No Extra Magic Hours Starting 1/1/16? Update: EMH to Continue

asianway

Well-Known Member
This is what I don't get. Disney and Universal have a meeting to discuss expanding Marvel Super Hero Island at Islands of Adventure and there's a huge thread that sprouts up that suggests that Universal is giving Disney back the rights to Marvel. Every three months, Bob Iger says "Star Wars" and "parks" in the same sentence and every thread in the News and Rumors forum turns into Armchair Engineering for Star Wars fans.

But Disney puts out a document that if true confirms longstanding rumors that EMH is on the way out and everyone should avoid jumping to conclusions?!?

Why is the threshold for proof so much lower for Pixie Dusters than for everyone else? There's nothing else to talk about at WDW. Compared to most of the rumors that get discussed here - which are 99% fan speculation - this one has some actual substance.
There's an inverse relationship between IQ and pixie dust consumption
 

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
People don't book Disney World vacation packages based on EMH. Some of y'alls logic is laughable. If it is gone, it's a good thing, hopefully meaning more maintenance for some of the rides. If it isn't, meh, you can still ride the rides you want to during the actual operating hours.

Don't know if that's true or not, but I think that the vast majority of DVC owners are well aware of it. They're mostly experienced Disney fanatics. You should see them boarding busses and monorails for the early EMH's and slogging in late after evening EMH's. Where has the growth been in the last 10 years? Baylake Tower. Kidani Village. Grand Floridian Villas. Polynesian villas. Is Disney really going to take away a major perk of ownership?

Evening EMH only affects a particular park once or twice a week. That leaves 5 or 6 full nights every week for maintenance. Plus, maintenance on lesser attractions can be done during EMH by simply closing down that attraction, with few people really caring. Who cares if they close down Figment during Epcot's evening EMH? During the day you can just walk on anyway.

Epcot evening EMH was when I met Marty Sklar. Spaceship Earth is magical at night--somehow just a short step away from cavemen and Phoenicians stepping out to walk around. It's when I can actually talk to a few CMs without the noise of the maddening crowds. I love the shadows, the half-hidden lights, and the subtle sounds of birds, squirrels, rustling leaves, and lapping water that are drowned out during the day. Across the lagoon, you can hear music, maintenance workers, and the very heartbeat of the place. Yeah, it's a large part of why I go, and why I own at Boardwalk for an easy walk home afterward.
 
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DVCPluto

Well-Known Member
As a microscopic piece of this huge debate - just wanted to share that as a DVC owner, I avoid parks that have EMHs. If they go away, it will just make my planning a bit more difficult to narrow down.

To me, EMHs make people go to a specific park. I doubt Disney would do away with something that draws people to a park - but, I've been wrong before.
 

IWant2GoNow

Well-Known Member
Just throwing out my opinion here but I would hate the crap out of not having EMH. And it would absolutely make me stay off-site to save money. There's nothing wrong with staying on-site but the price to do so is just becoming too much. I do feel like I get my money's worth being able to walk the parks at night with a limited crowd and super short lines. I honestly miss the 2AM closing nights at MK. But I'm a night owl with no kids which is probably not the majority of guests that visit WDW.
 

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Don't know if that's true or not, but I think that the vast majority of DVC owners are well aware of it. They're mostly experienced Disney fanatics. You should see them boarding busses and monorails for the early EMH's and slogging in late after evening EMH's. Where has the growth been in the last 10 years? Baylake Tower. Kidani Village. Grand Floridian Villas. Polynesian villas. Is Disney really going to take away a major perk of ownership?

As a LONG time DVC owner Disney has indeed taken away MAJOR perks on DVC ownership, Up till about 2000 you used to get length of stay tickets to the parks, More recently valet parking was taken away before it was 'free' to members staying on points.

Right now Disney does not give a d--- about the DVC ownership experience they are drunk on the cash infusion from point sales while maintenance goes to h--- in a handbasket what's worse about that is our MEMBER FEES are supposed to take care of maintaining the property in 'original condition' and they go up by double digit percentages yet the properties have never looked worse.
 

TyrantBoss

Well-Known Member
If they get ride of morning EMH that wouldn't be a bad thing, those are worthless anyway.

Disney: Yes you have morning EMH and you get into the park an hour before anyone else.
Us: So we can ride rides before the real gates open?
Disney: Oh no...you can walk to a rope just outside of a particular section of Magic Kingdom, but you can't actually go in there
Us: So what are we supposed to do during EMH?
Disney: Shop, take pictures, roam around.....shop.
Us: We just got here, and you want us to buy stuff first thing in the morning so we can carry it around all day?
Disney: Of course not...you can buy stuff and then spend money on a locker to keep it in all day.
Us: So we are still spending more money
Disney: Yup
Us: So where does the "Extra Magic" come into play?
Disney: It's Extra Magic for our bottom line baby.
 

TheScreed

Member
As a LONG time DVC owner Disney has indeed taken away MAJOR perks on DVC ownership, Up till about 2000 you used to get length of stay tickets to the parks, More recently valet parking was taken away before it was 'free' to members staying on points.

Right now Disney does not give a d--- about the DVC ownership experience they are drunk on the cash infusion from point sales while maintenance goes to h--- in a handbasket what's worse about that is our MEMBER FEES are supposed to take care of maintaining the property in 'original condition' and they go up by double digit percentages yet the properties have never looked worse.

Owning DVC was a questionable decision 15 years ago but you would have to be crazy to buy in now. Disney is letting the DVC properties go downhill, removing perks, and letting half of their parks swirl down the toilet. Not to mention that there are countless DVC owners trying to rent out their points, so it is always possible to stay DVC without buying DVC -- which is how I do it.

WDW is going to start feeling the squeeze as Universal gets better and better, especially if the Sea World troubles blow over. They have proven that they will keep letting things go to crap (except their highly themed strip mall/permanent construction zone) and there is now a multi-decade track record proving that their Orlando property is going downhill only. Who would buy into that now?

Hopefully some people will, because the more DVC owners there are, the cheaper it is to rent DVC points.
 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
To me, EMHs make people go to a specific park. I doubt Disney would do away with something that draws people to a park - but, I've been wrong before.
The Unofficial Guide has research that shows the opposite. EMH is assigned to certain days specifically because those days are less crowded at that particular park. To be sure, it doesn't make sense to go to an EMH park if you aren't going to DO the EMH, but if you can get there for EMH rope drop, you can get more done on those days than you would otherwise.

Slightly off topic but I've always wondered this and it doesn't need its own thread: What is the welcome show situation on an EMH morning? Do they do it for the EMH rope drop and then again for the off-site guests? How do they communicate to the off-site guests that they're not allowed to enter at, say, 8:45?

Many definitely stay onsite for the EMH benefit.
Right, and many more stay onsite for the combination of many reasons, one of which is EMH.
 

Ralphlaw

Well-Known Member
As a microscopic piece of this huge debate - just wanted to share that as a DVC owner, I avoid parks that have EMHs. If they go away, it will just make my planning a bit more difficult to narrow down.

To me, EMHs make people go to a specific park. I doubt Disney would do away with something that draws people to a park - but, I've been wrong before.

Agreed during the day and evening, but after the EMH starts, many of the people leave. We usually go somewhere else during the day of evening EMH. Then take a break at the resort during the afternoon, and go to the EMH park in the evening. Yeah, crowds are nuts there at first, but they filter out quickly.
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
Agreed during the day and evening, but after the EMH starts, many of the people leave. We usually go somewhere else during the day of evening EMH. Then take a break at the resort during the afternoon, and go to the EMH park in the evening. Yeah, crowds are nuts there at first, but they filter out quickly.

Yeah, EMH work really well with park hoppers. It's easy and beneficial to go to a morning EMH, get a lot done in the AM and then go to a less busy park for the rest of the day.

Or to go to a less busy park for the day and then hop to a park having EMH in the evening to use that time.
 

doctornick

Well-Known Member
Slightly off topic but I've always wondered this and it doesn't need its own thread: What is the welcome show situation on an EMH morning? Do they do it for the EMH rope drop and then again for the off-site guests? How do they communicate to the off-site guests that they're not allowed to enter at, say, 8:45?

Here's a follow up question: if you are not staying on site (i.e. cannot participate in EMH morning) but have an 8am reservation at a restaurant in the park, you can get in the gates early to go to eat. If that person ate quickly and then went out into the rest of the park, would they be able to go on rides or is there some other checkpoint beyond the gate to make sure you can do EMH?
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
I'm with Kyle here, Actually. (write that down, it rarely happens)

I think we've got good indication that EMH evenings may be going away and we should know shortly.

The release of the initial park hours to Travel agents without EMH evenings is cause for concern.
 

orky8

Well-Known Member
If they get ride of morning EMH that wouldn't be a bad thing, those are worthless anyway.

Disney: Yes you have morning EMH and you get into the park an hour before anyone else.
Us: So we can ride rides before the real gates open?
Disney: Oh no...you can walk to a rope just outside of a particular section of Magic Kingdom, but you can't actually go in there
Us: So what are we supposed to do during EMH?
Disney: Shop, take pictures, roam around.....shop.
Us: We just got here, and you want us to buy stuff first thing in the morning so we can carry it around all day?
Disney: Of course not...you can buy stuff and then spend money on a locker to keep it in all day.
Us: So we are still spending more money
Disney: Yup
Us: So where does the "Extra Magic" come into play?
Disney: It's Extra Magic for our bottom line baby.

What are you talking about? Rides are open during morning EMH.
 

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
If they get ride of morning EMH that wouldn't be a bad thing, those are worthless anyway.

Disney: Yes you have morning EMH and you get into the park an hour before anyone else.
Us: So we can ride rides before the real gates open?
Disney: Oh no...you can walk to a rope just outside of a particular section of Magic Kingdom, but you can't actually go in there
Us: So what are we supposed to do during EMH?
Disney: Shop, take pictures, roam around.....shop.
Us: We just got here, and you want us to buy stuff first thing in the morning so we can carry it around all day?
Disney: Of course not...you can buy stuff and then spend money on a locker to keep it in all day.
Us: So we are still spending more money
Disney: Yup
Us: So where does the "Extra Magic" come into play?
Disney: It's Extra Magic for our bottom line baby.
Yeah everything you just said is wrong.
 

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
But didn't they immediately redact those documents? It seems like they published them, said "oh crap this is wrong," and pulled it back.
While the pdf file is still accessible, this is what the agents page looks like right now.
 

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PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
But didn't they immediately redact those documents? It seems like they published them, said "oh crap this is wrong," and pulled it back.

Like I said, cause for concern. Something to be aware of, something to start asking questions about.

Lets see how this plays out but worth seeing what happens when the official park hours comes out at the beginning of next month.

Not time to start handing out Pitchforks and Torches, but time to see who has them on sale....
 

BernardandBianca

Well-Known Member
Don't know if that's true or not, but I think that the vast majority of DVC owners are well aware of it. They're mostly experienced Disney fanatics. You should see them boarding busses and monorails for the early EMH's and slogging in late after evening EMH's. Where has the growth been in the last 10 years? Baylake Tower. Kidani Village. Grand Floridian Villas. Polynesian villas. Is Disney really going to take away a major perk of ownership?

Disney already has your purchase money, and your obligation to pay maintenance fees. They're concern would be for new purchasers, and how many of those will know about EMH.

Evening EMH only affects a particular park once or twice a week. That leaves 5 or 6 full nights every week for maintenance. Plus, maintenance on lesser attractions can be done during EMH by simply closing down that attraction, with few people really caring. Who cares if they close down Figment during Epcot's evening EMH? During the day you can just walk on anyway.

Figment in no longer a walk on; with the mandate that 3 FP+s be used, many many people are getting FPs to go on the ride, and wait times have increased correspondingly. We found it unbelievable when recently we went over there and the standby wait time was 30 minutes.

I also agree/disagree with you about maintenance. Why does everyone talk about reducing hours available for doing maintenance. If you have fewer hours, the easy solution if to bring in more people to do it. Unlike certain activities, you can increase the crew and get more work accomplished in less time. Simple.
 

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