Extra Magic Hours

Sorry to see them go (as I like making a continuous circuit to get on a ride over and over again), but EMH seem to be dying off (perhaps their extinction should be heralded with a period of EMH solely for DinoLand, which no one would take advantage of anyway??). Keep in mind that EMH were introduced in 2005 - which was a very different time as Disney was trying a number of things to incentivize on-site stays. These days? Ticket prices are up, room rates are up, food prices are up, additional price events and experiences are up - and people still may have trouble booking rooms and finding availability on-site. If the prices haven't driven people away (and most people vote with their wallets), I won't be surprised if the reduction in perks like EMH don't affect the numbers. And if there is a dip? Disney can always throw out a "perk" like "free dining" to pack them in (never mind the math, folks, where paying rack rate for that room to get the dining plan won't really be a savings for many of you over a room discount - there's no such thing as a free QS lunch).

I'm a bit shocked it took Disney so long to start charging for those extra hours, with things like EMM, After Hours, certain tours, etc. EMH benefits only resort guests for no additional charge - but those resort guests on any given day are only fraction of the total guests coming into the parks. If many of those guests are willing to pay for the privilege of extra time in an uncrowded park, of course Disney will move to the model that generates more revenue. Looking at things like EMM, After Hours, dessert parties, tours with priority ride access, dining packages with guaranteed event seating, etc., Disney knows that it can upsell exclusivity and people will pay. I suspect we'll see more, not less of that. I compare it to the airlines - no matter your ticket, you're all getting to the destination at the same time and the base flight services are all the same. But that doesn't stop a lot of people from spending a lot more money to upgrade to business or first class for a better "experience" (or that air of exclusivity with a few nominal perks). So, like the airlines, Disney is ending meal service for those in coach and handing out peanuts instead - they bet that you'll still take the flight even if you're grumbling about it.

(And to be clear - I'm not defending the loss of EMH - but I think I understand reasons why it's happening. If anything, I'm a contrarian and might actually want them to introduce even more "pay-to-play" add-ons. Why? Because these things are cyclical, the scales will tip again, and they'll start incentivizing once more after overplaying their hand.)
 
But to have those paid events, you need to cut back on the EMH times.
I'm a bit shocked it took Disney so long to start charging for those extra hours, with things like EMM, After Hours, certain tours, etc. EMH benefits only resort guests for no additional charge - but those resort guests on any given day are only fraction of the total guests coming into the parks. If many of those guests are willing to pay for the privilege of extra time in an uncrowded park, of course Disney will move to the model that generates more revenue. Looking at things like EMM, After Hours, dessert parties, tours with priority ride access, dining packages with guaranteed event seating, etc., Disney knows that it can upsell exclusivity and people will pay. I suspect we'll see more, not less of that. I compare it to the airlines - no matter your ticket, you're all getting to the destination at the same time and the base flight services are all the same. But that doesn't stop a lot of people from spending a lot more money to upgrade to business or first class for a better "experience" (or that air of exclusivity with a few nominal perks). So, like the airlines, Disney is ending meal service for those in coach and handing out peanuts instead - they bet that you'll still take the flight even if you're grumbling about it.
Agree ..

The fact is they don't need these perks to draw people to the parks and/or the resorts anymore.
(which, let's be honest? between Avatar, Toy Story Land, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, Epcot changes, Tron and the 50th anniversary of WDW, do we really think they need to do anything special to draw more guests over the next 4-5 years?)

I wonder what percentage of resort guests utilize the EMH anyway? Sure . . a lot of us on HERE do, but overall? I know, for one, that EMH does not factor into whether I stay onsite or not. I maybe use one day of it, but it is NOT a selling point (to me) like the other perks are (Atmosphere, customer service, 60 day fast passes, bus transportation, magic band convenience, etc.)

My guess is Disney will continue to slowly kill them off while monetizing the EMH concept with more "Early Morning Magic" and "Disney After Hours" and party events. (Why haven't they done some sort of "Spring Fling" night party at MK?). One day they will just disappear and every park will simply have a Early Morning Magic event you can add on. It is pretty obvious based on the popularity of all these things that people are willing to pay for ways to skip the long lines. These events are great alternatives to simply a "pay" Fast Pass system as these events don't interfere with the "regular" guests who chose not to participate in them.

I'm surprised we haven't seen an Avatar-land Early Morning Magic .. I'm sure people would buy those up just for the ability to be able to ride Flight of Passage without the long lines (and the impossible to get Fast Pass). My guess is we'll see a Star Wars tour (similar to the AK one now) or a special Early Morning Magic for just the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge when those comes out. People will pay through the NOSE to get early morning, exclusive access to that new land. Disney would be silly to leave that money on the table. Probably the Star Wars hotel guests will have some sort of exclusive morning (or evening) access to Galaxy's Edge to help in the immersion.

With the Fast Pass system, if Disney feels the need to draw guests to the resorts, they could probably just offer up an extra Fast Pass to resort guests or something.
 
No EMH would affect whether we stay on property. That and free dining is what keeps us onsite. Without at least one of those things, we’re probably headed to a nearby hotel or even a condo.
 
Also keep in mind disney springs hotels are also offering EMH throughout the 2018 year.
 


EMH definitely affected our decision on when to come down, where we stayed, and how many days of tickets we bought. As we come from a place that will never get into Orlando before 4pm, the decision of a 5 day ticket over a 6 day ticket comes down to whether there's a park with evening EMH the day we arrive.

This coming up trip in April has already been messed with: Flying in on April 25th (arriving 5pm), there was PM EMH at MK. Was being the key word. It is gone now. MK now closes at 9pm. If the hours don't change, that means we are out a day. To say I'm a little annoyed is an understatement.

EMH is a huge perk for staying on-site vs off-site. Hopefully they aren't getting rid of it fully.
 
I'm a diehard on EMH. We prefer mornings.

Also, a great fan of the free dining plan.

I want both to stay on property. I'm at the point I can skip a Disney trip without those perks. I'm at the stage now of taking great grandkids.

I'm a senior and I have seen many Disney park changes through the years. If Disney goes too far the bottom line will suffer and it will change again.

I do know from many years ago that when fastpass first got started they wanted a paying system for it. Anyway, for reasons I'm not aware of it didn't happen. If anything I can see Disney pushing towards that more and they are starting to do it with their club level guests.
 
We tend to avoid the early morning EMH -- as it makes the park more crowded than it usually is during the day.

We've been consistently going in July - and it used to be that MK would be open til 12 - making extra magic hours to 3 am. Last few years they've been closing at 10 pm - leaving it open til midnight. Quite disappointing.

We tried to take advantage of AK evening EMH last year, but it was virtually impossible - as so was everyone else. Plus so dark there - it was hard to see in front of your face ;)
 


Instead of EMH, why doesn't Disney do staggered park openings on a rotating schedule? This would allow them to cut park hours and save money, and make customers happy by giving them options on how they want to vacation. Every day have at least one park that is open late. Stagger park opening at 8, 9, 10, and 11 am. Stagger closings depending on the park like they do now. MK would never stray too much from core hours (8/9am opening and 9-11pm closing, other than the occasional late night on the schedule) while a park like DHS might open at 11am one day allowing guests to sleep in, but also stay open until 11pm allowing guests to stay out late as well. Another day it might open at 8 am but close at 6pm. It could even be a way to reduce cost of nighttime extravaganzas, running them only 6 times a week instead of 7. Disney operates with less hours, but if a guest does their research they can actually get MORE park time than is currently offered.
 
My guess is Disney will continue to slowly kill them off while monetizing the EMH concept with more "Early Morning Magic" and "Disney After Hours" and party events. (Why haven't they done some sort of "Spring Fling" night party at MK?). One day they will just disappear and every park will simply have a Early Morning Magic event you can add on. It is pretty obvious based on the popularity of all these things that people are willing to pay for ways to skip the long lines. These events are great alternatives to simply a "pay" Fast Pass system as these events don't interfere with the "regular" guests who chose not to participate in them.

I'm surprised we haven't seen an Avatar-land Early Morning Magic .. I'm sure people would buy those up just for the ability to be able to ride Flight of Passage without the long lines (and the impossible to get Fast Pass). My guess is we'll see a Star Wars tour (similar to the AK one now) or a special Early Morning Magic for just the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge when those comes out. People will pay through the NOSE to get early morning, exclusive access to that new land. Disney would be silly to leave that money on the table. Probably the Star Wars hotel guests will have some sort of exclusive morning (or evening) access to Galaxy's Edge to help in the immersion.

I've been wanting this for some time, though not in place of EMH which has already been substantially cut. An EMM at each park would be a great add-on that I could see a lot of people paying for, myself included.

MGM Studios (2018) -- TSL + Breakfast at ???
MGM Studios (2019) -- SWGE + Breakfast at ???
Animal Kingdom -- Pandora + Breakfast at Satu'li Canteen
Epcot -- FEA, Coco, TT, and GotG + Breakfast at Akershus
 

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