When to use my Magic Morning

[Markie Mouse]

I booked our family trip and now Im trying to decide on when to use my MM. The dilemma is we can use it on Thurs. Dec 9th or Sat. Dec 11th. If I use it Thurs. I get in at 8 isntead of 9 but the park closes at 9. If I use it the 11th I get in at 7 and the park close at midnight. So I can either extend a normally short day or extend a long day even longer but may have to deal with a real busy MM. Any thoughts or previous experiences that can help would be appreciated as Im trying to make an itinerary for the trip and having a hard time deciding. Thanks

 

[bumbershoot]

I would probably use it on Thursday.

Especially if you're going to want to be there until close; 7am to midnight on Sat is a LONG day.

Thursdays are generally lower in attendance than a weekend, and the closer you get to the December holidays, the more people will be off from school and work. So even though an earlier MM is generally lighter people-wise, the tradeoff for fewer people there in total would help me decide to go on Thursday.

Either way, being there early is going to help you have a better day, no matter how crowded the parks get later. To know you've done several attractions in the first hour, and then to be perfectly poised to jump to the next Land as MM ends so that you can take advantage of the lower crowds in the morning can't help but start your day off nicely.

I'd do Thursday! Plus, I believe you're an hour later than CA, so going earlier in your trip will feel better to you. You will be entering the park at 9 your time, not 8!

 

[barbaraann]

If you do it on the Saturday, you can spend the morning early in the park, and then take a break midday back, at your hotel, and then reenter the park where you can then enjoy it til midnight.

 

[Flitterific]

I would probably use it on Thursday.

Especially if you're going to want to be there until close; 7am to midnight on Sat is a LONG day.

Thursdays are generally lower in attendance than a weekend, and the closer you get to the December holidays, the more people will be off from school and work. So even though an earlier MM is generally lighter people-wise, the tradeoff for fewer people there in total would help me decide to go on Thursday.

Either way, being there early is going to help you have a better day, no matter how crowded the parks get later. To know you've done several attractions in the first hour, and then to be perfectly poised to jump to the next Land as MM ends so that you can take advantage of the lower crowds in the morning can't help but start your day off nicely.

I'd do Thursday! Plus, I believe you're an hour later than CA, so going earlier in your trip will feel better to you. You will be entering the park at 9 your time, not 8!

I second this! Everything that bumbershoot mentioned is on point. Plus, it's always better to do your MM earlier during your stay than later as people tend to be more excited and more willing to wake up earlier during the first few days than the latter, when they are tired out. Have fun planning!

 

[DLR29]

Another vote for Thursday. Your question (and many more!) are answered in my MM superthread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

Which day of our trip should we go to MM? Generally if there are two MM days offered during your trip, but you only have 1 MM to use the best day to use it would be the first possible day. So if you were going to the parks for a very long weekend (Saturday-Tuesday) and you only had 1 MM, you would have to choose to use it on Saturday, Sunday, or Tuesday. My recommendation is to use it on Saturday because by the end of your trip you WILL be more tired and less inclined to wake up early. Also, even though crowds on Saturdays and Sundays will be greater, it is better to choose these days (if possible) than weekdays during offseasons. This is true because the parks open sometimes 2 hours earlier on the weekends than on the weekdays and less people will want to get up for MM at 7AM on a Saturday than 9AM on a Tuesday.

 

[skiingfast]

I think it is a tough choice.

As mentioned if you use it on Saturday, it makes a typical long DL day even longer. Also Saturdays are busier than weekdays and it is nice to have that MM when the rest of the day will be busy.

However consider this. On a thursday there are less locals there and the people who are there are on vacation and focused on getting more into thier days. This makes weekdays MM full of intense people. On Saturday you have people coming that want to sleep in on thier weekend so they come later. Vacationer who come on Friday tend to leave on Sunday night and don't have a 3 day PH.

Do you want to make your Saturday shorter or have a less busy MM?

 

[Markie Mouse]

Another vote for Thursday. Your question (and many more!) are answered in my MM superthread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1675403

Thanks all for the help. I tried searching the forums but sometimes it doesn't work on google chrome for me. I guess it's thursday for me cause last time I did it on a Sat. in March I was only able to go on Nemo and Matterhorn before the park opened.

 

[specialks]

We are looking at the EXACT same options. We voted hands down for Thursday because we just can't get up that extra hour earlier on the Saturday.

 

[Markie Mouse]

We are looking at the EXACT same options. We voted hands down for Thursday because we just can't get up that extra hour earlier on the Saturday.

Me too. I think after 2 day we will be dragging our feet and extending the pain doesn't sound fun. I'll only be there from Dec 8th through the 12th so I think making my thursday longer will let me get the rides out of the way so I can use Friday and Saturday for shows and Shopping. I wish Dec. 8th would come faster.

 

[DisneyJulieZ]

We're faced with the exact same dilemma/decision to make regarding our MM--just exactly one week prior to yours! (We're there Thurs, 12/2-Sat, 12/4. Same hours to decide upon, same sleep/get up issues, etc...same exact dilemma, really...
We've decided on THURSDAY for our MM--our 1st day in the park, we'll be excited and ready to go and I think it will just start our whole trip off better. Plus, with the later "regular" open (9 AM), an 8 AM MM is easier to do on Day 1 than a 7 AM MM on Day 3...we'll be whooped by then! LOL!

Hope that helps!

 

[skiingfast]

If you consider the opinions/experiences in this thread as a basis for when people use thier MM. It looks obvious that a Thursday MM is super crowded and a very calm Saturday MM. Take this into consideration. Some people consider Saturday MM to be a insider trick/secret/tip.

 

[DLR29]

If you consider the opinions/experiences in this thread as a basis for when people use thier MM. It looks obvious that a Thursday MM is super crowded and a very calm Saturday MM. Take this into consideration. Some people consider Saturday MM to be a insider trick/secret/tip.

Unfortunately, I don't think the majority/crowd mentality thinks this much about planning their Disneyland vacations, so this sample is not necessarily representative of what people actually do.

It may or may not be true that Saturday MM is not as crowded. I have been to MM on multiple different days, and during busy seasons, and what it really comes down to is having a good plan for your MM. Regardless of how crowded your MM day is, if you get there early enough, head straight to Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc., you will be able to get tons of stuff done during that hour.

 

[imcindy76]

In case others are as clueless about MM as I was- I didn't know that the only lands that are open for Magic Morning are Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. I was very disappointed when I discovered that.

 

[bumbershoot]

I guess it's thursday for me cause last time I did it on a Sat. in March I was only able to go on Nemo and Matterhorn before the park opened.

I've always felt that if you want to do Nemo for MM, just plan on having that be the only thing you're doing. Lowers the disappointment that way.

If you consider the opinions/experiences in this thread as a basis for when people use thier MM. It looks obvious that a Thursday MM is super crowded and a very calm Saturday MM. Take this into consideration. Some people consider Saturday MM to be a insider trick/secret/tip.

But that hasn't been my experience at all. Just b/c more of *us* want to use it on Thursday doesn't mean the vast majority will even BE there on Thursday, let alone think about using their MM on that day.


No matter what, get to the gates early so you're among the first in the parks!

 

[Shimmer]

In your situation I would choose Thursday for these reasons:
1. At the beginning of a trip everyone is excited and wants to get in the park. So, less prodding.
2. Getting to the park to wait in line by 7:30 is A LOT easier than by getting there by 6:30 am.
3. If something came up and you couldn't do Thursday (sick kiddo in the morning, etc.) you'd still have Saturday for a backup.
4. Going for Saturday's MM makes for a long day if you have kids along. We couldn't really take advantage because my crowd can't go 7am-12am even with a nap. We'd lose that extra hour.

Crowd-wise, I'd imagine it could go either way. I am suggesting not based on crowds but on what would make sense for my family.

For MM and the first hour the park is open a non-MM day, I don't really notice much difference crowd-wise when comparing weekend vs weekday.