Are EMH nights maybe worth avoiding?

[Taam Hamms]

Hello! I haven't been on the boards in a few years and im excited to be back! So here's what im thinking.. Ill be returning to the world this october, and I was wondering from peoples experience if its better to go to EMH nights, or avoid them in terms of crowds and line waits. If there aren't as many people in the parks being that its supposed to be the slower period, do you think everyone who's there would flock to EMH nights, or would I be safe to ride my faves over and over and over.. and over :P

[ransam]

actually for me, the extra hours at night at the best. when the regular crowds leave, and then a lot of people who are resort guests plan to stay late, wear themselves out and leave....a lot of times the parks are not crowded at all....

[CleveRocks]

Definitely worth it. Besides, not everybody knows the rules, knows what EMH is to begin with. We're actually in a minority, we who know this stuff. For example, ever try to give away a Fastpass? People think you're nuts or don't believe you're not trying to take advantage of them.

[BraddyB]

I love the EMH. We never really had much of a wait on anything, and as the night goes on the lines get shorter and shorter !!!!!

[IloveJack]

Definitely worth it, especially if you're willing to close the park. It generally takes about an hour to get all the non-resort people out, but after that, the lines die way down, and by the last hour, there's typically no line at all. We've done October for our last two trips, and Epcot is especially well worth it during EMH.

[BWayGrl]

I agree it's definitely worth it. A lot of people don't even know about it, so there is a noticeable drop in guests once EMH starts. However, just make sure if you're doing the night time EMH you pace yourself throughout the day. We did Magic Kingdom EMH one time, so the park was open until midnight, and we were just SO exhausted from cramming everything in early!

[EJS-Houston]

It's most assuredly worth it to ride your faves over and over and over....

[MarkC]

To me the only bad park to do evening EMH is Disney Studios. Long, long lines for ToT and RNRC. Its still nice but I'd say the crowds are worse than regular hours for that place. MK is ok but still has long lines for SM, although October won't be as bad as summer. The best part about EMH is the longer it goes, the shorter the lines get. By the last hour almost everything can be a walk on.

If you want some different advice, go to the park that had evening EMH the following morning, as that tends to have the smallest crowds since everyone was there late the night before.

[Taam Hamms]

Definitely worth it. Besides, not everybody knows the rules, knows what EMH is to begin with. We're actually in a minority, we who know this stuff. For example, ever try to give away a Fastpass? People think you're nuts or don't believe you're not trying to take advantage of them.

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I especially loved this one for the simple reason that during my trip to the WL in 08 me and my DGF at the time were given golden fastpasses to DHS and when we tried to pass them along after we had only used it for ToT the first two people we tried to give them too ran away scared!! So funny.

So EMH it is for me. I appreciate all the feedback, and cant wait to walk through my favorite parts of each park in their most peaceful hour :)

[That's So Raven]

I tend to avoid the early EMH instead of the late. I can get major shopping and riding done at night. It's a much more relaxing experience to shop with less people around. Also you can score great night pictures with less people around.

[joonyer]

WE don't avoid them at all. We love the all parks after dark, and the MK is especially magical after dark. As the EMH goes on, crowds get thinner and unless you are visiting at a peak time of year, we have found most rides become basically walk-on attractions late in the last hour or so.

[rjmdds]

If you want some different advice, go to the park that had evening EMH the following morning, as that tends to have the smallest crowds since everyone was there late the night before.

Interesting thought. Does this seem to hold true from experience?

[Dream'nDisney]

In all of our years of going to WDW, we have never done the evening EMH, only mornings. Do you have to show your room key and get a special bracelet still?

[MarkC]

Interesting thought. Does this seem to hold true from experience?

We did it based on the advice of Touring Plans. It did work for us, but we made it to the park right at opening. If you look at their advice this the 'morning after' park is usually their park of choice that day. I do think it makes a difference, although if you get to any park at opening you will have good luck for the most part.

[BrerGnat]

I never go to morning EMH, and I avoid the park that has it for the early part of the day. I always do the evening EMH. They are great! :thumbsup:

[crazygoalie39]

WE don't avoid them at all. We love the all parks after dark, and the MK is especially magical after dark. As the EMH goes on, crowds get thinner and unless you are visiting at a peak time of year, we have found most rides become basically walk-on attractions late in the last hour or so.

:ditto: Sometimes we even go to night EMH if it's crowded just because we love WDW at night so much.

[hokies4life]

In all of our years of going to WDW, we have never done the evening EMH, only mornings. Do you have to show your room key and get a special bracelet still?

Last time we did it they changed the policy and didn't give out bracelets anymore. The new policy was to show your room card when getting on each ride. Kind of a pain but I remember that a couple nights after about an hour into EMH they stopped asking for the cards because presumably everyone that wasn't a resort guest had been herded out of the park.

[Dsnygirl]

Personally, I really enjoy the EMH nights... I just avoid the parks that are having them during the day (usually...). I haven't found the lines to be very long, and it's nice to be in the parks with less people, even if I do end up waiting a little bit, the ambience is nicer than the nights when it is still packed. :)

[Pop Centurion]

We go during the value season & always do EMH's. At that time of year the parks are almost empty & you can really take advantage of this bonus. Getting on Splash Mountain, BTMRR, & Space Mountain with no line at all is the best.

[CanadaLovesDisney]

To me the only bad park to do evening EMH is Disney Studios. Long, long lines for ToT and RNRC. Its still nice but I'd say the crowds are worse than regular hours for that place. MK is ok but still has long lines for SM, although October won't be as bad as summer. The best part about EMH is the longer it goes, the shorter the lines get. By the last hour almost everything can be a walk on.

If you want some different advice, go to the park that had evening EMH the following morning, as that tends to have the smallest crowds since everyone was there late the night before.

I agree! Hollywood studios isn't worth it for us during extra evening hours. Toy story wait will be 90 minutes regardless!