour of the emh might be great but will the rest of the day be nuts and not even worth it? Dilemma!

Not a dilemma for me.
I go to AM EMH every day that it is offered.

If that park turns busy, we can decide to take a break and return later, or head to another park.

 

[Babs1975]

7dmt is one of the most popular rides at Disney, so a bunch of people will be heading there during emh and park opening. So you'll probably be looking at a 30-45 min wait.

I'd recommend trying to get a FP for it like 2-3 hours after emh opening and take advantage of the other rides

30-45 minutes for 7dmt seems like a lot for emh!!!! Since that would be one of the main reasons to do emh at mk, I'm thinking that emh might not be the best for my family! I thought the wait time for 7dmt would be a lot less!

 

[Babs1975]

Not a dilemma for me.
I go to AM EMH every day that it is offered.

If that park turns busy, we can decide to take a break and return later, or head to another park.

And you don't find it more crowded than a non emh day?

 

[Babs1975]

And you don't find it more crowded than a non emh day?

We don't park hop so that park would be it for the day. Don't want to make the wrong decision!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

This is why I'm planning 2 EMM on our next trip. One for MK and one at HS. Looking forward to them both. Getting up early is not hard for us old fogies, it's staying out late for fw and such that kills us! lol.
This way we don't have to fight the crowds at RD, and can ride those long line rides and save our fp for other rides.

 

[tlmadden73]

If your goal is to get on as many rides as you want, then I would do EMH.

I did it once .. and even though it was an early morning (with a 3 year old and two grandparents) .. it made the first few hours of the day easy and relaxing. walk-ons pretty much any ride you want for the first hour .. and then the next hour after that (as non-emh people are coming into the park) .. very short waits for a lot else.
We probably got more "done" in those first two hours with EMH than we did for the next 3-4 hours (considering we had a lunch in there as well).

 

[Barbara76]

We had never done EMH before but in July we only had one park day and wanted to do MK which was EMH. We were there before EMH rope drop and from the end of the welcome show to the 9am regular park opening we rode Buzz, Barnstormer, Dumbo, pooh, carousel, little mermaid and tea cups all in the first hour. We then were able to hit thunder mountain and splash mountain when the park officially opened with minimal wait. We got SO much done!

Are only certain parts of the park open during EMH?

 

[Robo]

Are only certain parts of the park open during EMH?

Yes.

For AM EMH in MK, only the attractions in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open.
PM EMH sees FAR more MK attractions open (most of them, actually.)

Likewise, only specific attractions at Epcot, DHS and DAK are open for AM EMH.
Epcot and DHS PM EMH sees far more open attractions.

 

[Barbara76]

Yes.

For AM EMH in MK, only the attractions in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open.
PM EMH sees FAR more MK attractions open (most of them, actually.)

Likewise, only specific attractions at Epcot, DHS and DAK are open for AM EMH.
Epcot and DHS PM EMH sees far more open attractions.

Thank you, we have done PM EMH but never AM, this is good to know!