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View Full Version : Early EMH to do or not to do?



JanetMegan
06-04-2015, 08:18 AM
So I thought since this is a discussion board after all I'd like a little discussion...

So as I have mentioned in a couple other posts I'm bringing DBF (52 and never seen a Disney movie) to WDW in October for close to a week. I have ADRs mapped out and am working on a park touring schedule and wanted to talk about morning Extra Magic Hours.

Is it worth setting an alarm and getting up extra early or do you find that just avoiding the EMH park and hitting another park right at opening works just as well? We don't need to worry about character meet and greets and since I've been so many times if there are little things I miss out on I'm ok with it.

I want this to be "fun", he has been with me one other time for just a few days and we had horrible weather and he accused me of being a trip Nazi so I'm trying to ease into this one a bit more...

Thoughts?

PopPhan
06-04-2015, 08:48 AM
I want this to be "fun", he has been with me one other time for just a few days and we had horrible weather and he accused me of being a trip Nazi so I'm trying to ease into this one a bit more...

I think you answered yourself with this one line....If you are on vacation, and it is his first time, and you want it to be fun, throw out the alarm clocks. Alarm clocks signify work, not vacation.

Relax, don't schedule any more than you really need (ADRs, FP+, but that is it!!)

One more thing...Be Flexible! You may find that he likes something that you aren't that fond of, or wants to visit a park that you didn't plan for that day. Sure, you may have that sweet FP+ for Soarin' early in the day, but he wants to go to AK for the Safari, because he enjoyed it so much the first time....Not worth fighting over or getting the "trip nazi" name thrown at you again.

I just took my sister (57) for her first Disney trip ever and it only worked out well because I was flexible.

azcavalier
06-04-2015, 09:20 AM
I think you answered yourself with this one line....If you are on vacation, and it is his first time, and you want it to be fun, throw out the alarm clocks. Alarm clocks signify work, not vacation.

I would disagree with this, but I guess it all depends on what your focus is. Morning EMH is the best time to get rides out of the way without standing in line. Because of EMH, we can often get to the MK, see the opening show, and then go hit almost all of Fantasyland before 10am. Then we're free to do Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland the rest of the day. We'll have FP's for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and Haunted Mansion, and we can ride almost everything in the MK without waiting longer than 20 minutes. We find that what usually turns most "first timers" off is the waiting forever for a ride. I mean, I love Peter Pan, but not to the tune of a 60 minute (or more) wait.

ibelieveindisneymagic
06-04-2015, 09:28 AM
This is a tough one!

Normally, MORNING EMH can be a great time to get on a bunch of rides without too much of a wait, but you do have to be prepared to leave or park-hop once the chaos sets in a few hours later.

However, since on the last trip, you were, well, a bit of a "trip Nazi", I think the answer depends on your normal schedules. Are you early-bird people? If so, then I'd keep getting up early and taking advantage. If you're more sleep-in people, then I wouldn't push it, and head to a different park for regular opening.

On the first trip with my Mom, I overscheduled (we had the DxDP, so it wasn't totally my fault, way too many ADR's) and she didn't love it. On the next trip, I had a plan, but was super flexible when needed and she LOVED it. The best day we had is when we actually left the park we planned to be in, and went somewhere else instead, 'cause it was just too busy. All of this to say, I don't think I'd push it, unless he is normally a "get up and go early" type of person.

JanetMegan
06-04-2015, 11:11 AM
See it is a tough one...sometimes we do wake up early but the whole having to plan so many things in advance (see other threads) makes it to where you almost have to decide at least a general plan before you go for each day.

Hammer
06-04-2015, 12:03 PM
What we do is book our Fastpasses for early afternoon, but only for 3 days to cover MK, Epcot and DHS. Then, if by the off chance we do wake up early, will get ready and go to EMH or park opening for one of the parks and ride a lot of the rides. If not, we ride what we can. Then, we will use our FPs. Some days, we just go to a park and ride what we can, knowing we may not get to ride as much as we started late.

We do not make any advanced plans for the other days and decide that morning where we want to go and check the App for fast passes, knowing that we most likely won't get Soarin or Seven Dwarves, but we will still get good rides like the MK mountains. A little planning, but a lot of flexibility. This works well for us as a party of 2.

micky95
06-04-2015, 01:12 PM
we don't do morning emh.the last few times weve done it not everything was open at the park.we do the evening hours a lot of families are in for the night and it s just easier for us.remember just go with the flow and have fun !!