Going to parks WITHOUT Extra Magic Hours?

[Goofy Pluto]

Hi everyone,

So I'm having a thought and wanted to check with you all to check with your experiences...

I'm wondering what the other parks are like for days when they DON'T have Extra Magic Hours. Are they noticably less crowded than the parks that do have the EMH? Basically we're wondering if it's worth avoiding the parks with the EMHs and going to different parks without them to get somewhat smaller crowds. We're thinking most people probably go to the parks with the EMH to maximize their bucks but we have young children and don't know how much we'd be able to get out of it.

So anyway, what's your experiences with non-EMH parks? Is it worth skipping he EMH parks and going to the others? Any thoughts or advice appreciated. Thanks.

OH, BTW, we'll be there in Mid-August, if that helps or matters.

[Pirate Granny]

If your children are early risers, I would try to hit the EMH...and then either at lunch or after when you go back to the room for naps...go back to a park that DOES NOT have EMH for the rest of the afternoon and dinner. We found that this worked the best...although our kiddies were never the early risers...but reading here, it's pretty apparent that you can get alot done in a short time if you are at the park first thing in the morning...especially the EMH...
:pirate:

[kakn7294]

The general school of thought from the "experts" is that the parks are less crowded on the non-EMH days, particularly the day after the park has had it's EMH day. In mid-August, it's going to be crowded no matter what day. We are also going in August and plan to hit the non-EMH parks early in the day then possibly hop to the park with evening hours depending on how we feel at the time. Evening EMHs tend to be much more crowded than morning hours.

[wdwfansince75]

Most of our trips since EMH's started have been in June. Our experience has been that morning EMH's are well worth the effort...for all parks. But Evening EMH's tend to be very crowded, and since some of the attractions are closed, those remaining open are worse than during normal days and hours.....at least for the first two hours....Unless you are prepared to wait out the crowds, evening EMH's really don't seem to be worth the effort....HOWEVER, we still try, hoping that it will be better the next time...And we usually brave out the MK evening EMH......at least once each trip. Have tried evening EMH at DHS twice, and both times left within the first hour....after standing in line to stand in line...and watching the line ahead of us grow!

We have never found a non-EMH park with a particularly light crowd during the summer. The tour groups and those staying offsite tend to do non-EMH parks.

On most trips, we get Park Hoppers, and tend to finish most evenings at MK....Most of our stays are at least 6 days. When we go, there is always a park open at 8AM, and usually at least one open until 11 PM or later.....So evening EMH's aren't "must do's"....But just can't resist getting in just one more late night ride on Space Mtn and Astro-orbiter....and then, an Ice Cream cone, and a walk down a virtually empty Main Street....Close my eyes, and imagine being 34 again.....Where else but Disney!

[BigRedDad]

We are an early rising family. I wake up at the crack of stupid and the rest of my family by 6AM. We go to the morning EMH park because we can get so much done in the first 2-hours. If the weather is nice for a swim, we will head back to the resort around noon, take a swim, have DD take a nap, and then head to another park for the afternoon/evening. If there are no morning EMH's, we tend to hit the park that had evening EMH the night before.

[SBETigg]

Going in mid-August, I strongly recommend park hopping. The morning EMH are fantastic, because there are low crowds in that park until 10 or 11, and you can get so much done, plus it's more tolerable in morning hours with the heat. Then once the crowds start coming in, you can hop to a park without EMH and enjoy that with smaller (though not small perhaps) crowds. If you're not hopping, yes, the park without EMH is often less crowded. Another good strategy (as others have said) is to choose the park that held evening EMH the night before-- that park is often quieter than the others for the day.

With park hoppers, you can make the most of August heat and crowds by not having to stick to one park per day. I think it's worth the cost of the hopping. But if you're not fans of hopping, you can make it work, just remember to take breaks from the sun and to keep everyone hydrated.

[Imagineer1981]

If you could push your trip back to late August you'd be even better off because of lighter crowds as you approach September.

But as everyone has said, morning EMH are great to take advantage of, and we always did the evening EMH at Magic Kingdom, its just nice to be there so much longer! :mickey:

[BigThunderFan]

One thing to consider is if you switch parks mid day you won't have any fastpasses for rides there. We just choose the best park based on other events, and EMH and then accumulate fastpasses throughout the day and use those after the break. We avoid the EMH parks at all costs.

[Goofy Pluto]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. A couple of things I didn't note is our trip is already booked for 8/15-8/20 and we are NOT park hopping. One park per day. Does that change anyone's thoughts? Or give new ones?

[SBETigg]

One thing to consider is if you switch parks mid day you won't have any fastpasses for rides there. We just choose the best park based on other events, and EMH and then accumulate fastpasses throughout the day and use those after the break. We avoid the EMH parks at all costs.

You can get fastpasses at the new park if you park hop mid day. I do it all the time. I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. Maybe with a ride like Toy Story Mania they're gone early, and at busier times, perhaps? But we've rarely had problems getting fastpasses to our favorite attractions at any park, at any time of day.

[SBETigg]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. A couple of things I didn't note is our trip is already booked for 8/15-8/20 and we are NOT park hopping. One park per day. Does that change anyone's thoughts? Or give new ones?

Just that I would avoid the EMH parks in that case. The morning EMH won't benefit you because the crowds seem higher in that park by noon for the rest of the day, and the evening EMH park gets more crowded after four. You can still add hopping if you change your mind, but it's not necessary depending on your touring style. I would stick to the theory that a park might be less crowded on the day after its evening EMH.

[MaxPower]

I think it's smarter to be the first one in any park on non-EMH days. On-site guests wait for EMH days, so they are not there-- and the rest of the guests don't like to get up early to be the first ones in - so they don't come until later. If you can handle getting up early, it's really the best way to experience no wait time for attractions.

[BigThunderFan]

You can get fastpasses at the new park if you park hop mid day. I do it all the time. I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. Maybe with a ride like Toy Story Mania they're gone early, and at busier times, perhaps? But we've rarely had problems getting fastpasses to our favorite attractions at any park, at any time of day.

I just meant typically by that point the return times are much later limiting the number you can get. Of course the earlier you hop the more you can accumulate. But we like to get several and then just ride ride ride with no waits.

[alaMode]

even though we always stay on-site.

The am EMH opening is just a little too early for us, and the pm EMH hours are just a little too late!

We are usually at the opening for any park that had pm EMH the night before.

However, our next trip will be our first time visiting WDW in June and we are planning to take advantage of am EMH hours due to crowds and heat!

Tess
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[bruin1344]

Unless you plan on using EMH AM, avoid that park for the first part of the day, the other parks are less crowded

EMH PM is only worthwhile at MK because there are enough open attractions. Avoid any of the other parks that have EMH PM. The waits are ridiculous on all attractions for the whole night.