Early Entry in- Extra Magic Hours out

[TikiRob]

I feel like we always avoided the parks with EMH because the "crowd planners" always said they were busier days at those parks. I like knowing it is 30 minutes every day at every park. Even if it is one ride, that is a huge benefit. I feel for locals and off-site guests, though. Rope drop will now be resort guest exclusive.

 

[MBTigger]

There could be a middle ground. 30 minutes early entry at 2 different parks every day. It would spread out the crowds a bit and experienced folks might just decide to rope drop a different park (once reservations are not needed).

AP's and offsite guests who want to rope drop can visit the non early parks....

 

[yulilin3]

I feel like we always avoided the parks with EMH because the "crowd planners" always said they were busier days at those parks. I like knowing it is 30 minutes every day at every park. Even if it is one ride, that is a huge benefit. I feel for locals and off-site guests, though. Rope drop will now be resort guest exclusive.

it will benefit people visiting epcot in the morning for sure, it'll probably be the least popular early entry park

 

[sethschroeder]

Come on over the dark side, people!

Okay what should I do after the first two days of my trip? Head to the beach or legoland?

We will see what their new park brings to the mix but don't have high hopes.

If I wasn't doing WDW would never go to Central Florida. Will continue doing the 2 days at Universal on and off added on to a WDW trip.

 

[Cheburashka]

No more extra magic hours.

BUT COMING 2022 PLEASE BUY OUR NEW EVENING PASS FOR +$100 a day to stay in the park from 7pm to 1am! (Regular park closing is now 8pm). /s

Are you kidding? No way they'd sell that for less than $150 per person.

This stinks, btw. I feel very fortunate that my son's prime WDW years were at a time when they had long hours plus real extra magic hours. I remember us staying up past midnight at Magic Kingdom, going from ride to ride without a care in the world. Happy memory to keep as we move on to different travel destinations.

 

[maryj11]

Seriously, what good is a half an hour?! It takes that long to walk to a ride lol. UGH

I agree!

 

[Porsche4]

An extra 30 minutes when offered at all 4 parks can easily mean 2-3 top rides you can get on before the crowds build. That's a pretty big deal. Even when I rope dropped at a park without early entry I could usually get on 2-3 major rides in the first hour of park time. Assuming the full park is open for those 30 minutes - it's a pretty big perk for being on site if you take full advantage of it.

The problem is if they stick to the way EMMH used to be run then only a few rides will be open in the 1/2 hour early morning access and it is not guaranteed that those rides will be headliners. Guess we will all just have to wait and see.

 

[Porsche4]

I feel like we always avoided the parks with EMH because the "crowd planners" always said they were busier days at those parks. I like knowing it is 30 minutes every day at every park. Even if it is one ride, that is a huge benefit. I feel for locals and off-site guests, though. Rope drop will now be resort guest exclusive.

I can see how you might like the idea of knowing that EMH will be available at all parks on any given day but as you point out you always use to avoid the park that had EMH knowing that the other parks would have more manageable crowds which is exactly the way we used to tour but now how are we going to know which park to go to to get the best touring option. I don't envy Touring Plans job in now trying to predict which park will have the least crowds on which day.

 

[nkereina]

An extra 30 minutes when offered at all 4 parks can easily mean 2-3 top rides you can get on before the crowds build. That's a pretty big deal. Even when I rope dropped at a park without early entry I could usually get on 2-3 major rides in the first hour of park time. Assuming the full park is open for those 30 minutes - it's a pretty big perk for being on site if you take full advantage of it.

I'll respectfully disagree that its "a pretty big perk". Keep in mind that everyone during that 30 minutes will be rushing toward the same headliners, which will build those lines quickly. We also don't know which rides will be operational during that 30 minutes. All of them? Headliners only? That will make a difference as to how the crowds are dispersed during that time.

Also, even though early entry is only for resort guests, we don't know how the park entry procedures will be. Potentially, it could be like Universal's early entry where everyone is allowed into the park, but you must show your room key (or scan MB) in order to get on the rides during the early entry period. If that's the case, there could end up being delays with bag checks, turnstiles, temp checks for however long that's still in place. You also could run into a backlog of non-resort guests trying to get on rides and being turned away while you're trying to enter a queue (some people are clueless, so that would happen). There could be transportation delays. Families needing to park strollers. Lots of variables that easily eat into that 30 minutes.

Sure there will be people who can maximize that time, but for the average group not trying to move at warp speed, I'd say getting two rides done during that time would be reasonable before the park opens to everyone. Still a small perk, but doesn't significantly increase the value for the cost of an on-site stay IMO.

 

[Delirium]

My two favorite times of every Disney trip were always:
- Walking in to whatever park we were visiting on the first day of the trip
- Being in Magic Kingdom until 1 or 2 in the morning for Evening Extra Magic hours.

My favorite family photo of all time is from a Disney Trip in October 2016. We were at Magic Kingdom for Evening Magic Hours that lasted until 2 A.M. We managed to be in the back of Frontierland when the clock struck 2, and we took our sweet time walking back to the front of the park. We kept fiddling around, and when we got to Main Street about 2:20, there was virtually no one there. We kept our snail's pace up, and by the time we got to the front of the park, there literally were no other guests left on Main Street. We were the last ones standing.

However, much to our surprise, there was a PhotoPass photographer there. She took a picture of us with a brightly lit Main Street decked all decked out for Halloween in the background. When we got out to the bus depot area, they had to specially call one to come pick us up and take us back to our resort. Every time I see that picture, I remember what a great night that was. And, remembering that we were seemingly the last ones in the park that night makes it even more special.

Realizing that a moment like that could not happen now, and may not ever happen at Disney again, makes me sad.

 

[Orion Nebula]

An extra 30 minutes when offered at all 4 parks can easily mean 2-3 top rides you can get on before the crowds build. That's a pretty big deal. Even when I rope dropped at a park without early entry I could usually get on 2-3 major rides in the first hour of park time. Assuming the full park is open for those 30 minutes - it's a pretty big perk for being on site if you take full advantage of it.

How long does it usually take the crowds to build?

 

[yulilin3]

How long does it usually take the crowds to build?

rope drop, be it emh or regular, always is the best option for low wait times. The crowds don't start to build at any given park until maybe an hour in, with the exclusion of DHS which seems to be faster.
I have been to MK on Dec 25th (not last year) and done all of FL and half of TL in an hour and a half with that park closing to phased capacity by 11am

 

[Thumper99]

The benefit now is that there is no such thing as rope dropping a park unless you stay on property.

For a half hour??? Lol. That’s not worth it. One ride and the park is open. I’m DVC so I’ll be staying on property but without fastpass priority and ME it seems like Disney is not worth the extra.

 

[Orion Nebula]

For a half hour??? Lol. That’s not worth it. One ride and the park is open. I’m DVC so I’ll be staying on property but without fastpass priority and ME it seems like Disney is not worth the extra.

Same here, I know a lot of people didn't care about EMH but I found most of the time to be fairly nice.

 

[nkereina]

How long does it usually take the crowds to build?

rope drop, be it emh or regular, always is the best option for low wait times. The crowds don't start to build at any given park until maybe an hour in, with the exclusion of DHS which seems to be faster.
I have been to MK on Dec 25th (not last year) and done all of FL and half of TL in an hour and a half with that park closing to phased capacity by 11am

I agree that rope drop is the best option for low wait times. But during the new early entry, if only some rides are operational (as in the past), I don't think it will take long for those waits to build. We got into DHS 30 mins before the posted opening time back in October and waited 30 minutes for MMRR. Mine Train also quickly builds. While these waits are certainly lower than trying to go later in the day, these rides are also inclined to eat up the 30 minute early entry timeframe making it so only one ride is accomplished during that time for many people.

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

Really disappointed in this change, we used the EMH frequently and love the late nights in the parks when we go in the summer months.

 

[yulilin3]

I agree that rope drop is the best option for low wait times. But during the new early entry, if only some rides are operational (as in the past), I don't think it will take long for those waits to build. We got into DHS 30 mins before the posted opening time back in October and waited 30 minutes for MMRR. Mine Train also quickly builds. While these waits are certainly lower than trying to go later in the day, these rides are also inclined to eat up the 30 minute early entry timeframe making it so only one ride is accomplished during that time for many people.

keep in mind that by the time this new early entry starts some if not most rides will be loading at capacity. MMRR has lower wait times now due to the plexiglass installation. you are correct in thinking that not all rides will be available for early entry, that is touched on the HUB post with "a list of available attractions will be posted later?

 

[Farro]

There could be a middle ground. 30 minutes early entry at 2 different parks every day. It would spread out the crowds a bit and experienced folks might just decide to rope drop a different park (once reservations are not needed).

AP's and offsite guests who want to rope drop can visit the non early parks....

I think this is a perk they are trying to give specifically to resort guests. I think resorts guests do deserve some kind of perk since practically everything else was taken away. So I don't think they should try to find a middle ground from this with off-site.

Could it be better? Sure and I think when fast pass comes back in a monetized way, resorts guests will benefit somehow.

 

[foolish-mortal]

We rarely used EMH on our last couple trips. The crowds seemed no lower than regular park hours. We'd stay at MK until almost the very end of EMH and the lines only went down for a few rides.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

I have never used morning EMH but have many fond memories of evening ones, especially at MK. The value of on-site keeps going down while the price gets higher. I hated when they added the parking charge. My kids (both under age 5) and I love the Disney resort theming. We will probably spend fewer and fewer days in the parks though, and more resort only stays. We just got a really cheap Legoland annual pass on Black Friday, so we will see what the kids think of Legoland compared to Disney. As the kids get older, if this trend continues, we might end up staying more at Disney Springs area hotels. Universal is still a little expensive for kids who don't know who Harry Potter is yet. But if they become Harry Potter fans, perhaps the appeal of Disney will lessen.