What's the deal with EMH???

[kellyf2626]

Ok...I have heard so many negative reviews of EMH's - that they have been so crowded, lines are long, and not worth it. This makes me sad , because in past years, we would save all of the mountains and other rides (ex. Pirates) for E-night, and get them all done, and ride them again and again with no lines! It was a blast!!

Please share your EMH experiences if you have gone this summer. I want to hear it all!

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

We were there the second week of June and EMH was awful no matter what park.

Magic Kingdom was extremely crowded. One night, the lines for Space Mountain, Buss Lightyear, and Splash Mountain were longer during EMH than they were during the day.

Same for Epcot. There were people that spent the entire three hours in line for Test Track. We lucked out and had gotten a fast pass right away. But, there were only a limited number of those.

Animal Kingdom wasn't as busy, but the safari ride was not operating during EMH. I can understand why not, because of the animals. We didn't stay long at Animal Kingdom.

We used to love E-ticket nights. EMH was not worth it. Wouldn't count it in the pro column when trying to decide whether to stay on property or not. More a liability than an asset. E-ticket nights were a definite pro.

 

[joe1946]

In the old days, you paid for E-nights and you got your money’s worth. Now, evening EMH is free and it’s worth what you pay for it.

 

[goofy4tink]

We did two EMH nignts in June..one in MK and one in AK. Ak was fun, but crowded. It was just nice to be in the park in the dark...so very beautiful. MK was a zoo. Tons of people, lines for almost everything. But, my dd, almost 12 now, really wanted to be up 'late' in MK so we did it. And I will most likely be there again this Friday evening. We try to do a park in the morning after it has had an EMH night. That has worked pretty well for us.

But, I too, would not be sorry to see E-nights come back. I would happily pay the $12 to be in the parks later at night with fewer people. In all reality, I think we are actually paying, in some form or another, for EMH. Between the shops being open, and the restaurants serving much later...I think Disney is getting their money back on this one!!! Add that to the increased pass media and I don't think we're getting in for 'nothing'!! With the new ticket pricing, even an addtl. $2.00 a pass is going to make a profit for those EMHs.

 

[Pixiedusttravel]

When we were there in May, we only went to Epcot on the EMH (evening) and that was enough to convince me that it was not worth it. We had debated staying for MK's EMH, but as the day went on and the people started pouring in, we decided to go. We had a much better time avoiding the Parks with the EMHs.

 

[BrianD]

Epcot 11:30PM
75 minute wait for Soarin'
60 minute wait for Test Track

Avoid the evenings. The mornings are still pretty decent if you are there right at 8:00.

 

[patsal]

The crowds were disasterous the first two weeks in July. I would much ratehr pay for an admisssion tcket for E-nights than stay but be unable to do anything due to the crowd sizes. We rode two things at one of the MK EMH with waits of nearly 75b minutes each. After the second ride we grabbed drinks and headed back. THe AM EMH are pretty much the same as tehy always were prior to 9/11. Crowds seem to be back up and that seems to be creating a bit more traffic in teh AM, but not unbearable.

 

[snappy]

I think Disney is looking at this. I did an online survey after my recent stay at OKW. They asked the typical things about the resort, service, room quality, etc, but also specifically asked about EMH.

Something needs to be done.

Best plan I found was to go the morning after an evening EMH. It worked well, especially if you are at the gate waiting before the gates open.

 

[Lanshark]

we would save all of the mountains and other rides (ex. Pirates) for E-night, and get them all done, and ride them again and again with no lines! It was a blast!!

We did the same thing with e-nights and had a wonderful time. If you compare EMH to E-Nights you will be VERY disappointed. My teens definitely were. You need to approach them as extended time in the park without the benefit of shorter lines. I'd gladly pay for e-nights.

 

[unixadm]

In May, we did evening EMH for MK and Epcot. The lines were quick for the older/less popular rides...just walk right in....but for the newer/popular rides, forget it.

We couldn't get on Soaring or Test Track at Epcot
I couldn't get onto Space Mountain at MK

We were able to walk right into "Imagination" and "Spaceship Earth" in Epcot and "Astro Orbitor" and "Buzz Lightyear" in MK.

I'm only planning 1 EMH for September...that is for my wife and I in Epcot without the kids. If it is too crowded, we will walk over to JellyRolls (which we plan on doing anyway before the night is out)

 

[kellyf2626]

Wow...thanks everyone for the feedback. Now I am really bummed - but will alter my plans accordingly.

So - the best plan is to go to the park that had EMH the next day at opening? And, to take advantage of the EMH in the am, right?

 

[joe1946]

I think the best plan is to go to the park that is having morning EMH that day, stay there from 8:00 am until about 11:00 or 12:00, then hop to the park that had evening EMH the night before. Of course, I haven't field-tested this plan yet, but I intend to in a couple of weeks.

-- Joe

 

[dvcgirl]

Not only has EMH itself been a disaster for on-site Disney guests, but it greatly impacts off-site guests as well because of crowd flow. If you're an off-site guest with a non-hopper ticket and make the rookie mistake of choosing the park that will have an EMH evening...well, you'll be treated to a much more crowded park than you would have had when Disney sold regular old park hoppers.

 

[kellyf2626]

Now, obviously Disney must see the huge crowds?! Why don't they keep the same nights, but revert back to E-night where people buy tickets? It seems like everyone would be happy.

But, they are probably making a lot of extra money on the food, etc.... due to the increased crowds - so more money in their pocket then the $12 E-ticket price, huh?

 

[dejavu]

Just back and I have to say that while we never did the EMH (night or mornings)
the thing to do is go to the park that had the EMH evening the next morning at opening- we did this at both MK & MGM-would have done epcot too but it did'nt workout with our schedule- we did 7 rides in 2 hours at MK and 5 rides in 1 hour 15 at MGM- we were not in commando mode either just a leisurely stroll complete with drink & bathroom stops- The crowd level at 11:30 am was huge so it was time to go-we spoke with a woman on the monorail who said EMH evening at MGM was so packed you were shoulder to shoulder- no thanks- I prefer to get up a little earlier and enjoy the low crowd levels so we stay away from EMH...

 

[Laz]

I must agree with the disappointment in EMH Vs. E Night, but if you plan the EMH, it can work. I have noticed that people line up and wait for the Evening EMH fastpasses and they sell out quickly. But I have also noticed that crowds thin out during the last hour of Evening EMH, and we rode all the rides that we packed earlier. Therefore, we did the smaller rides with just minimal wait. We started in the back of MK, and had minimal waits for Splash and Thunder, so I assume that everyone was lining up in Tomorrow Land. RNR line was horrible, but TOT had only a 5 min wait. Plan and go in the right frame of mind, and you will be fine in MGM and MK. The worst was EPCOT. No plan seemed to work.

Best EMH was in June after a big strom rolled through earlier in the evening. MK was EMPTY!!!!

 

[Zoo Keeper]

We attempted to do EMH night in EPCOT but the lines were extremely long so we left. We did one at MK and the less popular rides were OK but forget about the mountains.
We happen to be at MGM on an EMH night. They had a Radio Disney DJ in front of the hat and there was a dance party. It was a fun, party atmosphere. DD and I saw the Little Mermaid and did everything in the Animation Bldg without having to get in any lines. Since that was our 3rd attempt at an EMH night we knew better than to try any of the big rides.
We miss E-nights too! Loved riding Space Mtn three or more times in a row!

 

[cancilla]

It's stuff like this that makes planning ahead so difficult!

We're going to WDW the first week in May 2006. I'd like to know where EMH will be during each day of our stay so I can avoid it. Will this info be released in time for me to plan our stay and make dining reservations? If not, any tips?

Thanks!

--Dominick

 

[Sammie]

Very, very crowded. I agree E-Ride was much better.

 

[nanalisa]

EMH is nothing less than a disaster! We just returned from a 13 night stay and EMH is awful. Not only can you not get near the more popular rides, but it's the busiest park from 4:00 pm on. The only EMH we liked was at AK and the only reason we went was because we were hoping it would be cooler there in the evening.

Everyone was complaining and asking why they don't bring e-ticket nights back. The only park we noticed checking wrist bands was MK. EPCOT and MGM were letting folks on rides without them.