Morning Extra Magic Hours - Advice Needed!

**CKrup** · 03-08-2009, 04:13 PM

Hi all-

As I plan for our trip for late June, I am trying to line up ADRs. The problem is planning which park to be in on which day. This leads me to my question. Should we take advantage of morning extra magic hours? As I research the topic I have found two schools of thought:

1) Avoid EMH completely. The crowds flock to that park each day.

-or-

2) Take advantage of EMH, especially in the summer. This way we would get an additional hour of "cooler" temperatures. Leave the park around lunch.

We are traveling with a 7 year old and 3 year old. They have both been to WDW before. We know the parks well and will follow a touring plan at least for the first couple of hours. We are staying at Wilderness Lodge and plan on taking the mid-day break to swim, nap and enjoy the resort. Getting to the parks by 7:30am will not be a problem. My concerns are that either the crowds will be so large that there will not be any advantage, or after the initial hour or two, any advantage we gained will be wiped out.

We have never done EMH before, for reasons I don't even know. What can we realistically accomplish during the initial hour? Are there parks that aren't practical for early EMH?

Another interesting element is what to do after our midday break. The week we are at WDW there are AM and PM EMH each day at different parks for am and pm. Does the park with early EMH thin out early evening as people move to the park with pm EMH or does the crowd level remain too high to return and enjoy the evening?

Sorry for the long post, peppered with questions. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

**tmlinz** · 03-08-2009, 05:15 PM

We did EMH at Magic Kingdom in June a couple years ago. Kids ages 5 and 6. We had Fantasyland done other than Small World, and Tommorowland (didn't do Stitch, Tea Cups or Space Mt.) and had lunch eaten at Cosmic Rays before noon. Got Dumbo out of the way right away.

**Winnie** · 03-08-2009, 10:54 PM

We love EMH both AM and PM hours, especially AM hours when my nieces go. We tend to take advantage of early hours at all parks and take a break mid day back at the resort, swim, nap, cool off and then take back off to the EMH hours for the nightime when available. It is not only a cooler way to go it makes the most of our time there when crowds are larger.

**SnwhtNdwrfs** · 03-08-2009, 11:16 PM

I find we get more "done" if we take advantage of the morning hours. We got all of Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and got fast passes for BTMRR (for after lunch) all before our 11:15 lunch ADRs.

We went back to the hotel and rested. We then relaxed and enjoyed the sites of the park that evening. If we got to ride something, great. And if not, we survived. This was during the Christmas Week.

Of course there were a few things we didn't get to do---which means we have to go back someday!

**Thumper10** · 03-09-2009, 02:12 AM

My family loves both the am and pm EMH...I think you are definitely able to get a lot more done if you take advantage of them (especially in the morning..the parks have been practically empty for us at times). I've never been in June so they may be more a little more crowded for you, but I'd imagine it would still be worth it. I don't know if you have the park hopper option on your tickets or not, but if parks become too crowded for you once EMH end, you could always jump over to another park if you don't mind a little extra travel time. The evening EMH are really nice because they usually last quite a bit longer that the morning EMH and give you lots of extra park time. I know you're traveling with little ones who might tire out early, but if you're up for some late nights I'd say go for the evening EMH also.

**MJMcb** · 03-09-2009, 04:23 PM

i would use them

**disney-akj** · 03-09-2009, 08:27 PM

We went in June 2008. The parks were less crowded in the am EMH than the pm EMH. We used both some days and took a break in the middle of the day too. We avoided the park all together if we didn't plan on using the EMH there. Especially the mornings after we stayed up extra late using the pm EMH. It seemed to work good for us?

**CKrup** · 03-09-2009, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by disney-akj

We went in June 2008. The parks were less crowded in the am EMH than the pm EMH. We used both some days and took a break in the middle of the day too. We avoided the park all together if we didn't plan on using the EMH there. Especially the mornings after we stayed up extra late using the pm EMH. It seemed to work good for us?

Did you use am EMH at the Studios? I'm curious what the crowds were like for the big 3 - Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.

**mini-V** · 03-09-2009, 10:12 PM

We've used EMH's a few times. Keep in mind that not all the rides are open. I believe you should be able to get a schedule ahead of time. That said, the rides that the younger guests enjoy are usually available. I would definitely try using EMH at least once. If you found that it wasn't much of a savings on time or crowds, then skip it.

As for what to do in the PM, I'd look for some off the beaten track things; touring some of the other resorts, mini-golf, or renting paddle boats. I'm sure other posters will have even more suggestions.

**Spodie** · 03-11-2009, 02:12 PM

Morning EMH are usually fine. It's about an hour or two after the park opens to everyone that it starts getting crowded, depending on the time of year. It's much harder for people to get up early than to stay up late, therefore, the evening EMH are usually very crowded and it's hard to get more than a couple attractions in before the park closes. The only evening EMH that I still bother with is MK on the nights in the summer that it's open until 1 or 2 AM. The park usually clears out by midnight and I have 2 hours to basically walk onto any ride.

**disneygal83** · 03-11-2009, 05:38 PM

Hey CKrup!

You should definitely use the extra magic hours (especially if your kids are early risers). You would be surprised how much you can get done. Since there are no little to no crowds (even during EMH!!), you can get on practically whatever you want within the first two hours. I would also recommend getting there when each park opens. Each one has a special opening ceremony (an added bonus). Then, you can go back to the lodge to take a nap/rest.

**CKrup** · 03-11-2009, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by disneygal83

Hey CKrup!

You should definitely use the extra magic hours (especially if your kids are early risers). You would be surprised how much you can get done. Since there are no little to no crowds (even during EMH!!), you can get on practically whatever you want within the first two hours. I would also recommend getting there when each park opens. Each one has a special opening ceremony (an added bonus). Then, you can go back to the lodge to take a nap/rest.

What would you recommend for the evening? We won't be able to stay up late enough to take advantage of PM EMH. Would it be a bad idea to return to the park that had AM EMH? Or should we park hop to one of the remaining two parks?

**DissyLove** · 03-12-2009, 03:21 AM

DO emh. Get some high crowd rides out of the way. Add park hopper, then go where you want after....imo..

**disneygal83** · 03-12-2009, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by CKrup

What would you recommend for the evening? We won't be able to stay up late enough to take advantage of PM EMH. Would it be a bad idea to return to the park that had AM EMH? Or should we park hop to one of the remaining two parks?

I've been many, many times, and this is usually what happens (except during Christmas and New Year's , but they don't count): People will go to the morning EMH, and the park will get less and less crowded by the afternoon. If a park has PM EMH, it usually gets very crowded after late lunch/dinner. My favorite thing to do (because I love fireworks) is to go to Magic Kingdom to see wishes. I have to see it as much as possible when I go. I also love SpectroMagic (it's a good excuse to sit down!). If your kids like shows, Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios is always a winner (but you have to get there early 30 - 45 minutes. If your kids don't like waiting, that may not be a good idea). I hope that helps. If you need any other advice, let me know I love to give it!