Was this a fluke?

[nluvwithmickey]

Last summer we went to morning EMH at MGM. We did not get there at the exact opening time. The crowds were unbeleivable and the non-resort guests were being let in with the on-site guests.

What happened? Does this happen in other parks or was this just a bad day and the organisation was lacking?

The lines were obviuosly incredibly long before the actual opening time. I was quite disappointed that my family had made the effort of getting up earlier and ended up being shortchanged. That is why I am a little scared of attempting this once again this summer and having the same thing happen.

Has this ever happened to any of you? Should I take a chance and give this a try again this summer? TIA!

 

[java]

I have found that if EMH starts at 8 some parks let you in at 7:30. So I am guessing the same may be true for off site guests- What time did you get there? We have not had this problem.

 

[dreams4disney]

Last October we did and EMH at MGM and the park was pretty much empty. Not even any lines to get in. That was also Columbus Day week. The corwd's that week had not been bad at all.

 

[taximomfor4]

Easter week, we went to MK EMH, OF COURSE! lol. Well, there never was any proof required to get in (EMH for resort guests was 7am, for public, opened at 8am that week). We arrived at about 7:15.

I was, in fact, quite annoyed. It was not at all busy, but the mere fact that EMH is a perk for paying MUCH extra $ to stay on-site instead of equally nearby but OFF site, irked me. But didn't ruin my vacation.

Beth

 

[BelleBeast]

I too was their Easter week and they checked for resort guests at the Entrance to the TTC - If you were coming via bus or monorail their was no reason to check.

 

[Eeyore2003]

In August one year we were 15 minutes late after EMH opening at Epcot. After DH and son waited in line for 1 1/2 hours for Test Track, I decided this schedule needed a revamp. I knew Typhoon Lagoon opened later in the AM and we were able to get over there for the opening, ride in Shark Reef and slides before the crowds got there, have a very relaxing day and we tackled Epcot on another day (non EMH) and got there 1/2 to 45 minutes BEFORE opening, got ahead of the crowds and had a very relaxing day there too.

The point is not the EMH, the main thing is no matter what day you go, to get ahead of the crowds. Everyone debates between, should I do EMH, not do EMH, I don't really think it matters a whole lot. I usually definitely do it if I really want to get allot done, and if used correctly, you can accomplish bunches in that first hour, (usually), but the key to getting ahead of everyone and avoiding lines is to invest that 1/2 to 45 minutes at the beginning of your day and getting there, in line, BEFORE the park opens, no matter which opening you go to, and then heading straight for the rides that get busiest the fastest.

I think this is one point that you have to become flexible about. If a plan is not working, think about how you can change it to make your day more enjoyable. I can't stand waiting in lines. If I wait 1/2 hour in line, that's a long time for me. I'm not an impatient person at all, I just think that there's so much to do at WDW, that to waste so much time for a few minute ride is just not worth it. The more you know about how things work and run at WDW, the easier and better you'll be able to "change your plans" too, and still accomplish everything you want.

I've always had to show my room key to get into EMH.

 

[SandrainNC]

We were offsite this past December and were stopped at TTC until 9:00 when MK officially opened. They were checking resort IDs for onsite guests and letting them go ahead.

Sandra

 

[MECH8T7]

Last summer we went to morning EMH at MGM. We did not get there at the exact opening time. The crowds were unbeleivable and the non-resort guests were being let in with the on-site guests.

What happened? Does this happen in other parks or was this just a bad day and the organisation was lacking?

We were just there the week before Easter. The EXACT same thing happened during the EMH morning at MGM. It kind of screwed up our touring plan because we intentionally did not arrive right at the start because there was only a couple of rides that were supposed to be open during EMH that our kids would want to go on, so I had planned to get there early enough that we would be able to hit those attractions before the regular opening and then be at the front of the lines for the other attractions when the park opened up for everyone. Of course, because they opened up the whole park early and let everyone in, there were already line-ups starting to build at all the attractions by the time we entered the park! I just wish they would have let resort guests know that they were planning on doing this in advance so that we would at least have had the chance to think about getting there right when the park opened.

Also, we were staying at the Poly and we sometimes walked to the TTC to go to the MK. On the MK EMH mornings, they checked for resort id before letting us on the monorail. Those without resort id were left standing at the gate.

 

[Poohgirl]

You bring up a good point. So there are no bracelets for EMH mornings like EMH nights? Do you have to show resort id's at the ticket booth? It doesn't seem very right. Can anyone that has been recently share their experience?

 

[jenr812]

In August one year we were 15 minutes late after EMH opening at Epcot. After DH and son waited in line for 1 1/2 hours for Test Track, I decided this schedule needed a revamp. I knew Typhoon Lagoon opened later in the AM and we were able to get over there for the opening, ride in Shark Reef and slides before the crowds got there, have a very relaxing day and we tackled Epcot on another day (non EMH) and got there 1/2 to 45 minutes BEFORE opening, got ahead of the crowds and had a very relaxing day there too.

The point is not the EMH, the main thing is no matter what day you go, to get ahead of the crowds. Everyone debates between, should I do EMH, not do EMH, I don't really think it matters a whole lot. I usually definitely do it if I really want to get allot done, and if used correctly, you can accomplish bunches in that first hour, (usually), but the key to getting ahead of everyone and avoiding lines is to invest that 1/2 to 45 minutes at the beginning of your day and getting there, in line, BEFORE the park opens, no matter which opening you go to, and then heading straight for the rides that get busiest the fastest.

I think this is one point that you have to become flexible about. If a plan is not working, think about how you can change it to make your day more enjoyable. I can't stand waiting in lines. If I wait 1/2 hour in line, that's a long time for me. I'm not an impatient person at all, I just think that there's so much to do at WDW, that to waste so much time for a few minute ride is just not worth it. The more you know about how things work and run at WDW, the easier and better you'll be able to "change your plans" too, and still accomplish everything you want.

I've always had to show my room key to get into EMH.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[eeyore0062]

Never had a problem with the mornings, they are usually pretty dead and we walk right on anything we want to ride. They have always asked for resort IDs. Sorry you had problems.

 

[jnrrt]

Out of curiousity, how do you know they were letting in off-site people as well? We thought the same thing when we went - no one was checking ID. But then we realized that off-site people should have a hard time getting to the gate as long as they don't open the parking lot (which they don't). I'm not saying that none of them get in because I'm sure they do, but if you get to the gate in any other way, walking, riding a bus or boat, technically you should be an on-site guest, and usually you would be unless someone is parking illegally. And if they're checking ID's at the monorail, I would think there would not be a ton of off-site people who would figure out how to get around the system. So maybe WDW feels this is too small a number to bother checking ID's?

We went to every EMH on two trips in the am and were never asked for ID. Of course, this was in the off-season, so maybe it wasn't busy enough. And even then, you really needed to get there early because there were so many resort guests. You could do everything if you were early, but the lines really built by halfway through.

 

[MECH8T7]

Out of curiousity, how do you know they were letting in off-site people as well? We thought the same thing when we went - no one was checking ID.

They do open the parking lots early, which is why there were people they weren't letting through at the gates of the TTC for EMH am at MK. However, there is an easy way around it. All you would have to say to them is that you have an 8:00 am (or whatever time) PS at CRT because the CMs screening for resort ids do not have that kind of info. (My sister was staying off-site and did this...I actually did book a PS for her so that she could join us at the CRT but it was in my name. She just told the CM at the TTC entry that she had a PS for CRT and they waved her through. It was at least 20 minutes before the regular opening.)

At MGM, we got to the entrance about 20 minutes after the EMH am opening. There were several CMs standing near the main entrance and they were actually there for the purpose of waving people into the park and announcing that the park was open for everyone (because it would have been inconsistent with the park schedules that were distributed to the public for that week.)

 

[javaj]

The Thursday (scheduled EMH for MK) before Christmas 2004, they opened up MK early for everyone. The first hour and a half was still great though, the park started getting busy around 930-10. By 1030 the standby line for Buzz was 45 minutes.

 

[maxaroni]

I'm confused here....it never occured to me about the parking lots being closed for EMH. We are staying on site but driving to WDW and on the advice of neighbors, thought we'd drive to the parks in our car. We'll have a parking pass (AAA) so won't pay for parking. Our neighbors went with another family and drove to the parks and the other family took Disney transportation. Our neighbors got back to the hotel a full 15-20 mins before their friends. Anyway, my question is....can we drive to the park for EMH?

 

[bavaria]

I've never had a problem driving to Epcot and MGM for early entry. MK you can't, since they won't let you past the TTC until it's so late it's not worth it.

AK they open the parking gates only 15 min before early entry most days in slow season.

 

[KYmommy]

So, if the park opens early at 8:00 we should be at the bus stop by 7:00 to beat the crowds. And if the park isnt opening early but at 9;00 we should be at the bus by 8:00, right? Will we beat the crowds?

Thanks,
Kris

 

[LoraJ]

Edit:
Ooops, I thought I hit new post.

 

[jnrrt]

maxaroni - you just need resort ID. We did that a lot. I just meant the lots were not open to people without resort ID during EMH. Although what bavaria said is also true - sometimes they don't open the lots until pretty close to the time they open the park, so if you wanted to be there and waiting, you'd be cutting it close.

Even for EMH sometimes they open the park 15 minutes or half an hour before they say it will be open.

 

[Aidensmom]

We went to MK about a week before Easter for a day trip on EMH day - EMH was 8:00, regular opening 9:00. We were in the parking lot at 7:30 as I (prepare for a shock all of you compulsive planners) did not realize it was EMH day, and I really wanted DS to be able to be experience being one of the first people into the park. The parking lot at least at MK is open during EMH, don't know about the other parks. However at TTC we were asked for resort ID to be able to get on the monorail. The CM suggested we walk over to the Poly for a little breakfast so we wouldn't just have to stand their waiting, and as an aside said we could just catch the monorail to MK from there. I know from experience they do not ask you for ID to board transportation from the resorts, so if I was a less honest person we could have been it the park at the same time as the onsite guests. I however do not want to teach my son to "get away with" things you shouldn't, so we did go over to the Poly for a little breakfast, but we walked back over to TTC to catch the monorail at the time they let non-resort guests board, which was about 10 minutes till 9:00, making it through the gates at exactly 9:00 am.