Avoid EMH for a better experience!!!!

[WiDisneyFan]

We spent 10 days at WDW ending last week. The parks with EMH were so crazy it was hard to enjoy the "magic". However, if we went to a park that was not having EMH, the crowds were very manageable. This was true at all parks. We also found that if we went to a park the morning AFTER they had EMH the night before, the crowds were almost as light as I remember them in the off season. EMH is really not a big perk anymore in my opinion.....especially at MK and DHS......because it just creates chaos this time of the year. But I guess I can thank that for other parks being quieter!!

[mechanic]

im a big fan of evening emh. love the late nights

[Nascfan]

We also found that if we went to a park the morning AFTER they had EMH the night before, the crowds were almost as light as I remember them in the off season.

We've employed this tactic for years. Love it.
:welcome:to Intercot!

[rjmdds]

We also found that if we went to a park the morning AFTER they had EMH the night before, the crowds were almost as light as I remember them in the off season.

We do this too. To me, this is one of those planning tips that separates us Disney nuts from the other 99% of people that visit the World.

[Aurora]

We spent 10 days at WDW ending last week. The parks with EMH were so crazy it was hard to enjoy the "magic". However, if we went to a park that was not having EMH, the crowds were very manageable. This was true at all parks. We also found that if we went to a park the morning AFTER they had EMH the night before, the crowds were almost as light as I remember them in the off season. EMH is really not a big perk anymore in my opinion.....especially at MK and DHS......because it just creates chaos this time of the year. But I guess I can thank that for other parks being quieter!!

Did you get to the parks after EMH had already begun? We usually find that those first few hours during morning EMH is when we get the most rides in.

On our trip in early June 2011, we tried the non-EMH plan. We got to a non-EMH park right at opening, and there were hordes of people coming in with us. In DHS, it was hard to move.

Granted, I found out later that these were the last few days before the Florida resident pass blockout went into effect, but I wished we had kept to our tried-and-true strategy of using morning EMH, then hopping to another park or our resort around lunchtime.

[texas211]

We avoid the Emh parks like the plague. Just not worth the effort and mess. We have an algorithm to determine what park we go to. Combination of chance of rain, coupled with known crowd flows and then EMH hours.

[Opus X]

It is a fact that the parks without emh's for that given day...are less busy.
We never have nor ever will goto a park that had/has an EMH. Every planning web site or book will tell you..(along with our experience) to avoid that park.

[Opus X]

We've employed this tactic for years. Love it.
:welcome:to Intercot!
YEP!!:thumbsup:

[Aurora]

It is a fact that the parks without emh's for that given day...are less busy.
We never have nor ever will goto a park that had/has an EMH. Every planning web site or book will tell you..(along with our experience) to avoid that park.

Right. That's why we did it on that trip in 2011. And for us, that plan failed miserably. For us, it was not a "fact" that the parks without EMHs for the day were less busy. They weren't. They were mobbed first thing in the morning and never let up. Just pointing out that OUR experiences using morning EMH have been beneficial to us, and I wouldn't want people to think they absolutely can't be useful. As with anything, your mileage may vary.

Also wanted to note that the very well-known and respected planning website that we used estimated crowds at 6 or 7 out of 10 for the days we were there. I've been on many trips at various times of year, and I can tell you those estimates were quite wrong.

We've found in our and other family member's last few trips that there's very little black-and-white or "can't miss" planning anymore, just as it's become very hard to predict with certainty periods of low crowds. You used to be able to say with great confidence that January and September were the best months to visit WDW in terms of crowds. If you read these boards you'll find those months are no guarantee of low crowds anymore.

[bruin1344]

I only use EMH PM at MK. Never found MK too crowded since there are enough attractions stay open and its usually later than the other parks so the crowds dont stick around long.

Epcot and DHS EMH PM were extremely crowded the very few times I did it so never again.

[Tekneek]

On our next trip, despite being there 9 days, we're only likely to use EMH twice (one evening and one morning).

[disneynarula]

We used EMH at MK one evening in October and we pretty much walked on every ride.

I don't think I have ever used a morning EMH.

[Susan A]

Thank you for the tidbit about going to a park the morning after it has an EMH in the evening. (Does that make sense)?
I have had great success with MK EMH evening hours, back before we had kids. I've never been to a morning EMH b/c I just can't get up that early!!!:bored:

[Pop Centurion]

Time of year plays a big factor in EMH days as well. When we usually go in early Sept the parks with EMH's are still very manageable during normal hours and pretty empty during the 3 extra hours.

[SBETigg]

This is why we always get park hoppers. We can go early for morning EMH first thing when it's not crowded, then hop to another park. We can spend most the day at a non-EMH park, then hop just for the EMH late night hours once things have quieted down at the EMH park. If one park seems too packed for whatever reason, we can just try another one. Our strategy isn't to avoid EMH. It's to make sure we can always hop around. Besides, I just can't imagine spending all day in one park. We like to mix it up.

[bxrluv]

This is why we always get park hoppers. We can go early for morning EMH first thing when it's not crowded, then hop to another park. We can spend most the day at a non-EMH park, then hop just for the EMH late night hours once things have quieted down at the EMH park. If one park seems too packed for whatever reason, we can just try another one. Our strategy isn't to avoid EMH. It's to make sure we can always hop around. Besides, I just can't imagine spending all day in one park. We like to mix it up.

Spontaneous! Now we cannot have that :( The joy of park hopping will soon be taken away by the FP+ party pooper :spoiler:

[TikiLounger]

We're serious park hoppers, too. I'm grateful for the tip about hitting a park the morning after it's had EMH. In the past, we could never get up early enough to enjoy the morning EMH. Maybe this trip will be different, we're older and we get up a LOT earlier than we used to. We don't stay up as late, either. Although, we ARE doing the Food and WIne Festival this year. We may end up sleeping in a few mornings, depending on how much "sampling" we do the night before. :marg::beer::wine:

[MNNHFLTX]

IMO, you can't really make a blanket statement about avoiding the EMH parks because the morning and evening EMH are two separate entities. If you go to the morning EMH right at park opening and only stay for the first couple of hours or so, you can get a lot of stuff done and the crowds aren't bad. You then hop over to a non-EMH park for the remainder of the day. As far as the evening EMH, if you stay until the end of the EMH time-frame, the crowds will greatly thin out. However, chances are that it will be very crowded for the first hour or two.

To us, the early morning EMH is definitely worth it, as long as you are ready to hop when it starts to get really congested. The evening EMH's are not valuable to us, mainly because we don't like to stay in the parks late enough to make it worthwhile.

[PopPhan]

As far as the evening EMH, if you stay until the end of the EMH time-frame, the crowds will greatly thin out. However, chances are that it will be very crowded for the first hour or two.

Just an FYI....You do know that evening EMH has been dropped from 3 hours to 2......Sounds like they did not like that last hour being so dead. Guess they weren't making any money from guess in whatever shops were still open.

[SBETigg]

Spontaneous! Now we cannot have that :( The joy of park hopping will soon be taken away by the FP+ party pooper :spoiler:

It's not going to stop me from being spontaneous most of the time. Like I work around dining reservations, I will work around ride times. Though, yes, it adds an extra element to tone down some of the spontaneity. But they won't stop me from having my Disney experience my way. Try as they might. Insert your favorite Disney villain's laugh here.

[Rosemickey68]

Think it really depends. We did EMH one evening at MK in May and it was awesome. Between 10pm and 1am we were able to watch the fireworks, Main Street Electrical Parade and ride HM, BTR, SM, PoC, SM, and Buzz Lightyear, while stopping and getting a snack and walking through the new Fantasyland to check it out in the dark. Thought it was one of the best nights we had!

[spectrum2100]

Just because a park has Evening Extra Magic Hours, doesn't mean it will be extra crowded in the morning, right? When would someone actually see the crowds getting larger than normal because of the Evening EMHs?

[SBETigg]

Just because a park has Evening Extra Magic Hours, doesn't mean it will be extra crowded in the morning, right? When would someone actually see the crowds getting larger than normal because of the Evening EMHs?

Often, it makes the whole day more crowded from morning on. People who chose to do evening EMH and don't park hop will tend to show up early and stay all day, or take a midday break and come back. But morning hours do often reflect crowds, yes. Strangely enough, the later hours of an evening EMH park are often less crowded than the morning hours of that same park, once people who started early hoping to get their money's worth and go all day tire out.

[spectrum2100]

So I subscribe to TouringPlans.com and I'm planning on going Oct 7-10 to WDW. I planned on going to Epcot either on Tues, the 8th, or Wed the 9th. Tues has morning EMH but is a 2.5, and Wed. has evening EMH and is a 4.7. I've got small kids, and I think it would be too much of struggle to get them up and fed, and to Epcot by 8am. 9am is more doable. So which would be the better day to go. I'm thinking Wed. morning. We probably are only going to do Future World in the morning, and then we may return Thurs. morning to do World Showcase....maybe.. What do you think you would do if you were in this situation? This is my kids 5,4, & 2 first time to Disney World, so my wife wants to take them to the Magic Kingdom first. Even though Epcot would be great to go to on the Monday the 7th with only a 1.1 of crowds.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for the look.:mickey:

[azcavalier]

This is why we always get park hoppers. We can go early for morning EMH first thing when it's not crowded, then hop to another park. We can spend most the day at a non-EMH park, then hop just for the EMH late night hours once things have quieted down at the EMH park. If one park seems too packed for whatever reason, we can just try another one. Our strategy isn't to avoid EMH. It's to make sure we can always hop around. Besides, I just can't imagine spending all day in one park. We like to mix it up.

This, exactly. That first hour of the morning EMH is golden. We can get through so much it's amazing. Then we hit lunch around 11am, and wander out, shopping and maybe hitting an attraction or two along the way, depending on the wait times. Go back to the resort, swim, whatever, and hit a different park in the afternoon/evening. Always works great.

And, this last trip, it worked better than ever. They have been opening the parks even earlier lately. One day they opened DHS 20 minutes before 8. We had ridden TSM and were heading to RnRC by the time 8am rolled around. Then we did ToT and the new Star Tours (twice!), and then did the Great Movie Ride. All by 10am! It was awesome.

[Lizzie]

Love morning extra magic hours. Get there before opening and eat lunch at 11 and than leave to go to another park or my favorite back to the hotel for a swim and quick nap and than head back out late afternoon for an early dinner somewhere.

[SBETigg]

So I subscribe to TouringPlans.com and I'm planning on going Oct 7-10 to WDW. I planned on going to Epcot either on Tues, the 8th, or Wed the 9th. Tues has morning EMH but is a 2.5, and Wed. has evening EMH and is a 4.7. I've got small kids, and I think it would be too much of struggle to get them up and fed, and to Epcot by 8am. 9am is more doable. So which would be the better day to go. I'm thinking Wed. morning. We probably are only going to do Future World in the morning, and then we may return Thurs. morning to do World Showcase....maybe.. What do you think you would do if you were in this situation? This is my kids 5,4, & 2 first time to Disney World, so my wife wants to take them to the Magic Kingdom first. Even though Epcot would be great to go to on the Monday the 7th with only a 1.1 of crowds.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for the look.:mickey:

Just a warning not to take Touring Plans too seriously. Last time I went, they were way off on all of their estimates. The "least crowded parks" were super busy, and the parks that were supposed to have high crowds did not. We were especially happy to have park hoppers. When we met crowds, we just hopped on to a different park. I would go to whichever parks suit you and forget about the crowd estimates.

[AgentC]

I stopped using Touring Plans crowd levels awhile ago. I do look at Easy WDW's crowd levels but then I do what works best for me. Sometimes that means going against crowd level calendars.

The time of year you are going is not peak season and since your days are all week days you will miss the highest crowd days.

Unless your kids are extremely tall , you probably won't be taking them on the two rides in Epcot that have the longest wait times - Test Track and Soarin. The areas that are more young child friendly like Innoventions , Nemo etc don't tend to be the most crowded attractions.

If you are looking for the lowest crowd day out of your choices , it is probably the Thursday. After two days of EMH , it will not be the first choice for one site guests.

[mrte62]

We used EMH at MK one evening in October and we pretty much walked on every ride.

I don't think I have ever used a morning EMH.

Same for us. And we also visit the park that had EMH the night before.