EMH Question

[il grande chuck]

we're going to wdw from 11/12 - 11/18 (the week before thanksgiving), and a couple of people have told us "you MUST plan which days you go to certain parks around the EMH! that way, you can get to ride a lot of the rides before it gets crowded."

we're doing the DDP and i booked all our ADRs a few months ago, and most of those ADRs were booked according to which parks we were going to be in on a certain day (NOT based upon EMH, really), so it's not really practical to switch around our plans at this point, since there's no way i can really change my ADRs in the 11th hour.

here's my question: are EMH really that big of a deal the week before thanksgiving? my guess is that the crowds are going to be fairly light that week, and if we get there right around the normal park opening times and go on the most popular stuff first, we shouldn't be waiting in too many lines. besides, the friends who recommended EMH usually go during Christmas or spring break anyways.

any thoughts?

thanks,

chuck

 

[wannabeBelle]

You can always switch over to the parks that have EMH if you have the hopper option on your ticket anyhow!!! Belle

 

[Dwarful]

I agree with Belle, for example on the day you go to Animal Kingdom, stop by what ever park is doing the evening EMH to take in a few more attractions, or to hit your favorites one more time!

 

[Mystic]

I was there around the same time in 2004 and found the crowds that week to be fairly light in comparison to the following week when the crowds got a bit heavier the closer Thanksgiving got. We had fantastic weather and the lines weren't too bad. Longest wait that week was probably 35 minutes for the more popular attractions. I don't plan my days around which park is having EMH. We never took advantage of the EMH because our days were planned ahead of time and we were usually in a different park than the one offering EMH. We never had any problems getting on any of the attractions and as I said, the waits weren't that long. 90% of the time they were actually shorter than what was posted.

Hope you enjoy your trip!! 29 days to go before I'm in the World! :sohappy: :xmas:

 

[tigsmom]

You can always switch over to the parks that have EMH if you have the hopper option on your ticket anyhow!!! Belle

I agree with Belle, for example on the day you go to Animal Kingdom, stop by what ever park is doing the evening EMH to take in a few more attractions, or to hit your favorites one more time!

We always get the park hopper option so we can move around. We don't usually plan our days with much structure so we may be in the MK and want to eat in EPCOT...this lets us do just whatever we feel like.

If you miss EMH no big deal, but many people enjoy them.

 

[il grande chuck]

we're not doing the park hopper option. it's the first time we've gone to wdw as a family, so we'll pretty much be spending a full day at each of the parks. besides, we have small kids, so we can't get around from park to park very efficiently.

chuck

 

[wannabeBelle]

I think you would be surprised at how efficiently you can get from park to park. Anyhow getting back to the EMH how many of your days coincide with the evening EMH or the morning EMH? If you have smaller kids, they may be too tuckered out from the regular hours to consider the EMH in any event. Belle

 

[tigsmom]

we're not doing the park hopper option. it's the first time we've gone to wdw as a family, so we'll pretty much be spending a full day at each of the parks. besides, we have small kids, so we can't get around from park to park very efficiently.

chuck

I don't know how young your kids are, but a full day (open to close) in each park may be too much for them ...you too. Trying to add EHM to either side of the day would be overwhelming and just lead to meltdowns for all. My kids are older now , but we still take a break for lunch and a swim or nap. The park hopper option is good in this case because you can spend the morning in one park and the evening in another.

You don't say what resort you are staying in, but taking advantage of WDW transportation makes it quite easy to get from place to place even with small kids. As I said earlier, its really no big deal if you don't take advantage of EMH, but you may want to re think your strategy for conquering the parks. :wave:

 

[il grande chuck]

I don't know how young your kids are, but a full day (open to close) in each park may be too much for them ...you too. Trying to add EHM to either side of the day would be overwhelming and just lead to meltdowns for all. My kids are older now , but we still take a break for lunch and a swim or nap. The park hopper option is good in this case because you can spend the morning in one park and the evening in another.

You don't say what resort you are staying in, but taking advantage of WDW transportation makes it quite easy to get from place to place even with small kids. As I said earlier, its really no big deal if you don't take advantage of EMH, but you may want to re think your strategy for conquering the parks. :wave:

my kids are 8 and 10, and i was thinking the same thing, that going extra early to catch EMH would be too much, especially for the five straight days we're going to be in the parks.

we'll be at WL, so the transportation (from what i hear) isn't as efficient as it is at many of the other resorts. therefore, my plan is to get to each park at normal opening time, spend the day at that park, eat dinner at restaurant in or near that aprticualr park, and go back to WL for a swim at the end of the day (unless catching wishes or illuminations), and for the kids to get to bed at a decent hour so they're well-rested for the next full day at the next park.

for the extra cost of the park hopper option, it just doesn't seem practical in our case. between the fact that we'll be spending pretty much the whole day in a given park (since my kids have never been to wdw), and the longer commute to/from WL to the parks, i didn't think the extra cost was worth it. i *did* add on the waterpark option though, because we will probably go there for one or two half-days.

chuck

 

[tigsmom]

my kids are 8 and 10, and i was thinking the same thing, that going extra early to catch EMH would be too much, especially for the five straight days we're going to be in the parks.

we'll be at WL, so the transportation (from what i hear) isn't as efficient as it is at many of the other resorts. therefore, my plan is to get to each park at normal opening time, spend the day at that park, eat dinner at restaurant in or near that aprticualr park, and go back to WL for a swim at the end of the day (unless catching wishes or illuminations), and for the kids to get to bed at a decent hour so they're well-rested for the next full day at the next park.

for the extra cost of the park hopper option, it just doesn't seem practical in our case. between the fact that we'll be spending pretty much the whole day in a given park (since my kids have never been to wdw), and the longer commute to/from WL to the parks, i didn't think the extra cost was worth it. i *did* add on the waterpark option though, because we will probably go there for one or two half-days.

chuck

My kids are now 18 and 12 and we have been taking them since they were about 4. They still like to take a break (but then again we've been over a dozen times :lol: ).

The WL is our home away from home and we have never had troubles with the transportation at all! We always take the launch over to the MK, its a great way to start the day...you come around the bend and there the MK is in all its glory! You can take the small launch over to the Contemporary to get the monorail over to EPCOT (or take the bus, my kids do that on their own). The bus to MGM and DAK takes a bit longer, but still isn't that bad.

Since this is a first trip I am going to caution you to look out for overload...there is so much to see and do that I have seen even adults meltdown...give your plan a try, but don't be afraid to change things around if need be. Oh yeah, you can forget about the kids getting any decent sleep. :lol:

Enjoy your vacation and bring us back some pictures. Say Hi to Mickey for me! :wave: