How much value in Extra Magic Hours?

[Gyoza Dog]

I'm trying to figure out whether its worth staying at a Disney Resort Hotel on an upcoming trip. It will be between Christmas and New Years so maximum crowd level.

So I'm trying to put a value on the Extra Magic hours. For example, if I can ride 4 attractions during Extra Magic Hours and get only another 8 done during the rest of the day then EMH adds +50% value to my day.

In your experiences, how much is the extra hour worth?

 

[Geemo]

I feel the value of On-site EE is the ability of EE in both parks.
During busy seasons as Christmas, I believe Disney has EE in both parks each day. Not the usual DL on Tue, Thur and Sat. While DCA is Sun, Mon Wed and Fri.

If it's in your budget.... go for it!

Staying on-site is always a nice.

Geemo

 

[McNs]

It's not just the extra hour (which is awesome), but all 3 hotels, even PPH, are a step above anything else within easy walking distance. DLH and GCH are a step above anything for miles.

I definitely think it is worth it, only caveat is if the cost means you have to compromise other things on the trip then maybe the money is better spent elsewhere.

 

[LoriLovesDisneyland]

I just got back from staying 6 nights at GCH and it was so wonderful. If it is in your budget, I say go for it! Also, only DR guests get early entry to CA, so you can get at least 4 rides done in that hour, if not more!

 

[jeffg4]

I think you have to look at the value of the EMH in terms of dollars. The EMH gets you the maximum touring efficiency during any part of the day...and also gets you an additional hour in the parks (if you use it), however, you can still get very good touring efficiency during the first hour in a non-EMH park. If you are basing your decision on where to stay SOLELY on the ability to utilize the EMH, you have to consider what it's costing you. If you are spending $400/night to stay at DLR when you can stay off site for $150, that EMH is costing you $250. It is worth $250 to have that hour? That's up to you to decide, but I think we know what the logical answer is. If you want to stay at a Disney hotel and don't mind spending the extra money, then the EMH is simply a perk that you can take advantage of.

But here's the way I look at it. Disney is charging you $300-$800 per night to stay at their hotel and encouraging you to buy multi-day park tickets, which you are spending additional dollars for. So if you book a 7-day stay with a 5-day ticket, you are essentially paying Disney $300-800 per night for 5 of those days to basically sleep in a room. Granted, you might return to the hotel for a few hours to take a break and use the pool, but you can do that at an off-site hotel also. If you were to stay at the BWPPI, for instance, you're looking at about $160 per night, you are closer to the park entrance than any Disney hotel, you have breakfast included, and you are saving all those dollars. Again, it is a question of "What's the EMH worth to you?" and "What's the experience of staying at a Disney hotel worth to you?"

 

[NorthernCalMom]

For us, it's not just the value of extra rides but also the ability to, in good conscience, either take a break or take it very easy ride and schedule-wise once the crowds hit. By that time, we have ridden all or "must-do"s at least once (or, in some cases, more than once... one magic morning hour my Star Wars obsessed girls just hit Star Tours over and over... I believe we rode it 8 times. We usually go in August, so it's also wonderful to be able to take it easy once the heat hits. So, it's not just the value of extra rides, it's also that the entire rest of the day becomes much more relaxed and fun for all of us (I'm the compulsive planner in the family, and knowing our to ride list has shrunk down to "well, it'll be fun to do but if we miss it it's not a big deal either" makes my day a lot easier).

 

[Indiana Scott]

For us, getting a free breakfast at the off site hotels is worth about $50 a day and the hotels save us another $150+ so that's a significant savings. Then factor in our favorite parts of the park are closed during MM and it kills the deal for us.

 

[V.I.N.C.E.N.T.]

We typically do Disneyland on a budget. Staying off site allows us to burn a day traveling, rest when we get there. I also like to take some of the savings and turn it into WoC/F! dining and character meals while we are there. That being said, prior to having a kid when were were dual income with no kids, we stayed onsite everytime EE was totally worth it. I would say go for it, in particular if you are going during a peak time!

 

[luulu1999]

if you get 3 or more days of PH you get one MM, I like free breakfast and free parking wherever I stay and honestly as long as you are there at park opening and go to the opposite park of EMH you can still get SOOO much done before it starts getting really busy

 

[5forMickey]

I vowed never to answer this question again and here I go.......we were in the Parks last year during the week between Christmas and New Years. I don't think you can comprehend how busy it's going to be until you experience it. Still had a wonderful time, would do it again in a heartbeat, however, had it not been for early entry I'm not sure we would have rode anything. From 7:00-11:00 it was wonderful/bearable. Noon-6:00 forget it. After the first day we never tried it again. Night time was busy also but since we weren't trying to ride during that time it wasn't so bad. Early entry saved our vacation! If you can swing it, I would do it. Also, don't forget to make priority seating. I almost felt guilty watching the people being turned away from the restaurants because they didn't have reservations, if you didn't have them you weren't eating at a sit down place.

I think you can have a great time during that week, but knowing how to maximize the slowest hours of the day is critical, and early entry will give you that!

For us, I would say we rode 75% of the rides of our trip before 11:00 each day. The kids said they got in maybe three rides from 7:00- midnight (I didn't even try). Before 11:00 we rode all of the big rides at least once. One day I think we did Space 8 times in a row before I said no more! Because we got done what we wanted early, we took in shows and did shopping at night.

 

[Gyoza Dog]

Thanks for all the responses.

To give some context:
* We'll have annual passes so there is no ticket costs or magic mornings to consider.
* We don't usually feel like eating in the mornings so hotel breakfasts at off-site hotels are wasted on us.
* We can just afford a standard room in Paradise Pier.
* We've always visited in non-peak periods previously so the crowds sound kind of terrifying to us.

When you run the numbers on a $ per hour basis it seems hard to justify. But I know not all hours are equal. If it increases the number of rides in my day by 50% (or something) its probably worth it.

This is probably the only year in my life I will have an annual pass. (We live in Australia but for reasons that won't repeat we had to visit the US alot this year.) So my wife and I have decided to take advantage one last time during the week that work will be shutdown. So the trip is already a bit of a ridiculous indulgence. But its a sorely needed stress break after the year we've had. Very sorely needed...

 

[bfost87]

It's hard to say what's worth it for people right? I mean, for me it's a small thing to get in return for the cost of a DL Resort, especially because it's only a short time and always in the morning. Where as, I always stay on-site at WDW and the Magic Hours are a big reason for that too, because on some days, the park will close at 12am, but I'll be able to stay until 3am for example.

 

[wdwfan22]

Thanks for all the responses.

To give some context:
* We'll have annual passes so there is no ticket costs or magic mornings to consider.
* We don't usually feel like eating in the mornings so hotel breakfasts at off-site hotels are wasted on us.
* We can just afford a standard room in Paradise Pier.
* We've always visited in non-peak periods previously so the crowds sound kind of terrifying to us.

When you run the numbers on a $ per hour basis it seems hard to justify. But I know not all hours are equal. If it increases the number of rides in my day by 50% (or something) its probably worth it.

This is probably the only year in my life I will have an annual pass. (We live in Australia but for reasons that won't repeat we had to visit the US alot this year.) So my wife and I have decided to take advantage one last time during the week that work will be shutdown. So the trip is already a bit of a ridiculous indulgence. But its a sorely needed stress break after the year we've had. Very sorely needed...

since you say you can afford the Paradise Pier, I say go for it! I would love to be able to stay on site. I keep trying to fit it into my budget, but never can, but I think the EE's would be wonderful.

 

[ZoZo]

Can someone explain the "early entry" option(s) at DLR? I'm used to WDW - either morning or evening "extra magic hours," only for resort guests. Pretty straightforward.

Is there more than one option at DLR? Is there a difference between "EE" (which I'm assuming is "early entry") and "EMH" (is this extra magic hours, like at WDW?)? How does one qualify for early entry?

TIA - didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I was wondering. My first trip to DLR in several years is coming up in October, so I want to know what I'm doing!

 

[NorthernCalMom]

EMH (Extra Magic Hour) is a perk for people staying at one of the three resort hotels. EMH gets hotel guests in an hour early into California Adventure on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and into Disneyland on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. MM is a perk for non-resort hotel guests who purchase certain types of tickets. They can use the EMH at Disneyland on one Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday but do not have any early morning access to California Adventure. For more details and updates see:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/extra-magic-hour-early-admission/

 

[ZoZo]

EMH (Extra Magic Hour) is a perk for people staying at one of the three resort hotels. EMH gets hotel guests in an hour early into California Adventure on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and into Disneyland on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. MM is a perk for non-resort hotel guests who purchase certain types of tickets. They can use the EMH at Disneyland on one Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday but do not have any early morning access to California Adventure. For more details and updates see:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/extra-magic-hour-early-admission/

Wonderful - thanks so much for the info!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I so caution on trying to put a dollar value on EMH. You'll be setting yourself up for disappointment. EMH are notorious at DL for their ride access unreliability. Some mornings it seems all the rides that are supposed to be open are running and others it's like everything we want to ride is still down and why did they even bother to open the park? For example, we had a DL morning where we did Star Tours, Space Mountain, Matterhorn AND Alice- it was awesome. Another morning in DCA we went to RSR- closed, Screamin'- closed, waited at the Ferris Wheel and it literally broke down after the people in front of us got on, the boardwalk rides were still closed and the only thing we managed to ride before the park opened to the general public was the Little Mermaid -but we'd managed to power walk the park before the day even really started. I tell you these experiences so you know it is possible to have great and awful EMH days. We usually hit 4 EMH per trip and over our last few trips we have great and lousy mornings every trip. We travel during summer. Personally we still love EMH but we adjusted our expectations after the first trip. It's great to already be in the parks when they open to the general public.

Now that I've rained, how about some sunshine? For your trip I would definitely suggest staying on-site if you can make it possible. If it wasn't for the time of year you are going I'd say skip it since your budget is so tight but as you're realizing Christmas to New Years are the absolute most crowded days at DL all year. The parks sometimes have "gate closures" during that time of year as the park reaches capacity levels. The lowest crowd times reported are in the mornings and even if you don't manage to hit a lot of rides during EMH you will already be in the park which gives you a leg up on lots of other people!

 

[whoever]

Worth the premium for us, even at DLH or GCH rates.

 

[MommyJKM]

Worth the premium for us, even at DLH or GCH rates.

Us too. We love GCH and always stay there but probably 50% of the reason is the EMH. I HATE the crowds and we're early risers if need be so it's just worth it to our family.

It's also a cool experience to walk down Main Street with no one there. I have a picture framed of my DD when she was 2 and the ONLY person on Main Street with the castle behind her. It's just gorgeous and sometimes it's the little things that make it worth it.

If you're placing dollar over experience I don't know how I'd quantify that, but if you are asking for overall - I say go for it!

 

[dadofnicholas]

It's been great for my son and I in the past. For us, Disneyland is all about riding as many rides as possible so that extra time helps a lot. Relative to others, I'm not sure if we are early risers (at home) but in Disneyland, we have no problems getting up early. We hit the available rides (that we like) ASAP and re-ride the quick ones. When the park opens to the rest of the visitors, we are already making our way to other favourite rides and getting Fastpasses. We like to take a break after lunch before heading back to the parks for a "slower" evening. After saying that, we stay on-site for several days so we never feel rushed. Enjoy!