Should I avoid extra magic hour theme park days?

[DisDisDisney]

I know Disney gets very crowded in July. I'm trying to prepare a schedule of what to do each day. Should I avoid extra magic hour days. From a crowd calendar I saw online it looks like they get very crowded on these days. Anyone have any experience with the crowds and extra magic hour days? Is it best to avoid them in July?

 

[Accident]

I know Disney gets very crowded in July. I'm trying to prepare a schedule of what to do each day. Should I avoid extra magic hour days. From a crowd calendar I saw online it looks like they get very crowded on these days. Anyone have any experience with the crowds and extra magic hour days? Is it best to avoid them in July?

Early morning EMH tends to be a good one to use since not everyone is an early riser. Late night EMH can go either way but normally the rest of the day is more packed in my opinion when it is a late night emh.. It can get really packed if it's the only park that is opened late... Most people staying at disney have it drilled they get extra time and there is a lot of rooms at disney resorts and they see it as more time to get things done. In reality the crowds are larger and it's the same amount of stuff done, just longer to do it..

However, it's not uncommon especially if your a night owl to have everyone leave before the end of the night to get an hour or two where it's much less crowded, especially when the emh goes after midnight as many in the summer do. Rope droppers just can't stay up and keep rope dropping and closing the park late.

 

[Shanti]

We attended evening EMH in MK last July 3rd, and it was great. Planning to do it again this year. In fact, I now do everything I can to maximize EMH usage, which can be tricky as you have to schedule it where you'll be fine getting up early or staying up late, but it's worth it to have rides only open to you & other resort guests. Most visitors to Disney are not resort guests. It's like a breath of fresh air, how much easier it is to get on rides after Extra Magic Hours begin.

If you're concerned about the EMH park being non-recommended for the other part of the day, you might want to use hoppers to get around that.

 

[Accident]

I did forget to add, I use EMH a lot when I can park hop and everything else does close earlier Last week they did MK and HS with emh at the same time, If that trend continues where more than 1 park might be opened even later I can see the crowds at emh shifting..

 

[illinidp]

If you're not taking advantage of EMH, you should avoid those parks. This is one of the main factors crowd calendars take into consideration. Some parks also tend to be busier on certain days of the week.

 

[DisDisDisney]

I did forget to add, I use EMH a lot when I can park hop and everything else does close earlier Last week they did MK and HS with emh at the same time, If that trend continues where more than 1 park might be opened even later I can see the crowds at emh shifting..

I have been wishing they would do that!

 

[DisDisDisney]

Here's another unrelated question, but I'm choosing fastpass attractions right now since its in July Do I need to print out the attractions I chose so I will remember them? The magic band is not going to alert me right?

 

[Accident]

I have been wishing they would do that!

I want to say I've seen a couple morning emh in multiple parks also.. i'm thinking they are experimenting to see how to handle AK late night if that starts to have EMH. It might be why june hours still around out... I wasn't a resort guest and I wasn't bored enough to watch the app for how ride lines were doing.

 

[Shanti]

Here's another unrelated question, but I'm choosing fastpass attractions right now since its in July Do I need to print out the attractions I chose so I will remember them? The magic band is not going to alert me right?

Laughing with you...No, the magic band is an inert piece of plastic. You can put the My Disney Experience app on your phone, and check that during your park days. You can also change your FastPasses during the day via your phone, and after using the first 3 you pre-book now, you can add more FastPasses either via your phone or a park kiosk, one ride at a time. I'm so excited for you- have a great trip!

 

[DisDisDisney]

Laughing with you...No, the magic band is an inert piece of plastic. You can put the My Disney Experience app on your phone, and check that during your park days. You can also change your FastPasses during the day via your phone, and after using the first 3 you pre-book now, you can add more FastPasses either via your phone or a park kiosk, one ride at a time. I'm so excited for you- have a great trip!

hmmm lol well i dont have a smartphone that is hooked up....I have one but i guess i can use disney's free wi-fi in the parks to access it if it actually works. its my first time using the magic bands too! I havent been to disney since 2009

 

[horse11]

hmmm lol well i dont have a smartphone that is hooked up....I have one but i guess i can use disney's free wi-fi in the parks to access it if it actually works. its my first time using the magic bands too! I havent been to disney since 2009

yes you can connect to the parks wi-fi. When we went back in May 2014 it was spotty but it will work. If your smart phone has an option to add notes you can also at least add information on your FP there.