Take advantage of MM or pass?

[NavyDad01]

I'm getting a 3 day pass which includes one EH perk. We are not staying on site (driving in from about an hour away). Is it worth taking the extra hour or just visiting the park on a less busy day? I mean its cool to go in an hour early but then wont it be packed all day?

 

[VandVsmama]

It depends.

In your case, from what I saw on another thread, you're taking 6 kids w/you, ranging in ages from 2 to 12. AND you're staying an hour's drive away. Which city will you be driving from?

Given when you'll be at DL (in June) and since Magic Morning will start at 7am, then you'd need to allow for probably an hour and a half driving time from your location to the park.

Which has you leaving the house at 5:30 am. Getting 6 children awake at 5am and out the door in 30 minutes is pretty tough. You'd probably need an hour just to get everybody dressed, fed, and in the car...which has you waking up at 4:30 am. Honestly, I think you should forget about Magic Morning. It might be one thing for you, DW, & your 2 kids but when you add on 4 other children on top of that, it makes the timing of it quite challenging.

Instead...start your day at whatever park does NOT have Magic Morning or Early Entry. This would have you leaving the house around 6:30am, and that is a precious hour's worth of sleep. So:

Tues, Thurs, & Saturdays - start at DCA
Sun, Mon, Wed, & Fridays - start at DL

If you were staying right across the street from DL, I'd say go for it. But the hour's drive is a killer at that rush hour time of day.

 

[coaches24]

I think the extra hour is well worth it! You can get most of FL and Tomorrow land done in the morning and then head over to the other side of the park around actual opening time and get a bunch done on the other side of the park before it really gets busy.

Between 10 and 11 (on an 8 am opening day) is when I notice a big crowd difference. That extra hour for me is pure magic.

 

[NavyDad01]

It depends.

In your case, from what I saw on another thread, you're taking 6 kids w/you, ranging in ages from 2 to 12. AND you're staying an hour's drive away. Which city will you be driving from?

Given when you'll be at DL (in June) and since Magic Morning will start at 7am, then you'd need to allow for probably an hour and a half driving time from your location to the park.

Which has you leaving the house at 5:30 am. Getting 6 children awake at 5am and out the door in 30 minutes is pretty tough. You'd probably need an hour just to get everybody dressed, fed, and in the car...which has you waking up at 4:30 am. Honestly, I think you should forget about Magic Morning. It might be one thing for you, DW, & your 2 kids but when you add on 4 other children on top of that, it makes the timing of it quite challenging.

Instead...start your day at whatever park does NOT have Magic Morning or Early Entry. This would have you leaving the house around 6:30am, and that is a precious hour's worth of sleep. So:

Tues, Thurs, & Saturdays - start at DCA
Sun, Mon, Wed, & Fridays - start at DL

If you were staying right across the street from DL, I'd say go for it. But the hour's drive is a killer at that rush hour time of day.

This makes complete sense and one of the reasons I'm thinking about ditching it. The 2 kids that live in California wake up right now at 545 every day during the week to get ready for school since they go to daycare before school.

As for the kids I'm taking from here (Omaha) I'm thinking it may not be that big of a deal since it will technically be 730 am Omaha time which we are familiar at getting up at.

We are traveling from Pomona

 

[kangamama]

I would totally skip it. I know a lot of people love that extra hour, but I've always found it to be anything but magical. lol

 

[madasax12]

We stay onsite and have the early entry each day of stay, and we use it everyday. We really got good use out of it last trip.

 

[Girimama33]

If staying onsite, I would encourage someone to use EMH. If not staying onsite, I would not use the MM and would rather open the park at DCA...especially if I was going Mon-Wed or Wed - Fri.

 

[wdwfan22]

If you can do it, that first hour is amazing. Especially with a 8am opening. Not a lot of people want to get up that early on vacation, plus of course, anyone with an AP can't use MM, so the crowds are so light. At least everytime I've used it. The later the opening, the more crowded MM is, so I don't know if some of these folks who don't like it used it with a 10am opening. Be there by 6:45 to be in the front and get the most use of it. Like a pp stated, you can get all of FL and some of TL done before 8! It really helps make the rest of the day much more manageable!

 

[bumbershoot]

I mean its cool to go in an hour early but then wont it be packed all day?

It's not like wdw where that happens.

You're set on staying so far away? No chance of the Motel 6 for a night or two? That's just soooo far.

We've done one day visits from San Diego, and the drive both ways is just misery.

 

[NavyDad01]

It's not like wdw where that happens.

You're set on staying so far away? No chance of the Motel 6 for a night or two? That's just soooo far.

We've done one day visits from San Diego, and the drive both ways is just misery.

In fairness I'm not sure it will take an hour. We are staying with family and they live 22 miles away according to MapQuest. The reason I say an hour is because of traffic. I was talking to my brother last night and he said that as long s we leave before 6:20 we should be there in 30 minutes. He works in the same city.

As for motel It will be me wife and 6 kids, so we would need two rooms at about $150 each night we are looking at $700 plus. We did take it into consideration but more for the reason that we had somewhere to take the two year old if she got fussy.

 

[agamble]

As for motel It will be me wife and 6 kids, so we would need two rooms at about $150 each night we are looking at $700 plus. We did take it into consideration but more for the reason that we had somewhere to take the two year old if she got fussy.

If you're little one gets fussy take her to the baby care center. Mom can sit with her for a while. They have rocking chairs and even a little TV going in one area. It's pretty relaxing and could help her calm down. My daughter would fall asleep in the stroller at that age if she was too tired. We brought a blanket and would cover the canopy so she had privacy and wasn't distracted by everything around her.

 

[Mugglemama]

In fairness I'm not sure it will take an hour. We are staying with family and they live 22 miles away according to MapQuest. The reason I say an hour is because of traffic. I was talking to my brother last night and he said that as long s we leave before 6:20 we should be there in 30 minutes. He works in the same city.

Just incase this hasn't come up yet...it usually takes us half an hour to get from the parking garage into one of the parks. The garage itself is huge, then there's the wait for the tram, then the tram ride itself...it eats up half an hour pretty quick. If you're really lucky, walk fast, happen to hit a short enough tram line to get to board a tram that is loading exactly when you walk up - then that can cut your time significantly. But we used to live nearby and were in the parks nearly every single week for 18 months...and I can count on one hand the times it all lined up that way.

However, getting in line at the security table by 7:20 is still very decent on an 8am MM (oh wait, but is this a 7am MM?). If it were me, I'd consider putting the kids in the clothes they'll be wearing to Dland the night before and having them sleep in them (for the ones you don't have to worry about diapers leaking in the night, anyway). I've always been a stickler about perfect hair, perfect clothes, etc. when my kids are out in public, but now that I've been doing it for 23 years and I look back...I realize it didn't matter AT ALL. I could have totally taken them to the parks in any outfit, their hair tousled, and it wouldn't have mattered (you will see lots of other kids there in the same condition, lol). Hair can be brushed in line...you do need SOMETHING to do while you wait, after all. I use that time for breakfast and sunblock application. Ultimately, my point is, there are ways to shave off minutes in the morning "get-ready-to-go" routine which can help you get on the road on time (or even a bit early, since that would help you avoid even more traffic).

We definitely took advantage of MM when we took our nieces, but the youngest child in our group was my 5 year old son (who was already a Dland veteran), plus we were staying at a hotel within 10 minutes walking distance. Not knowing the temperaments of the people in your group makes it hard to predict whether it would work well for you guys, but it's only one day. I'd probably try it, if it were me attempting the same exact trip your family is attempting - a 7am MM has paid off for us many times in the past. But I'd leave the house an hour before I wanted to be in line at the security tables, not an hour before I wanted to get to the parking garage.

 

[jeffg4]

IMHO, The MM and EMH are NOT worth it unless you can park hop or only plan on spending 1/2 day in the park. The park with extra hours often turns out to be more crowded because people without park hoppers stay in that park the entire day. Even people that don't show up in time for the MM or EMH often visit the MM or EMH park just because they think that's where Disney is telling them they should be. So any time you gain by that extra hour in the morning ends up being offset later in the day when you end up in slightly longer lines than you would be in if you were in the other park. If you plan on leaving late morning to park hop or go home when the crowds start pouring in, then the early hour is a definite advantage. That being said, I don't believe the park hopper is worth the money, especially with a large family. You can get a lot done in one park per-day with a good plan without dishing out the extra cash for the park hopper. I've always avoided the parks with extra hours and never paid for a park hopper and have always had relatively good success, even in the crowded summer months.

 

[TechGuy]

I know our family is nuts... but we are at rope drop or MM nearly every day we are in park. I enjoy the relative light crowds and getting FL done with little kids is great as it will be the shortest wait time for PP or Dumbo, all day. If you get the FL rides completed, there is no pressure later in the day and if you walk thru FL later and see a short line, you can grab it. This assumes you have kids that want to ride the FL rides.

If not, the MM has a little less "ride" benefit but allows you to relax, get a FP or two, and look at the park in it's glory, without 6,000 strollers running you over as they are all headed for FL.

 

[NavyDad01]

I know our family is nuts... but we are at rope drop or MM nearly every day we are in park. I enjoy the relative light crowds and getting FL done with little kids is great as it will be the shortest wait time for PP or Dumbo, all day. If you get the FL rides completed, there is no pressure later in the day and if you walk thru FL later and see a short line, you can grab it. This assumes you have kids that want to ride the FL rides.

If not, the MM has a little less "ride" benefit but allows you to relax, get a FP or two, and look at the park in it's glory, without 6,000 strollers running you over as they are all headed for FL.

I might be wrong but wouldn't it be better to take advantage of Splsh, Space and studi tours

 

[Mugglemama]

Splash isn't open during MM...I'm not sure about the others

 

[Girimama33]

If not, the MM has a little less "ride" benefit but allows you to relax, get a FP or two, and look at the park in it's glory, without 6,000 strollers running you over as they are all headed for FL.

You cannot get a FP during EMH/MM. The machines only open up after normal operating hours.

Only FL and TL are open during EMH/MM so no Splash, but Space and ST would be open.

 

[coaches24]

I might be wrong but wouldn't it be better to take advantage of Splsh, Space and studi tours

Depends on what you want to accomplish. None of the FL rides have a FP and many of them have long lines all day that start pretty early in the day so if you want to ride those rides at all it is best to do so first thing during MM. As someone else said Splash isnt open during MM so thats out anyway and Space and Star Tours have FPs that you can get making them far more accessible during the day. I always end up doing Star Tours during MM but after FL. Sometimes I ride space as well if I feel like it (Im not a huge roller coaster person so sometimes I ride it, sometimes I dont). I will also grab a FP for star Tours pretty early after park opening before heading over to Indy and Jungle Cruise right after rope drop.

But I always see people head straight for star tours or space or the submarines and Im sure some of them ride those rides several times in a row before the line gets long. So its up to you and what your favorites are.

 

[cmpeter]

I would look at the rides that will be open and decide if they are worth getting up extra early. I am a huge fan of getting there as early as I can and staying ahead of the crowds. But, I also haven't had to finagle 6 kids and an hour commute with a 7:00 am early entry.

 

[LizzyS]

It's worth it to me to get to walk on (or VERY short lines, at the least) Space Mountain and the Matterhorn. These are generally the first two things we do on a MM/EMH day and also two of our favorite attractions at DLR. I can't not take advantage of it because the park is so much less crowded during that hour!