Are EMH worth it?

[ebenmax]

What worked for us was Soarin first, then ToT, then RSR. We found that 90% of the crowd went to Carsland first and we were able to avoid the huge rush and literally ride the other two on the first ride of the day. Plus Soarin has such huge capacity that you'll be in and out of that one in a hurry.
Then when the park opens to the general public, head over to Toy Story and California Screamin (because most people will be headed to Carsland again) then work your way around the lake to the less crowded things.
Those are my thoughts - hope it works well for you! We got so much done in the morning, we were pooped and back at the pool by 11:00!

Was the crowd dying down for RSR by the time you rode it as your third ride for the day? Or did you do single rider?

 

[ebenmax]

If you like your sleep or rather avoid having a early breakfast then avoid EMH and MM.
The only attractions that are a must do during a EMH/MM are Peter Pan and Dumbo at Disneyland, and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure.

Other wise you can get there when the park regularly opens on either day and still do quite a bit. For example, the strategy by going Disneyland at regular opening on a EMH/MM Day at Disneyland should be.

8am-9am: Avoid Peter Pan, ride Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Matterhorn, and Casey Jr. You can come back later in the evening for the attractions you missed in Fantasyland. By 9am Fantasyland is packed.
9am-12pm: Now you have to decide which is more important to you... Toontown or the Jungle Cruise. For Toontown you head there at 9am at Toontown opening, ride Go Coaster, see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy finish with Roger Rabbit. Get on the train from Toontown station to New Orleans Square station, grab a FP for Indiana Jones, ride Splash without FP, ride Mansion, grab FP for Thunder Mtn, use FP for Indy, ride Pirates, use FP for Thunder Mtn.,Grab a FP for Space Mtn have lunch. Save Jungle Cruise for later in the. evening, Tomorrowland after lunch.
For Jungle Cruise instead of Toontown. Grab a FP for Indy, ride Jungle, ride Splash, ride Mansion, grab FP for Thunder, use FP for Indy, ride Pirates, use FP for Thunder, Grab FP for Space, have lunch. Save Toontown for after 6pm as guests seem to be done in that area.

For DCA... Just head to Toy Story Mania first unless you really want to ride Radiator Springs Racers twice. You can Private Message me if you need help with that.

Brian

Wow! This is a serious plan from someone who seems to be a DL veteran. Thanks for all the excellent and specific suggestions!!
We considered doing the EMH at one park and then heading to the other park soon after its opening before it gets too busy. Since we only have two days, we definitely are trying to see as much as possible while still taking A couple hour break each afternoon while crowds are at their peak. Does this seem doable?

 

[MouseEXP]

Wow! This is a serious plan from someone who seems to be a DL veteran. Thanks for all the excellent and specific suggestions!!
We considered doing the EMH at one park and then heading to the other park soon after its opening before it gets too busy. Since we only have two days, we definitely are trying to see as much as possible while still taking A couple hour break each afternoon while crowds are at their peak. Does this seem doable?

If your new to the DLR I would one park for the first two days then park hop on 3 and 4

 

[Princessleia]

We love EMH, great way to enjoy a quieter side of the parks! Typically, if we have multiple days, we take advantage of EMH early in the trip. Waking up early after several "closing the park" days can be tough!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I'm doing my EMH after a day off so I can get to bed early. But its in middle of my trip too. Because I have heard Saturdays with early opening can be less crowded because how early it is.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I think it's worth it if you can afford to stay onsite, if you're going with little kids, or if you really want to get on rsr without worrying about FP and are staying enough days to qualify for mm. The trick is that there are many who won't qualify for it and a ton of AP holders just coming for the day. So for those in that category who might consider staying onsite or something but don't have the money or it doesn't fit their plans, you can still do it without the extra hour. I think it's more important when you have little kids and you don't go often because you can get all of fantasyland done before the lines get long.

 

[ebenmax]

We love EMH, great way to enjoy a quieter side of the parks! Typically, if we have multiple days, we take advantage of EMH early in the trip. Waking up early after several "closing the park" days can be tough!

YES!! We always comment when we have the "Disney Look!" A few days at Disney you start to look a little haggard... HAPPY but haggard! Lol

 

[LizzyS]

I don't know how the EMH set up at WDW is, but we always take advantage of it when we can at DLR. We like to get in the park, get a locker, and ride Space Mountain and the Matterhorn right away while the lines are short. Only Tomorrowland and Fastasyland are open for EMH/MM at DLR, though.

 

[LizzyS]

Plus Soarin has such huge capacity that you'll be in and out of that one in a hurry.

I don't know what the deal was when we were there in February 2014, but Soarin' was the worst wait EVER (maybe because the queue is partly inside and it was raining pretty big time that day), and remains as of right now the longest I have ever had to wait in line at DLR- an hour and a half, I believe.

 

[jina]

We've hated the MM's we've done at DL but loved the EE's at DCA. Now we stay off site and sometimes will go to DL on a MM morning and just hit the left side of the park when the regular rope drops as that is when those rides open. We rarely go to DCA for regular opening on an EE day but if we do, we go to the Mickey Fun Wheel first followed by Goofy's sky school, both which open at regular opening time too.

If money were no object we would stay on site and do EE/MM every day though - but we definitely have low expectations for the MM at DL as it's always a total zoo- we did Thurs MM's in late Feb, once in March and once in mid summer - all 3 times we were very disappointed at the lines - must be a ton of 3 day park hopper folks do the Thurs MM's. I would think a Tuesday MM would be the best one to do.

 

[ebenmax]

We've hated the MM's we've done at DL but loved the EE's at DCA. Now we stay off site and sometimes will go to DL on a MM morning and just hit the left side of the park when the regular rope drops as that is when those rides open. We rarely go to DCA for regular opening on an EE day but if we do, we go to the Mickey Fun Wheel first followed by Goofy's sky school, both which open at regular opening time too.

If money were no object we would stay on site and do EE/MM every day though - but we definitely have low expectations for the MM at DL as it's always a total zoo- we did Thurs MM's in late Feb, once in March and once in mid summer - all 3 times we were very disappointed at the lines - must be a ton of 3 day park hopper folks do the Thurs MM's. I would think a Tuesday MM would be the best one to do.

Do the EMH and MM always overlap at DL?

 

[petals]

I would say it depends on what you want to do.. Eg if you want to meet Anna and Elsa, go on more popular rides like Peter Pan, Radiator Springs Racers etc then yes it is definately worth using. If you're not pushed about wait times then probably not

 

[jina]

Do the EMH and MM always overlap at DL?

Yes. For DL they are the same.

Note that 99% of the time only one park opens early but this past Christmas season both were open for EE/MM every day.

 

[whoever]

Is EMH worth it? HECK YEAH!!!

Empty Fantasyland FTW!!!

 

[agamble]

I don't know what the deal was when we were there in February 2014, but Soarin' was the worst wait EVER (maybe because the queue is partly inside and it was raining pretty big time that day), and remains as of right now the longest I have ever had to wait in line at DLR- an hour and a half, I believe.

This is the second time I've read someone post that Soarin was an easy ride to get one. Seriously! I've never ridden Soarin without a FP, and even with a FP we ALWAYS have a wait, it's just inside instead of out. Standby is usually an hour it seems. The line is in 3-4 parts, a long standby wait outside, once inside it breaks into two lines (because there are two theaters) and this is also where FP enters. Then you get taken to the hallway to wait for your turn before finally being taken to the loading/waiting area to wait some more. The ride does have a good capacity, but the show is quite long and the wait can be very long, even with a FP.

 

[LizzyS]

I always think the right answer is to get your butt out of bed and get going early, no matter where you are, lol.

 

[whoever]

I always think the right answer is to get your butt out of bed and get going early, no matter where you are, lol.

Agreed!!

 

[VandVsmama]

The way I look at it that during EMH we can get something like 6 rides done in an hour whereas during the busiest time of the day it might take us 6 HOURS to do the same. For that convenience, even my night owl DH will get up early.

We don't go to DL for a relaxing beach vacation. But we utilize afternoon breaks to give ourselves a rest when the parks are busiest.

Getting up super early on your vacation isn't for everyone. You don't HAVE to be there for rope drop. We go to rope drop because we have a much better time. And because we have to drive a fair distance to get to DL so we want to take advantage of the limited time we are there.

 

[MinMou]

So glad I found this thread - lots of food for thought. I have been looking at DLR Prep School and TouringPlans.com to try to figure out what to do in what order, and I was surprised at some of the advice and that it conflicted. Not sure if DLR takes EMH into account.

I do have a couple of questions.
Does it really take 15 minutes to walk thru Sleeping Beauty's Castle?
Would there really be a 30 minute wait for Peter Pan during EMH?

 

[jina]

Does it really take 15 minutes to walk thru Sleeping Beauty's Castle?
Would there really be a 30 minute wait for Peter Pan during EMH?

No, it does not take 15 min to walk through unless you stop to read all the different things and really look. I'm assuming they mean not just walking under the walkway but through the side part (which I've never done).

Peter Pan is a walk on at EMH rope drop (on non MM day) if you sprint straight there- otherwise within a minute or two the wait will go to 20 or 30 min. Within 10 minutes it can get to 45 min. Everyone and their brother wants to do PP first because it is so slow loading. Dumbo is similar. Try to hit it first or right after Peter Pan or it will soon be a 20 min+ wait.