EMH's are a joke!

[AEfx]

Evening EMH is great - I've had nothing but wonderful experiences with it. Sure, it can get crowded, but those are the times when you walk around and see the parks in the dark, grab some food, and just enjoy the place. The last hour is always magic - people are heading out and I've gotten tons of rides in.

Everyone is going to have a different experiences, but if you go in expecting night EMH to be like morning EMH or E-ride nights you will be disapointed. It's all about expectations. I go to every EMH night they have when I am at WDW because even a crowded night in the MK beats any night at home.

AEfx

 

[25and7]

How long have you been going?

WDW has been in an attendance slump recently and this summer is higher than many recent years. For Epcot, attendance has seen a signifigant increase since SPACE and Soarin' opened. What does this mean?

This summer is much busier than anyone who has recently vistted is used to. Especially the week leading up to July 4th.

Hours and offerings for much of July have been extended. DisneyQuest has even gone to an extended hours schedule for July. The Magic Kingdom has gone to keeping almost the entire park open for EMH. The Contemporary Resort was over-booked for June 27th and the Polynesian did the same for a week in July and is relocating Guests. The value resorts are sold out, and so are the moderates.

In short - you picked the busiest period during one of the busiest years and went to the most popular attraction of the entire celebration.

What did you expect?

How long? Every year for the past 12 years.

OK ONE MORE TIME: I KNOW IT'S ONE OF THE MOST CROWDED TIMES OF THE YEAR!

I expected long lines and I frequently use the Fastpass system during the course of the day.

Here is my point: At an attraction like Soarin whenever there are people in the Fastpass line the Stand By line barely moves and the length of the line increases significantly. Wouldn't you rather have a Stand By line that constantly moves and gets you on the attraction much quicker? So rather than having a 65 min. wait for Soarin during EMH's you would have a wait of around 45 min. or so and thus would be able to get one more attraction in for the night.

Look, eventhough I have just started to post on this site does not mean I don't know my stuff. I credit much (just about all) of my knowledge to my cousin who seems to know everything about anything Disney. So please, I know what I'm talking about here and I'm not just ranting over nothing here!

Trust me, if you were to go to EPCOT during EMH's you would see exactly what I'm talking about. You can't really say anything that would pursuade me until you experience it for yourself.

Oh and BTW, I did not pick the busiest time of the year. That honor goes to Christmas/New Year and Spring Break.

 

[25and7]

EMHs have been done in the morning for years. If you arrive at opening, you can get on a ride quickly. By the end of the hour, especially in peak times like SUMMER, there are lines.

Fast passes should be given out in the case that there IS a standby line. Grab a TT fastpass and jump on M:S or vice versa. It's just another time for the park to be open. From what I remember, the e-ride nights had fast pass in the later years. FP is a way of crowd control. They don't hold up lines. It just feels frustrating when it's almost your turn to move up in a queue and some FP get in front of you.

I went in May and did EMH nights. They were awesome for me because I finked out on fireworks, Fantasmic, whatever. I went on BTMR four times in a row and got to sit in the row of my choice. Yes, it was May, but since I skipped Wishes, the place was dead. It's all in the strategizing.

The nights we did see the fireworks, there were (short) lines at everything. Since Disney advertises the EMH program so much, most (like 60%) guests attend. With summer attendance so high, almost everyone in the resort will visit that night. You are not entitled to an empty park. Personally, I like EMH to be in the park at night. I expected lines, but that's the end of that. If the Mouse tells the hotel guests to go somewhere, they will follow...

strategizing? YOU WENT IN MAY!

I could have blind folded myself and pointed to a random place on the MK map and found an attraction with little or no line.

Yeah that's great that you guys have the liberty to go to WDW during the off-season, but some people (me) have this thing called college that we have to attend.

Look, if I could go in October or early December without flunking out of college I would do it! But summer is the only time I can go and for the billionth time I REALIZE IT'S A BUSY TIME!

 

[nibblesandbits]

strategizing? YOU WENT IN MAY!

I could have blind folded myself and pointed to a random place on the MK map and found an attraction with little or no line.

Yeah that's great that you guys have the liberty to go to WDW during the off-season, but some people (me) have this thing called college that we have to attend.

Look, if I could go in October or early December without flunking out of college I would do it! But summer is the only time I can go and for the billionth time I REALIZE IT'S A BUSY TIME!

Actually, I went in May and there were lines during EMHs...more than there were in the middle of the afternoon. And also, I go to college as well, but I managed to go in May...sure it's not as dead as September may be, but the lines are no where near what they are during Fourth of July weekend...which next to Christmas, has got to be one of the busiest times as WDW.

 

[MagicalMonorail]

I too firmly dislike Evening EMH's. They are a pain and not worth the 3 extra hours you could spend sleeping. A mistake I made in May. I am all for the E-Ride Nights. I have aleady sent my complaint to Disney, although they haven't really sent anything back except a confirmation that they got my letter.

 

[dave2822]

It's not that anyone doubts your knowledge, but you came on here right off the bat ranting. Even the title of your thread suggests that your either picking an argument or completely letting off steam, neither of which is going to further the conversation of this post. Even the best of the facts can be of no help if the presentation doesn't support it. You don't like EMH nights, that's fine, it seems like you've been enough to support the reason, but of course people will disagree and have their own reasons to support it, no need for hostility :wave:

Anyways, I recently visited both MK and EPCOT Extra Magic Hours and it was a lot more crowded than I expected. Disney opens their doors for three more hours, which backs up all of the other duties that have to be performed when the park closes, so I am certainly grateful for the benefit, even when I have to deal with crowds.

And my personal opinion is that the fastpass service should be handed out during EMH. It's a benefit that is given to any guest in the park, and time shouldn't be an issue.

And from the guests perspective, I don't think there is much of a difference. At the end of the fireworks/parades, many guests who obtain or have obtained fastpasses for let's say Soarin' (since that was the main example), and will obviously not be jumping back into line right away, the fastpass line should be evened out for the 3 hours. Now let's say fastpass shuts down right at official closing. Every guest will now jump to Soarin after RoE, because the only line is now the standby line, thus causing the line to be bottlenecked right from the get-go of EMH. Either way, long lines. So perhaps Disney can work out "kinks," but Fastpass isn't the problem, just like it isn't the problem during the normal day of long lines.

And who knows how sketchy that theory was (it's late and I'm not double checking it!), the other thing is Soarin' is packed no matter what. I never saw a Soarin' wait go lower then 80 minutes except for the first 30 minutes of the park day. It's a hot new attraction. Over at MK, however, the mountains were walk ons by 2 hours into EMH, and most of the lines were short.

 

[CaptainMichael]

strategizing? YOU WENT IN MAY!

I could have blind folded myself and pointed to a random place on the MK map and found an attraction with little or no line.

Yeah that's great that you guys have the liberty to go to WDW during the off-season, but some people (me) have this thing called college that we have to attend.

Look, if I could go in October or early December without flunking out of college I would do it! But summer is the only time I can go and for the billionth time I REALIZE IT'S A BUSY TIME!

Actually, May can be quite crowded, especially this year. Not too bad, yet not too good. I don't like waiting in line either, but that is to be expected at at theme park.

Where I go to college, we get out in early December and return mid-January. That is the perfect time to go both temperature wise and crowd wise.

 

[Bluewaves]

Personally I would like to see the number of people that can stay reduced , lets say only up to about 15% capacity is the number of wristbands that get handed out. That way the guests that got to stay could enjoy their experience more. Do a sort of first come first served type deal and thats it. I tried do an EMH at mk in early june and it was a mess, not to mention the reason I stayed was to ride sm and it was broke while I was on it , no fun. So limit the number of wristbands thats all.

 

[CaptainMichael]

Personally I would like to see the number of people that can stay reduced , lets say only up to about 15% capacity is the number of wristbands that get handed out. That way the guests that got to stay could enjoy their experience more. Do a sort of first come first served type deal and thats it. I tried do an EMH at mk in early june and it was a mess, not to mention the reason I stayed was to ride sm and it was broke while I was on it , no fun. So limit the number of wristbands thats all.

While a good idea, it would make more people unhappy than happy. EMH are supposed to be an incentive to stay on property. The guests that get left out would be a little mad I think.

 

[dave2822]

While a good idea, it would make more people unhappy than happy. EMH are supposed to be an incentive to stay on property. The guests that get left out would be a little mad I think.

True, and also it would inhibit the need for park hopping extras as much. If you needed to be at MK at 6 to get a wristband, you probably wouldn't be spending the night watching Illuminations and then heading back over to MK for EMH like many guests do. Guests would feel cheated out of the hopping option if they had to be somewhere.

 

[TiggersPooh]

EMH are not all bad. They tend to be busier than a regualr park day but its three more hours in the park. Should fastpasses be given out? For attractions like Soarin, yes. Hand out a very limited amount. If you think the parks are too crowded during EMH and you dont want to wait in line, go back to your resort and go to bed!

Im sick of guest dragging their little kids around the MK till 2 am, and then seeing them at PI till very late at night. (i had a bad night...lol)

 

[CaptainMichael]

Im sick of guest dragging their little kids around the MK till 2 am, and then seeing them at PI till very late at night. (i had a bad night...lol)

I'm glad you brought that up because there definitely should be an age limit. Most children cannot handle being in the parks from 9 in the morning till 2 in the morning. The result: a bunch of whiney, screaming kids. I say that there should be an age limit or a height requirement.

I noticed this on my last trip. I was in the Magic Kingdom for an EEMH and it was pretty late. I kept thinking, "Heck, I'm tired, those kids must be exhausted."

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

Yeah that's great that you guys have the liberty to go to WDW during the off-season, but some people (me) have this thing called college that we have to attend.

Ok, now you're just sounding rude. You're not the only forum member that is in college (as others have already pointed out). I am as well, but my family and I have managed to go in May and November (I've even skipped a day or two of classes, and it didn't affect my grades in the least).
We went the last week of May this year, and I can tell you it was packed! We participated in EMH every night it was offered. Keep in mind that Star Wars Weekends had started up, so MGM was already INSANE on the weekends, and I'm sure some guests stayed during the week, which didn't help crowds.
Anyway, the night I stayed at Epcot until mid-night, I admit, was a bit nuts. Right after Illuminations, my sister and I went to get our braclets - we had to wait in a fairly big line, but seeing as we hadn't previously seeked out a distribution center, we pretty muched blamed that one on ourselves. I can tell you that the line went fairly quickly, and that they did bring another CM or two over to help with distribution (which gave us a total of about 4 or 5 CMs handing out braclets). After that, we met our parents at The Land only to see that the wait for Soarin' was 90 min. (and NO FPs...they weren't even distributing them...for any attraction.) After a few minutes of debating whether we should go ahead and do it, we decided to go over to Test Track to check the wait there...35 min. The rest of my family decides they just want to walk around WS (which they later find out isn't even open for EMH), so I decided to go ahead and do some attractions. By this time I had maybe an hour and a half until the park closed. So I do Test Track, then head over to Soarin' to wait in a 50 min. SB line, and with 5 minutes remaining, trucked over to SSE to fit in one last attraction. And that had to be one of the most fulfilling, fun-filled nights of my whole trip! Yeah, I had to fight the crowds and stand in long lines with friggin hyper kids jumping all around behind me...but I was just glad to be able to be in the parks for a few extra hours.

I'm sorry you had such a miserable time at EMH. I, for one, highly enjoyed them, and I'd say a majority of guests that do them enjoy them as well.

 

[willythelab]

let me get you a tissue

wdw is the most visited resort and themepark area in the world. it was hit harder than anywhere else after 9/11. now that the crowds are finally back so are the lines and wait times. if you go in the summer, the lines and aggravations go with the territory. join a fortune 500 company and wait till they rent out mk or epcot and you can go at night without lines. i live in nevada(reno) not vegas. we have made 14 trips to wdw and understand that if you go there in the summer you will be joined by the rest of america. deal with it or go to your local neighborhood six flags.

 

[bbll24]

My family went to WDW in late March, and we never went to a park that had emh that day. We found that the designated park with emh was always more crowded than the others. emh definitely sucks!

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

Im sick of guest dragging their little kids around the MK till 2 am, and then seeing them at PI till very late at night. (i had a bad night...lol)

I'm glad you brought that up, as well! My dad and I stayed in MK until 2am, and the WHOLE bus ride back to Boardwalk there was a fussy baby (a BABY! Out at 2am!!). I'll admit, I get annoyed rather easily, but, to me, a noisy baby is one of the most annoying/grating sounds ever. Why would anyone keep a small child out that late?! That is just completely irresponsible, imo.

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

My family went to WDW in late March, and we never went to a park that had emh that day. We found that the designated park with emh was always more crowded than the others. emh definitely sucks!

Just out of curiosity, how did you "find" that the designated EMH parks were "always" more crowded if you never went to a designated EMH park? Just wonderin'.

 

[AEfx]

wdw is the most visited resort and themepark area in the world. it was hit harder than anywhere else after 9/11. now that the crowds are finally back so are the lines and wait times. if you go in the summer, the lines and aggravations go with the territory. join a fortune 500 company and wait till they rent out mk or epcot and you can go at night without lines. i live in nevada(reno) not vegas. we have made 14 trips to wdw and understand that if you go there in the summer you will be joined by the rest of america. deal with it or go to your local neighborhood six flags.

/cheer

The OP is just venting, and it's gone on too long.

He should avoid EMH since he chooses to travel at such busy periods of the year. End of story.

Night EMH are the best thing to hit WDW in a long time, and it just proves you can't please everyone - especially those with unrealistic expectations and bad attitudes to begin with.

AEfx

 

[mousermerf]

You may have been going for 12 years, but you've probably become just as accustomed to the slower last few years like most every other person.

I remember arriving at Epcot at 9am and getting in line for SSE with a 45mins wait before trudging over to Future World East, choosing 1 of the mega-lines that leads to pavillions that all started at the breezeway and I distinctly recall waiting half of my childhood life in line - the FULL extended bloody que (behind the shop, down the ramp, through the rope switchbacks, and begining to circle around the building interior) - for Body Wars, which I hated.

The ride opened in May, this is June.

Fastpass does not slow down the line. I waited from the bottom of the ramp going up into the picture room and it took a little over an hour and 15 mins. We kept moving at a regular pace - it just happens to be a massive queue.

I've also done fastpass there, I've also done the pre-opening preview - and a private invite-only event in the evening too!

It is busy, particularly now - some are saying WDW is busier than it has ever been. It's very likely as the parks are all pulling large numbers on normal days. Summer is usually busy, but not as much as it has been this year.

 

[Buzzes Dad]

Please remember College Students get a Jan. Break(almost the whole monh at most colleges). When I was in College I went once in Jan and once in Oct, I just talked to my profs early and told them I had to misss class and that I wanted to take any exam before I went all of them had no problem with that.(all depends on how you approach the issue)


EMH's in Jan were great. We did all of them except Epcot(we were exhausted by the time that one rolled around) Of course we did EEMH and Late EMH plus everything else we did.

MK EMH's awesome
AK EMH's awesome
DS EMH's good(many people here)
EP EMH's did not do