Do You Avoid EMHs?

[ThinkTink721]

Even as a WDW guest, do you tend to avoid the EMHs (morning or evening) due to the potential for larger crowds?

 

[Philhar-Fanatic]

We ALWAYS attend evening EMH at Magic Kingdom. It's one of the highlights/must do's of our trip. We've been the last 3 spring breaks in a row and by 11:30 there is NO ONE in the Magic Kingdom. It really has ruined us of going there during the day with long wait times. You just can't beat Thunder Mountain and Splash at night. Their just WAY more fun!! In fact the last 2 years we have ridden Splash 4 times in a row w/out having to even get out of our boat! As for the other parks evening EMH I find that their a nightmare. There just aren't enough rides to spread the crowd out. Everyone there is on the same handfull of rides. Never attended morning EMH as we're doing good to make it there for 9am regular park opening.

 

[koryadams]

Are you kidding me? They area life saver!!! I look forward to EMH's every time I go! I love riding every ride in Fantasyland with no wait and did almost every other ride in the park from 11-3am! Then watched the goodnight kiss and slowly walked out of the MK by 4am!!!! Of course I am young so I had enough energy to stay up that late but EMH's are the best memories!

 

[Zummi Gummi]

The later the EMH are, the less crowded they are. For instance, EMH from 9 PM-midnight will be quite busy- most people can keep going until midnight. However, EMH from midnight-3 AM will be DEAD (no matter what time of year it is) by 1 AM. I loooooooove late EMH and always take advantage of them.

On morning EMH days, I do avoid whatever park had them, because I'm never there for them. I like to take my time in the mornings.

 

[foreverbelle]

I think it all depends on a lot of things. Before kids my husband and I would most dif try to at least do one or two nights that we do EMHs. But now with a 3 year old we tend to skip them now.

We do try to get to them still but now we have a take it or leave mentality. I don't think my husband and I get upset if we miss it but its nice when we do. I do find that the later it gets the less crowded it is.

 

[zweltar]

My wife and I generally take advantage of EMH. We especially love evening EMH at MK and EPCOT. Walking around a mostly empty, lit up World Showcase is breathtaking and relaxing. I really like the fact that, later at night when the park has emptied out a little, you can hear the background music a little better.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

we like emh but agree it gets busier every year. i love the parks after dark and in the summer when it's hotter (you know mid march - early november here in florida lol) it makes the day more tolerable. in june-aug we go to the parks early, chill between 2-5 have dinner then do the park with emh until close. works for us. plus i think the parks have a magical quality to them at night but we're not morning people by nature. about the only park we do am emh is dhs and that's if we're traveling with little ones who will want to do tsm multiple times.

 

[Princess_Minnie]

For us, it depends on the park.

Magic Kingdom: Do AM and PM
It's empty until regular opening in the morning (with the exception of Fantasyland and Space Mountain)
It empties at night after the fireworks are over

Hollywood Studios: Do PM only
It's just as packed in the mornings, so no real use or advantage
It empties after the first Fantasmic, but until then the crowds are pretty much the same as during the day; we just don't like going back to our hotel super early so we go to parks where we can stay as late as we can

Epcot: Do AM only
Great for getting Soarin' and Test Track fastpasses and doing them standby before the park fills up
We usually get everything we want to do done during the day, so the PM hours really don't benefit us; also it leads to a really really packed Illuminations showing

Animal Kingdom: Do AM only
Great for riding and getting fastpasses for the Safaris and Everest before the crowds fill up the park
We usually finish by midafternoon so have never actually made use of the nighttime hours; there are only a few attractions open anyway and few animals to see

Hope this helps! In years past we have skipped EMH just because we don't want to wake up early...but if you want to do them, follow this guide. :sohappy:

 

[s8film40]

I think the big misconception with EMH is that it's an exclusive perk. While yes it is technically an exclusive perk for resort guests, that really isn't such an exclusive group of people. Right now there are a little over 33,000 rooms (or other accommodations) that qualify for EMH, and a few more under construction. If there was an average of 2 guests per room that would be around 60,000 people eligible for an EMH, just about enough to close the MK due to capacity. It's the time of day that actually makes them a benefit. Early in the morning and late at night are always the best times to visit any park. The trick is a lot of resort guests plan the park to visit for that day based on EMH. If you go to an EMH go for the EMH but choose another park for the main part of the day. I also see lot's of people only make it the first hour of evening EMH's usually the last two are the best, and the later they are the better.

 

[walterdisney]

EMHs are the best times to be in the parks. Its a nice because its slightly more peaceful and by the end of the day you look like crap anyway so no one really cares. Its a nice end to a long day at the parks.

 

[Dwarful]

We love the early EMH's...we can get so much done in those first few hours. We also enjoy the evening ones if they are open really late. But like others have said, if the park closes at 9 and the emh's are 9 - 12 they stay fairly crowded.

 

[Mikester71]

We tend to avoid EMH's all together, morning and evening. We have stayed late a few times I guess while they were going on, but most of the time we are back at Pop and in bed by 11pm - midnight (early for us, considering at home I am usually up until 3-4am most nights!)

We took advantage of them during our very first trip, back in 2005, but found that the park that was having the morning one usually seemed a lot busier that day. So on our second trip, we made it a point to see which park was having the morning EMH's and avoided it like the plague. We are usually down there on our Spring Break, so it doesn't really matter that much I guess because all of the parks tend to be busy every day anyways.

 

[real mad hatter]

Now iam getting mad!

Ok,that's it,I've got to get another say on this matter.Those of you who say that the early hours is busy,what time are you actually getting to the parks?.We have photos of us standing at Pixar Place in the Studios with no one in sight at 8.05am.and likewise at other parks at,wait for it! First thing in the morning.By the way,we always go peak season due to school holidays,so iam talking July.So unless were very lucky,or iam wearing some awful after shave that's keeping the rest of people away,I don't know?:kiss:

 

[draybook]

We always plan our days based on the parks that have evening EMH. If you're spending that kind of cash, why not get the most out of it? Plus, we usually go during September so by the late evenings it's low crowd wise anyways.

 

[ThankstoMOM]

Love Evening EHM, I really think it depends on what time of the year you are there. We always go down during "slow" periods, and base our plans on what park has them. DW and I love the parks at night, so those last couple hours late in the evening are our absolute favorite, its quiet, no lines, no worries!!! rode SP 4xs in a row never once getting out of our log, my knees where killing me but it was awesome!!!!
6 days and counting!!!

 

[ParentsOf4]

I agree, morning EMHs are great. Evening EMHs do tend to be busier, but I still go to them as I love being in the parks at night. It's not all about wait times for me, it's about the atmosphere.

Our experience is similar. However, I've also noticed that morning EMH parks tend to get much more crowded than usual after the morning EMH hour has finished.

My theory is that less experienced WDW onsite guests pick a park based on who is having morning EMH. However, on that morning, they cannot get to the park in time to actually enjoy the morning EMH. In other words, they decided beforehand to go to the morning EMH park but end up arriving late. In their head, they've already picked that park and aren't experienced enough to know that if they cannot arrive for morning EMH, they would be better off switching to another park.

It also could explain why parks with evening EMHs feel more crowded. In most cases, people don't arrive late for evening EMH.

 

[Club34]

Our experience is similar. However, I've also noticed that morning EMH parks tend to get much more crowded than usual after the morning EMH hour has finished.

My theory is that less experienced WDW onsite guests pick a park based on who is having morning EMH. However, on that morning, they cannot get to the park in time to actually enjoy the morning EMH. In other words, they decided beforehand to go to the morning EMH park but end up arriving late. In their head, they've already picked that park and aren't experienced enough to know that if they cannot arrive for morning EMH, they would be better off switching to another park.

It also could explain why parks with evening EMHs feel more crowded. In most cases, people don't arrive late for evening EMH.

I agree with this notion 1000%. We usually go during, well, this week every year. Obviously not there now I'm finishing my masters and i am not working. Anyway, we are the type that will get there early but will be heading back to our home at CSR by 11a-12p for siesta and yes it seems that the mob coming in is particularly big while the EMH and early part of the day is empty. All of my pictures are usually devoid of people. People always say, how'd you do that?

I can't speak to the late late nights as the only one we used religiously was AK night hours which sadly have been cut. I am very hurt that I will not be able to walk asia at night. The atmosphere there was unbelievable and i lapped EE so many times i made myself sick (ill never do it again) :hurl:

most of the time i would be cashed :snore: by 9-10p and would want my evening soak at the tub near the pyramid at my home.

 

[reptar77]

We typically attend the PM hours only. My DH like to sleep in. The crowds at night tend to be just as big if not more than regular hours. I'm kind of on the fence about them.
I miss the days when you had to pay for EMH. There were hardly any crowds and more characters in the parks.

 

[DisneyWeather!]

We tend to do the typical summer routine of EMH first thing in the morning, head back for rest and a swim, and then EMH in the evening after dinner. We always have dining plan and I feel we spend an awful lot of time going to, waiting for, and eating dinner (always enjoy it). So having the extra time in the evening EMH park is always great. Our problem is with the younger kids, it gets to be really hard to stay out late and get up early several days in a row. By day three this year DW was shot and wanted to just sleep in and spend a few hours at the pool (on our arrival morning we caught the first flight out which meant we were up at 4:30 am kids fell asleep at the dinner table waiting for DW to bring food from food court - evening EMH were not used as planned that night). But I agree with many of the previous posts, if you are at rope drop for morning EMH, you can get a lot done and feel like you are almost alone for some. I don't think I ever went to a park that didn't have EMH, despite the fine folks who say to avoid, so I really can't compare how low the crowds are in non-EMH parks. With all this being said, I feel like the 3 previous trips we have made were lower than average crowd level (The week after everyone went home from Thanksgiving; July 4 week (But the economy was bad that year) and Late August (after the southern schools are back in session)). I wish I was planning our next trip around the EMH again! : (