Crowds During Extra Magic Hours

[birch_sean]

Hello all! I've been a lurker on this site for a while now, and I figured it was about time for my first forum post. My girlfriend and I are going to be spending a few days at the All-Star Sports Resort beginning August 12th, and I was curious about how busy the parks usually are during EMH. Is, say, Magic Kingdom, usually pretty crowded during the morning hours, or do most resort guests tend to skip them? Thank you in advance!

 

[glingo]

I don't know about the mornings, but the evening EMH's have always been great.

 

[SleepingMonk]

We never get up early enough to hit the parks for the morning hours, but we often stay till closing for the evening hours. If you hit it just right in the off season you can stroll certain parks almost by yourself.

 

[Mimi]

I Don't Know. I can't say much about mornings but:

We were there in the middle of September once and I was warned to steer clear of parks with evening EMH. We pretty much did so and found that the other parks were much less crowded than the designated EMH parks in the evenings; even though they closed earlier we found that it was great to attend a different park because the wait times were minimal - I assume because so many people were at the EMH park.

This theory was confirmed one evening when we had a late super at the Contemporary and afterward found ourselves at the Magic Kingdom waiting for a bus at the approximate time MK closed... the biggest mistake of my life! We waited over THREE HOURS for a bus to take us back to our resort!!! I'm getting anxious just thinking about it YEARS later!

So my advice to you would be this:

Search yourself, Luke. If you have any reason to believe you have low gas mileage: avoid EMH. Have a relaxing dinner, go for a swim, spend an evening at DTD.

However, if you have the stamina, enjoy the EMH but try to take it easy after. I would plan to stay late and let the crowds work their way through the transportation system while I do some late night (albeit crowded) shopping or enjoy an ice cream cone; let the view soak in... and relax with my feet up on a bench.

If you're going to wait you may as well enjoy the park while doing it.

 

[RedFoxRunner]

I guess it depends on the time of year. We loved EMH especially at Magic Kingdom when it's open until 3am. I thought there was a huge drop in crowds and it was great. When it first starts you might see a flux of more people, but when it got to be 1 & 2am it slowed down I thought. We rode buzz light year 6 times in a row, not sure when you could do that during regular park hours. :dazzle:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Of all the Resort Guests, only a percentage will utilise their EMH morning privileges - some can't be bothered to get up early while others were utilising their EMH privilege the night before and are too tired.
Sure, there will be quite a number there at EMH park opening and it will seem busier than it is as only a part of the park is open.
In early August, do not expect to have the EMH park to yourself !!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Every single EEMH I have been to in August has been a nightmare, especially at Epcot. Now I do what ive always done, get up early and maximise the mornings and leave the night time Qs to those who are sleepy heads.

 

[Menpell]

I personally wouldn't attempt EMH in August, but if you choose to go during the off season you will find it is really nice. We always make our trips for Sept/Oct. There are crowds of people, but your on and off rides. I would suggest going to EMH if you really want to go and leaving maybe one hour earlier. Getting on the buses back to the resorts at the end of EMH in August will be a nightmare! A friend of mine just came back from Disney and he said it was very crowded.

 

[coltow]

Hello all! I've been a lurker on this site for a while now, and I figured it was about time for my first forum post. My girlfriend and I are going to be spending a few days at the All-Star Sports Resort beginning August 12th, and I was curious about how busy the parks usually are during EMH. Is, say, Magic Kingdom, usually pretty crowded during the morning hours, or do most resort guests tend to skip them? Thank you in advance!

I arrive on the 12th too. We love morning hours. The parks are fairly empty. You can usually get 2-3 major attractions done in that one hour. We avoid night hours when possible only because they tend to be WAY busy. Our plan is always to get up and go, we try to be at the parks right when the open. We stay until lunch time, hit the pool and relax for a bit. Then we head back wound 4pm. Since we've been up since 6 or 7 an afternoon break is wonderful and you get back to the parks refreshed and ready for more.

 

[krankenstein]

In Aug. I would think Morning EMH would be great. I know last month (the week of the 4th) we utilized Morning EMH greatly to our advantage. As others have said people normally won't be bothered with getting up that early. This mkes Morning EMH well worth it. Now Evening EMH can get prety crowded. If they go really late you can expect the park to start clearing out after around 11 which makes them worht it.