Who's at MK at 2 am?????

[*NikkiBell*]

The bottom line: Despite the time of year you go, EMH at night is a plus. Here's a breakdown for our past few trips...

June Trip (Crowded Time of Year) - EMH at night was fantastic! Walked directly on rides. Crowds died down bigtime by 12:30. Buses were slightly full, but not a zoo. We did stay at POP for this trip though.

March Trip (Easter Week - Very Crowded Time of Year)- Planned on doing every EMH at night! Longest wait was 15 minutes for Test Track and this was after it JUST opened to the public. Most lines were 0-5 minutes wait. We went on HM 5 times in a row, Splash had a 0 min wait, Stitch had 3 min wait, etc. MK open until 3 am. No concerns with buses; were practically empty. Stayed at POFQ.

Future December Trip (Christmas Week - Very Crowded Time of Year) - Waking up late each morning and doing every EMH at night offered. Will take break around 4 or 5 to rest until 7ish then go back for some fun. Most parks will be open until 2 or 3 am. No bus concerns; staying at POFQ.

 

[Jon99]

We were there last December, one night MK was open until 3AM, so after everyone was tucked away I headed off from WL to MK at 11:00, and it was much more crowded than I expected.. By 1:00AM the sidewalks were fairly empty, but the lines were often very long, all 3 mountains were still 45 minutes.. Then again, things like HM, POTC and others were 10 minute type lines.

 

[Fantasmic303]

Any more experiences?

We will be there in 2 weeks and plan on doing both the MK and Epcot evening EMH's.

Tabitha, looks like we'll be hitting The World at the same time!! I plan to go strong until EMH are over each night, so there'll definitely at least be two families in the parks!!

There's something about Disney adrenaline that gets me up early and keeps me up late...I think I get less sleep during an entire trip than I do in one weekend at home!

 

[Joanna71985]

When I was in Disney in January, I went to the MK late EMH on New Years Day. The park closed at 12, so the EMH went to 3am! It was soo much fun. I highly recommend doing the EMHs.

 

[Micca]

This brings back a good memory from about 15 years ago. DDs were around 6 or 7 years old, and we took a long afternoon break at the resort prior to MVMCP.

Our kids were so well behaved until 2am I could not believe it. It must have been the sheer adrenaline and curiosity that kept them so happy until that hour. That was probably the last time the four of us all stayed up that late together.

 

[juligrl]

When I'm there and they have EMH's then yes, I'm at MK at 2am. Next time we're there it will be me, DH & 2 DDs there at 2am. So yes, we will plan a nap during mid-day so girls can stay up that late, but MK EMHs are a blast!

 

[Disney_Freak56]

I've not been able to hang until 2 a.m. myself, but I did see there was an EMH last evening -- meaning that the Park closes at 1:00 a.m. for non-resort guests and would have been open until 4:00 a.m. for resort guests. Yikes!!!! A real die-hard fan would have to stay for that EMH.

 

[1000th happy haunt]

We were in the Magic Kingdom until the 1:00 am (actually about 1:30 by the time we left) closing back in May. It was still fairly crowded at that time.

 

[lfama]

Last year, DBF and I stayed until 3am! I don't recall seeing a lot of children; we mostly saw rowdy teens and 20somethings. It was a lot of fun, being in the MK that late makes you VERY giddy and it's awesome to be able to run through the park without bumping into anyone. We went on Splash Mountain at 2:30am, by that time, the guy checking wristbands was so tired he told us we were crazy. It was an awesome experience.

 

[gssmks]

We are going to WDW for Christmas this year for the first time. We are planning to be in the park for one of the EMH's that runs to 3:00 a.m. My DD will be 9 and she is insisting on doing this. For us, it's just getting to say that we were there that late. I loved the idea of taking the picture in front of the clock. I had not thought about that. We may steal your idea.

 

[nicholas 25]

Nothing beats walking down main street at 2-3am. The near empty streets, the music in the background and the castle lighted makes it quite a different experience than the day.. Sure many people take advantage of emh at night, but most clear out 1-2 hours before close. The rides are a walk on by then and the operators of the rides (though tired) are more animated themselves. After the official park close the park takes some time to empty out so dont be in a rush. They will not chase you out (yet) and the park will be yours (romantic). This will also give time for the queue at the bus stops and monorail to empty.I highly recommend riding an empty monorail at night (again...romantic). For 12 years we have been habitual night people...no rain, heat, crowds and it is totally laid back in comparison to the days.
Dont worry about the masses of cranky, sreaming children at closing. Believe you me, there is just as much distraction during the day, from ages 1 to 99. At night the complaints are just different. The adults are whining about why the ice cream store is closed and why do they have to wait so long for a bus.

 

[PattiPB]

Thanks for all the replies! It sounds exactly like the old E-ticket nights.

One of my favorite stories: We were at E-ticket night until 2 am several years ago---kids were 4, 6, 8. We had taken the nap in the afternoon, and my kids were in fine spirits. All of the characters were just wandering around, with nobody to play with---everybody rushing from ride to ride with no lines. My kids were dancing in the street with Minnie Mouse, who then CHASTISED me for having the kids out so late! She kept motioning to a fake watch, shaking her head, pointing at the kids and making a sleeping motion! There I was, in the middle of the MK, explaining to a MOUSE that the kids had taken a nap, and we would let them sleep in tomorrow, and they were just riding the stroller looking for characters!

The next day, I couldn't believe I was justifying my parenting skills to an unmarried/still dating same guy 50 years later/no children having/ probably a guy anyway female mouse!!!

 

[taragl]

DS7 says his fondest memory of WDW last year was going on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad five times in a row without getting out of our seats at 1:30am. The park was empty and we wandered through the Swiss Family Robinson house without a line (or lights!), then went on Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride three or four times in a row. Then, we headed over to the Tiki Room for a performance all to ourselves.

We planned ahead and slept in the afternoon, so no one was cranky, tired or crying in our group!

 

[daughterminnie]

is there a calendar that shows when the EMH will be for your trip? if so, does anyone have the link (or addy) for it? also, even if the EMH are scheduled, does Disney ever change them last minute? how will you know when they are so you can plan?

 

[daughterminnie]

ok, i found the "official" calendar for Disney parks and the explanation of what EMH are, but it just says that they will be available for certain parks on certain days and that they will either be 1 hour in the morning or up to 3 hours in the evening. does Disney just arbitrarily decide the evening hours depending on the crowds at the time? or is there somewhere else I can look to find out exactly when the EMH end each day?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm reminded of a little Disney magic I witnessed not too long ago. An older gentleman (grandpa?) was pushing a stroller at just past midnight. The family was walking quickly towards Space Mountain. Everyone looked happy and awake. Grandpa was smiling and keeping up just fine. He turned to his companion (adult daughter?) and said, "I can't even REMEMBER the last time I stayed up this late, much less went out at this hour! Look at me, I'm practically running!"

 

[MyGoofy26]

I've not been able to hang until 2 a.m. myself, but I did see there was an EMH last evening -- meaning that the Park closes at 1:00 a.m. for non-resort guests and would have been open until 4:00 a.m. for resort guests. Yikes!!!! A real die-hard fan would have to stay for that EMH.

I would have LOVED that! That's my kind of schedule. I'm SO not a morning person. I work in radio weekends and evenings, so there is never really a need for me to me to be up early. It kills me getting used to waking up early on vacation (and by early I mean 9 - I can hear the DIS gasp already) I would LOVE parks to be open til 4AM! I'd be in heaven!

 

[Gregg]

We're doing an adults-only mini-vacation while in Florida next month. We can't wait to take advantage of the very late EMH at Epcot (9-mid) and MK (11-2am) while we are there.

My question is: Will we be alone??? I can't believe it stays crowded during those super late hours. We have done E-ticket nights (remember those??) and found ourselves all alone near the end of the night.

I'd love to hear from some other die-hards who do the parks until the lights go out! TIA!

ha, you won't be alone. We went for the holidays last year and one night the MK was open until 4AM!! We made it until about 3:20 and left, but it was still quite full -- I was amazed.

 

[tmt martins]

We just got back on Sun ( 7-2 ) we did Sun Emh on our arrival day and again on Fri .

MGM and Epcot ones as well.
1:00 it really starts to empty and yes you can just walk on most rides.


They also reopen the Fastpass machines for most rides as well.