Magic hours worth it or not?

[LucyK]

I'm partial to AM EMH at Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and DHS and PM EMH at Magic Kingdom.

Crowd calendar that advises against EMH are doing so based on the fact that to the average guest is already hard put to do rope drop at 9AM and are much more unlikely to be there for an 8AM opening. And really what's the point of arriving for EMH when it's already going for half an hour?

 

[ShookieJones]

As others have said EMH in the morning: Always good EMH Evening: cr*p shoot.
With that being said, We're park hoppers so when we take advantage of a morning EMH, we tear a$$ outta there at noon because as mentioned when you're in a EMH park it's usually more crowded than normal.

So with the EMH and the park hopping option you can, you bang out the morning EMH take advantage of the low crowds and hop on over to a non EMH park for the afternoon to take advantage of the lower crowds at that park.

 

[AintNoOtherMan]

AM EMH are worth it for sure. Walking down Main Street USA in the morning is the best feeling in the world. We do use PM EMH, too, and we find them worth it, but I guess a lot of people disagree.

 

[DManRightHere]

We always use extra magic hours. Almost everything is usually walk except space mountain, toy story, test track, and soarin whenever we go. Plus, what else are we gonna do that late .


EDIT: maybe I misunderstood....we typically avoid parks with pm extra magic hours until the actual magic hours begin...

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Only for MK and Epcot IMO. Starting out at AK on a Sunday and hopping to MK in the evening is perfect. Sunday crowds at AK are never heavy, and then you get a full day. I like Epcot EMH too. Opportunity to do Soarin' right before closing, hit a bunch of things...plus it's practically empty. It's great.

 

[George]

Magic hours have been a disappointment for me. I have never found another wizard to do battle with and I really get tired of having to deal with witches and all their potions and the like.

 

[George]

Further, I'd like to note that there is no "extra magic" at all. My meatball sub spell generates an 8" hoagie with 4 large meatballs and a generous amount of marinara sauce and Parmesan just like it does at any other time. It is one of my go to spells and I use it to check claims like "extra magic".

 

[mammaminnie]

We typically use the Evening EMHs more than the Morning ones. On vacation, we are not early risers, but can definitely stay up late I do agree that AM EMH is great for some of the really popular rides at the parks before that park fills up for the day.

 

[disney4life2008]

We typically use the Evening EMHs more than the Morning ones. On vacation, we are not early risers, but can definitely stay up late I do agree that AM EMH is great for some of the really popular rides at the parks before that park fills up for the day.

I am with you - I have tried to get up at 7 to make the 8am openings but I am grogy at best. I feel like I am exhausted by noon then end up sleeping the rest of the day. LOL. But then when that happens I tell myself i am on vacation and want to enjoy my disney bed anyway

 

[flynnibus]

MK EMH are great.. when it's uber-late.. like past 1am. But any other evening EMH typically just means 'more bodies with less to do'

Morning EMH tend to be good because not everyone gets out there early... but the normal operating hours AFTER an EMH start tend to be worse than they would be otherwise. That's why they say to avoid the park with EMH (unless you were there to take advantage of it)

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I'm partial to AM EMH at Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and DHS and PM EMH at Magic Kingdom.

Crowd calendar that advises against EMH are doing so based on the fact that to the average guest is already hard put to do rope drop at 9AM and are much more unlikely to be there for an 8AM opening. And really what's the point of arriving for EMH when it's already going for half an hour?

This is definitely how we use EMH hours!

 

[scoobygirl39541]

Never did the AM, but we plan our trip around PM! There's something so special about riding BTMR at 2:30am and strolling over to PotC before close

 

[Marc Gil]

You tell me if it's worth it:

It's like you have the park to yourself! It's surreal... Definitely worth it!

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

The last time I went, we took advantage of the evening EMH at DHS. So worth it. We pretty much walked right on Tower of Terror and Rock 'N' Roller Coaster. We spent part of that same day at Epcot. I know during that time period, Magic Kingdom was open until 3AM and my brother used that time. I didn't because I knew there was no way I could stay up that late. I'm definitely more of a morning person.

 

[JiminyandTink]

I love EMH, I was really dissapointed last year when they announced the change from 3 to 2 hours in the evening

 

[midwest_mice]

Morning ones are great at MK. Some of the best pictures with the early sunlight is worth it. Let the runners get to the rides, as long as you get in line before regular park opening, you can still get a few in before it crowds up for the day.
Extra hours at night does seem to draw larger crowds throughout the day. We typically will do a different park during the day and head over mid evening for extra magic hours, seems to work for us ok.

 

[mr_braver23]

We get so much done in the morning EMH. We're usually finished riding our faves by 11am, and then go back to the resort to enjoy "pool" time.
EMH evening, not so much. DHS was just as bad at night, sadly.

Same here why is it DHS is always busy at night?

 

[mr_braver23]

We've never tried EMH before, due to reports about crowds. But, the evening EMH sounds like it might be good. How does Disney enforce EMH at night?

I highly recommend morning EMH at ANY park...

 

[mr_braver23]

Morning ones are great at MK. Some of the best pictures with the early sunlight is worth it. Let the runners get to the rides, as long as you get in line before regular park opening, you can still get a few in before it crowds up for the day.
Extra hours at night does seem to draw larger crowds throughout the day. We typically will do a different park during the day and head over mid evening for extra magic hours, seems to work for us ok.

To me Magic Kingdom morning EMH is by far the best!

 

[mr_braver23]

I totally agree with bethymouse. We get so much done in the early hours. We didn't do them for a long time, but we finally decided to get up early one year and try them and realized how much we had missed by not doing the early hours. Also, in hot weather, those early hours are a must for me. We also like the last hour of the late hours. Since there are no fastpasses or non-resort people in the parks for early hours, most things are straight walk-on. I love the walk-on for Pooh and PP. Late hours are still crowded because non-resort people are allowed to stay in the parks. They just can't ride.

Agree totally!