Question for Walt Disney World travelers who have stayed on property..?

Getting to the park earlier than non-resort guest is always a plus, especially for you since you're going during a very bust time in August. However, if you're not a morning person, then don't plan on being able to be there in time. You need to leave time in the morning for getting ready, traveling to the parks and passing through the turnstiles.

I think the most tactful way to go about the Extra Magic Hour's is to get a list of what parks have it on each day of your vacation. Go to the park that next day that had the Extra Magic Hour's the day before so that it's more likely the crowds will be smaller the next day. We have done this before and it works out great.

For example:

Monday night- Magic Kingdom had evening extra magic hours. So for Tuesday we would go to the Magic Kingdom while other guests were going to the park that was offering EMH's that night.

Check this WDW site so you'll know what the EMH will be for August ~

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/?asmbly...

I have gone to the Theme Park during the Morning EMH and arrived just before opening. Some people say that it is way too busy those mornings and to avoid That Theme Park on That Day. It was fine for me and my family. We did all the "Major" Attractions we wanted to without any long queues.

Oh when we visit the park offering a morning Extra Magic Hours session we stayed till late morning ~ then visited another less crowded park in the late afternoon/evening. The Morning EMH park got crowded by late morning ~ as it usually does on regular days, IMO.

It was also easy to stay for the Evening Hours. Magic Kingdom was open till 2:00 a.m. one night ~ it was awesome. Yes, there were people there ~ but most of the EMH Attractions did not have long queues. We walked on the rides ~ and stayed till 1:45 ~ no we weren't tired either. But my feet did hurt! ((*,*)) This was over Thanksgiving Holidays btw.

EMH will not keep us away from that particular Theme Park. There may be more people visiting on Evening Magic Hours ~ hoping it is cooler in the evening.

I go in late September ~ already counting the days.

Pixie Dust to You!

We have found that it's best to stay away from the parks with the early Extra Magic Hours because it does make them more crowded. The evening Extra Magic Hours however, have been great. That's probably because so many people travel with children, & they don't stay up that late. We've been to WDW 12 times. We have been there in August a couple of times & really enjoyed it. Have Fun!

I thought the late Extra Magic Hours were even MORE crowded then the regular times when we were there. I think the either taking advantage of early hours might be better or just go to another park during those hours if they match up, as Pink suggested. (For example, the Magic Kingdom has the latest hours on Extra Magic Hours---till 2 am and none of the other parks are open that late.)

I didn't find the X-tra Magic Hours that beneficial. What I did find beneficial was waiting until between 5 & 7 pm to hit the busiest attractions because they were less busy, since everyone was off eating dinner.

The park does get way more crowded on Extra Magic Days. Head there when you can use the extra hours, and leave when other people are allowed in the park. You can ride to another park by using a Hopper Pass instead of a Base Pass when you get your admission tickets. Hope this helps :)

You know this very question has caused much debate among the throngs of us who love WDW. Some say avoid it while others say take advantage of it. It's a very personal opinion I guess you could say.

However, our family loves EMH and on most days make use of this feature offered to only those who stay on property. It works for us. I often wonder why some folks say otherwise. Maybe it's the time of year we visit; who knows.

As for evening EMH we especially love taking advantage of it. We definitely experience less time in line. Last December, while there were still many people in the park a lot of them did not have access to the rides. The CM's were checking our room keys each time we rode. Many people were turned away. While I really felt bad for them we rode everything without a long wait.

At times we're too tired on some mornings and can't do EMH but when we do it works. My suggestion is that you try it out for yourselves one morning and one evening and see how that goes. I'm sure you'll find what works best for your family.

Have a great time!!!

EMH is great during those hours, but that park will get incredibly crowded by mid-morning.

My suggestion: Go to the park the day AFTER they have EMHs. Those parks tend to be less croweded. Tourningplans.com suggest this theory, and I can confirm it is true after doing this myself during my vacation last year.

People with little kids are going to use early magic hours. we found after 11pm all the "kids" were cleared out of the parks.