Extra Magic Hours

[Figment111184]

I am trying to decide whether I am going to go to Disney the second or third week in August. If I go the third week in August I can get free meals but the parks close a little earlier. I was wondering how long after closing the parks stay open for days when they have extra magic hours. Thanks. :animwink:

P.S. The last time I went, about 9 years ago, I remember the hours being pretty much the same. But when I went when I was really in the 80's and early 90's my parents said they remember being at the parks much later. Does anyone remember the parks ever been open until midnight or 1 am on a regular basis? This is just a curiosity question :veryconfu

 

[MrsQ2U]

I am trying to decide whether I am going to go to Disney the second or third week in August. If I go the third week in August I can get free meals but the parks close a little earlier. I was wondering how long after closing the parks stay open for days when they have extra magic hours. Thanks. :animwink:

P.S. The last time I went, about 9 years ago, I remember the hours being pretty much the same. But when I went when I was really in the 80's and early 90's my parents said they remember being at the parks much later. Does anyone remember the parks ever been open until midnight or 1 am on a regular basis? This is just a curiosity question :veryconfu

Hi Figment!
The extended hours in my opinion aren't worth it. The morning extension is great, the evening one isn't so great. I believe MK is open until 1-2a with the extended hours & it's packed, packed, packed. Just when you'd think the families with small children would be back at their hotels for the evening they are out in full force & the crowds are horrible. Everyone goes to the park with the extended hours. We go every year to Disney for 2 weeks so we've explored a lot of options with the extended hours etc. We've found the morning ones are great because the park will open at 8a, not too crowded then, that means many have to get up that much earlier to be there for the 8am opening, we use the early extension but stay away from the late due to the over crowding. We've found that it's better to go a different park then the one with the late hours. Everyone flocks to the extended hour park & the other remains relatively calm & it's easier to get on rides & see attractions! JMO!! Have a great time!

 

[peters]

I agree with Mrsq2u... those morning extra hours are much better than the evening ones. As fas the second or third week in August... the later you go, the fewer the crowds, which is way better than the extra hours in the parks. You can get more done in less time with less people. Also, that free dining plan is the best... it's amazing how much you spend on food! Hope that offers some help. Good luck in your planning!

 

[Figment111184]

The week I go MK is open until 10 so then extended hours would be until 12 or 1 right? So in general all parks stay open two or three hours later during extended hours?

 

[HoW]

P.S. The last time I went, about 9 years ago, I remember the hours being pretty much the same. But when I went when I was really in the 80's and early 90's my parents said they remember being at the parks much later. Does anyone remember the parks ever been open until midnight or 1 am on a regular basis? This is just a curiosity question :veryconfu

I remember the parks being open late, but never consistently. The summer and peak holiday times always seemed ot generate the later hours, but I seem to remember plenty of nights the MK closed at 10. I hope this helps.

 

[net4me]

Even though one posts claims overcrowding, and knowing there is approx 33,000 rooms on grounds, does anyone know the comparison between the extra hours and the general admission on any given day? Assuming 4 people per room, 4*33,000 is only 132,000. What is the parks avareage daily guest count? I can't see the park being as crowded from 12:00am to 3:00am as it would be for the middle of a weekend day. Am I wrong in assuming this?? I have a trip upcoming and was planning to steer clear during 'peak-times' and take advantage of the extra hours. I actually hope it rains. I've been in the park during nasty weather and I was able to walk on any ride I wanted. Granted, it has been many years. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

[maggiegrace1]

I dont know about August,but we just got back from Easter week amd we did emh at mk, early and late and early was great but evening was awesome! We rode everything we wanted and no wait at all.....so maybe its when you go but easter week was busy but not for evening hours when we did it.

 

[tigsmom]

We almost always go in August and even though the crowds start to thin in the last 2 weeks the parks are still crowded. We love morning EMH and evening EMH in the AK & EPCOT. We will never do EMH in the MK as the crowds were worse than the daytime and waits of over 2 hours for some rides just won't cut it for me. They say "up to 3 hours", but we have never been when they are less than 3; so if the park closes at 10 then EMH runs from 10 until 1 am. Just get your wrist bands before the parks close and you will be fine.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

The "up to three hours" is pretty much always three hours.

The evening magic hours are NOT WORTH IT unless you feel like waiting until the very last hour - the lines are as long, if not longer, than they are during the day. THe morning EMH are wonderful, as it gives you a one hour jump start on the most popular rides -- but it is absolutely true that everyone heads to the park with the emh evening hours that day making it crowded beyond any reasonable benefit to the extra hours -- except to say that "you were at MK at 1 am" it is abolutely not worth it.

 

[Bluewaves]

Would strongly recommend not going to the park that has the emh it was terrible when we went to the magic kingdom the night they had night extra magic hours, the morning ones are very good, the night ones suck.Go to any park that night thats not have an emh.

 

[ssidiouss@mac.c]

The past few years that I have gone were trips in May, Octobor, and December.. and usually the Extra Magic Hours weren't that crowded.

What I think is great about the Extra Magic Hours is that you can experience the ambiance of the parks at night for longer.. for me, its not just about the rides.. its about being able to explore adventure land in the dark longer.. about being able to shop on main street while its lit in all its glory, etc. The parks are most magical at night to me.. so any extra time that I can spend there at night is something I can't miss.

 

[RedGear]

Umm go when you can get free food, that's why we are going, saves like $80 a day when you are there (and we plan on eating to the max) we only went to like 2 evening magic hours the last time we were there, and it wasn't too bad, excpet at MGM when fantasmic got out the lines got long so we left. We can't get out of bed early, but I hear that emh are great! We are going to try this year. Just because the parks not open late doesn't mean anything, you can still see it all even when the park isn't open till 12 am. Good luck on your choice, and if you chose the 3rd week, I might see ya there!

 

[shadsdad]

Was in the MK 2 weeks ago when the park was open until 3am for EMH. Still a good crowd until 12:00 then we walked on everthing until 2am when we left. :wave:

 

[PamelaNiebergal]

I love evening EMH. It's not just about getting shorter wait times, it's about the nighttime ambience of the parks. I've also never found the lines to be too terrible; the later you stay the shorter they get. MGM and EPCOT seemed to have the worst lines for evening EMH, because everyone was trying to get on the same attractions (RNRC,ToT/Soarin,TT). BTW, I would definately go for the free dining. I just wish they were offering it in May so I could take advantage.

 

[Nansafan]

Yes, I do remember like your parents that the MK was open until midnight every night. My first trip to the world was in 1980 and Disney (only MK then so we didn't make a distinction between parks) was open until midnight. In 1984 for our honeymoon, MK was open until 10:00 but we were there in October. All that summer the MK was open until midnight. IMHO, E-Ride nights were better than EMH. Since it was a hard-ticketed event and a limit was placed on how many tickets were sold, the open attractions were all walk-ons with some even being run-ons.

 

[shoppingnut]

Yes, way back when during the summer time MK was open until midnight or 1am every night.

Definitely go for the free dining, it is so well worth it.

I happen to like emh, as it gives me some time during the day if I wanted to pop out and do some shopping at the outlets and I can still get in plenty of park time. So for me it is win-win as I like to shop and go to the parks.

 

[WEDisney]

What I think is great about the Extra Magic Hours is that you can experience the ambiance of the parks at night for longer.. for me, its not just about the rides.. its about being able to explore adventure land in the dark longer.. about being able to shop on main street while its lit in all its glory, etc. The parks are most magical at night to me.. so any extra time that I can spend there at night is something I can't miss.

I agree totally

I know this must have been answered but in July when the MK is open until 11PM does that mean it will stay open until 2AM with the EMHs? If thats the case it boggles my mind that I can be standing on Main Street at 2AM

 

[ToTBellHop]

2 am, yes. And on the nights this summer when the MK is open til midnight, you can be on Main Street, USA at 3 am

 

[jmvd20]

2 am, yes. And on the nights this summer when the MK is open til midnight, you can be on Main Street, USA at 3 am

I love being able to be in the parks well into the night. Especially since the crowds really die down when it starts to get that far into the night. They have a great feeling when they are near deserted. I would definitely recommend that people stay that late at least once just for the different experience.

 

[metman]

i was stood in main street at 2.50 last month just before easter, very quiet and very/very tiring as i was from england and i am used to gmt time 5 hours in front of you guys that made it in my body comming up to 8am in the morning i did think of calling my dad for a laugh in the uk but i did feel a little tired so i decided me and the kids should go to bed so we left.