Choosing parks based on extra magic hours

[PumpkinCupcake]

I'm trying to decide which days to book which ADRs for when my window opens in two weeks. The park hours haven't been released yet for our stay (27th Oct - 3rd Nov) so I've been trying to use the previous few weeks hours as a base.

I read somewhere on here before that it's best to avoid the parks which have the longest days, so I'm now a bit confused on what to do. As we're staying on site I had originally thought it was best for us to go to the park which had this so we could make use of the (hopefully) shorter queues in the morning.

Can people please tell me how they normally plan this to make use of it?

Second question (which has made me unsure whether I've put this in the right place as it's ADR related). Do you normally go into the parks earlier, and then have a later breakfast, at say 10?

[EcosseDibb]

If you are staying on site, then it makes sense to use the EMH.

Get in for park opening, ride a few rides with little/no queue, book your ADR breakfast for when the stand-by queues start to get bigger (we tend to aim for 10/10:30), then use your FP+ to get in a few rides after breakfast. Overlap your first one with your ADR slightly, so that you can go straight onto your first ride near the end of your FP+ window, without a big wait for the 2nd.

If you are not going to be there early for EMH and will be arriving mid-morning or later, then try to avoid going to a park which has had EMH as the crowd will be much higher than a non EMH park.

Although your EMH hours haven't been released, they tend to be on a cycle so check which days each park is EMH for as close to your dates as possible and you will have a reasonable idea of which parks will have the extra hours on which days.

[PumpkinCupcake]

Originally Posted by EcosseDibb

If you are staying on site, then it makes sense to use the EMH.

Get in for park opening, ride a few rides with little/no queue, book your ADR breakfast for when the stand-by queues start to get bigger (we tend to aim for 10/10:30), then use your FP+ to get in a few rides after breakfast. Overlap your first one with your ADR slightly, so that you can go straight onto your first ride near the end of your FP+ window, without a big wait for the 2nd.

If you are not going to be there early for EMH and will be arriving mid-morning or later, then try to avoid going to a park which has had EMH as the crowd will be much higher than a non EMH park.

Although your EMH hours haven't been released, they tend to be on a cycle so check which days each park is EMH for as close to your dates as possible and you will have a reasonable idea of which parks will have the extra hours on which days.

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Thank you! Perfect explanation/plan

I want to make sure I pick the best times for our reservations.

[Posiesmum]

Remember you’ll need to factor in MNSSHP and MVMCP evenings too.

[PumpkinCupcake]

Originally Posted by Posiesmum

Remember you’ll need to factor in MNSSHP and MVMCP evenings too.

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Thank you we’ll be doing the Halloween party as well so it’s on my radar to check that!

[sky13]

Staying on-site, I'd suggest hitting EMH (especially if it's early morning EMH), getting on as many rides as you can before the crowds get oppressive. At that point it should be around 10-11am, and you can then either go and do attractions with larger capacities (like shows), or have an early lunch (again beating the crowd!). Or hop to a different park which may be less crowded that day.

Food wise - if eating at QS try to eat at off-peak times. So early lunch works well (before the crowd hits), otherwise late breakfast and late lunch. Lunchtime and dinnertime crowds are not fun at in-park QS. If you are at a TS though it doesn't matter so much (though you may be waiting longer for a table at popular TS during peak times).

Also just saw your dates - I'll tentatively be there around the same time as you!

[Wigan Lass]

Park hours are available on here now up until 31st October

[mickeyismybff]

Yes to all said above.

I will add that if by chance you have favourite rides or areas of the parks that are not what people tend to be rushing to at rope drop, EMH gives you the chance to be the only ones there. At MK, crowds rush to Peter Pan, 7DMT, and the mountains... on an October weekday, we did Buzz Lightyear four times in a row before with zero queue. (4 year old was determined to learn how to play this game!) We’ve also had so much pixie dust from going to Dinoland first in AK, as we had fast passes booked for Pandora rides and DS is too short for Everest anyway. When there is a part of the park that is empty, cast need to drum up some energy so they will take the time to make sure everyone is smiling big time.

But if you want to ride something that will have a long queue later, do that first! Lonely parts of the park are a secondary bonus of EMH in my opinion.

[PumpkinCupcake]

Originally Posted by sky13

Staying on-site, I'd suggest hitting EMH (especially if it's early morning EMH), getting on as many rides as you can before the crowds get oppressive. At that point it should be around 10-11am, and you can then either go and do attractions with larger capacities (like shows), or have an early lunch (again beating the crowd!). Or hop to a different park which may be less crowded that day.

Food wise - if eating at QS try to eat at off-peak times. So early lunch works well (before the crowd hits), otherwise late breakfast and late lunch. Lunchtime and dinnertime crowds are not fun at in-park QS. If you are at a TS though it doesn't matter so much (though you may be waiting longer for a table at popular TS during peak times).

Also just saw your dates - I'll tentatively be there around the same time as you!

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Yes, I'm currently working on our ADR list as I have to make them at the end of the month, and then I'm trying to pick out a few QS breakfasts so I can figure out the best times (also want to do BOG breakfast so will need to book that anyway!)

Ah! exciting Hopefully you get it booked!

Originally Posted by Wigan Lass

Park hours are available on here now up until 31st October

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Oo thanks, I'll take a look! I've been checking on the Disney website everyday, waiting

Originally Posted by mickeyismybff

Yes to all said above.

I will add that if by chance you have favourite rides or areas of the parks that are not what people tend to be rushing to at rope drop, EMH gives you the chance to be the only ones there. At MK, crowds rush to Peter Pan, 7DMT, and the mountains... on an October weekday, we did Buzz Lightyear four times in a row before with zero queue. (4 year old was determined to learn how to play this game!) We’ve also had so much pixie dust from going to Dinoland first in AK, as we had fast passes booked for Pandora rides and DS is too short for Everest anyway. When there is a part of the park that is empty, cast need to drum up some energy so they will take the time to make sure everyone is smiling big time.

But if you want to ride something that will have a long queue later, do that first! Lonely parts of the park are a secondary bonus of EMH in my opinion.

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Oh thank you, good plan of action! What type of pixie dust have you managed to get? I'm hoping to ride Everest over and over again as it's both our favourite. When we went last year it rained and no one seemed to go on anything, so we managed to get on it a few times and had such a great time.

[mickeyismybff]

What type of pixie dust have you managed to get?

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We’ve been given free tickets to play the midway games and a different day they let us open the midway by playing each of the games just against each other so we all left with a prize without buying any tickets. (We paid some of the prizes forward because we had just as much joy from one dinosaur for us to share than one for each of us!) and we did Triceratops Spin for about 20 minutes, while my husband started to go green. but the best one may have been that DS is too short for Dinosaur but really loved the idea, and seeing him stand on his tip toes, I cast member came out and invited him to walk through everything but the ride, which he loooooved, and when we came out the other side, Donald Duck met us to walk to his meet and greet spot.

We always try to take note of the CMs who do cool stuff like this and post them on Twitter with a #castcompliment so they know just how much magic they’ve spread (and their managers know too ).