How should I approach EMH? (First time on-site)

[Minkishly]

I'll be staying on Disney property (Pop and AoA) for the first time this August. In the past, I used to avoid parks with EMH like the plague. Now, I'm not so sure. Should I be factoring them into my itinerary?

We do have park hoppers, so we wouldn't be restricted to the same park for the whole day.

Should I be going to parks with EMH? Or should I still avoid them?

Thanks!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I'll be staying on Disney property (Pop and AoA) for the first time this August. In the past, I used to avoid parks with EMH like the plague. Now, I'm not so sure. Should I be factoring them into my itinerary?

We do have park hoppers, so we wouldn't be restricted to the same park for the whole day.

Should I be going to parks with EMH? Or should I still avoid them?

Thanks!

You're going to get mixed reviews on this question. For me, I do the parks with EMH. I don't purchase hopper tickets though. I do the morning EMH and then usually leave the park around 1pm. My family of 3 can easily get 4-5 rides in during the morning EMH. Some twice depending on the CM.

My son and I will be doing the evening EMHs in June when we visit. I'm crossing my fingers for an 11pm closing at MK on that night. I've heard those are much better because most start to filter out around midnight or so.

 

[verleniahall]

We do the parks with he extra hours -

 

[CAS239]

Yes, if you're on site with park hoppers then I would definitely take advantage of AM and PM emh. Just hop to a different park when it gets too busy

 

[Minkishly]

You're going to get mixed reviews on this question. For me, I do the parks with EMH. I don't purchase hopper tickets though. I do the morning EMH and then usually leave the park around 1pm. My family of 3 can easily get 4-5 rides in during the morning EMH. Some twice depending on the CM.

My son and I will be doing the evening EMHs in June when we visit. I'm crossing my fingers for an 11pm closing at MK on that night. I've heard those are much better because most start to filter out around midnight or so.

4 to 5 rides definitely sound worth getting up early for! I'm excited about evening EMHs too (probably not back to back with a morning EMH the next day though, we're older now.) It's going to be so HOT when we go that I want to suck up every bit of morning and night that's possible. We'll sleep in the afternoon (or when we get home from our trip). Have a great trip in June!!

We do the parks with he extra hours -

Good to know! Thanks!

Yes, if you're on site with park hoppers then I would definitely take advantage of AM and PM emh. Just hop to a different park when it gets too busy

Awesome advice, thank you! I'm so excited about trying out EMH for the first time. I hope it works out for us!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

4 to 5 rides definitely sound worth getting up early for! I'm excited about evening EMHs too (probably not back to back with a morning EMH the next day though, we're older now.) It's going to be so HOT when we go that I want to suck up every bit of morning and night that's possible. We'll sleep in the afternoon (or when we get home from our trip). Have a great trip in June!!

When we are there in June, the AM EMHs don't coincide with our park dates, otherwise we'd take advantage of them. We are going the one at EPCOT on the 4th in the evening....they will close at 11pm that night. Our next morning we'll visit MK. We will still do rope drop, but I will make sure to make the FPs for big rides like BTMRR and Splash. We may not be at the front of the crowd, but considering that day will be our Frontierland, Adventureland, Liberty Square day....we'll be good. The majority of people rope drop for Mine Train. My son and I will have done that one on Monday. We will leave around 1 or so and head back to the park maybe around 7 and stick it out for EMH. With a 11pm closing that would be 1am. Our next day is checkout day, so that will be perfect for sleeping in. We live here in FL...in the Panhandle...the drive is only 6 hours. We'll head over to Disney Springs around noon, stay there for a couple of hours, visit one of the kosher restaurants offsite and head home around 4pm or so.

And thanks! We are going to have a blast!!! You are VERY welcome! Glad I could help! And by the way....I'm going to be 50 in July....I feel you on the "getting old". My 11 year old son keeps me on my toes though!

 

[agavegirl1]

I like to use morning EMH with Park Hopper tickets. I would not do it without hoppers. We don't like to leave the park when it gets busy and do something not park related. Evening EMH have become less valuable since they began shortening the amount of time available. They used to go pretty late. I get more done using FP+ strategically in the second park I hop to after EMH at the original park.

 

[Minkishly]

When we are there in June, the AM EMHs don't coincide with our park dates, otherwise we'd take advantage of them. We are going the one at EPCOT on the 4th in the evening....they will close at 11pm that night. Our next morning we'll visit MK. We will still do rope drop, but I will make sure to make the FPs for big rides like BTMRR and Splash. We may not be at the front of the crowd, but considering that day will be our Frontierland, Adventureland, Liberty Square day....we'll be good. The majority of people rope drop for Mine Train. My son and I will have done that one on Monday. We will leave around 1 or so and head back to the park maybe around 7 and stick it out for EMH. With a 11pm closing that would be 1am. Our next day is checkout day, so that will be perfect for sleeping in. We live here in FL...in the Panhandle...the drive is only 6 hours. We'll head over to Disney Springs around noon, stay there for a couple of hours, visit one of the kosher restaurants offsite and head home around 4pm or so.

And thanks! We are going to have a blast!!! You are VERY welcome! Glad I could help! And by the way....I'm going to be 50 in July....I feel you on the "getting old". My 11 year old son keeps me on my toes though!

Your plans sound great! I'm excited for you!

I like to use morning EMH with Park Hopper tickets. I would not do it without hoppers. We don't like to leave the park when it gets busy and do something not park related. Evening EMH have become less valuable since they began shortening the amount of time available. They used to go pretty late. I get more done using FP+ strategically in the second park I hop to after EMH at the original park.

Sounds great! Do you do your 60 days FPs for the EMH park or the park you plan to hop to?

 

[agavegirl1]

I make the fp+ in the park I hop to at about noon or 1.

 

[Minkishly]

I make the fp+ in the park I hop to at about noon or 1.

 

[LSUfan4444]

If I hit a park with morning EMH, I am usually out of there by 10am. If I hit evening EMH's I do so when no other park is open.

 

[epcotobsessed]

I think it depends on your family's travel style and sleep habits. When my kids were little, morning EMHs were a no-brainer because we were all up at the crack of dawn anyway. Now that I have a teen/tween we go to maybe one morning EMH per trip. This next one, I'm not sure we'll use the morning ones at all. As far as extra crowds, there is some truth to that but I find the crowds die down by mid-afternoon for morning EMH hours, whereas they build to uncomfortable levels in the evening for parks that are having evening EMHs, in my experience.

 

[DisDreaming4116]

We avoid the park with AM EMH at all costs.

 

[rstevens333]

I was pleasantly surprised by the PM Magic Kingdom EMH this past January. Not dead empty, but mild and enjoyable.

 

[kniquy]

Should I be factoring them into my itinerary?

We do have park hoppers, so we wouldn't be restricted to the same park for the whole day.

Should I be going to parks with EMH? Or should I still avoid them?

It kind of depends- It can be a great benefit (especially in Aug) to get to a park early tackle a lot and be able to leave the park by 11 to rest and go to another park in the evening.

This can only work if you didn't close down the park the night before. I would check it out a few times during your trip.

The theory is - if you have hoppers you can hit EMH but don't make that your all day park. Reason being is that those with only regular tickets will hit that park (staying all day) to get the most time in the park, so it can make it a busier day at that park.

I wouldn't make it a point to hit all of the morning and evening EMH, but maybe a few. Which you hit, morning or evening, really depends on your party and what else you have going on.

 

[shocker]

I use the benefit offered to me that not everyone else is offered.

I make sure I actually use them! Which means I get up very early & stay up very late as necessitated. Doing half an EMH is actually more detrimental than picking a non-emh park, IMO. You will not see any benefit.

I always go back to my room for a nap & food from 2ish-5ish. Then I will hop to another park.

I get FP's for the morning park & then get evening FP before I leave my first park (even if there's just PM EMH that day).

The earlier an AM EMH starts or the later an EMH ends, the less people will be there. If I can catch a PM EMH til 1 or 2 am, I make the next morning my sleep in day or a water park day with a later start.

Happy Planning!

 

[gharter]

We try and avoid the parks with EMH.
If you are going to do the EMH, you want to be there early just like RD.