Why do people avoid the PM EMH?

[BuzzLiteyear]

I'm curious as to why people avoid these. It's a perk for those who stay onsite, what is the reasoning for avoiding it?

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I don't avoid it. But we like to stay up later and get up later (we aren't rope droppers).

Although typically the first hour and a half of PM EMH are just as busy as a busy day at the park. If you can stick it out further into the night, you'll find shorter lines. OR if you are there to soak up the atmosphere or go on the rides with typically shorter lines, it's good.

 

[mesaboy2]

I don't avoid it. But we like to stay up later and get up later (we aren't rope droppers).

Although typically the first hour and a half of PM EMH are just as busy as a busy day at the park. If you can stick it out further into the night, you'll find shorter lines. OR if you are there to soak up the atmosphere or go on the rides with typically shorter lines, it's good.

Agree, I don't understand the aversion to them either. We've found them nice, but others' experiences differ.

 

[t_catt11]

We make it a point to do EMH. They can be crowded early on, but if you plan to stay late, you can walk onto attractions.

 

[ladeedeb]

We only avoid them because to really take advantage, you need to be able to stay out late and my DH can't handle it. He can get up early just fine and then can handle the parks for 6-8 hours max. He cannot, however, stay out very late, even if he is sleeping in other than that. He poops out and wants to be back in his room by around 9pm. Therefore, no Evening EMHs for us, however we do quite well with the Morning EMHs.

Some people do great with the late hours, some do not. If you are not going to stay for the last 1-1 1/2 hours though, from what I here, sometimes it's just still way too crowded.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

August tourer here, we like EMH to escape the sun but it's still humid and toasty warm on an August EMH night

I like RD too so we try to find a mix of the 2. Trying to do both RD and late EMHs, even with afternoon break, my experience you will crash & burn so pace yourself

P.S. I think the reason people avoid the evening EMH is they don't want to wait the 60-90 minutes it seems to take for the lines to thin down at the end of the day. WDW allows guest to enter a line up until the park closes so until everyone finishes their last ride, you have guest in line that will not be staying for EMH and the guest staying for EMH entering the line behind everyone else once the park officially closes.

Also, in general I think families with younger children tend to not try to keep the kitties up that late, opting instead for the morning EMH's

 

[Mrs K]

We love evening EMH. It's so kool being in the MK at 2am!

 

[DisneyGal24]

We avoid PM EMH because our kids are just too little right now. DD6 and DS3 are on a schedule. They go to bed around 8:30pm and are up around 7:00am. I am just not willing to mess with that. When they get older we definitely take advantage of them. Right now we make RD and use AM EMH and that works for us because the kids are up anyway!

 

[Mickeyrella]

Agree, I don't understand the aversion to them either. We've found them nice, but others' experiences differ.

We don't avoid it either, we always always do Magic Kingdom PM EMH! And we love staying until it closes... It really is magical having the park all to "yourself".

 

[JerseyJanice]

We're not early risers, so you will never, ever catch us at an AM EMH, but we do PM EMH often.

I think they're especially great at Epcot. Love to get a Grand Marnier slushie to enjoy after Illuminations.

 

[LegoMom3]

The only park I don't like the PM EMH is Epcot, mostly because of the few attractions available (and of course TT and Soarin' are packed!).

On the other hand, I love PM EMH at the MK!!! The crowds tend to thin out after the first hour or so, and there's tons to do. I love the atmosphere, the warm muggy FL nights, all the lights on!

 

[drinkme]

I tried a PM EMH at Epcot years ago when they first started them. Only a few rides were open and the lines were so incredibly long that it wasn't worth it. Also, the kids were young and they were just so tired.

I've never done another one since. My kids are older, so they can stay awake late now. However, I've always avoided them because it seems the concensus on the Dis is to avoid them.

I think I'll try a MK PM EMH next time.

 

[AshleeH]

We avoid any EMH like the plague. They are great for some, but we hate crowds and EMH ensures longer hours, but you also have thousands of people staying on Disney property who can take advantage of the same offer. The two times we have gone to EMH parks (AM or PM) has been a nightmare.

I'd rather go to a less crowded park for a few hours less - it's just more relaxing and better for our family .

We also go in the Halloween season, so we go to two parties while we're there and that keeps us out on two nights until well past midnight - we never feel like we're missing anything with EMH hours on the other nights because we can get to bed early and start at rope-drop the next day (our preferred touring methods are early to rise - although we're flexible).

 

[Belle83]

We love them and make a point to go We are not early risers to begin with, and we are in CO so the trip to FL leaves us a little jet-lag-y at first. The first hour or so of EMH seem to be busy, but after that the parks are much emptier. We stayed at MK until 3 a.m. last year, it was awesome.

 

[TandLMommy28]

We only did one last time and it was great so this year I'm planning our whole trip around evening EMH. It's so nice to be in the parks without that blazing sun!

 

[sab53085]

I did EMH last night at EPCOT and the line for Soarin was 50 minutes until the last half hour, and then it was only 10! I got right on and there was hardly anyone in the park on my walk back to the Dolphin. Also walked on Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, and Living Seas. I do enjoy EPCOT more in daylight, however.

 

[erinscreen]

I wish I could, but I get really tired. And when I am really tired, I am really cranky (I am not 5 years old, but sometimes my sleep schedule is like one )

Although I am going next week with my friend, and it is her first time at WDW so she wants the full experience. Probably going to have to pop for some 5-hour energy shots

 

[tigerdragon]

We did an evening EMH at MK last year and we all loved it. MK was open until 3 am and we managed to stay until about 2 am. That does include my 2 kids who were 11 and 3 at the time. Riding BTMRR at 1:30 in the morning was so fun and my kids had a blast. Now before anyone thinks I'm horrible for letting my 3 year old stay up so late, we all took very long naps in the afternoon and all slept in late the next day. I do remember saying to my DH that I don't think we're getting parent of the year awards but oh well, we had fun. At home my kids are on a schedule but that always changes when we're on vacation.

 

[8gr8mouseketeers]

We really enjoy the evening EMH. For us West Coasters it feels so early with the parks closing by 9pm. We love the warm evenings and the lights. And our red headed, fair skinned kids like it when the sun goes down and sunscreen is no longer necessary.

 

[danceintherain]

I think the notion that you should always skip EMH stems from the recommendation not to go to a park on EMH days unless you're planning on using them. If you use them, then they can be a nice way to get a lot done.

We've only used EMH once, and it was an evening in the Magic Kingdom. It was a very enjoyable experience, but we haven't been back. Our only on property trip since then was with a 3 month old, so we were sleep deprived already and didn't need to stay up later, especially since we knew he'd be waking us in time for Rope Drop. We didn't even watch the fireworks on that trip.

The best thing to do is go see for yourself. Oftentimes, EMH is during a time frame when all the other parks are closed or closing, so if you're planning on staying out touring late at night, they might be your only option. If you're going to be awake either way, it won't hurt anything for you to be awake in a park, even if it's more crowded than you expected.