Extra Magic Hours = More Crowds?

[pistonville]

On the days that a park has Extra Magic Hours, is that park busier than it normally would be? I don't think my family will take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours, so I was thinking of avoiding the park that will open earlier because it may draw more people. Maybe I'm overthinking it though. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You're thinking about it correctly. Don't go to the park that has extra magic hours unless you're actually going to be using the extra magic hours.

 

[larryz]

That's the common perception, and yours is the classic response to the conundrum.

 

[Willmark]

Zig while everyone else is zagging.

What works for us: go to extra magic hours and stay till about noon when the “we’re sleeping in on out vacation” crowd rolls in. Head back to the resort for the pool and drinks, park hop to a different park that is predicted to be lower in attendance or based on where we’re eating (we really only eat dinner as a large meal). Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[HoustonHorn]

If you're an early morning family, the early EMH can be worth it. As others have suggested, it can work best if you plan on knocking out some things in the morning, then leaving mid-day and pivoting to a park without the EMH. Cautionary tale - my most recent trip, the only EMH we hit was for MGM, planning on hitting SDD, then A.S.S. and maybe TSM at rope drop. Well, SDD was down, which increased the waits for A.S.S. and TSM, then Rock N Roller Coaster was down. So it doesn't always work, but it's a good plan.

 

[scottriehm]

My family certainly has noticed that it seems like there are more people in a park that has extra magic hours to open the park. However, for example, today Magic Kingdom has magic hours until midnight. We like staying up late to enjoy Magic Kingdom during this time because it seems much less crowded for us. I don't have any actual numbers to back this up, just our own personal experience and the feeling of being in the park. This works well if you don't want to be up early for a park opening the next day.

 

[sfbntpc]

We also found that the MK EMH in the evenings was more crowded than expected. We haven’t tried evening hours at any other park, so I guess no matter what MK is always crowded

 

[JIMINYCR]

It used to be an advantage but since the number of resort and DVC guest have increased , the crowds have grown, more than ever they are taking advantage of the earlier openings and later closings. I used to enjoy the late hours because so many guests would start leaving nearer the end hours and I'd have a mostly empty park. No longer the case. Theres quite a mob scene at the gates in the mornings but if you do get in early you can still get a jump on some attractions, but youre still contending with a heavier flow of rushing guests targeting the prime attractiomns. You have to decide if its worth it. It isnt for me.