Animal Kingdom Extra Magic Hours - Every Day in May and June!!

[Jefferson5436]

Thing is you take your chances when not doing before rope drop or before close.

Like tonight's for instance at 6:30 pm it was 110 min which isn't bad.

Usually on a 9 am rope drop. A novice needs to be there by 7:30 because they open the first gate at 8:15. If you stroll on in at 8:40 you are thinking you are early you will get a 2 hour wait.

On a 8 am emh day I'm not sure what the situation is for 9 am people but I don't think it can be good since emh people can recycled through and ride FoP twice if they want making the line already long before the 9 Amers get in the park.

Cool cool. I appreciate the feedback on this. Sounds like our best plan would be to try to keep the kids awake late that night and get in line later. I think we’ll just plan on a super early and super late day at AK because that will be our only day in the park. We can get in line really early (for the 9am crowd) and just wait it out until we’re allowed to enter. Then maybe we’ll head on over by Pandora to at least take a gamble and see what the line situation is like. If it’s anywhere around 2 hours or less (unlikely) then we’d just jump in line. But If it’s insanely long with all the EMH folks in round 2 (more likely) we’ll just enjoy the rest of the park throughout the day and come back in the evening. Maybe we’ll get lucky. At this point I think that’s the best we can do.

We usually can only do a Disney World vacation a couple times each 10 years (this will be our 2nd trip in the past decade) so maybe in a few years the hype for Pandora will hopefully be not so crazy as others are spread out in AK or other lands in other parks (e.g., Toy Story Land, Star Wars Land, rides such as Mickey and Minnie railroad, TRON, GotG, Ratatouille, Indiana Jones???, etc). Then again, overall crowd levels will only increase as well...so could be a wash. LOL but I’d like to be cautiously optimistic that in the future Pandora will be more accessible.

 

[Jefferson5436]

I think you have the right idea. The parks are busiest from 10 am to 4 pm.

I would suggest going early and doing whatever popular rides (safari, FoP, etc) have the shortest wait times. Then around noon go off site to eat lunch, go back to the hotel and have the kids take a nap

You have in and out privileges for parking for the day just keep your receipt.

Then either eat dinner off site or at Disney springs early. And come back to the park around 4-5 pm.

Then hit FoP at dinner time or at close.

This is the most efficient, accounts for kids, and is Cost effective if you eat off site while taking full advantage of your cars mobility.

We really appreciate all these tips! Especially as less experienced Disney park folks. And if FoP and/or Navi become an impossibility this trip the truth is we’ll still have a blast and will be able to experience them someday I’m sure. Once again, thanks for these tips.

 

[TheDuke]

So basically they only want resort guests to be able to ride FOP? (only ones with EMH and just about the only ones who can get FPs)

 

[PeakSeason]

So basically they only want resort guests to be able to ride FOP? (only ones with EMH and just about the only ones who can get FPs)

It's not that they "only want resort guests" to ride FOP. It's that they want to give priority to guests staying on site. Those guests are Disney's priority and it makes sense that they should be since they are the ones giving the higher percentage of their vacation budget to Disney. Clearly not everyone who wants to ride FOP can do so. Disney is just making sure that their more valued (higher spending) guests are getting a better shot at it. From a business perspective that makes total sense.

 

[TheDuke]

It's not that they "only want resort guests" to ride FOP. It's that they want to give priority to guests staying on site. Those guests are Disney's priority and it makes sense that they should be since they are the ones giving the higher percentage of their vacation budget to Disney. Clearly not everyone who wants to ride FOP can do so. Disney is just making sure that their more valued (higher spending) guests are getting a better shot at it. From a business perspective that makes total sense.

Even without EMH resort guests can still rope drop the ride at normal opening and have easier access to FP's, it's not like it's particularly difficult for them to do it in the absence of EMH.

 

[Jefferson5436]

It's not that they "only want resort guests" to ride FOP. It's that they want to give priority to guests staying on site. Those guests are Disney's priority and it makes sense that they should be since they are the ones giving the higher percentage of their vacation budget to Disney. Clearly not everyone who wants to ride FOP can do so. Disney is just making sure that their more valued (higher spending) guests are getting a better shot at it. From a business perspective that makes total sense.

I see your point but this then becomes a slippery slope. You could use this same logic and start to argue that the parks should have a tiered system where customers should start paying more for some E-ticket rides, etc. You wanna visit Galaxy’s Edge? No problem, with your admission to Hollywood Studios the visa to Galaxy’s Edge only costs $15. Those paying a “higher percentage of their vacation budget to Disney” are given priority.

If expanding EMH throughout the summer at AK really was about being fair or making “total sense” from a business perspective, then the company should not have changed the EMH hours like this for those who spent the money and planned their vacations well in advance of this move. If it really is to follow the logic you’re suggesting (giving priority to those who pay more) then it is actually a POOR BUSINESS MOVE in terms of how this was rolled out. If you want to encourage people to stay on site (spending more money) and use EMH every day as the incentive to do so then a better business move would have been for them to have made this announcement well in advance AT LEAST half a year ago when people were making hotel reservations for this summer and trying to decide whether they should stay on-site or not. Let’s face it, I doubt many people are making their hotel reservations right NOW (say 20 days or so before their Disney vacation) for this summer. And there’s no need to now throw in EMH as a last minute extra cherry on top for those who already made their on-site reservations half a hear ago because...Disney already made the sell! Business-wise they don’t have much else to gain by doing so. I doubt this last second change to EMH at AK for this summer can bring in a lot more money for this summer because most people have already made their hotel reservations if they’re visiting Disney this summer.

Some sort of heads up to give customers the option should have happened a while back. Something along the lines of, ‘Hey, a year from now or so, starting next summer, you should stay at one of our Disney Resorts because we’re going to make almost every day at Animal Kingom EMH!’ That way customers could make an informed decision about costs and decide whether experiencing all of AK (including Pandora) is worth the extra cost of staying on-site. Being able to make an informed decision as a consumer shouldn’t be a huge demand. Instead, on a whim it seems, for the next couple months there are back to back EMH and those who’ve planned their vacations more than a year ago are now making last minute vacation adjustments. For other vacation destinations this might not be a big deal but for a theme park that suggests planning should take place at least 180 days in advance this was a little messed up. A change like this may certainly be business savvy (prioritize the guests who pay more) if it were rolled out properly but if this was the intention all I’m saying is that next time more of a warning would be a better business move. Heck, who knows? Maybe some of those who are staying off-site this summer and can’t make adjustments now to their plans would have actually opted into staying on-site if they knew that rope dropping Pandora would basically be impossible during the summer. It certainly would have crossed my mind!

 

[TheDuke]

I see your point but this then becomes a slippery slope. You could use this same logic and start to argue that the parks should have a tiered system where customers should start paying more for some E-ticket rides, etc. You wanna visit Galaxy’s Edge? No problem, with your admission to Hollywood Studios the visa to Galaxy’s Edge only costs $15. Those paying a “higher percentage of their vacation budget to Disney” are given priority.

If expanding EMH throughout the summer at AK really was about being fair or making “total sense” from a business perspective, then the company should not have changed the EMH hours like this for those who spent the money and planned their vacations well in advance of this move. If it really is to follow the logic you’re suggesting (giving priority to those who pay more) then it is actually a POOR BUSINESS MOVE in terms of how this was rolled out. If you want to encourage people to stay on site (spending more money) and use EMH every day as the incentive to do so then a better business move would have been for them to have made this announcement well in advance AT LEAST half a year ago when people were making hotel reservations for this summer and trying to decide whether they should stay on-site or not. Let’s face it, I doubt many people are making their hotel reservations right NOW (say 20 days or so before their Disney vacation) for this summer. And there’s no need to now throw in EMH as a last minute extra cherry on top for those who already made their on-site reservations half a hear ago because...Disney already made the sell! Business-wise they don’t have much else to gain by doing so. I doubt this last second change to EMH at AK for this summer can bring in a lot more money for this summer because most people have already made their hotel reservations if they’re visiting Disney this summer.

Some sort of heads up to give customers the option should have happened a while back. Something along the lines of, ‘Hey, a year from now or so, starting next summer, you should stay at one of our Disney Resorts because we’re going to make almost every day at Animal Kingom EMH!’ That way customers could make an informed decision about costs and decide whether experiencing all of AK (including Pandora) is worth the extra cost of staying on-site. Being able to make an informed decision as a consumer shouldn’t be a huge demand. Instead, on a whim it seems, for the next couple months there are back to back EMH and those who’ve planned their vacations more than a year ago are now making last minute vacation adjustments. For other vacation destinations this might not be a big deal but for a theme park that suggests planning should take place at least 180 days in advance this was a little messed up. A change like this may certainly be business savvy (prioritize the guests who pay more) if it were rolled out properly but if this was the intention all I’m saying is that next time more of a warning would be a better business move. Heck, who knows? Maybe some of those who are staying off-site this summer and can’t make adjustments now to their plans would have actually opted into staying on-site if they knew that rope dropping Pandora would basically be impossible during the summer. It certainly would have crossed my mind!

My issue here isn't EMH generally, just doing it every single day for a substantial portion of time and like you said expanding it on such short notice. If you do EMH a few times a week resort guests can do things they really want to rope drop on EMH days and sleep in/do other things on non-EMH days. Then non-resort guests can plan to do big rope drops like FoP on non-EMH days and it works out for everyone.

 

[Jefferson5436]

My issue here isn't EMH generally, just doing it every single day for a substantial portion of time and like you said expanding it on such short notice. If you do EMH a few times a week resort guests can do things they really want to rope drop on EMH days and sleep in/do other things on non-EMH days. Then non-resort guests can plan to do big rope drops like FoP on non-EMH days and it works out for everyone.

I agree 100% on everything you just said. It seemed like a win-win for those staying on-site and those staying off-site when you have EMH alternating at different parks throughout any given week. I’m wondering what in the world the motivation was to 1) make everyday EMH and 2) do it on such short notice. What was the point?

 

[randomsoulshine]

We really appreciate all these tips! Especially as less experienced Disney park folks. And if FoP and/or Navi become an impossibility this trip the truth is we’ll still have a blast and will be able to experience them someday I’m sure. Once again, thanks for these tips.

I truly hope y'all are able to find a decent time to ride FOP. With that being said, my family went to Disney a year ago and we did Epcot and MK and we had a blast. So even without Pandora our Disney vacation was magical in so many ways. Try to see it but if you don't I know it will not ruin your vacation because you have a wonderful attitude.

 

[Jefferson5436]

I truly hope y'all are able to find a decent time to ride FOP. With that being said, my family went to Disney a year ago and we did Epcot and MK and we had a blast. So even without Pandora our Disney vacation was magical in so many ways. Try to see it but if you don't I know it will not ruin your vacation because you have a wonderful attitude.

Thank you! I totally agree. We’ll be having fun for sure, regardless of what happens. Glad to hear y’all did too! No need to get bent out of shape, especially since I highly doubt Pandora is leaving AK anytime soon. This won’t be our last time ever to Disney World so in a few years we can give it another shot if things don’t PANdora out

 

[Driver]

Pandora's popularity and it's Animal Kingdom's 20th anniversary.. why not.

^^^^^This and it's the kick off for the summer season. Attendance is expected to be up.

 

[PeakSeason]

I see your point but this then becomes a slippery slope. You could use this same logic and start to argue that the parks should have a tiered system where customers should start paying more for some E-ticket rides, etc. You wanna visit Galaxy’s Edge? No problem, with your admission to Hollywood Studios the visa to Galaxy’s Edge only costs $15. Those paying a “higher percentage of their vacation budget to Disney” are given priority.

If expanding EMH throughout the summer at AK really was about being fair or making “total sense” from a business perspective, then the company should not have changed the EMH hours like this for those who spent the money and planned their vacations well in advance of this move. If it really is to follow the logic you’re suggesting (giving priority to those who pay more) then it is actually a POOR BUSINESS MOVE in terms of how this was rolled out. If you want to encourage people to stay on site (spending more money) and use EMH every day as the incentive to do so then a better business move would have been for them to have made this announcement well in advance AT LEAST half a year ago when people were making hotel reservations for this summer and trying to decide whether they should stay on-site or not. Let’s face it, I doubt many people are making their hotel reservations right NOW (say 20 days or so before their Disney vacation) for this summer. And there’s no need to now throw in EMH as a last minute extra cherry on top for those who already made their on-site reservations half a hear ago because...Disney already made the sell! Business-wise they don’t have much else to gain by doing so. I doubt this last second change to EMH at AK for this summer can bring in a lot more money for this summer because most people have already made their hotel reservations if they’re visiting Disney this summer.

Some sort of heads up to give customers the option should have happened a while back. Something along the lines of, ‘Hey, a year from now or so, starting next summer, you should stay at one of our Disney Resorts because we’re going to make almost every day at Animal Kingom EMH!’ That way customers could make an informed decision about costs and decide whether experiencing all of AK (including Pandora) is worth the extra cost of staying on-site. Being able to make an informed decision as a consumer shouldn’t be a huge demand. Instead, on a whim it seems, for the next couple months there are back to back EMH and those who’ve planned their vacations more than a year ago are now making last minute vacation adjustments. For other vacation destinations this might not be a big deal but for a theme park that suggests planning should take place at least 180 days in advance this was a little messed up. A change like this may certainly be business savvy (prioritize the guests who pay more) if it were rolled out properly but if this was the intention all I’m saying is that next time more of a warning would be a better business move. Heck, who knows? Maybe some of those who are staying off-site this summer and can’t make adjustments now to their plans would have actually opted into staying on-site if they knew that rope dropping Pandora would basically be impossible during the summer. It certainly would have crossed my mind!

It isn't unusual for Disney to make changes to park hours as the dates approach. As a frequent visitor I often have to make changes to my daily itinerary as the trip draws near. I expect it. If you read the disclaimers associated with any park tickets you have purchased, there is mention that park hours can be modified without warning. This is standard practice in the theme park industry.

I wasn't suggesting that this specific addition of EMH at AK was done for the purpose of filling more on site rooms. I was suggesting that this addition of hours for on site guests was done to make on site guests happier with their vacation experience.

 

[PeakSeason]

Yeah but if you plan your trip around Epcot night emh hours and magic kingdom night emh hours and that's take away by a morning AK emh hour that can screw your trip up especially if you are staying on site only on certain days.

Certainly! I've never heard of hours being reduced, only added. If I missed that in this discussion, I sincerely apologize. All comments made by me here have been in reference to the addition of hours. If there was a reduction, I was completely unaware of it.

 

[nickys]

Yeah but if you plan your trip around Epcot night emh hours and magic kingdom night emh hours and that's take away by a morning AK emh hour that can screw your trip up especially if you are staying on site only on certain days.

I don't recall ever seeing an EMH removed once it was scheduled on the Disney park hours. Sure theybreduced the number of EMH days per park, and reduced the usual hours for evening EMH at MK. But once posted, I've never seen them removed.

 

[Jefferson5436]

I wasn't suggesting that this specific addition of EMH at AK was done for the purpose of filling more on site rooms. I was suggesting that this addition of hours for on site guests was done to make on site guests happier with their vacation experience.

I hear ya completely. Especially regarding that this is part of the disclaimers on tickets. I get that and that Disney has every right to make these changes. However, it still seems like pretty poor execution. Sure they are now making on site guests happier, as you said. But they also just ticked off lots of the off-site visitors. All I was saying is that if this EMH change was rolled out well in advance it could have been a Michael Scott “win-win-win” (win for Disney, win for on-site guests, and win for off-site guests). The (well-informed) off-site guests would have known what they were getting themselves into (not being able to rope drop Pandora) and some would likely have even weighed the costs differently and decided it would be worth the extra money—at least for a night or two—to stay on-site if it means being able to really experience Pandora (as a side note, all this Pandora drama the past few days is wild). But done in this manner means MORE money for Disney. Additionally, the on-site guests would be happier knowing that the extra cost for their vacation is getting them something extra (AK everyday), as you mentioned. Win-Win-Win.

That’s why I was suggesting this wasn’t the best move (business-wise) in terms of how this was rolled out. They’ve made lots of park visitors (those staying on-site)even happier with this announcement, that’s for sure! But would these same guests be less happy if they knew about this half a year ago, in the early stages of their planning? Why would they? Because a last-minute surprise is better overall? I doubt this was intentional. Just poor planning and execution. I get that park hours and EMH can change and it’s in the disclaimers. I’m simply suggesting that if this is their plan for next summer, why not tell folks sooner rather than later?

For example, after a month or two of Toy Story Land being opened in DHS I’m sure that land will still be packed all day long the next couple months, even with the EMH everyday. But technically we don’t know that for certain, especially since it’s not a massive land either (with only 2 new attractions). But erring on the side of caution let’s say that, sure enough, for the next couple months Toy Story Land stays packed this summer, even with EMH each day. Rhetorical question: Is there any reason to believe that next summer Toy Story Land would NOT be packed? So after a couple months of verification this summer then just let everyone know, ‘hey as you’re planning your vacation for next year, note that we’ll be having EMH for Hollywood Studios everyday! If you want in on this action be sure to make your lodging reservations at one of our resorts!’ —> This is what should have happened at Pandora. Disney you know it’s the 20th anniversary of AK, you know Pandora continues to be packed each day, and you know crowd levels continue to increase overall (not to mention the summer crowds). Make some more money and make all guests happier with their choices as informed customers. This seems like simply poor planning and execution and it could easily be done better to make make on-site AND off-site guests happier and make Disney more money.