Would you build your plans around EMH?

[donaldsgal]

Hello all,

We are traveling as first-timers to DL (but seasoned WDW vets) July 15-22. We have park hoppers and are staying at the VGCR using DVC points.

I started building our touring plans before I realized that EMH was NOT every day at both parks. I don't know why I assumed it worked that way; it doesn't at WDW, either. Anyway, our plan currently is as follows:

Sat July 16 - DCA
Sun July 17 - DL
Mon July 18 - DCA
Tues July 19 - Resort Day
Wed July 20 - DL
Thursday July 21 - DCA
Friday July 22 - DL

However, I looked, and our plans currently have us in the opposite park from the one that has EMH every day but Monday, when DCA has EMH.

I know this is a busy time of year to go, but my sister has a work conference in Anaheim the following week, which is why we picked these dates. We are rope-droppers who take afternoon breaks and then return for/after dinner for nighttime events. Due to busyness, I'm wondering if we should build our plans around using EMH at every opportunity. Should we make sure that we are in the park with EMH?

Thanks in advance for advice and suggestions!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Do you have park-hoppers?

I would personally definitely take advantage of EMH - you will get so much done during that hour - but you are also there for a LOT of days, so I don't think it's a necessity in your case. If you don't want to be up that early, being in the opposite park at rope-drop would be fine. (I just wouldn't want to be losing my EMH advantage...)

 

[disneychrista]

If you don't already know this (and planned for it) Disneyland Resort only offers ParkHoppers up to 5-days. So you will have to purchase a single day ticket for your 6th day.

I would take advantage of EMH at least once for each park, you can get so much done during this time.

 

[jeffg4]

I don't recommended spending the extra money for park hoppers, but if you're not opposed to arriving early for EMH and you already have park hoppers, then I would definitely take advantage of them by starting out in the EMH park and hopping over to the other park after 11:00 or 12:00. You can get a ton of stuff done in that first EMH hour and the park without the EMH usually ends up being less crowded over the course of the day. Just keep in mind that not all attractions are open during EMH, but most of the popular ones are.

 

[mad hatter fan]

If I could stay onsite I would want to take as much advantage of the early hour as I could. I would at least swap your first two days while you are fresh and can more easily get up early. How did you get 6 days on a hopper ticket?

 

[emij]

Park hopping is SO SO SO much easier at DLR than WDW. You are there for plenty of time, so it is not a necessity, but I would personally do the EMH then shortly thereafter switch to the park without it for the smaller crowd. Seriously you just exit one park, walk across and enter the next park. No bus, taxi, boat or long walks from the transportation drop off when hopping.

 

[Geemo]

One of the main reason we will stay on-site is the opportunity of EE in the parks.
Look at the days you plan to be in the parks and start your day in the one with EE.

The GCH does have the entrance to DCA but for the first thing in the morning go through the main entrance.
We only use the GCH-DCA entrance later in the day.

The EE for DCA is so fantastic! It's possible to get so many rides done before the general public comes through the gates.

Geemo

 

[vratiana]

Absolutely 100% no question, I would take advantage of the EMH every single day. Day guests and locals show up in droves between 10-11am. If you can get in at 7am, that gives you 3-4 hours of low crowd park touring, instead of 2-3 hours. At DCA, you only share the EMH with the 3 hotels, which is far less people than EMH at WDW. At DL, you also share the EMH with off site guests that purchased a multi-day ticket that came with a magic morning ticket but it's still well worth it.
That being said, I strongly recommend using your park hoppers for DLR. I usually hop back and forth 3-5 times per day. From Main Street, it is closer to walk to Soarin at DCA than to walk to Small World. So, it's not a big deal at all to do one park for rope drop (or EMH) and still keep your plans in the other park for later in the day.

 

[donaldsgal]

Hi all! Thanks for the quick replies!

To answer a few questions from PP, we bought a 5-day park hopper and are buying a one-day park hopper. We wanted to be able to see and do everything a few times, as well as be able to stroll through the parks - hence doing several days.

The only downside to using EMH is that our park hours will *probably* (not published yet) be 8 AM - 12 AM. This means EMH starts at 7 AM. I don't know if we'll stay in the parks until midnight, but we like morning and nighttime touring, so if we do EMHs, that means we'll be burning the candle at both ends. That said, we are so close to the parks at VGCR that it might not be a big deal.

One more question (I posted this in a separate thread but might as well ask here): I read somewhere online (and can't find it now, of course) that it's an annual tradition to sing Happy Birthday to Disneyland each year on July 17th. That's why we opted for July 17th - so we could be there for that. That said, the parks are so close that if this IS a thing each year and happens at a scheduled time, we could just walk over from DCA for that and then return to DCA afterward. We thought if this really does happen, it might be kind of fun to be there for that. Is this true, and can anyone tell me where/when this happens if so? Thanks!

 

[HydroGuy]

During high season when EMH starts at 7AM, even for a high energy person like me, getting to EMH every or even most days is really hard in my experience. It means waking up at 6AM or even earlier depending on your crew. That is tough if you like being at the parks late into the evening even with afternoon breaks. Your "resort day" will of course help you rest up.

For those visiting at times of year when EMH is at 8AM or 9AM, then I think it is a lot easier to take advantage of it each day.

With all that said, unless you are extremely dedicated or extremely energetic, you will likely not make all the EMHs.

On the other hand, the effect of missing an EMH will only matter in the first 30 (maybe 60) minutes of each day. After that the crowds even out. So your park choice will not matter unless you miss EMH, but still arrive at the EMH park within the first hour of its regular opening. Since you have park hoppers I think it will not matter that much.

So, here is what I would advise:

- Skip the idea of picking a park each day. I think it makes sense on your first 2 or maybe 3 days. After that you will probably want to be more spontaneous.

- Except for maybe your first 2 days, be thinking in terms of park hopping each day. Maybe once. Maybe 2-3 times. Being at the GCH will make this about as easy as possible.

- Be aware that the FP systems between DL and DCA are not linked. Further, once the tickets are scanned at either DL or DCA they are activated for FP collection at both parks - even if some of your group never entered the opposite park on that day. So you may do what I have often done as the FP runner. If you are on your way back to the hotel for a break, it can be efficient to do a quick park hop and pick up FPs for after your break. For example, you are on your way back to GCH from DL for a break. Your FP runner swings into DCA solo (with everyone's park tickets) and gets a Soarin, GRR to ToT FP. Soarin and GRR are especially efficient in this case as their FP machines are very near the special GCH entrance/exit from DCA.

 

[gottalovepluto]

That is a very busy time of year. Definitely EMH. The earlier the EMH, the fewer people! Plan to EMH at the beginning of your trip for sure and then take the days as they come on the back end. We are very enthusiastic the first couple days, and then 7am EMH is 7:30am EMH, then 7:45am by the end of trip lol!

 

[tdhickey]

EMH every single day, it's a no brainer. You'd be better off using it and taking a hotel break if you need one, as opposed to not doing. 1 hour in EMH is worth 3 hours mid day. The only PIA is that sometimes Cars RSR is broken upon opening, which can be disappointing.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

We are going to have 9 park days in August and are staying on site. I am imagining that the first few days of EMH will be a piece of cake, especially coming from the East coast. Then I'm thinking middle few days sleep in and stay late. Then last few days EMH again. It's going to be 80/20 spontaneous/planned. have fun planning!

 

[realrellim]

EMH is awesome. On our third day, our EMH was at DCA for the second day in a row and we only had a few rides left that we really wanted to do. EHH was a perfect way to do those and still be in line at DL for rope drop. That day was an 8 am EMH at DCA, so we got there for rope drop, tried Soarin' (unfortunately down for mechanical issues that morning), then grabbed our WOC FP, and rode Luigi's and Mater's. Then we left DCA at 8:30 to go get in line for DL, where there were already loooooong lines of people waiting. DH and the girls wanted to ride Space Mountain, and I was hoping to do Peter Pan again while they did SM. (They were successful, but unfortunately PP was down that morning too. And Alice. That was the day of constant ride breakdowns....) But it was still worth it to work it out that way.

Our other two EMHs were 7 am and that was also well worth it because we were able to do a fair amount before the parks got busy. We only had a three-day park hopper so we pretty much packed in all the activities in 7 am - 10 (or later) pm days and expected to come home exhausted.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Definitely do EMH at DCA.

Maybe you should get AP's. Especially if you're going next year.

 

[donaldsgal]

Thank you, everyone, for your replies and thoughts on this subject! I think we are going to try to do EMH at least the first few days. It might be hard to get up every day at 7 AM, in which case we'll shoot for visiting the opposite park. I especially like your idea, HydroGuy, to consider having set plans the first few days and then try for some spontaneity the last few days. It's so hard to know how much to expect to get done, what crowds to expect, etc. as first-timers with nearly two dizen WDW trips under our belt. Thanks again for the help and tips!