EMH 7-8 am?

[Jchoma]

Looks like EMH was just changed on 12/1 from 8-9 to 7-8 a.m. We were planning to go to EMH and arrive at 7:30 before the change. We are going to fantasmic the night before which is a late-ish night for the kids, so I think getting to MK before 7 would be tough, but not impossible. If we don’t get there right at seven or before, do you think it’s still worth going? Are crowds typically bad during a seven to 8 o’clock extra magic hour? I can’t imagine that they are, but have zero experience with that time frame. I can’t decide if extra magic hour that day is worth it. I should also mention that we have a split stay, and are checking out of one hotel and into another that day! We will just be putting all of our stuff in our car until our room at the second resort is ready, but still, that takes time. Any thoughts?

 

[GeneralTso]

Yes, crowds are bad no matter what time EMH is. People arrive an hour early.

 

[Jchoma]

Yes, crowds are bad no matter what time EMH is. People arrive an hour early.

Oh no....so we would need to get there well before 7 then to experience any EMH benefit? If we can’t arrive until 7:30, or even right at 7, wondering how bad it’ll be.

 

[Robo]

Oh no....so we would need to get there well before 7 then to experience any EMH benefit? If we can’t arrive until 7:30, or even right at 7, wondering how bad it’ll be.

It is a good plan to not attend the park with AM EMH on that morning if you will not be able to take full advantage of that AM EMH.

 

[McNs]

We arrived at the entrance around 7:30 on Friday, went straight to 7DMT. Wait time was posted at 30 minutes and we were getting on the ride after about 25 minutes. The posted wait time consistently stayed at around 30 minutes until the rest of the masses started coming through from 8. Peter Pan had similar wait times but pretty much everything else open was walk on.

 

[soniam]

We intended to make an MK 7am EMH during Spring Break 2016. We overslept and didn't make it to the park until 7:30am. It wasn't bad at all. It's not dead, but it was was less crowded than normal 8am EMH. It did start to pick up, especially by 10am. I would shoot to get there before 7am and know that you probably won't make it until after it starts. We are always there at least 30 minutes to an hour before the park opens, so I was a surprised that it wasn't terrible.

 

[JJ2017]

We are in the same boat as you. Checking out of hotel/checking in to next the morning of 7 am EMH. Sounds awful right now but exciting at the same time. I'd love to knock out a couple of rides that I know my kids really enjoy.

 

[sharonabe]

I should also mention that we have a split stay, and are checking out of one hotel and into another that day! We will just be putting all of our stuff in our car until our room at the second resort is ready, but still, that takes time. Any thoughts?

Personally, I'd still hit the EMH. Like you, there just aren't that many people who are going to get up that early. My goal would be to get there at 7:00 or right after, but if it was 7:30 or so, I'd still go. Have your FP+ in place and enjoy the day. I would build in a really good break for this day, though, if you're still going hard the next day or have nighttime plans. You can only go so long, burning the candle at both ends.

As to your checking out/in....if you're staying on property, you don't have to put your bags in your car. Disney will transfer them for you if you like.

 

[Haley R]

I would go if I were you. You'll still be able to get on rides that will have long waits later in the day.

We did EMH this year in March and rode everything in Fantasyland before the hour was done. We then waited over by the Tangled area for them to drop the rope to Liberty Square and Frontierland.

 

[jvz82]

I love the 7 am hour!!

We did this last year in MK twice. We got there right about 7 am both days. I would've gotten there earlier, but our bus did not get to our resort until 6:20 and it was a solid 30 minutes of drive time. So that was disappointing but not much we could've done differently. The first day we did an hour of Fantasy Land, and then went to Adventureland for the rest of the morning (went on pretty much everything there), and back to Fantasy Land in the late morning for our fast passes. We got a TON done before noon. The second day we went to Tomorrow Land at 7. We got so much done in the morning before our fast passes started that we actually ran out of things on my very well planned list so we decided to run over to go on Pirates of the Caribbean again just because the wait time was low. I generally refuse to wait in long lines.

Anyway I've found that people like to sleep in. So yes it's busy at 7 am but definitely not as busy as 1 pm. If you plan well, you can accomplish a lot between 7-12 and then take a nice afternoon break while everyone else is waiting in long lines!

 

[Haley R]

I love the 7 am hour!!

We did this last year in MK twice. We got there right about 7 am both days. I would've gotten there earlier, but our bus did not get to our resort until 6:20 and it was a solid 30 minutes of drive time. So that was disappointing but not much we could've done differently. The first day we did an hour of Fantasy Land, and then went to Adventureland for the rest of the morning (went on pretty much everything there), and back to Fantasy Land in the late morning for our fast passes. We got a TON done before noon. The second day we went to Tomorrow Land at 7. We got so much done in the morning before our fast passes started that we actually ran out of things on my very well planned list so we decided to run over to go on Pirates of the Caribbean again just because the wait time was low. I generally refuse to wait in long lines.

Anyway I've found that people like to sleep in. So yes it's busy at 7 am but definitely not as busy as 1 pm. If you plan well, you can accomplish a lot between 7-12 and then take a nice afternoon break while everyone else is waiting in long lines!

I completely agree with this. We did an 8 am emh and by lunch time we weren’t sure what to do lol. We ended up having lunch and went over to the grassy area by crystal palace. It was fun to take a break and lay down in the grass. We went early March so it was perfect: not too hot, not too cold.

 

[ToddlerMom311]

I also don't have experience, but keep in mind that 12/1 is also a MVMCP day. Those days are said to have lower crowds than normal days, so not sure if there will be the typical EMH bump.

 

[supersnoop]

The earlier you get there, the better. 7:30 is fine. You want to be headed back for a nap around 10.

 

[Jchoma]

Thanks for this great advice. We'll try to get there as close to 7 as possible and plan a nice mid-afternoon break at the resort to rest up. I was worried that if EMH starts at 7- and generally the advice is to get there well before EMH starts- that we'd have to roll up at 6:30 to get any benefit. Doesn't sounds like that's the case. If we were planning a 7:30 arrival, 7 isn't that much worse. (Of course, that's easy to say now...this is one of our last park days so I'm sure we'll be wiped

As to your checking out/in....if you're staying on property, you don't have to put your bags in your car. Disney will transfer them for you if you like.

Thanks! I figure it's just as easy to pack our car and then we'll have our things when we're ready for them. Great tip though!

 

[StraightToDumbo]

If we don’t get there right at seven or before, do you think it’s still worth going? Are crowds typically bad during a seven to 8 o’clock extra magic hour?

I think the bigger question is, is it worth it to drag exhausted kids back out after a late Fantasmic night? I'd say, if you're going to do EMH and then LEAVE THE PARK, you could probably get away with it. If you plan on staying all day, you're going to wear people out quickly.

Also, I don't know where you're staying, but it takes a while to get back to the hotel after Fantasmic. I think we got back to AoA at around 10. Yes, 10 o'clock a few weeks ago. We went NOWHERE the next morning.

 

[Shanti]

Looks like EMH was just changed on 12/1 from 8-9 to 7-8 a.m. We were planning to go to EMH and arrive at 7:30 before the change. We are going to fantasmic the night before which is a late-ish night for the kids, so I think getting to MK before 7 would be tough, but not impossible. If we don’t get there right at seven or before, do you think it’s still worth going? Are crowds typically bad during a seven to 8 o’clock extra magic hour? I can’t imagine that they are, but have zero experience with that time frame. I can’t decide if extra magic hour that day is worth it. I should also mention that we have a split stay, and are checking out of one hotel and into another that day! We will just be putting all of our stuff in our car until our room at the second resort is ready, but still, that takes time. Any thoughts?

The 7-8am EMH itself is great, as relatively few guests will get up early enough to take advantage of it. You don't need to arrive at 6am. 6:45 will be early enough to take advantage of the EMH, though you won't be at the front of the line.

 

[poohfriend77]

We arrived at the entrance around 7:30 on Friday, went straight to 7DMT. Wait time was posted at 30 minutes and we were getting on the ride after about 25 minutes. The posted wait time consistently stayed at around 30 minutes until the rest of the masses started coming through from 8. Peter Pan had similar wait times but pretty much everything else open was walk on.

We did a 7 a.m. EMH last October, on a MNSSHP night. I just looked at the messages I sent to a friend that day. We got there about 6:40 a.m. (and it was still dark out!), but I still think you'd find some value getting there a bit after 7.

For a little perspective, here's what we did that morning, all before our 11 a.m. Be Our Guest reservation (BTMRR was closed for refurb, and we had Splash FPs right after lunch, so we didn't need to do those):

7 dwarfs
Peter Pan
Tomorrowland Speedway
Buzz x 2
Tea cups
Barnstormer
Dumbo
Ariel meet and greet
Little Mermaid ride
Haunted Mansion
Flying Carpets x 2
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Philharmagic

16 attractions in about 3 hours and 50 minutes, plus we used the Rapunzel bathroom, stopped for drinks, browsed a few souvenir shops and took several Photopass pics.

I felt like we were a step ahead of the crowd all morning. If you got there at at 7:30 and got in a 30 min line for 7DMT, you'd lose your whole EMH advantage. But if you headed to Buzz or Jungle Cruise, you'll likely stay ahead of the regular crowd and get a lot done. For what it's worth, my kids would absolutely give up Fantasmic the night before in order to get up for 7 a.m. EMH if they had the chance... like everything else, it's all about your family's priorities.

 

[JJ2017]

I see it on the list of open attractions at morning emh, but no one has mentioned it...Is talking Mickey available right at 7?

 

[sharonabe]

If you got there at at 7:30 and got in a 30 min line for 7DMT, you'd lose your whole EMH advantage. But if you headed to Buzz or Jungle Cruise, you'll likely stay ahead of the regular crowd and get a lot done

Since Jungle Cruise is not normally open for early EMH, if they head there at 7:30, they'll be in trouble.

 

[shortred]

Where do you get a list of what is open 7-8 am EMH?