EMH to go or not to go poll

[PNWmom]

There seems to be so many differing opinions on EMH, maybe a poll will make things clearer.

EMH morning- yes get up early and go
EMH morning- sleep in and go to another park
EMH evening- yes stay out late
EMH evening- watch the fireworks some place else

[psychotekkie]

Woooo! Since I am the first to vote, it currently looks like everyone is in agreement here! LOL

Mornings are quiet as it is, so when you add on the EMH, very few people are out of bed.

At the evening EMH, for the first couple of hours you are still dealing with crowds that got in line before regular park closing, so the park doesn't clear out until much later when my kids are wiped out.

[CU Tiger]

We are fortunate and have my parents traveling with us. This being the case, our DDs go back to the room with them and my DW and I stay in the park by our selves. This lets us act like we are kids dating again. :mickey:

[illini]

We try to avoid morning EMH. Since we "lose" an hour travelling to Disney, it's early enough for my kids to get up in time for all of us to be out the door. Plus, we feel that the parks are way too packed by noon if they're hosting am EMH.

Evenings, on the other hand, we enjoy. No early rising, and more attractions open. That's the way to go!

[Mickey91]

While I am sure the morning is great, I cannot get up! :alarm: :sleepin: I have a much easier time staying up late.:mickey:

[ISLE39]

why not go to either one. me personally likes to take the most advantage for my money. if im paying i might as well use it as much as possible. id rather go to emh and enjoy a late dinner or people watch or just walk and relax rather than not use it

[January-2007]

I've been to AM EMH before but found it to be less crowded on non-EMH days, plus DH doesn't move real fast in the morning, so we just try to hit opening at regular hours parks. Evening EMH however, love it. We hop to that park right before it starts and it's great. Haven't been able to stay all that long yet, always too tired, "go, go, go!" but it's a lot of fun. That park does seem to be a lot more crowded right before the EMH starts though, so we just try to avoid being there too early.

[Figgyluv03]

I'd do anything! I just love being in the parks! No matter which one I'm in!

[c&d]

There's something fun about being up really late in the parks. DS thinks it's wicked cool to be up until 1:00 or 2:00 am riding the rides. OK and so do I.

We're not early risers so the night hours work great for us.

[lightyearfan]

the emh at night is the best, you don't have to get to the park at park open, you can get in a little extra sleep, and then you dont have to worry about getting to all the big rides so you can enjoy the rest of the park, then at night you hit everything that you would have missed during the day

Victor

[MOJoe]

In response to another post, i wonder how many of us who avoid morning EMH are Central Time Zoners? We stay up late in Florida!

[Crow]

go to another park. it gets more crowded from what i hear w EMH.
and when i did EMH at Epcot night, there was a long line at TT. so i didnt stay long.
i think its better to go off times, like hitting the rides in Fantasyland during parades.

[DisneyDude1977]

I say get up early and go....I love the parks right at opening!

[Makusu]

Get up and go early!
I find the night EMH crowds to be very bad.
I mean...it's more fun to go at night, but it is always SO crowded then.

[MrPeetrie]

I'm guessing here, but most responders seem to be adults. How many take advantage of EMH with a 4-year-old? Getting DD4 up early enough to take advantage of the extra hour may have "other" consequences (i.e. crankiness). Keeping her up late may result in a lost morning tomorrow. How have EMHs worked with young children?
:confused:

[GrmGrninGost]

We only get to WDW for 8 or 9 days a year, so we try to take advantage or every opportunity to spend a few more minutes in the parks! :mickey:

[Jared]

We skip the mornings, enjoy the evenings. :)

[TiggerRPh]

EMH mornings are wonderful. At the Magic Kingdom we've been able to do all of Fantasyland in the hour.

EMH evenings in my mind are a total waste of time, especially at Epcot. At Epcot, the only attractions open are the popular ones and there isn't any FastPass.

[TiggerRPh]

I'm guessing here, but most responders seem to be adults. How many take advantage of EMH with a 4-year-old? Getting DD4 up early enough to take advantage of the extra hour may have "other" consequences (i.e. crankiness). Keeping her up late may result in a lost morning tomorrow. How have EMHs worked with young children?
:confused:

We've never had a problem with the EMH mornings.

[LouRodriGIS]

We were at WDW last may and I found the crowds at parks with EMH to be insane. Our next trip is planned for the week before Labor Day and we planned to avoid parks with EMH when possible. In fact, whichever park has EMH evenings we plan to go to the following morning. If you plan to ride the rides then EMH doesn't seem worth it for me. It's good if you just want to relax and people watch.

[BelleCiavo]

We've never had a problem with the EMH mornings.

Us either, but our 4 yo is usually the first one up away and at home. :mickey:
Karen

[PNWmom]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far! I think we will be going to both EMHs. I'm curious about one thing though. Those of you who had bad experiences what time of year did you go?

[MsMin]

I think it's important to fit your families (and friends) schedules and behaviors and not let a little crowding at the beginning (evening emh)or end(morning emh)of EMHs.
When the kids were little we were there at park open or waiting for open as they would be up at 6 or 7 (central zone here) Now that they are older they love to sleep in b/c after all it is vacation.
My kids used to nap in the park in the stroller and since many times we were offsite we stayed until close.
I love the last couple hours of EMH at night when the park has cleared and it's nearly 1am and you can ride over and over with no wait. Mornings are great too when the park is open and you feel like you have the park to yourself esp. if you go to adventureland b/c so many are headed to fantasy land ;)
I picked evening b/c most often we are running late for mornings and more of the rides we love are open in the p.m. and aren't running yet in the a.m.

[elmjimmlm]

This year we actually are making our reservations to fit into the late EMH...Last year we did late nights and it was good...it was not as hot with the sun down and it seems that we could get on the rides easier than to wait for an hour or so during the day(even with fast pass)...plus I cant wait to ride KRR in the dark.

[LudwigVonDrake]

I love the late night EMHs especially at the MK :smickey:

[wedway76]

There's something fun about being up really late in the parks. DS thinks it's wicked cool to be up until 1:00 or 2:00 am riding the rides. OK and so do I.

We're not early risers so the night hours work great for us.

:ditto: :ditto: :ditto:

BTW... I worked in Boston for a year. I new you had to be from MA when I saw that "Wicked Cool"

[PirateLover]

Well we just got back and I was so bummed out about MK evening EMH. It was MOBBED. We were in the park the whole day. Lines were much longer and crowds were much bigger for EMH. We kept hoping it would clear out, but nothing doing. What makes me sad is that while I did see plenty of children enjoying themselves and the unique opportunity to stay up late, I saw just as many who were clearly cranky and ready for bed. Poor kiddos.

Mornings on the other hand tend to be quite empty. I'm not a morning person myself, but I am at Disney. As cool as it is to be in the parks at night, to me, nothing beats being there for the opening and feeling like you have the whole place to yourself.

[Goofy Texan]

I love the parks at night, so going to EMH night is a loud YES! During some times of the year there just aren't enough hours after dark to enjoy the sparkling lights. The atmosphere in the parks are so much different at night. I also like that It's cooler, and there are no Fast Passes so even if the standby line is long, it seems to move quickly.

As for EMH mornings, they start too early for me after staying up late to enjoy the nights. The regular opening time at a non-EMH park provides plenty of uncrowded ride options, that I don't feel it's worth it to get up early.

[indytraveler]

I'm in most agreement here. Take the extra magic hours. I prefer mornings b/c you're more fresh after a good night's sleep.

[DawsonAR]

We used to go to EMH however due to the crowds we now avoid them.

[Disney4]

And I'm all for that! :number1:

However, I would fall over if we ever got out of the room before 10AM. No matter what I bribe my kids with, they have to sit and watch some TV and have some juice/water while waking up in the morning . . .

[Tinkerfreak]

I'm guessing here, but most responders seem to be adults. How many take advantage of EMH with a 4-year-old? Getting DD4 up early enough to take advantage of the extra hour may have "other" consequences (i.e. crankiness). Keeping her up late may result in a lost morning tomorrow. How have EMHs worked with young children?
:confused:

We don't do the EMH for this reason. Our kids just can't get up that early and if they stay up until 1:00 in the morning then the next day is a real bummer for us all. We all get tired and cranky. We find it easier just to get up when we feel like it and avoid parks with EMH. We usually manage to see everything we want to. We go for 8 days so we usually have enough time to be able to skip something if we think the line is too long. We are not comando style vacationers anyway and we go once year so we don't worry if we miss something, we will just do it next time.

[Disney4]

We don't do the EMH for this reason. Our kids just can't get up that early and if they stay up until 1:00 in the morning then the next day is a real bummer for us all. We all get tired and cranky.

Quite true - I see more cranky adults with regularity than cranky kids every time I go!

[LandFan]

Go and stay up late - the parks are so beautiful in the evening with all the lights on!!

[CandleontheWater]

I vote for both! There is nothing quite as fun at being at the parks at 8 am for morning EMH and then staying all the way through until 1 during evening EMH! Woo-hooo comando style!:mickey: