Why avoid EMH?

[Angie789]

Many of the people who say to avoid EMHs are folks who are staying off-site. For off-site guests, it is a no brainer - they don't have access to EMH, and the park with EMHs does draw more of the on-site crowd who are looking to take advantage of that perk.

If you are staying on site, it is a more complicated decision, but the PPs have done a good job of explaining the pros and cons already.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I suppose much of what Robo say is correct. For a long time, many guides told guests that the EMH park will ALWAYS be the most crowded park. So much so, that we generally found the opposite to be true.

Now if you go to Magic Kingdom on say, Easter Day- then yes, it will be both the most crowded park, and it will almost certainly ALSO have EMH hours. Really, that is true for any major holiday (week).

Also, I suspect that during a very few specific times of year- like September's free dining promo- the onsite vs. offsite guest percentages are skewed. Maybe a higher percentage of the total guests are eligible for EMH during the free dining promo.

But the biggest factor in avoiding EMH is more accidental than intentional- folks PLAN to be in the park for EMH, but then take too long getting ready, the bus is slow, or they don't manage the endurance required. If you plan your trip to be in the AM EMH parks all week, but don't end up arriving until 11am each day - then you did yourself a disservice.

Christmas week MK AM EMH started at 7am... and PM EMH went until 3am! That is a long stretch.

 

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Some of my best memories from a Christmas trip 10 years ago was hitting up EMH at MK.

Arrived at the park at 11:00pm, and hit everything we wanted with minimal waits until 2:00am.

Something about the theme parks late at night, I love it!

 

[sunshine1]

I have always read to avoid the early morning magic hour due to crowds.
Maybe i should rethink.

 

[Cadaverous Pallor]

You are correct.
Crowds are almost always heavier on EMH days.

 

[Tom P.]

You know, every time I read a thread such as this, my first thought is "who wants to go on vacation and force themselves to get up early?"

We are definitely not morning people on vacation. I would much rather sleep in, even if it means we miss the lowest crowds of the day. However, we have done PM EMH on several occasions, and those I really like.

Different strokes and all...

 

[Love Tink]

You know, every time I read a thread such as this, my first thought is "who wants to go on vacation and force themselves to get up early?"

We are definitely not morning people on vacation. I would much rather sleep in, even if it means we miss the lowest crowds of the day. However, we have done PM EMH on several occasions, and those I really like.

Different strokes and all...

People like us looooooove people like you. Keep on sleepin'!

 

[WIcruizer]

My absolute favorite thing about WDW is MK at night. So you can bet we take advantage of late EMH there. The other three parks, it doesn't matter as much. Always seems to be enough time to get to everything we want to do at the other parks, regardless of EMH, how busy it is, etc.

Paradise to me is when EMH at MK are extended to 2AM. I really don't care how crowded it is, all I know is we've done it many times and have no problem going on one ride after another. Now morning EMH, different story. Never have, never will take advantage of that.

 

[GPC0321]

We're going to take advantage of MK and AK's morning EMH over our trip. AK will be the Saturday before Easter and MK will be Easter Sunday. Our plan is to get in there, do our thing and get the heck out before the crowds become way too insane. We'll head to a different park later that night. We're early risers, and we don't have children with us, so it will be worth it for us to take advantage of EMH. Haven't really looked to see if we'll do any evening EMH, but it's not likely since we plan to be up bright and early for either EMH or RD pretty much every day.

 

[GPC0321]

You know, every time I read a thread such as this, my first thought is "who wants to go on vacation and force themselves to get up early?"

We are definitely not morning people on vacation. I would much rather sleep in, even if it means we miss the lowest crowds of the day. However, we have done PM EMH on several occasions, and those I really like.

Different strokes and all...

LOL! I'm the kind of person who dreads getting up early to go to work or anything else that I'm not exactly excited about, but if there's something I WANT to do?? BING! I bounce out of bed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to go!

 

[redsbe]

We never had a problem while at WDW getting up in time for 8am or 9am RD, but doubt it would be possible for any of our party to get up at 6am for those 7am EMHs! We are park RD to close WDW visitors (no park hopping and only occassional midday back to resort for swim/rest), and getting back to the hotel at 11p or midnight then have 6am wake up would be a killer and real drag on our vacation fun. But all depends on your party and how they manage sleep and early mornings.

 

[Anthony1971]

Our experience... The PM EMH parks seem to be less crowded in the morning and more crowded in the late afternoon.... However the EMH itself for us has always been far less crowded than day time crowds and rarely wait on lines... this is when we go later not when it first starts if the EMH starts at 8 and you are there at 7 you can expect long lines... but if you go at 9 it is completely different... The AM as others say has always been a win.

 

[btk2333]

just personal preference on our end

I will go to AM EMH but only if I KNOW we will get to the park 30 minutes before EMH opening- the vast majority of people will not actually make it to AM EMH even if they are planning on it but will still come later so I always hop out of an AM EMH park.

I will ONLY go to PM EMH at MK when it's super late hours- like 12 AM- 2:00 AM. Personally I think PM EMH at DHS and EPCOT generally aren't worth it but when you have super late hours at MK it can be a great time to do rides.

 

[buzznina]

We are an evening EMH family, been doing them for many years now. We all like the parks (especially MK) after dark a LOT more then early in the morning. We just make sure to let our DDs sleep in the next morning and it have never had an issue with any meltdowns The days we do go early, we make sure we do not stay out late the night before.

 

[tstidm1]

I never do it for the reason of it is more crowded at the Peak hours during the trip. Most people aren't able to make EMH to get the best. Like in my case, It is harder for someone who has a Senior Citizen who may not get up at an early point or stay that late in the day for EMH. We usually do make a normal (9 AM) Park open, so I avoid days with EMH at those parks for a less crowded 12 Noon experience.

 

[Jing]

We always get hoppers and stay at an EMH eligible property. Prior to our toddler, we did a lot of commando and figured hopping/EMH would be a waste with an infant. Turns out, EMH at MK makes a great date night, and we did a lot of rope-drop at one park with a hop to another after naps.

A lot of the advice sites that steer away from EMH are geared to first/infrequent visitors staying off-site without hoppers or annual passes. I maintain a good plan (that you are willing to drop!) is more important than picking the right park.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

People like us looooooove people like you. Keep on sleepin'!

And people like us love people like you. The earlier you get up, the earlier you'll leave. That's what makes the last few hours of the day the least crowded and most productive. If you know the system, you can do much more in the evening than could ever be accomplished in any morning.

 

[soniam]

We do AM EMH whenever we can, especially at MK and Epcot. We often stay until the night show too. We get so much done in the morning, especially with our plans from Touring Plans, that it's not a problem if the afternoon is crowded. We are usually done with the headliners and doing the attractions that rarely have waits at that point, so we don't really feel like it's crowded. Plus, honestly, we always go in the summer or during Spring Break, so crowds are subjective.

 

[csmith041177]

I honestly go back and forth on EMH. But we do hit the evening EMH more often than not. As others have mentioned, folks with kids tend to not make it that late, and even adults who have the best intentions get tired and call it a night early. Our family are rope droppers, but usually try to avoid the morning EMH because you do tend to generally get a lot more folks.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We are just starting to think about a Fall 2016 trip, and all this planning is already getting to me! I am a megaplanner by nature, but having to plan which day at which park, ADRs, etc. so far in advance seems to border on crazytown, even for me! We are NOT regulars (live in Ohio) so this will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for our boys (6 and 10). We are not Disney people, but when we lived in CO we took our older son (then 4) to DisneyLAND just cuz we found a great deal, and we were so surprised what a great time we had. LOVED the fastpass system (the original one at the time) and were thrilled to not have to stand in line as much as my husband and I remembered doing as kids. This new system seems more complicated with all the advance reservations...?

I'm not sure if this is your first trip to WDW as you mention remembering standing in line as kids and I don't know if that was only at DLR or WDW.

You might try 1 to 2 days of AMEMH and then depending on your children's energy level you might do 1 or 2 days of PMEMH. Also I absolutely love Park Hopper but with a 6 year old not certain if they would be able to easily hop from park to park without large enough issues so you may consider getting them depending on what your children or you and your husband can handle. If you want you can wait and add on when you're at the parks the park hopper option. The park hopper could def. help if you attempted the AMEMH but found it to be too crowded. Keep in mind park hopping can take out 20-60 minutes (sometimes less sometimes more) depending on which park you are going to and what transportation is available (I once had to wait 45 minutes for an AK bus when I was at DHS-but please don't let that scare you).

I would utilize EMH for that coveted ride you couldn't or didn't want to use your FastPass+ for though keep in mind only certain attractions are open during EMH. Seems like you know your limit with waiting for a ride during EMH (using your peter pan example) so you could keep that in mind if you actually did EMH.