DHS/Toy Story Land "Early Morning Magic" (EMM) FAQ & Discussion

Just back from our trip and went to this on Wednesday 10/17. Just me and 8yo son so easy small group.

We did have 730am slot and did not change to 7am when those were added but it did not matter at all.

Booked ahead with Mears for $12 from GF for 640am pickup...Not exactly morning people so not having to guess on bus times was $ well spent.

Arrived to HS around 7am and in the gates by 705am. We did not want to eat before the rides so hung out around the theatre until they led us into the land around 720am. Went directly to SDD and on the first one of the day. Then went to Aliens and they let us stay on so rode that 2x.

Next up was Woody and Jessie with a short line..do this early.

Then went over to Buzz line which was also short. Needed some a/c since so hot out so did TSM. Then back up to SDD and rode 4x times in a row (had to get back into line but it was short).

Rope drop crowd started coming in and it was crazy. Headed to Star Tours and then to breakfast. We did not care for the food options so just had the continental items yogurts, pastry , cereal.

Overall we did SDD 5x, Aliens 2x,TSM 1x and both meet and greets. It seemed like many others ate first so did not enter TSL until 745am or so ...my advice is to get those extra 10mins and get into the land at 720am. I think that helped us get in front of the bulk of the EMM people to not have the long SDD wait times. We left the park at 10am to head to Epcot.

Seeing the crowds that flowed in at 845am this was easily some of the best money I have ever spent at Disney.
thanks for this - answered all of my questions!
 
My family (myself, DH, and DS almost 3 years old) attended EMM this morning.

We drove ourselves and arrived a little before 6:40. At about 6:50, we were allowed into ABC Commissary. We grabbed a snack there.

We headed out toward TSL just after 7:15 and the rides were already going. I had a plan in mind, but it went right out the window when my son sprinted straight for SDD. So we rode that first. I’d say we waited less than 10 minutes. Then, we met Woody & Jessie. I didn’t time it, but I think we waited somewhere in the 10-15 minute range. That was the shortest I saw the line the entire day. After that, we rode TSMM with no wait. Then, we met Buzz. He had about a 10 minute wait. Then, my DH and DS rode AS2 with no wait (I hate any spinning type rides). After sprinting to SDD, my son ended up absolutely terrified of it. So, I rode it while DH and DS did AS2 again and DH rode it while I did TSMM with DS. At that point, the rope drop crowd arrived.

At rope drop, we chose to go meet Chewie and Olaf as those were the highest priority on DS’s list today. We went back for breakfast after we met them, probably around 9:30 or so. My husband had the chartrucerie (sp?) and enjoyed it. My son chose the scrambled eggs and ate the whole bowl of food! The cold buffet looked more appetizing to me than the hot entrees, so I did that.

Ovearall, I thought the event was a good value for our family. My son really enjoys meeting characters, and we spent the rest of the day meeting Chewie, Olaf, Goofy, Pluto, Vampirina, Sofia, and Doc McStuffins, in addition to seeing the Frozen show and Muppet Vision 3D. DH also rode Rock n Roller Coaster and we had a FP to ride TSMM again. We ate dinner and left the park around 6 pm for a total of 11 hours! We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish as much as we did without the EMM event.

I’ll be up bright and early again tomorrow for MK EMM, so look for my review over on that thread tomorrow evening!
 
My family (myself, DH, and DS almost 3 years old) attended EMM this morning.

We drove ourselves and arrived a little before 6:40. At about 6:50, we were allowed into ABC Commissary. We grabbed a snack there.

We headed out toward TSL just after 7:15 and the rides were already going. I had a plan in mind, but it went right out the window when my son sprinted straight for SDD. So we rode that first. I’d say we waited less than 10 minutes. Then, we met Woody & Jessie. I didn’t time it, but I think we waited somewhere in the 10-15 minute range. That was the shortest I saw the line the entire day. After that, we rode TSMM with no wait. Then, we met Buzz. He had about a 10 minute wait. Then, my DH and DS rode AS2 with no wait (I hate any spinning type rides). After sprinting to SDD, my son ended up absolutely terrified of it. So, I rode it while DH and DS did AS2 again and DH rode it while I did TSMM with DS. At that point, the rope drop crowd arrived.

At rope drop, we chose to go meet Chewie and Olaf as those were the highest priority on DS’s list today. We went back for breakfast after we met them, probably around 9:30 or so. My husband had the chartrucerie (sp?) and enjoyed it. My son chose the scrambled eggs and ate the whole bowl of food! The cold buffet looked more appetizing to me than the hot entrees, so I did that.

Ovearall, I thought the event was a good value for our family. My son really enjoys meeting characters, and we spent the rest of the day meeting Chewie, Olaf, Goofy, Pluto, Vampirina, Sofia, and Doc McStuffins, in addition to seeing the Frozen show and Muppet Vision 3D. DH also rode Rock n Roller Coaster and we had a FP to ride TSMM again. We ate dinner and left the park around 6 pm for a total of 11 hours! We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish as much as we did without the EMM event.

I’ll be up bright and early again tomorrow for MK EMM, so look for my review over on that thread tomorrow evening!
Thanks for this review. I know it’s kind of off-topic, but I didn’t know Vampirina was meeting at HS! Woah-oh-oh, this news has just made our Thanksgiving trip extra special for my DD!! She adores Vampirina (we are watching the show right now, in fact). I’m keeping EMM at HS a surprise as I just booked it on Friday (HS in general will be a surprise for her. I was hoping for FP for SDD our arrival day but didn’t manage to get them. I check daily just in case, but I’ve told DD we’re probably skipping HS this trip), and DD will absolutely shriek with excitement when I whisk her away from TSL to meet Vampirina! :jumping1:
 


Thanks for this review. I know it’s kind of off-topic, but I didn’t know Vampirina was meeting at HS! Woah-oh-oh, this news has just made our Thanksgiving trip extra special for my DD!! She adores Vampirina (we are watching the show right now, in fact). I’m keeping EMM at HS a surprise as I just booked it on Friday (HS in general will be a surprise for her. I was hoping for FP for SDD our arrival day but didn’t manage to get them. I check daily just in case, but I’ve told DD we’re probably skipping HS this trip), and DD will absolutely shriek with excitement when I whisk her away from TSL to meet Vampirina! :jumping1:

Vamperina is also at Hollywood & Vine for breakfast.
 
@KrazeeK120 & @VTHappyGirl - thanks for posting your reviews/experiances! Added to Post #3!

For those that don't follow the thread that much.... I keep track of links to DISer event review posts on Post #3. I am also keeping a record of when people report experiences with EMM and Jedi Training sign-ups... these are at the bottom of Post $3.

Thanks all!
 
Just back from our trip and went to this on Wednesday 10/17. Just me and 8yo son so easy small group.

We did have 730am slot and did not change to 7am when those were added but it did not matter at all.

Booked ahead with Mears for $12 from GF for 640am pickup...Not exactly morning people so not having to guess on bus times was $ well spent.

Arrived to HS around 7am and in the gates by 705am. We did not want to eat before the rides so hung out around the theatre until they led us into the land around 720am. Went directly to SDD and on the first one of the day. Then went to Aliens and they let us stay on so rode that 2x.

Next up was Woody and Jessie with a short line..do this early.

Then went over to Buzz line which was also short. Needed some a/c since so hot out so did TSM. Then back up to SDD and rode 4x times in a row (had to get back into line but it was short).

Rope drop crowd started coming in and it was crazy. Headed to Star Tours and then to breakfast. We did not care for the food options so just had the continental items yogurts, pastry , cereal.

Overall we did SDD 5x, Aliens 2x,TSM 1x and both meet and greets. It seemed like many others ate first so did not enter TSL until 745am or so ...my advice is to get those extra 10mins and get into the land at 720am. I think that helped us get in front of the bulk of the EMM people to not have the long SDD wait times. We left the park at 10am to head to Epcot.

Seeing the crowds that flowed in at 845am this was easily some of the best money I have ever spent at Disney.
I like your strategy, and I plan to "steal" it when we go. I'm leaving DD and DSiL to fend for theirveryownselves, and Papa and I are going to take the 4 y/o DGS, and do EXACTLY what you just did! It sounds like perfect planning! I'm sure it helped that TSL is pretty compact.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Sparkle on!
 
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@KrazeeK120 & @VTHappyGirl - thanks for posting your reviews/experiances! Added to Post #3!

For those that don't follow the thread that much.... I keep track of links to DISer event review posts on Post #3. I am also keeping a record of when people report experiences with EMM and Jedi Training sign-ups... these are at the bottom of Post $3.

Thanks all!
Again "Dad" YOU. ARE. THE. BEST!!!

:thanks:

Sparkle on,
NonnaT
 
We went this morning, we had the 7am we got coffee quick at abc by time it was 710am they were letting people into the land so there is a difference in the two times. If u have the 7am don’t bother with breakfast first just line up in front of the Chinese theater. For today they let u in well ahead of 730am time

But really, were they not allowing those with a 7:30 time to enter the land? I don’t think there’s a difference between the two times, though it is nice if they opened TSL that early!
 
Thanks for this review. I know it’s kind of off-topic, but I didn’t know Vampirina was meeting at HS! Woah-oh-oh, this news has just made our Thanksgiving trip extra special for my DD!! She adores Vampirina (we are watching the show right now, in fact). I’m keeping EMM at HS a surprise as I just booked it on Friday (HS in general will be a surprise for her. I was hoping for FP for SDD our arrival day but didn’t manage to get them. I check daily just in case, but I’ve told DD we’re probably skipping HS this trip), and DD will absolutely shriek with excitement when I whisk her away from TSL to meet Vampirina! :jumping1:

She had a sizeable line all day. I’d say we waited 20-25 minutes. My son loves the music on that show and really wanted to meet her when he saw her. She’s very cute.
 
Just back from our trip and went to this on Wednesday 10/17. Just me and 8yo son so easy small group.

We did have 730am slot and did not change to 7am when those were added but it did not matter at all.

Booked ahead with Mears for $12 from GF for 640am pickup...Not exactly morning people so not having to guess on bus times was $ well spent.

Arrived to HS around 7am and in the gates by 705am. We did not want to eat before the rides so hung out around the theatre until they led us into the land around 720am. Went directly to SDD and on the first one of the day. Then went to Aliens and they let us stay on so rode that 2x.

Next up was Woody and Jessie with a short line..do this early.

Then went over to Buzz line which was also short. Needed some a/c since so hot out so did TSM. Then back up to SDD and rode 4x times in a row (had to get back into line but it was short).

Rope drop crowd started coming in and it was crazy. Headed to Star Tours and then to breakfast. We did not care for the food options so just had the continental items yogurts, pastry , cereal.

Overall we did SDD 5x, Aliens 2x,TSM 1x and both meet and greets. It seemed like many others ate first so did not enter TSL until 745am or so ...my advice is to get those extra 10mins and get into the land at 720am. I think that helped us get in front of the bulk of the EMM people to not have the long SDD wait times. We left the park at 10am to head to Epcot.

Seeing the crowds that flowed in at 845am this was easily some of the best money I have ever spent at Disney
 
I booked the 22nd and the 29th with the thought of canceling the 29th if we didn't feel the value was there. Our plan was to get there in time to head straight to the rides, run over to RnRC and ToT, then come back for breakfast.

We drove from OKW (where we did see a bus signed for DHS leaving the resort, btw) and parked at 7:01, in the gate at 7:10, and in TSL by 7:15. Taking the lessons learned from this group, we decided to save SDD for last so we started at TSM. Rode that 3 times without getting off then over to Aliens for 3 rides, where we did have to get off but were quickly back on after waiting for one group to ride each time. We finally went to SDD, where we again rode 3 times (less than 8 minutes from the time we entered the line to the time we were off the ride each time).

By this point we still had some time before the RD crowds so we went back to TSM. Rode that 2 more times without getting off. We had time to go back for one more ride but decided our arms were sore enough, so we started leaving the land to head over to Sunset. That's when we ran into the mad rush of RD around the bend! We worked our way through and, without rushing, were able to do RnRC (no preshow, just straight to the ride) and ToT very quickly and were in the Commissary at 9:29. We really enjoyed the breakfast (charcuterie, avacado toast, and the kids scrambled eggs shared between the two of us) and took our time there. We left the Commissary shortly after 10:00 and went to ST. The plan was to then head over to Epcot for an 11:00 FP for Soarin' but the CMs at the Frozen Sing-Along were saying the 10:30 show was about to start so we stopped in there.

All in all, it was a great morning and we felt the value was there for us. We decided we're definitely keeping our reservations for the 29th and are looking forward to it!
 
So has the last session or two been slightly different with them letting people in to tsl slightly earlier? Before people were saying they were let in around 720 but the rides didn't start until almost 730 exactly.

We're the rides running when you were let in at 715, @gracielou ?
 
So has the last session or two been slightly different with them letting people in to tsl slightly earlier? Before people were saying they were let in around 720 but the rides didn't start until almost 730 exactly.

We're the rides running when you were let in at 715, @gracielou ?
Yes, we thought we would have a 5 minute wait at the Chinese Theater, but to our surprise we walked right in at 7:15. We could see people well ahead of us in the land, but did not see another soul on TSM until our 2nd ride.
 
I booked the 22nd and the 29th with the thought of canceling the 29th if we didn't feel the value was there. Our plan was to get there in time to head straight to the rides, run over to RnRC and ToT, then come back for breakfast.

We drove from OKW (where we did see a bus signed for DHS leaving the resort, btw) and parked at 7:01, in the gate at 7:10, and in TSL by 7:15. Taking the lessons learned from this group, we decided to save SDD for last so we started at TSM. Rode that 3 times without getting off then over to Aliens for 3 rides, where we did have to get off but were quickly back on after waiting for one group to ride each time. We finally went to SDD, where we again rode 3 times (less than 8 minutes from the time we entered the line to the time we were off the ride each time).

By this point we still had some time before the RD crowds so we went back to TSM. Rode that 2 more times without getting off. We had time to go back for one more ride but decided our arms were sore enough, so we started leaving the land to head over to Sunset. That's when we ran into the mad rush of RD around the bend! We worked our way through and, without rushing, were able to do RnRC (no preshow, just straight to the ride) and ToT very quickly and were in the Commissary at 9:29. We really enjoyed the breakfast (charcuterie, avacado toast, and the kids scrambled eggs shared between the two of us) and took our time there. We left the Commissary shortly after 10:00 and went to ST. The plan was to then head over to Epcot for an 11:00 FP for Soarin' but the CMs at the Frozen Sing-Along were saying the 10:30 show was about to start so we stopped in there.

All in all, it was a great morning and we felt the value was there for us. We decided we're definitely keeping our reservations for the 29th and are looking forward to it!

Thanks for the report. Please report on your second experience on the 29th. It would be nice to see if there are any differences from your perspective. Again thanks.
 
How do you go from tsl to the abc comm. to eat breakfast ? you exit where you entered tsl as you battle rd people. then where do you go? I can't picture it.

You’d follow the red arrows, just opposite direction of where they are pointing in this map below (I did this for something else) (note the map is not drawn entirely accurately on that one side of the Chinese theatre but it’s close enough to get the idea). After the initial surge (which doesn’t last that long), it’s easily navigable.

My DHS secret... before EMM I had never even seen ABC Commissary and had absolutely NO clue where/what it was!

DHS EMM Map.jpg
 
It sounds like some people are suggesting stopping into breakfast really early, then going back later before 10 to sit down and eat the full meal. Do they let you get food more than once then? I'm not trying to be a pig, just thinking we might grab a coffee and pastry, then eat the full breakfast closer to 10. Thank you for any input. Have a magical day!
 

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