Am I crazy for using EMH?

[DisneyLove2015]

I think one think to be clear on is that the morning EMH parks are not super crowded at opening but tend to be more crowded as the day wears on. I've found that you can get a ton accomplished at MK and AK morning EMH (though FOP is still a non-starter in the morning.

AM EMH parks definitely tend to get busier by 11. Park hoppers are definitely a good idea!

 

[sscott87]

I’ll echo the same as others. We catch most AM EMHs during our trips and tend to get a LOT done, particularly the major attractions, from 8-11, start slowing down, grab lunch, and take a resort break. We do go fairly fast-paced in the AM, and the EMH park does feel to be getting more crowded by late morning. We don’t always do PM EMH just because of exhaustion, but MK for PM EMH is pretty awesome.

You have to figure all the regular crowds, then add more resort guests in the EMH hour, and somewhere that is actually moving some portion of the crowd that would have been at other parks.

If you’re up for the early morning, EMH is great. If you’re not wanting to start as early, go to non-EMH parks to find a little lesser crowd.

 

[Tink3rbell86]

We aren't huge AM EMH people. But we LOVE night time EMH. we've always been able to get sooo much done. The crowds really thin out after regular park closing and lots of rides are little to no wait. We will always take advantage of them. Both AM and PM EMH have advantages. Definitely give it a try.

 

[stinkpickle]

We always hop from EMH to a non-EMH park in the morning...and the vice versa for evening.

 

[ZoZo]

One thing to consider is which attractions are open during a morning EMH . I remember being disappointed when going to Magic Kingdom EMH in the morning, because many of the rides I wanted to ride weren't open yet. At the time , it was just Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides that were open during morning EMH. I had been planning on riding Big Thunder Mountain, Splash, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion, and none were open during EMH.

So it pays to do your research!

 

[Elle :)]

One thing to consider is which attractions are open during a morning EMH . I remember being disappointed when going to Magic Kingdom EMH in the morning, because many of the rides I wanted to ride weren't open yet. At the time , it was just Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides that were open during morning EMH. I had been planning on riding Big Thunder Mountain, Splash, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion, and none were open during EMH.

So it pays to do your research!

I had the same intention. It was a major let down when I realized frontier land wouldn’t be open for morning emh.
Glad I figured it out early.

 

[Shanti]

I can’t get a handle on Extra Magic hours. Half the crowd says to take advantage and go to the parks with EMHs. The rest say it’s too crowded and not to bother. It all leaves me feeling very conflicted.

If it helps, we always leave the park mid day for a break. We usually leave around 12-1pm. Is there a big difference between morning and evening EMHs?
Our morning EMH is 8-9am.
Our night EMHs are 9-11pm and 10-12am.

We love both morning and evening EMH and find them all to be a huge help. Part of what is so helpful is that no FP usage is going on, so the lines actually move.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

One thing to consider is which attractions are open during a morning EMH . I remember being disappointed when going to Magic Kingdom EMH in the morning, because many of the rides I wanted to ride weren't open yet. At the time , it was just Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides that were open during morning EMH. I had been planning on riding Big Thunder Mountain, Splash, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion, and none were open during EMH.

So it pays to do your research!

Very true. For morning EMH at MK, we like to ride Space Mountain, Buzz a time or two and then maybe Pooh, and then we'll head over to Splash/Big Thunder at regular RD and knock those out with little to no wait, then head to Pirates or Haunted Mansion. That generally works really well for us.

 

[Bullseye]

We like both EMH. AM for getting rides in and PM because we like being in the parks late. We try to use them as often as possible.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

By the way, while I think both morning and evening EMH are great, I'd make sure you leave enough space between each to enjoy. I'm more than happy to get up at 6:30 a.m. to enjoy a great morning at the park, or stay until midnight to enjoy a great evening, but doing any of those back to back is no fun at all.

 

[pixiemama91]

We always take advantage of morning EMH. We rarely take advantage of Evening EMH mainly because our kids are young and usually by 9pm they are beat. We plan to use it in the future though. To be honest I have never really noticed a difference in the crowds in the parks on EMH days vs non EMH days. We are staying offsite for this next trip and I arranged our days to avoid EMH parks especially on morning days. So we will see how that strategy works out as we haven't stayed offsite since 2013 before I really knew about all of this planning LOL.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I love EMH but we park hop. If I didn't park hop I wouldn't do EMH.

If we do an AM EMH we leave the park by 12. If we do a PM EMH we arrive in the evening usually around 5-6 pm.

And yes give yourself some time between late nights and early mornings.

 

[rg35]

I think the general idea is that if you don't have access to early morning EMH or won't be taking advantage of them even if staying at a Disney resort, then you should avoid that park for the day. If you're arriving late, even at "normal" park time, everything is just going to be more crowded than usual b/c of the EM EMH.

But, I have found that at least at MK, you can get a lot done by taking advantage of EM EMH. You can hit a lot of headliners during the EMH window and save fastpasses for the later morning when things are starting to get crowded and then take a break from the park.

 

[wrestler72]

We always wake up early and I think some AM EMH provide great advantage.
AK EMH - have to use it. Just wonderful.
MK EMH - Frontierland is closed but if you are after the other attractions it is pretty good.
Epcot EMH - this one I am not too keen on. Queues for the main attractions form pretty quickly and the park is indeed more crowded after 11am
HS EMH - will see how it works with the Toy Story Land. Previously I thought it was slightly better than EMH at Epcot.

And the best thing you can have is a 7am EMH. This one is certainly worth the effort. In any park I think.

And it goes without saying that you have to be at EMH park ahead of opening. Otherwise, you are definitely better off going elsewhere.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

We always take advantage of both the AM and PM EMH. Also, we always have ParkHoppers. The AM allows us to get so much done and we are out of there mid morning for a break or another park. PM hours are great because we like the parks at night. We don't mind going back to the resort for a rest or swim. With the cost of tickets we like to maximize our park time. We have been known to do 3 or even 4 parks in one day. EMH are great. Cheers!!!!!!!

 

[Elle :)]

By the way, while I think both morning and evening EMH are great, I'd make sure you leave enough space between each to enjoy. I'm more than happy to get up at 6:30 a.m. to enjoy a great morning at the park, or stay until midnight to enjoy a great evening, but doing any of those back to back is no fun at all.

I agree with this 100%. I'm no night owl so nights are already tough for me. Getting up at 6am after a late evening sounds like no fun at all.

 

[Elle :)]

We always take advantage of both the AM and PM EMH. Also, we always have ParkHoppers. The AM allows us to get so much done and we are out of there mid morning for a break or another park. PM hours are great because we like the parks at night. We don't mind going back to the resort for a rest or swim. With the cost of tickets we like to maximize our park time. We have been known to do 3 or even 4 parks in one day. EMH are great. Cheers!!!!!!!

I'm impressed by your stamina. I think I've only hopped to 2 parks per day. We usually break in the middle. I can't even imagine getting to 3-4 parks.

 

[xyloist]

One thing to consider is which attractions are open during a morning EMH . I remember being disappointed when going to Magic Kingdom EMH in the morning, because many of the rides I wanted to ride weren't open yet. At the time , it was just Fantasyland and Tomorrowland rides that were open during morning EMH. I had been planning on riding Big Thunder Mountain, Splash, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion, and none were open during EMH.

So it pays to do your research!

PM EMH like at MK might also have some rides closed (Carousel of Progress and Jungle Cruise have been closed when I've gone) and you don't get the extra hour after park close to peruse Main Street shops like you do on normal days.

 

[DaniMoon]

We always wake up early and I think some AM EMH provide great advantage.
AK EMH - have to use it. Just wonderful.
MK EMH - Frontierland is closed but if you are after the other attractions it is pretty good.
Epcot EMH - this one I am not too keen on. Queues for the main attractions form pretty quickly and the park is indeed more crowded after 11am
HS EMH - will see how it works with the Toy Story Land. Previously I thought it was slightly better than EMH at Epcot.

And the best thing you can have is a 7am EMH. This one is certainly worth the effort. In any park I think.

And it goes without saying that you have to be at EMH park ahead of opening. Otherwise, you are definitely better off going elsewhere.

We are going in August, HS has 7am EMH every morning. I am hoping to hit two of those morning. We are there 13 days, so I think I can spread them out and not have pushback from my youngest who is the only one who struggles to get out of bed.

 

[rteetz]

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