Take advantage of Extra Magic Hour?

[flyingteepee]

First time to WDW next month with DH, DD8, DS5 and MIL. We are staying at the CBR and have our trip pretty well planned. I was wondering if it makes sense to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hour or go to the other parks because all the resort guests will be at the park that opens early that day?

We are going from Sun 8-10 thru Thurs 8-14, if that makes any difference.

Also, does everyone pack a ton of clothes and take them all home dirty or do you try to wash a load at the resort?

Thanks!

 

[njmousefan]

I am so glad someone else asked this question...we are traveling about the same time as you are...Aug. 12 to the 19th.

I think my two ds would be interested in this option. Will be interested to read replies to your question.

 

[BevS97]

we usually go to the park that had early entry the previous day - so if MK is EE on Monday, then we go there on Tuesday. It seems to work quite well in avoiding the crowds.

I have heard of people doing the Early Entry hour and then changing parks.

I usually do laundry, but we are normally there longer than 5 days

Bev

 

[tink2]

We always do EE. This is the time you can get the 'must-do' rides done easily. At MK we have always completed Fantasyland- riding every ride in it. At MGM we get Rock-N-Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror done. We may ride them each twice- or at least once and get a fastpass for later. We usually skip Epcot EE and sleep late that day- but we may do it this year due to Mission Space. At AK we rode the safari ride. If the park gets busy after EE- say around lunch- we just hop on the monorail or bus to another park! We have really loved EE and found it very helpful in getting the must -do rides done! We travel with children 2,4,7, and 10- so the 10 year old loves the bigger rides. I think if you do EE in all the parks or not is up to your family. But I do think with younger children- it is a must at MK. Later in the day, Fantasyland is very crowded!

BTW- laundry on vacation??? We only do the parks five days, so we are there from opening to closing- no time for laundry!

 

[crisi]

Don't underestimate the ability of people to be lazy.

Lots and lots of resorts guests don't budge before ten, EE be Darned! Which means that by lunchtime, you'll want to park hop, but that first hour can be wonderful - especially if you have little ones in need of Fantasyland.

The time zone switch works in your favor as well. 8:00 am Disney time is 7:00 am if you are coming from the Midwest, 6:00 am if you are coming from the Mountains and 5:00 am if you are coming from California!

We have in the past packed enough for the vacation. This next trip we will be in a DVC unit with a washer/dryer - haven't decided how much to pack.

 

[Lesley]

If its not a problem for your family to be at the park that early, certainly do the extra magic hours! We love them! Unfortunately I have a 3yo who is a late sleeper (well, any time other than at WDW its great!) Waking her up early really isn't worth it because she'll be miserable all morning. We do our best to get her on an earlier "schedule" before Disney trips....but its not really reliable. Sometimes she wakes and we can make it....sometimes its out of the question. Sometimes one of us stays with her while others go. Sometimes we just plan to sleep in a little and go to other parks.

We generally park hop by noon or so....when the crowds start getting heavy. That first hour really is priceless. You can totally cover Fantasyland or hit the heavy hitters at the other parks before anyone is really there.

Have fun!

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

We went in December, when it wasn't really busy. Still we did the Magic Kingdom EE on Thursday. We did everything in Fantasyland in the first hour and were there for the rope drop at regular time to do Splash and Thunder. So all that was done before 9:15. If you don't like to get up early every morning on vacation (like us ), at least take advantage of MK EE.

 

[swilphil]

I used Bev's strategy--go to a park the day after they had EE. We also made PS's in the park for 8 a.m., so we did get in the park early and were able to be first in line. We did this at MK and AK.

I'm not totally against doing EE, but on the days I had considered it my kids slept late. We were at fireworks the night before. When we went to AK for the early PS, my son wanted to go back to the hotel and take a nap at 10:30 a.m. -- the first time, and I'm sure the last time he will do that.

 

[goofy4tink]

We tend to be early risers anyway, so EE works for us. I like to get there early and then leave around 11 or so and go back to my resort for a break and then back to the parks later in the day. If I remember correctly, EE was really only a crowd issue at MK. It seemed that by 9:30-10:00 it was getting pretty crowded.

 

[scrappinMickey]

We love the Extra Magic Hour and the major reason we stayed off-site last time was b/c they had canceled them!! We're glad they are back. We made sure we got there early and were able to do a lot of rides without the lines and then once the park starts getting crowded we went back to the hotel for downtime/lunch. Then later in the afternoon we would go to a different park! Or we would schedule a PS/early lunch at the park before we went back to our hotel. This has always seemed to work well for us!! The nap/downtime in the middle of the day helped my 4 ds's to keep going!

Laundry~ I would usually do a couple loads while they are resting or late at night. We didn't like bringing a ton of clothes with us (for 6) and the laundry thing was always great for us!

 

[KHuntress]

We ALWAYS go to EE -- it is amazing how many people sleep in. It is not uncommon for us to do ALL of Fantasyland and most of Tomorrowland (at least Buzz and SM) before the other guests get in.

We usually hop away from the EE park between 10"30 and 11.

We have managed to see so much more by getting there early.

 

[EthansMom]

When we stayed on-site, we would be at the EE park when they opened, stay until lunch-time or until the lines got long and then move onto another park. (Love those Park Hopper priveledges!)

We'll be staying off-site on our next visit and plan to avoid the EE park like the plague. Of course, we'll also be travelling with our toddler son, this time, so will be taking a slower approach.

EthansMom

 

[frannn]

We've never taken advantage of early entry in the past, but with DD1 in tow this time, I think it will be a must in MK. It will get her on and off the things in Fantasyland that get crazy mid day. We will try to do this and see how it works out, but I am the slow mover in the AM in my family, so I guess it depends on me!

I never do laundry on my trip. We are going to FL for 14 days (WDW for 10), and I will just take a lot of lightweight, versatile clothes. Part of the fun in my vacation has always been to buy new stuff for the trip, so I will have a lot of crisp, new stuff. I will steer away from the jeans and sweatshirts I have packed in the past, and stick to capris, tshirts, and sundresses with one sweatjacket (a compromise). That way I can pack more clothes, just lighter stuff. I will bring the least amt of stuff I can so DD has room for her costumes, etc. More fun that way! If I have to wear something twice, like a nightgown, I won't be heartbroken. I don't think that will be necessary, though, because I laid out my clothes today for the trip and I've got more than enough!