New Magic Kingdom Welcome Show & Main Street Opening UPDATE: Page 15 - Post #281

[Disney2017]

To get in it's pretty much everyone together. Once in there are signs showing you where to head. Somewhere in this thread there are photos of this. There they check you in off the list of folks with PPO ADR

Thank you!!! I did see the post of cm with signs!

 

[hiroMYhero]

Thanks! Is there one way that is better than the others- balancing speed and crowd factors?

For a less cramped route, I'd choose bridge to Liberty Square. But, if you want to walk through the Castle, that's the best time to do it as that route gets closed off once MRFF begins.

 

[TexasKiwiPrincess]

Ppo adr and tours let in at 7:50
Everyone else at 7:52

A 2 minute head start?! LOL Geez- just let everyone in at once.
I could see 15 minutes- PPO ADR enter at 7:45, then everyone else at 8:00. Two minutes doesn't matter. 15 minutes could be enough time for pictures.
No biggie. We can still get our Mickey waffles and doughnut sundae either way. Yum!

 

[Suzanne74]

Reports have varied.
What I've gleaned is this
EMH guests only are let in, no ropes in the hub
20 min later, or so, everyone is let in, and there are ropes in the hub
If you are on site and arrive late I assume there is somewhere to scan so you can go on in

Thank you. That sounds like a lot more work for CM's and a lot less time during that extra magic hour if most guests are already at the hub at park opening. I will be curious to hear various reports on this before we leave.

 

[cakebaker]

Thank you. That sounds like a lot more work for CM's and a lot less time during that extra magic hour if most guests are already at the hub at park opening. I will be curious to hear various reports on this before we leave.

Thing is, if you're arriving at the tapstiles 20 minutes after the EMH has opened, you're really not going to get much out of that EMH regardless.

What AngiTN said was pretty much our experience. Since we weren't at the hub once the park opened for EMH, we have no factual way of knowing how they're handling non resort guests or how they are checking for people who are resort guests but arriving late.

I do know that my daughter went back out into the hub and was stopped and questioned by a CM when she tried to re-enter, then was allowed back in. It was 8:15 when she got back to the hub and saw that ropes had once again been put up. From that we know that they are allowing non resort guest on to Main Street fairly quickly after EMH starts, but that's about all we know.

It was the first EMH morning since the new opening. I imagine they'll figure out what works and what doesn't and make the appropriate changes if needed.

 

[bubblebrown]

So you went through the castle to get to Pan? Or around with the SDMT crowds? Sorry- just trying to get a visual!

We stayed in front of the castle to the right (or there's also a ramp on the left) where the ropes are set up. It was a great place for my daughters to see the characters for the opening show and get a good head start in front of a lot of the crowd. We did not stand with the SDMT crowd. The CM at the rope was warning people that it may take a minute to clear the set before he's allowed to let us through and he suggested going towards where the ropes are by Sleepy Hollow or towards where the 7DMT crowd, where it might be faster to get through, but I had watched a video and it looked like they did this pretty quickly, so we did not budge. As soon as the welcome show was done, the CMs cleared with area within 2 minutes and our rope was dropped and we were allowed through the castle. To get to PP first, it may be faster going towards the sleepy hollow rope, but not sure about the opening show view from there. Has anyone tried from this spot?

 

[bubblebrown]

Just double checking....if I have a PPO adr, is it obvious where we go to enter or does everyone go through same tapstiles?

I would ask a CM just to make sure. A few people saw my family standing early for opening (in MK and Epcot) and had assumed we had a PPO bfast ADR and came to stand with us until they learned the correct place.

 

[bubblebrown]

This sounds like a wonderful relaxing way to start the day! (Not the "staying in front of the crowds" part. THAT doesn't sound relaxing!)
I miss the Welcome song the most. If they played that song with a little dance, this new opening would be perfect to me. I am in love with the idea of breakfast on Main Street, enjoying the atmosphere, the whole day in front of you, just reveling in the Magic.

Yes, it was wonderful!! We got to relax and enjoy the morning before getting a good spot for rope drop. I am also guessing it will not stay that way once people know you can get in so early without PPO ADRs, although hopefully this may take a while because I was so amazed at guests even asking what a fast pass was.

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, it was wonderful!! We got to relax and enjoy the morning before getting a good spot for rope drop. I am also guessing it will not stay that way once people know you can get in so early without PPO ADRs, although hopefully this may take a while because I was so amazed at guests even asking what a fast pass was.

We too have encountered guests, recently, that had no clue they could get FP with their tickets.
It is truly amazing how people don't read.
Not talking about pretrip planning, I realize that's very rare.
Just talking about reading the documentation right in front of them when they buy a ticket, enter the parks, and/or read a map.

 

[Suzanne74]

Thing is, if you're arriving at the tapstiles 20 minutes after the EMH has opened, you're really not going to get much out of that EMH regardless.

What AngiTN said was pretty much our experience. Since we weren't at the hub once the park opened for EMH, we have no factual way of knowing how they're handling non resort guests or how they are checking for people who are resort guests but arriving late.

I do know that my daughter went back out into the hub and was stopped and questioned by a CM when she tried to re-enter, then was allowed back in. It was 8:15 when she got back to the hub and saw that ropes had once again been put up. From that we know that they are allowing non resort guest on to Main Street fairly quickly after EMH starts, but that's about all we know.

It was the first EMH morning since the new opening. I imagine they'll figure out what works and what doesn't and make the appropriate changes if needed.

But we tend to cross the hub on some EMH. I am guessing going around the perimeter is the only good way. I like the new set up on regular days but I think on AM EMH, not allowing resort guests in until 8:00 and then having non-resort guests in Main Street/hub doing everything from 8:15 to 9:00am that they would have done 9-9:30am (come down Main Street, take pics, grab a bite to eat, stop at City Hall for maps/birthday pins etc...) really cuts into that EMH and doesn't make it as worthwhile in my opinion.

And yes, we used to be able to come in as late as 8:30am for EMH and easily get on rides with no waits, esp MK. Doesn't seem worth it now.

 

[cakebaker]

We

But we tend to cross the hub on some EMH. I am guessing going around the perimeter is the only good way. I like the new set up on regular days but I think on AM EMH, not allowing resort guests in until 8:00 and then having non-resort guests in Main Street/hub doing everything from 8:15 to 9:00am that they would have done 9-9:30am (come down Main Street, take pics, grab a bite to eat, stop at City Hall for maps/birthday pins etc...) really cuts into that EMH and doesn't make it as worthwhile in my opinion.

And yes, we used to be able to come in as late as 8:30am for EMH and easily get on rides with no waits, esp MK. Doesn't seem worth it now.

You must move faster than we do! If we waited until 8:30 to arrive, SDMT would have an hour long wait during EMH. PP wouldn't fare much better. And no matter what we rode, by the time we got to the ride and rode it, the 30 minutes would be virtually gone.

We pretty much decided EMH's aren't worth it period after this trip and it had little to do with the new opening. There are so many resort guests now that it gets crowded fast, just with resort guests. Within 10 minutes of EMH starting the line to SDMT was way out into the walkway. I suspect those in line at that point were going to spend their entire hour in line. It serves it's purpose for less popular rides, but we find we can ride those later in the day without much wait. Add in the non resort guests and by 10am, it's madhouse. That doesn't seem to happen on non-EMH days.

 

[AngiTN]

You must move faster than we do! If we waited until 8:30 to arrive, SDMT would have an hour long wait during EMH. PP wouldn't fare much better. And no matter what we rode, by the time we got to the ride and rode it, the 30 minutes would be virtually gone.

We pretty much decided EMH's aren't worth it period after this trip and it had little to do with the new opening. There are so many resort guests now that it gets crowded fast, just with resort guests. Within 10 minutes of EMH starting the line to SDMT was way out into the walkway. I suspect those in line at that point were going to spend their entire hour in line. It serves it's purpose for less popular rides, but we find we can ride those later in the day without much wait. Add in the non resort guests and by 10am, it's madhouse. That doesn't seem to happen on non-EMH days.

The only thing you gain with EMH is there are no FP returnees so the stand by lines do move faster than an equally as long line during regular hours.
Otherwise, I concur, EMH is not all it's cracked up to be. Especially if you aren't there when they open. And that has nothing to do with the change in opening procedures.

 

[AngiTN]

But we tend to cross the hub on some EMH. I am guessing going around the perimeter is the only good way. I like the new set up on regular days but I think on AM EMH, not allowing resort guests in until 8:00 and then having non-resort guests in Main Street/hub doing everything from 8:15 to 9:00am that they would have done 9-9:30am (come down Main Street, take pics, grab a bite to eat, stop at City Hall for maps/birthday pins etc...) really cuts into that EMH and doesn't make it as worthwhile in my opinion.

And yes, we used to be able to come in as late as 8:30am for EMH and easily get on rides with no waits, esp MK. Doesn't seem worth it now.

? Guests were allowed in before 8:00, most all are reporting they are allowing guests in at 7:45-7:50, so you are in the park and ready to hit a ride by 8:00

 

[MermaidMommy]

We stayed in front of the castle to the right (or there's also a ramp on the left) where the ropes are set up. It was a great place for my daughters to see the characters for the opening show and get a good head start in front of a lot of the crowd. We did not stand with the SDMT crowd. The CM at the rope was warning people that it may take a minute to clear the set before he's allowed to let us through and he suggested going towards where the ropes are by Sleepy Hollow or towards where the 7DMT crowd, where it might be faster to get through, but I had watched a video and it looked like they did this pretty quickly, so we did not budge. As soon as the welcome show was done, the CMs cleared with area within 2 minutes and our rope was dropped and we were allowed through the castle. To get to PP first, it may be faster going towards the sleepy hollow rope, but not sure about the opening show view from there. Has anyone tried from this spot?

Josh has a new post about the new opening procedures. He went through the castle to get to PP first thing, and said he beat all the crowds coming from Liberty Square or SDMT area. He says the couple of minutes it takes to get the castle walkway opened up is still shorter than taking the long way through Liberty Square.

http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/ma...rategy-and-expanded-breakfast-options-review/

 

[cindyfan]

So from what I am gathering from this thread.... It would seem that EMH really isn't worth the trouble with the new opening procedures. We would cross thru the hub to get from Tomorrowland to Liberty Square or Adventureland. But it seems it would be quite the challenge now! I always felt EMH wasn't that beneficial anyway, but this confirms it ... we will skip MK on early EMH days.

 

[yulilin3]

So from what I am gathering from this thread.... It would seem that EMH really isn't worth the trouble with the new opening procedures. We would cross thru the hub to get from Tomorrowland to Liberty Square or Adventureland. But it seems it would be quite the challenge now! I always felt EMH wasn't that beneficial anyway, but this confirms it ... we will skip MK on early EMH days.

But isn't Tomorrowland and Fantasyland the only two lands opened for morning EMH? why would you need to go to Liberty Square or Adventureland during that time if there are no open attractions?

 

[Mousetopia]

So from what I am gathering from this thread.... It would seem that EMH really isn't worth the trouble with the new opening procedures. We would cross thru the hub to get from Tomorrowland to Liberty Square or Adventureland. But it seems it would be quite the challenge now! I always felt EMH wasn't that beneficial anyway, but this confirms it ... we will skip MK on early EMH days.

I disagree. MK is the top park for EMH if you arrive early and use it to full advantage. The new procedure does not take away anything..you go in and start riding and doing. Non resort guests wait behind ropes. .We use it to do the non hot ones at a relaxed pace and have FP set for hot ticket things starting late morning..10 ish..works great to get a ton done...

 

[Hezzy04]

Have we heard more about EMM? I believe I read one report that said EMM gotnin at the same time as everyone else. However, recently I've been seeing people say that they we're let in them 7:50 (which is 5 mins later than EMM starts). I'm definitely curious to hear more experiences of how this works with EMM.

 

[cakebaker]

So from what I am gathering from this thread.... It would seem that EMH really isn't worth the trouble with the new opening procedures. We would cross thru the hub to get from Tomorrowland to Liberty Square or Adventureland. But it seems it would be quite the challenge now! I always felt EMH wasn't that beneficial anyway, but this confirms it ... we will skip MK on early EMH days.

In our experiences last week, the new opening had no effect whatsoever on EMH's other than I think we got an earlier start because we were already in the park and that makes for a much less rushed run to the first ride. We found both morning and evening EMH's to be much less productive on this trip but it had nothing to do with the new opening.

 

[AngiTN]

So from what I am gathering from this thread.... It would seem that EMH really isn't worth the trouble with the new opening procedures. We would cross thru the hub to get from Tomorrowland to Liberty Square or Adventureland. But it seems it would be quite the challenge now! I always felt EMH wasn't that beneficial anyway, but this confirms it ... we will skip MK on early EMH days.

But isn't Tomorrowland and Fantasyland the only two lands opened for morning EMH? why would you need to go to Liberty Square or Adventureland during that time if there are no open attractions?

I agree. Why are you in Adventure Land or Liberty Square during EMH? The only lands open are Tomorrowland and FantasyLand
When we've done EMH they've had ropes blocking those areas off

Have we heard more about EMM? I believe I read one report that said EMM gotnin at the same time as everyone else. However, recently I've been seeing people say that they we're let in them 7:50 (which is 5 mins later than EMM starts). I'm definitely curious to hear more experiences of how this works with EMM.

Nothing has changed for EMM. The guests with EMM wrist bands are allowed out of the hub and on to their rides, just like normal.
When we did EMM I'm not sure they opened the ropes at 7:45 either. I'm 100% sure they didn't, it was after that