Here is my recap for the 7/6 EMH and some tips.
I left my YC room around 5:15am and arrived at HS by 5:40am.
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There were very few resort guests at the tapstiles and I was third in line. I was let in the park at 6:12am and held on Hollywood Boulevard where it meets Sunset Boulevard. There were only Guest Relations and generic HS CMs holding the line/entertaining guests at this time. Trolley Car Cafe was open and some people ran in for their caffeine fix. Attraction CMs from each headliner headed over while a large crowd had formed behind me. We were all held until 6:28am and then escorted over to our desired location (RnR, ToT, or TSL). No running or walking past the CMs! Numerous announcements were made by GR warning people.
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The line was split and a portion was held at the HS sign upon entering the Animation Courtyard. People on the left thought they were going to get a slight advantage, but they were held until the main chunk of guests in the center/right caught back up with them. Once we hit TSL, we were told to stay to the right for SDD or to the left for Aliens. I was fortunately on the right side based on previous reviews I had read.
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It got a little messy once we were actually in sight of the standby line. People were running and cutting. I entered the ride queue past the stationed umbrellas at 6:35am and got on the first ride.
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I left and re-entered the line with a minimal wait. After my second ride, I headed over to Aliens which was practically still walk-on and completed two rides on SDD and one on Aliens by 7:01am. Guests definitely seemed shocked that the land was already crowded when entering after 7am considering EMH “started” at 7am. I took some personal photos and PhotoPass photos and proceeded to try Woody’s Lunch Box. I never used mobile order so I attempted to, but it was not operational during EMH stating Woody’s Lunch Box was closed. I got in line with only two people in front of me and ordered the S’more French Toast Sandwich. I received my food very fast and ate by 7:18am. It looked very good, but I have to say I was a little disappointed.
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The bread tasted like a soggy graham cracker and the S’mores filling did not cover the whole interior of the bread. I did not finish it and was hesitant to try other items. There was only one other group eating breakfast and it was the emptiest I saw the seating area the whole trip! While I was less than impressed with the food, the CMs were extremely pleasant and helpful so early in the am.
I proceeded to TSM and rode it twice standby before the park opened to all guests and then used an 8am - 9am FP+. The standby line actually had a 10/15 minute wait by the time I got in line. Once I got up to the front, it looked like they were only utilizing the third track. I noticed the same thing on my second standby ride. I asked the CM at loading if this was what was typically happening because I had intentions of riding TSM again during EMH during my trip and she said it was just random the way I was routed. I do not really believe that because as soon at the park opened and I used my FP+ I was sent to the original two tracks and had no wait and was loaded very fast. I did not see anyone walk to the original two tracks while I waited standby.
The whole time I was in TSL, RnR and ToT had posted wait times of 5 minutes. If I did not have FP+ for them now that they are both tier 2, I would have headed over there. Shortly after 8am, RnR jumped to a 25/35 minute wait while ToT still had a posted wait time of 5 minutes.
My tips:
- Definitely get there early if HS is still opening prior to 7. Being there 30 minutes prior to a majority of EMH guests really made a big difference.
- Stay towards the right when lining up on Hollywood Boulevard and entering Animation Courtyard
- Do not rely on busses. I selected YC so I could walk, but when I was at a MK resort on 7/9, I called a Minnie Van to get there since they start running at 6:30am. (Totally worth the cost to me!)
- I would highly recommend the am EMH over the pm EMH. I have never had good luck with crowds during pm EMH, but I really wanted to try the attractions at night so I headed to HS. Between the Disney network outage and rain, I gave up. TSM and SDD were down for a large portion of the night and Aliens had a long wait. I headed back to my resort and decided I would experience them at dark on another trip.
- Be careful if you are in the back right for SDD ride photos! Rex's tail definitely covered my face and other guests on the ride photos.