Still torn about EMH mornings...without a hopper...am I going to regret it?

[SFMommy]

I am still on the fence about doing some morning EMH days. We will NOT have hoppers. I understand the basic idea that the EMH park will be busier 2-3 hours after the glorious early hour of EMH. We will not have the luxury of hopping to a different park.

What I'm wondering is...if we stay in the same park, will the "anytime attractions" still be reasonable?

In Epcot, for example, if we move over to the WS at 11:00 a.m. after an EMH morning in FW, will WS be manageable and enjoyable...watching the shows, shopping, eating, etc. Or is the entire park crowded and unbearable?

Or for the MK, if we are done with our must-do's by 10:30 a.m. after an EMH morning, will we be able to enjoy the less-crowded attractions like Country Bears, Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents, etc.? Or is EVERYTHING more crowded by mid-morning on an EMH day?

We will be traveling the first week of May. Thanks!

 

[cindyfan]

The first week of May won't be bad for crowds. But..... Without a hopper..... I'd avoid EMH. You'd be better to head to a park that had the EMH the previous day.... that's always worked best for us. You will be able to hit everything at a much more relaxed pace.

 

[dobtia]

I think park and plan matter too. Early June last year we hit AK EMH. We never hop. We did Everest like 5 times in that first hour and a few minutes. Had 10:00 FP for safari and later FP for Everest again and Dinosaur. We had such an amazing day. It was our first time on Everest and we go hooked.

Same trip morning EMH at MK it was so packed by 11 that we bailed until about 4:30 or so. Went back and had a great evening as we had book FP's for the evening time.

 

[soniam]

We rarely hop from MK or Epcot on an AM EMH morning, and we stay until closing or after fireworks. WS should be fine. It's big and absorbs crowds well. I don't think MK is as bad as people think. It sounds you are going to do what we basically do. If you decide that you want to ride some of the medium popularity rides, ie Buzz, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Philharmagic, and the waits are long. See if you can get a 4th FP+. We have been able to get them for those rides frequently. If you go to a kiosk that's near the parade while it's going by, the kiosk should not have a long wait if any. I like to do the one in the Adventureland breezway while the parade is going on in Frontierland.

EDIT: We go at busy times too, Summer and Spring Break. So maybe we are just used to crowds. We rarely wait more than 20 for anything in the afternoon without FP+.

 

[HereIGo]

We have stayed away from early EMH when we didn't have hoppers. Having said that, you're at Disney. Maybe it's a great opportunity (as you mentioned) to get your favorite rides done early and then do some of the less common activities the rest of your time!