Which is better: EMH/ MM at Disneyland vs CA?

beachdweller

Earning My Ears
Joined
Nov 29, 2012
Messages
15
Hi there -- we're going to Disneyland for 3 days the week of Nov. 16-20, staying at Paradise Pier. -- mainly so that we get the early entry benefits. Currently our plan is to be in the parks Tues, Weds, Thurs, which means we will have 2 early entry days at Disneyland and one at California Adventure. Would it be better to switch our dates so that we have 2 early entry days at CA instead?

Thanks in advance!
 
It really depends on what your goals are and what rides/attractions you want to see more.

Are you more interested in CA attractions or DL attractions?

I will say that on days when you have EMH to DL, you are also going in early with anyone who has a 3-day park hopper or longer...they get early entry to DL as well, whereas CA EMH is only for onsite guests, so "maybe" a little less crowded.
 
I would do what you are doing, because I prefer to spend more time at DL than DCA on our trips. Tyggress is right that it is personal preference. Do you have hoppers for your three days?
 
Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, we will get hoppers. I agree that I prefer Disneyland to CA, so perhaps we're good. I've had some bad experiences involving Peter Pan in the early part of the day -- we always go there first, as does everyone else, it seems... and then the last time we were there, the ride broke down while we were on board. Which was kinda cool to see the whole ride with the lights on... but it ate up our whole extra hour! I'll try some new approaches this trip...
 

As others have said, I think it depends a lot on what you want/hope to accomplish during EMH. Personally, I think you stand a better chance of getting more things done at DCA's EMH because that's only offered to onsite guests. DL's EMH is on the same mornings as MM, so along with the on-site guests, you also have guests with eligible tickets in the park for EMH/MM. Additionally, DL's EMH/MM only includes Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, whereas DCA's EMH seems to include more of the headliner attractions (RSR, TSMM, and Soarin' being the main ones that folks talk about). For me, if I had the option, I would probably move the days to do two EMHs at DCA and one at DL. Still, if you are more interested in the DL EMH/MM attractions, then it makes more sense to keep your trip the way it is.
 
It's totally up to you on what you want to achieve. For us it was DL. At DCA we used up 90% of our EMH on RSR wait times... which then went down with the rain - a total waste.

At DL I managed to go on Astro, Alice, Teacups, and Small World. Everything was so close at DL it was easy to skip and jump over to the rides. Personally I'd rather go on all of Fantasyland and Astro then wait in line for RSR again.
 
We've have bad luck at DCA EMH over the years so I'm undoubtedly biased here. Half the time whatever ride we want is broken and it is such a long walk to other rides open in the park we feel like we've wasted our EMH. DL tends to have more rides up more consistently in our experiences & since it's just Fantasyland and Tomorrowland everything is closer together to allow for more efficiency (which really matters when all you've got is 1 hour).
 
We love how quiet DCA EMH is! I've got some pictures from our last few trips where it looks practically deserted! DL EMH, on the other hand, always seems busier and more chaotic.
 


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