RUN don't walk away form MK evening EMH!!!!

[erinz]

We are heading to WDW Nov 27th- Dec 4th and I was wondering do you think it will be as crazy as it is right now?

Will there even be EMH during the holidays? I mean except for Thanksgiving weekend, and Christmas to New Years.

I think they will close the MK at 6pm every night except for MVMCP.

I could be wrong...

 

[cindyfan]

DS8 and I are going for a quick trip. Landing at 3:20 p.m. on August 12 and leaving August 16. Here's what we had planned.
-Friday, August 12 - Arrive 3:20. Go to hotel and then get over to MK asap. stay for evening EMH until we're tired or it is too crowded.
-Saturday, August 13 - Animal Kingdom early entry. Then go over to MK when we're done at AK.
-Sunday, August 14 - MGM. Arrive at opening. EMH evening, so stay if we want to.
-Monday, August 15 - Epcot early entry.

Three questions about this schedule:
(1) Do we need a new plan for Friday? Is MK going to be so crowded that it's not even worth going?
(2) Do we need a new plan for Sunday? Don't care if we actually stay for evening EMH, but will it be so crowded that we need to choose a different park?
(3) I was kind of hoping that crowds would be a little thinned out then since it's so close to the start of school. Wishful thinking?

If yes to any, any recommendations for a better schedule?

DS and I aren't fans of coasters or scary rides, so we won't be riding TOT, RNR, Space Mountain, etc.

Thanks for your help. I thought I had it all worked out, but this thread is scaring me!

Okay.....here is what I would do......

Arrive Friday, check in and head to Epcot. You may not get fast passes for Test Track, but worth a shot. You may still get FP for Soarin. Do the World Showcase and stay for Illuminations (still feel it's the best "fireworks/laser" show at WDW! If you have lots of energy and think you can handle it......head to MK afterwards (but, IMHO, I would avoid it). You can get rested and be ready for a long day on Sat.
Sat. morning head to MK .... get there by 8:40, be ready when they open the turnstiles! Since you aren't doing Space..... head to the left and hit BTMRR and Splash. Then do the rest. Take a break and return to MK for parade and fireworks in the evening. "Wishes" is a Must - See!!
Sunday....Epcot first thing to hit Test Track & Soarin if you missed it on Friday, then you can go over to AK. Utilize fastpasses! You don't have to be at AK right at opening.....everyone runs to the safari first thing anyway! If you are smart with using fast passes and time it right....no problem. My advise...don't worry about using FP or getting to the Lion King show early....we always go about 15 minutes before start time and have always gotten a seat.
Monday.....MGM right at opening! Spend the day there enjoying all the shows. Then you still have the evening to return to another park for favorites! Or stay for Fantasmic.

Couple pieces of advise.......
for MK.....getting there at opening is a must....You can get so much more done in those first 3 hours.
AK.....the park pretty much empties out after the parade, you can still do the safari then. EMH in the morning at AK is a waste.
Don't do evening EMH at MGM.....especially if you aren't doing ToT or RRC. The shows won't be scheduled.
The weekend you are going I think will still be crowded....it will be the last week most schools are still out. So I would avoid EMH.

Anyway....you will have a great time!!! I wish I was going back already!!!

 

[Piglette]

Cindyfan,
As I work through this, I think you have come up with the perfect plan. This gives us more sleep, helps us avoid evening EMH, and puts us in each park on the day after its EMH. Makes sense that it would be less crowded those days.

I really appreciate your taking the time to work through this. I was overwhelmed with info, so just needed someone to lay it all out for me.

Many thanks. Now I just need to change all of my advanced dining reservations

 

[cindyfan]

Cindyfan,
As I work through this, I think you have come up with the perfect plan. This gives us more sleep, helps us avoid evening EMH, and puts us in each park on the day after its EMH. Makes sense that it would be less crowded those days.

I really appreciate your taking the time to work through this. I was overwhelmed with info, so just needed someone to lay it all out for me.

Many thanks. Now I just need to change all of my advanced dining reservations

You're welcome!
But it was easy....this was our original plan for a long weekend in Aug too..... but then we lucked out and I was able to go for 8 days in June instead of 4 in August.

 

[Gaiusrex]

I'm usually asleep by 10:00P anyway, so no problems for me.

 

[tinkerbell60]

A few more additions to Cindyfans advice:

We have found it helpful to take the train from Main Street directly to Frontierland to hit BTMRR and Splash - the train lets you off between the 2 so you can then decide which to FP and which to ride depending on the wait times.

Anytime you are just in the FutureWorld part of Epcot it is quicker to take the bus from Epcot to MGM, but if you are back by the World Showcase there is a boat from the International Gateway entrance to MGM - the boat is slower but you get to view all the Epcot resorts along the way and it lets you off right by the MGM entrance gates. Epcot is huge so these options saved us a lot of walking last week.

 

[RenaissanceChef]

Just back last night. We did EMH at MK on Friday 7/22. HORRIBLE!!! (*insert all above posters negative comments here.....*)

You guys tried to tell me before we left, but did I listen????? NO!
We miss the old e-ticket nights, too. We did this last year same week and paid for e-ticket night. Loved it! Walked on anything we wanted too.

I'm going to have to figure out how to take DD14 out of school for next years trip during off season.

So the moral to this thread is..... Run from EMH!!!!!

We did the EMH on Monday the 25th July, had no problems, guess you just have to be lucky or some major pixie dust dumped on you.

 

[bishop1989]

Did EMH at MK last Friday and Monday and had a great time. I do miss E-Ride Nights , but we still hit every ride and had a great time.

 

[Carolinagirl1063]

We were at EMH at MK on July 18 as well, we had a great time. We rode until 1:45 also with little or no waits. We rode through the early parade and fireworks but did catch the 12:30 AM parade. We tried to do to it again later in the week but DD couldn't hold out that late.

 

[Piglette]

Thanks for the additional tips, Tinkerbell. We have taken the boats from the Epcot International Gateway over to MGM.
But never taken the MK train to Frontierland (except when we were being lazy late in the day, that is...never for speed).
I am getting giddy! Can't believe our trip begins in 15 days!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

The crowds were building from around 8pm until we said ENOUGH at 11:30pm and left!

Eh, there's the problem right there. We went to EMH at MK during our last trip and it ALWAYS slowed way way down after 11:30pm-midnight. We were literally running from ride to ride after that until the last minute it closed. Good times.. good times. You just left a little too early. EMH is only good (IMO) if you are willing to stay until close. We found the same to be at the other parks too. Learned our lesson on leaving early the FIRST EMH we stayed for- at AK. Everyone and their dog was leaving at the same time as us! From then on out- every EMH we stayed until close and every single time the last 1-2hrs was deadorama compared to earlier. I think everyone leaves about the time you said you left (in above quote). Stay later... (sleep in later in the mornings- that's what we did and prefer that over getting up early for morning EMH) and stay until close on EMH nights- you'll enjoy evening EMH more that way.

 

[Godolphin]

If I want to go to MGM on Sunday for EMH do I have to be in that park earlier in the day to get a wristband or can I pick one up in Epcot where I was planning to be.
I didn't want to get to MGM until 1 hour after EMH starts.
I was going to do the same plan for MK but if I can't pick up a wristband in a different park I will have to rethink my plans.
Thanks for any info.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

You can only get the wristband at the park that is having EMH that evening. They don't do the passing out wristbands to every park every night- only at the park that has EMH that evening.
That said- you shouldn't have a problem getting a wristband even an hour after EMH starts when you get there... actually the lines might be shorter by then. Everyone starts getting the wristbands even BEFORE EMH starts- so by then the lines for wristbands should be minimal..if any lines at all.

 

[Godolphin]

Thanks for the info.
One more question, do they limit the number of wristbands that they give out.Or am I guaranteed to get in to MGM EMH if I get there 1 hour after it starts.
This will be our last night and we don't want to miss going to MGM.

 

[gradtchr]

We did EMH on the 22nd and had no problems. Cast members were definitely tired though but everyone there was in a good mood. We got the rides we wanted with no problems.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with it.

 

[Sammie]

I agree that MK and Epcot have been mobbed on EMH. This week they are trying a night where both parks are open on the same night, we will see if that helps split the crowds.

I know E-Nights limited the tickets and the cost prevented some from doing it, but I think other factors are affecting crowds. A main one is all Disney resorts are running almost 100% occupancy. That was not the case during the time E-Rides were offered.

More people are aware of EMH. It is highly advertised. More attractions are open attracting a wider range of guests. E-Ride did not appeal to families with very young children. More places to eat are open.

The heat has been horrible in July, so many are just not going to the parks except during EMH.

 

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

My dh was at MK EMH on July 18th too....and was VERY disappointed. He did the e-ride night in 2003, and he is now a member of the "bring back e-ride night" club. He only got to do 3 rides, then gave up and came back to WL.

 

[Crazy Kanga]

We decided to try an evening EMH night our last night and it was a nightmare. We did IASW and Philharmagic and left. Just trying to get thru to Fantasyland was a fiasco because it was soooooo crowded. I wouldn't do it again if you paid me!Morning EMH though, was a breeze. I would definitely do that again.

 

[sherrie]

unfortunately after reading this thread i have no choice as spectromagic is only on the 2 nights that are emh, this is the week of august 14

 

[cindyfan]

unfortunately after reading this thread i have no choice as spectromagic is only on the 2 nights that are emh, this is the week of august 14

Keep watching the schedule.....with the crowds so heavy....I would bet they add Spectro to most nights.