Do you go to or avoid EMH?

[Crow]

Ive usually skipped the morning ones, been to a few evening ones. Evening at Epcot ones have been busy even at slow times.
Some advise to skip the parks w EMH and go to the others to avoid some crowd. And some say to go for the first hr or so then leave.
I may try some esp AK to see what its like at night.....but I will be there Easter wk so it will be crowded anyway.

[Seasonscraps]

The only EMHs I do are mornings at AK and evenings at the MK when the park is open really really late.

[MomtoRooandRie]

When we went last June, the evening ones were horrible, very crowded!!! If I were doing any it would be in the AM.:mickey:

[joonyer]

I love the parks after dark, it's my favorite time to be there, especially Mk and DHS, so we always take advantage of the evening EMH, I don't care if the parks are more crowded. A Disney park after dark is even more magical

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

We were there the last week of January and the morning ones were empty. The evenings were crowded. They were checking for room keys at every ride which slowed things down just a bit.

[Strmchsr]

I avoid EMHs as much as possible. However, I did find an evening EMH at DAK to be fairly light on crowds on a couple of occasions.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We generally avoid the EMH...they are still rather busy.

However, we will sometimes take advantage of the morning ones, since they aren't as busy, or a ride we really want to do in the evening.

[brownie]

We always avoided the morning extra magic hours. We haven't been since they started the evening ones, but I'd probably be more likely to try the evening extra magic hours.

[g8rgirl29]

We Love EMH!! I am more of a night person so I prefer the pm EMH but we try to do the am ones too!!

[CaptSmee]

We usually hit 1 or 2 p.m. EMH's during our stay, but if you are trying to avoid crowds we've found it's best to hit the park opposite of the time of their EMH's. IE: MK has EMH's on thur a.m. & sun p.m., go thur p.m & sun a.m.

We have found the crowds to be at their lowest using this strategy, not that we go out of our way to tour that way.

[elmjimmlm]

In the summer we do the evening EMHs because it is a good way to beat the heat...

[Luv Eeyore]

We usually do morning EMH, but not the evening ones, although we will try an evening one at DAK in April just to see what it's like.:mickey:

[glenpreece]

For me I always go to what ever EMH allows me to do characters/rides I want to. But for my clients if they don't have the hopper option I steer them clear of the EMH to help cut the crowd/wait times for them.

[jaredkari]

I don't know how many times I have posted on this topic...but if I have said it once I will say it a million times...evening EMH is worthless!!! (Sorry to offend anyone that likes them) It is way too crowded and disney should stop advertising evening EMH as a perk. We do the morning EMH because you can get a lot done in the first couple of hours and then take the rest of the day easy. :mickey:

[masondoggy]

Do morning EMH's affect the crowds at the park for the remainder of the day? We're going in July and we're considering using a couple of the morning emh's. But we're not getting the hopper option, so we'll be stuck with that park for the rest of the day. I'm just wondering if it makes a huge difference in crowd levels for the day.

We have a 2 year old so evening emh's aren't practical. But considering the time of year, we'd like to get an early start to beat the afternoon heat.

[Wishmaker]

I don't know how many times I have posted on this topic...but if I have said it once I will say it a million times...evening EMH is worthless!!! (Sorry to offend anyone that likes them) It is way too crowded and disney should stop advertising evening EMH as a perk. We do the morning EMH because you can get a lot done in the first couple of hours and then take the rest of the day easy. :mickey:

That is what I love about them. As you see some people do some don't. However we always take our trip in May. I absolutely love the evening hours. They are a little busy, but again what is busy to me may or may not be busy to someone else. I think the reason it works for us is that my daughter is a big pool person. So we always leave mid day and do the pool thing. We don't go back until dinner time and then we know we have plenty of time to do it all again. Now our first trip was in August years ago. WOW! We were out so late and it was miserably crowded. I hated it. So it just depends.
I love my Intercot friends. Happy Vacation everyone. :mickey:

[kathiep]

We tend to do both morning and evening. That being said, we find morning much more enjoyable. Evening hours are so much more crowded, MK especially seems like a zoo. I sure my DH wants to kill me because he can't stand when it's like that but there's something extra magical about MK at night so I keep wanting to go back!

[Mousemates]

we love the morning EMH...can ride a lot of rides in a short time frame....(we usually hop to another park around lunch time (11 for us) as the park begins to get that crowded feel.

as for the evening EMH...we love them at DAK, some of the rides there (especially EE and KR) have a very different feel at dusk and after dark (and offer some great views of the area). MK EMHs are good for riding too...but only the last half of it after the families with pree teen kids have called it quits and headed for the beds.

[TheVBs]

We usually hit 1 or 2 p.m. EMH's during our stay, but if you are trying to avoid crowds we've found it's best to hit the park opposite of the time of their EMH's. IE: MK has EMH's on thur a.m. & sun p.m., go thur p.m & sun a.m.

We have found the crowds to be at their lowest using this strategy, not that we go out of our way to tour that way.

Thank you! This was very helpful for me. Traditionally we hit MK on the first day of our trip. The first day happens to fall on a Sunday and they're having the evening EMH. On our last trip whenever we were in a park during an evening EMH day it was mobbed. But, we tend to get a late start. Now I feel a little more confident about hitting MK that first day as long as we get an early start. :mickey:

I love being in MK after dark, but since it typically stays open later I don't feel it necessary to go during the evening EMHs.

[beksy]

We almost always do the night EMH. I'm a night owl and I love the parks after dark! I've tried to get to morning EMH to try them out but that snooze button defeats me. :thedolls: I'm not a big fan of getting up although I like mornings once I am up. :confused: This trip we're defininately trying the AM EMHs since I've heard more about them. I'm still a Disney resort newbie and learning! :mickey:

[rkwctw]

We never miss the morning EMH. The parks are empty then if you get their 15 minutes before EMH starts. We have tried evening EMH the parks are crowded and some of the people are non-resort guest who have not left the parks yet.:mickey:

[princessjojo]

We almost always do evening EMH so we can take advantage of sleeping in late. Sure they're crowded, but not as crowded as the rest of the day still. Since we usually go to WDW during the spring/summer, the evening hours are cooler somewhat than the afternoon. But ya know, it's Disney in June and we never expect it to not be crowded. It is what it is.

[crazygoalie39]

We avoid morning EMH's at all costs and go to a different park, and the only evening EMH's we go to aren't for riding rides because they're usually packed. We just go to soak up the atmosphere because we love the parks at night. :mickey:

[LoriMistress]

We avoid EMHs.

[DawsonAR]

We have done EMH in the past. We usually enjoyed the morning hours, but didn't get as much out of the evening hours. We now on occasion will do the morning hours, but never the evening. In fact on the next trip, we are avoiding them all together.

[ASweetLov]

I dont go to the EMH. It's actually a great thing to offer EMH to the guests staying in the resorts inside WDW but I try to do as much as I can when I am at WDW without burning myself out. I like lots of time to relax too and dont want to be stressed on my vacation or need a vacation from my vacation.

[CaptSmee]

I don't know how many times I have posted on this topic...but if I have said it once I will say it a million times...evening EMH is worthless!!! (Sorry to offend anyone that likes them) It is way too crowded and disney should stop advertising evening EMH as a perk. We do the morning EMH because you can get a lot done in the first couple of hours and then take the rest of the day easy. :mickey:

Well, this is a big generalization. I've been to some EMH's in the evening and the parks been close to empty. They aren't always packed. Are they usually, yes but not always.

[dream6]

We're always in the parks during EMH, especially the pm ones. Luckily, we have yet to be disappointed by the crowds and have been able to either get a lot done or just enjoy the atmosphere. The parks are just so pretty at night all lit up!

[garthbarth1]

We are night owls as well!! No early EMH for us! It is waaay to early! plus, we like to stay until park closing, so its too hard to get up that early. We always go in Sept so we never feel the crowds are overwhelming! We love the parks at night....they are so magical!:cloud9:

[joonyer]

Well, this is a big generalization. I've been to some EMH's in the evening and the parks been close to empty. They aren't always packed. Are they usually, yes but not always.

I agree: We have been many times to evening EMH and found it was no more crowded than that park was during that day. Sometimes less. It all depends on when you go (what day of the week and the time of the year).

[playdead88]

when the kids were 4 and 10 we hit up the am EMH's but now that they are 8 and 14 we hit up the pm EMH's - we beat the heat and they think its cool to be out late :mickey:

[Magic Smiles]

EMH - Definitely. If nothing else, we would stay to collect the bracelets. Remember them? We also do the morning EMH, but it is so hard to get DS and DH up and going early.

[KylesMom]

While we enjoy morning EMH at AK and MK, evening EMH at MK and Epcot have been a bust during the summer months when we travel for us. While we love the atmosphere at the parks all lit up at night, the crowds become unbearable until the wee hours of the morning. We find the wait times to be much longer than average daytime waits, and often the parks are so crowded you can barely move.

With regard to DHS, we've found that there are not enough attractions open during EMH to spread the crowds out (translated - long lines for ToT, RnRC, Star Tours, TSM). Same with Epcot . . . it's been our experience that Test Track, Mission:Space & Soarin' lines are prohibitive during both EMH sessions.

[#1donaldfan]

The evening ones we have went to are really not worth it, we have had better luck in the morning. So i suggest the morning way over the evening.

[LandFan]

It depends. I love seeing the parks at night but I wouldn't go to evening EMH during busy season if you wanted to ride the big rides. Evening EMH is better during the slower seasons. We tend to stick to another park during the day and ride the big rides/use fastpass and then hop to the EMH park later after dinner to enjoy the park ambiance and hop on whatever is open and available. We totally rely on fastpass for big ticket items - I won't wait more than 20 minutes in line for almost anything. Maybe 30 minutes if I'm desperate for something - but that's it.

We are not morning people so we tend to skip morning EMH's although I have heard they are really excellent for getting a bunch of rides in quickly!

[DNS]

We usually skip the morning hour, but almost always do the extra 3 hours in the evenings.

[Maryln8]

I avoid the extra magic hours., especially the evening. Those extra hours are not worth the extra crowds and wait times. :confused:

[PrettyMinnie]

Night time EMH are a must do for our family!Now that the kids are all older, it seems silly not to do them and after the first hour the crowds thin out considerably. :minnie:

[MOJoe]

Something that has still not been mentioned.
Sometimes MK has evening EMH till 1, 2, even 3 a.m. When this happens, my family will go to a different park in the morning, take a long late afternoon nap, go for dinner and then tackle MK just as the fireworks start. We stay till the very end.
Some of our best MK experiences have been done this way. Yes it is very crowded at the start, but by the end you feel like you have the entire park to yourself. You can get all your favorite attractions in with no waiting. ie Space Mountain 4 times in a row! And the castmembers really lighten up. We danced with some and others begged us to get one more ride in. Smiles everywhere. Having this "perk" for our family is nearly priceless.
A word of caution though. By doing this, you wipe out the next day. No park plans till mid-afternoon. But for us it is totally worth it.

[wire0monkey]

We avoid EMH. EMH draw resort guests to one park or the other and away from the other parks. The park with EMH is more crowded and the other parks are less crowded. If you hit one of the non-EMH parks, it will have crowds that are a little lighter.

We also follow the park recommendations on the Crowd Calendar put out by the Unofficial Guide. They never steer us wrong. I'm always sorry if I go against their park recommendations.

[Septbride2002]

Right now with Chloe being so young we only do EMH in the morning and usually on at MK - we go so often we don't really have any DO OR DIE rides.

I would like to do the AK EMH at night though.

~Amanda

[biodtl]

We usually go during a less crowded time (Oct) and we always do evening EMH. We love it! But then, anything that lets me stay in the parks longer is good for me.

[AdventurerKim]

We tend to avoid EMH mornings and evenings, although we may try evenings in June. It seems like everyone goes to the park with EMH, especially the early openings so we plan our days around the morning EMH schedule, especially Thanksgiving week.

[Marker]

I absolutely love EMH, morning or evening. I'm always disappointed if my stay does not include a morning EMH at the Magic Kingdom. I try to get there early so I can want the opening performance if they have one. I stroll up Main Street, everything is fresh and clean, usually there aren't that many people around, it's great. Then through the castle and I can ride everything in Fantasyland before the rest of my family has even thought about getting up. It works out well, they don't care that much for the Fantasyland rides, and I enjoy them. So by the time they decide to get up and finally make it to the park, I've already done about half of it.

Evenings are fun too. Sure, they start out crowded, but as the time passes, the crowd typically gets thinner and thinner, until everything is pretty much a walk-on. Of course, by this time my family has headed back to the room and I'm touring alone again. But that works for me just fine. They're happy, I'm happy, we're all doing what makes us happy.

Of course, I'm not visiting with little ones. That would require some adjustments

[GoofyGirl18]

We avoid the morning EMH, but usually try to do the evening ones. There's just something extra special about being in the parks in the dark!

[dumbo ears]

well ive always found the last hour of the magic kingdom evening EMH are the best time to ride the thrill rides. you can ride splash mountain over and over without getting off. Ive heard the evening EMH at AK are cool becuase the park looks cooler and spooky at night and everest is supposedly a whole different ride at night. I can't see how evening EMH or morning EMh at Epcot could be beneficial because people are just gonna try and ride the major rides like soarin and test track. Ive done evening EMH at DHS and they were pretty crowded but this was on Dec. 24 of last year

[mickeys_princess_mom]

In fact on the next trip, we are avoiding them all together.
That's kind of our plan for the upcoming May trip. I have enjoyed some early EMH mornings in MK, but the last few evenings ones we experienced were jampacked, and uncomfortably crowded. We going to try the opposite theory this time.

[cgriff]

Evening Magic Hours at Animal Kingdom have been great every time I've been there. I have usually counter-programmed my schedule around the other park's morning and evening EMHs..

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Evening Magic Hours at Animal Kingdom have been great every time I've been there. I have usually counter-programmed my schedule around the other park's morning and evening EMHs..

That's something we've never done (evening hours at AK). I bet it is neat.

[WDW_Obsessed]

We've always loved the morning EMH's. We are able to get the rides we really want to see done by the time the crowds really come pouring in. We almost always take a break mid-afternoon, and head back for dinner and evening rides. However, my only experiences with evening EMH's have been negative...so packed and even longer waits than during the day. Therefore, we've decided not to take advantage of them anymore. However, I've heard many people say AK evening EMH's are great, so maybe we'll give it a go on our next trip :thumbsup:

[disneymama09]

Night Extra Magic Hours are a great time to leave the little ones with Grandma/Grandpa, and the Adults go Ride the Thrills! An absolute must , if you have the luxury of your parents with you, otherwise its just too late for my little ones. We do go to the Morning Hours as a family, usually do a Charcter Breakfast! :mickey: