Hey fellow WDWMAGIC members! I know... I know... You all clicked on that ever so tempting title looking for a fellow Disney fan to bash the "cash grab" that is Disney's Early Morning Magic at the Magic Kingdom. But, before we jump to conclusions, let's start from the beginning and give you a play by play of the Early Morning Magic experience. Also, I'd just like to preface this by saying that this is my opinion, that's what these boards are about. If you have another opinion that differs from mine, feel free to discuss, I'd like to hear what others have to say.
This past Tuesday, July 26th, 2016, my dad and I figured we should try the Early Morning Magic while we were down in Florida with a smaller party of just two as opposed to four or more. We wanted to test the waters so that way if we liked it, we could return with the rest of our family at a later time (assuming it is still being offered in the future). So, we handed Disney our two payments of $69 dollars for a grand total of $138.
But,
be aware, this is super important for those looking to try out Early Morning Magic. We like to be dropped off at the Grand Floridian and then take a ride over to MK, but both the resort monorail (can't speak for the express monorail) and the boat weren't operating. So, we tried to catch a bus, and they weren't running
any to MK. The only reason why we got a bus was because a
very nice driver heading to DAK brought us to MK (and another family as well) instead of taking his scheduled route. So, I'd just go to the TTC, as I'd assume they operate the ferry and Express Monorail.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at around 7:25am and went to Guest Services to sort out another issue that I won't go into detail here. We were given a wristband and allowed to go past the touch point and wait outside the park with a group of other guests. Most of these people were there for breakfast reservations at Royal Table, Crystal Palace or Be Our Guests as they didn't have wristbands on.
Anyway, at 7:45, we were all allowed into the Magic Kingdom. We stopped for some pictures in front of the castle (there were photo pass photographers lined up all the way down the street, even this early in the morning) and walked to Fantasyland. We headed over to SDMT and there was maybe four or five other families there at the moment. We went through the Fastness line, got in the back seat and went off on a half full train. When we got off, we got right back in line and rode again with zero wait.
Next up was Peter Pan, and we walked onto that attraction as well. In addition, Cast Members told us as we were exiting PPF that It's A Small World was open as a "bonus" attraction as it was not advertised to open during the event. So, we rode that (also a walk on) and were the only ones in our boat.
Next came breakfast, which we were VERY surprised by. For food made in a theme park, it was pretty good. There were scrambled eggs, home fries, sausages, french toast, pastries, juices, fruits, etc.
After breakfast, we walked right on SDMT (again) and then did Winnie the Pooh with zero wait as well. All of this had occurred from 7:50am - 8:50am, and as soon at the park opened for other guests, SDMT had an 60 minute wait, PPF had a 50 minute wait and both Pooh and IASW both had 25 minute waits.
Another great perk of EMM was the fact that once we had done this, we were free to walk into Tomorrowland (there weren't any kind of barriers), take a few pictures in front of Space Mountain and walk on the ride just before any other guests arrived. By 9:15am, we had already ridden Space Mountain twice (once being the first guests in line and the second with our pre-booked fastpass) and Buzz Lightyear. We were then able to go to Frontierland and ride both Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain with 15 minute waits each. Basically, EMM provided us with the time to be "ahead of the curve" and beat the crowds to attractions not included with the event.
There were a few small cons. For example, a few (let me stress
a few) Cast Members were a little grumpy in having to operate their attraction for a small group of people at 8:00 in the morning, but honestly, that's pretty understandable. But, we did have a good bunch of other great interactions with other CMs, so I'm not going to be picky.
In total, there maybe (max) 60-70 people there for EMM (possibly even less), which I was expecting to be honest, with the factors of price and having to wake up ridiculously early weighing in on people's decisions in attending the event.
But, the 70 bucks per person was worth it in my honest opinion, because we had a great time, were able to ride the most popular attractions in the park (sometimes more than once) by an hour after the park's normal opening and were able to take a more relaxed pace throughout the rest of the day. Now, the short-lived nighttime version of this I beg to differ, but I feel the morning version is much more thought-out and is available at a much improved price.
Now, I know this event may not be suitable for everyone, but if you have any other questions about EMM or my day at the park, feel free to ask! Once again, I'm not looking to start any fights on this one.
I just wanted to share my thoughts.
