Should I take advantage of Early Entry at DCA?

[lvdis]

Staying at DLH for our first time next month and will have access to early entry at DCA. I'm trying to decide if it is worth doing or not, for 2 adults. The day I am considering early entry is Sunday, April 23. DCA opens at 8AM that day, so it would be a 7AM early entry. I'm trying to decide if I should make a push for getting up extra early that day. Also, it will be our first day in the parks (with 3 day park hoppers) and we are planning to dress up for Dapper Day.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's our favorite hour of the day.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Hmmm... at least in my opinion it really depends on how much you want to ride Radiator Springs Racers. we did early entry to DCA on our honeymoon last April, and we got there and got right on, but a line starting forming behind us immediately. you can ride it later either with fastpass or by waiting, but we liked the idea of not having to wory about finding a way to get on it for the rest of the day.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Think EE/EMH is always worth it. Morning hours are precious, then you can skip back to the hotel once it gets crazy and take a break - even a nap!

 

[waltonmkb]

Between the early hour and the 1st hour open to the public, we got nearly every ride in the park done.

 

[Xenorye]

Unequivocally, yes.

 

[alvernon90]

I have never been disappointed by an early entry at DCA, unlike at DL. If you do it, consider skipping RSR and instead grabbing a FP for it. That ride breaks down a lot during early entry. We like to do TSMM and California Screamin' during early entry. We once rode Screamin' 10 times in a row while the bulk of the early crowd stood waiting for RSR to work properly.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Meh...stay on site all the time and rarely use EE. I know I am in the minority but I am one that would rather get up leisurely and relaxed to close out the park strong at night.

You can also get a lot done in that final closing hour.

 

[gottalovepluto]

So much YES!! 7am EMHs are the best because it's too early for many people! We ordered our Starbucks leaving DLH, picked it up at the monorail location and drank it on our walk through DtD. EMH at DCA was walk on RSR through the Single Rider line- and then do it again! Do TSMM, Soarin. We did all of that over our DCA EMHs last trip!

Now, is that Dapper Day proper? If so OMG SO MANY CROWDS. So be ready. If you want to knock out some rides EMH is even more important. We went to Fall Dapper Days & I was shocked at how many people were in the park on Dapper Day. I've seen lighter crowds on Memorial Day. It also seems more crowded now because all the closures lead to the crowds being crammed into smaller areas. We had reservations for lunch at cafe orleans (highly recommended, it made for GREAT people watching on Dapper Day out on the patio!) and dinner ressies at Carnation Cafe. Crowds were so large I'm glad we had those reservations so we had someplace to get away from the crowds while we dined.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I have never been disappointed by an early entry at DCA, unlike at DL. If you do it, consider skipping RSR and instead grabbing a FP for it. That ride breaks down a lot during early entry. We like to do TSMM and California Screamin' during early entry. We once rode Screamin' 10 times in a row while the bulk of the early crowd stood waiting for RSR to work properly.

Well, I have to admit I have been disappointed by DCA EMH on multiple occasions. But that's never stopped me because when it's good it's great. But I've certainly had the mornings where every ride we walked to was down for one reason or another.

 

[northshoremama]

YES! esp since EMH at DCA is only for hotel guests, the crowds aren't as large as MM for DL. we did EMH at DCA for the first time last september and LOVED it. rode TSMM several times back to back, got on screamin and even did RSR. We will be at the parks this weekend...and for sure are taking advantage of EMH this Friday. can't wait!

 

[BriannaRuth]

Yes! But I agree with the previous poster who suggested getting a FP for RSR and doing other things first. Especially if TSMM doesn't have FPs at that time, do TSMM first. But like RSR, it's often down so have an alternative plan just in case.

 

[Xenorye]

To be clear, OP, FastPasses for RSR are not available during early entry. They're suggesting you go straight to TSMM and riding that a couple of times right off the bat, then when the park is set to open to all guests, grab a FP for RSR.

 

[Aladora]

I love EMH at DCA!

 

[Malcon10t]

If you like to get up early, do it. But if it is a strain to get up for it, I'd skip it.

 

[goooof1]

Worth it! You can get a lot of rides in that first hour + as shown above....it is nice and peaceful on the streets!

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Yep. We loved it. We rode Toy Story Midway Mania four times in a row in the first half hour of Extra Magic Hour, then Soarin (twice maybe?). It was perfect!

 

[maleficent55]

Staying at DLH for our first time next month and will have access to early entry at DCA. I'm trying to decide if it is worth doing or not, for 2 adults. The day I am considering early entry is Sunday, April 23. DCA opens at 8AM that day, so it would be a 7AM early entry. I'm trying to decide if I should make a push for getting up extra early that day. Also, it will be our first day in the parks (with 3 day park hoppers) and we are planning to dress up for Dapper Day.

It's our first day in the parks too and for Dapper Day (I think we chatted on another thread!), and I've been in the same boat of trying to decide if it's worth it. For our particular situation I think it's not.
We have 4 days in the parks so we have three other days to take advantage of early entry. We already have to get up and get "Dapper" and it's also the longest day since it has the longest hours of the parks for our time there including the only fireworks night. We've decided to use the early entry days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and for our first day (Sunday) just take it easy.
It should be a good day! We have lunch reservations at Cafe Orleans specifically for the Dapper Day people watching.
We will use our first early entry on Monday. DCA opens at 10, so early entry is at 9. That's sounds so much better than 7am!

 

[Mackysmycat]

I always avoid the park that has early morning entry and start at the other one - assuming the EMH park will be busier. Am I the only one that does that?

 

[Geemo]

A 7am EE is FANTASTIC!! In either park.

You can always take a mid day break by the pool when the crowd finally arrives in the parks that Sunday.

Enjoy your trip.

Geemo