Early Morning Magic vs MK After Hours

[Mango7100]

Which one is better? We have done regular after hours and loved it...we did adjust our day so we could all stay awake until 1 am. We are early risers anyway, so I was wondering if early morning magic felt more or less crowded. I know there are fewer rides open for EMM, but our daughter would be happy to ride SD the whole time

 

[JakeAZ]

We booked After Hours. Personally, I would like to end the day with less crowds, not start the day, knowing the place will fill up immediately after EMM ends. We also like the ability to not have to wake up so early that day. Also 3 hours with more rides open just sounds more fun. To us.

 

[Alison S]

EMM felt short to me. They were both uncrowded. As long as your group can stay awake until DAH's end time and it fits in your schedule, I'd do that one. I'd do EMM only if I had a little kid with me.

 

[NotTheBatesMotel]

I enjoy AH more than EMM. EMM was fun and it was entertaining to see the rope drop crowd roll in, but it felt much more rushed than After Hours.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

I like After Hours more only because you're in the park longer and you have more rides wereas EMM is only open for about 1:15 minutes and limited to a certain land. I still found both worthwhile in terms of crowds, but AH hands down.

 

[AngiTN]

Unless you are just a huge fan of 7DMT and really aren't concerned about other rides, DAH is loads better.
If you want nothing but 7DMT, then EMM is better. You will get more rides on it

 

[cakebaker]

I’ve done both and after hours are far better. For our EMM, both PPF and SDMT were down the entire time making it a total waste for us. It’s too short for the price, and too few rides especially if the main reason for going is down.

 

[JakeAZ]

I’ve done both and after hours are far better. For our EMM, both PPF and SDMT were down the entire time making it a total waste for us. It’s too short for the price, and too few rides especially if the main reason for going is down.

Was anything offered with SDMT / PP being down? That's crazy as those are the main two attractions for the event. Even more of a reason to do AH instead. More rides open in case something is down.

 

[HopperFan]

7DMT was down for us until the last few minutes. I also had done the previous DHS one with excellent food by Disney Events so MK food was also a let big down. We've done DAH a few times and it would totally be my choice. The Villains one was much more crowded so I would stick with the regular ones.

For 7DMT they said we could ride FP+ until noon once it was up but that is absolutely no help when you have already booked FP+ in other areas of the park during that time, as I'm sure many do. Did not get our monies worth.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Very different offerings and value propositions, in my opinion. Very hard to compare the two.

 

[cakebaker]

Was anything offered with SDMT / PP being down? That's crazy as those are the main two attractions for the event. Even more of a reason to do AH instead. More rides open in case something is down.

They were offering to extend using the fp line for a few hours. The problem with that was we were flying home in the early afternoon. I had booked this as a last hurrah for my grandson so there was no time to stay longer.

They let us know at the rides very quickly that they would not be coming on line during emm so I immediately went to guest services.

They did finally refund me, but the CM was not happy about it to the point of being rude. She tried to argue with me that not “ everything “ was down and we did get to eat - this was 20 minutes into the event. We rode nothing and we did not eat. I told her that, then asked to speak to a supervisor and at that point she issued a refund.

It left a sour taste in my mouth, a bad way to end the trip and I’ll never do MM again. I’ve had Disney voluntarily offer refunds for rained out, yet non refundable activities before without even asking, so I was really surprised by the attitude. I did report the incident via email when I returned home.
The problem is there are just too few rides so when the main two go down you’ve got nothing and clearly they are not willing to acknowledge that at all.

 

[MarcIsMe]

I have done EMM the last 2 years and am probably done with it. 7DMT down both times (in 2018 we were on the ride when it went down which killed a good part of the allocated time). We were told we could use a Fast Pass until noon, which we did but the lines were long. The plated food at Ray’s in 2019 was not as nice as the buffet at Pinnochio’s the prior year.

 

[Mango7100]

Thanks all! I was concerned that it would feel more rushed than after hours. And SDMT would be the main reason for EMM, so if it was down it due to mechanics or weather it would be a major let down. I think we will stick with regular After Hours...we definitely got our $$ worth out of it last year

 

[elle21]

They were offering to extend using the fp line for a few hours. The problem with that was we were flying home in the early afternoon. I had booked this as a last hurrah for my grandson so there was no time to stay longer.

They let us know at the rides very quickly that they would not be coming on line during emm so I immediately went to guest services.

They did finally refund me, but the CM was not happy about it to the point of being rude. She tried to argue with me that not “ everything “ was down and we did get to eat - this was 20 minutes into the event. We rode nothing and we did not eat. I told her that, then asked to speak to a supervisor and at that point she issued a refund.

It left a sour taste in my mouth, a bad way to end the trip and I’ll never do MM again. I’ve had Disney voluntarily offer refunds for rained out, yet non refundable activities before without even asking, so I was really surprised by the attitude. I did report the incident via email when I returned home.
The problem is there are just too few rides so when the main two go down you’ve got nothing and clearly they are not willing to acknowledge that at all.

Wow. We did this a few years ago and I was planning to book it again in August if it's available. Not so sure now. I'd want a refund too if the main attractions were down.

 

[SuJo]

Unless you are just a huge fan of 7DMT and really aren't concerned about other rides, DAH is loads better.
If you want nothing but 7DMT, then EMM is better. You will get more rides on it

We have done EMM three times at MK and only 1 time was 7DMT open during the EMM (and even then it was a delayed opening). So I would strongly recommend if you do it for 7DMT do the later hours as that ride seems to have problems in the morning.

 

[cakebaker]

Wow. We did this a few years ago and I was planning to book it again in August if it's available. Not so sure now. I'd want a refund too if the main attractions were down.

Honestly, I think I just got a really bad CM but it seems to be very common for SDMT to have morning issues- enough so that I'm just not dealing with it any more. AH's is just a much better experience.

 

[glocon]

We have only tried the EMM and had a good experience with it. Every ride was working and ride 7DMT 5 times. That being said, it did feel very rushed with the short amount of time we had. The breakfast was fine, not bad, not great. I would definitely try AH next time tho. I am personally more an early morning person, rest of family more night time.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I have only done EMM so far. As stated by others, this is the best way to ride 7DMT multiple times with no wait. We also rode Peter Pan a couple of times with no wait. However, the other major benefit is the pictures you can take. We have pictures all around Fantasyland without a single soul in sight. You also get a "free" breakfast. The breakfast was adequate. DH enjoyed the breakfast the most. I'd say that another benefit would be the ability to to conquer Fantasyland and move on to other attractions. We watched the crowds roll in while eating breakfast. We did Buzz and moved on to HM, Splash, and BTMRR without much of a wait. We had a fast pass for Space at around 12. By that time, we had pretty much done most of the park! This was in August, 2019 for reference. So if your party is not able to stay up late, EMM is a good way to see the park. Just use your time wisely.

 

[Hope Soda]

I have done EMM several times and it was great until last time, and we may never do it again. Be sure to arrive quite early. We arrived at 7:30. The line to get in for reservations and EMM was backed up and slow to move. We were next in line, with oodles behind us, when they opened the tapstiles to the people without reservations at 7:45, and had us getting in line BEHIND everyone else. Then there were fingerprint issues for guests in front of us. It sucked, and the cast member who shut down the reservations line was super rude to the other cast members because they tried to scan us in when she was about to open the tapstiles. We still enjoyed the short ride queues, but wish we'd had the full amount of time and no rude cast member to start off the day. Breakfast didn't have the frittata anymore, and we missed it.

We did After Hours at Animal Kingdom last trip and loved it. I had worried that my kids, 9, 6, and 1, would not make it until midnight, but they were great. The baby slept in the stroller the entire time, and the older boys had a blast with no sleepy whining. We are planning to do MK After Hours (villains) in February. I'd have preferred regular After Hours, I think, based on reviews, but I am still optimistic. I don't think the lines will be non-existent like at EMM, but hopefully the extra time will more than make up for that.

 

[elle21]

I have done EMM several times and it was great until last time, and we may never do it again. Be sure to arrive quite early. We arrived at 7:30. The line to get in for reservations and EMM was backed up and slow to move. We were next in line, with oodles behind us, when they opened the tapstiles to the people without reservations at 7:45, and had us getting in line BEHIND everyone else. Then there were fingerprint issues for guests in front of us. It sucked, and the cast member who shut down the reservations line was super rude to the other cast members because they tried to scan us in when she was about to open the tapstiles. We still enjoyed the short ride queues, but wish we'd had the full amount of time and no rude cast member to start off the day. Breakfast didn't have the frittata anymore, and we missed it.

We did After Hours at Animal Kingdom last trip and loved it. I had worried that my kids, 9, 6, and 1, would not make it until midnight, but they were great. The baby slept in the stroller the entire time, and the older boys had a blast with no sleepy whining. We are planning to do MK After Hours (villains) in February. I'd have preferred regular After Hours, I think, based on reviews, but I am still optimistic. I don't think the lines will be non-existent like at EMM, but hopefully the extra time will more than make up for that.

They really should allow EMM guests to check in and enter the park before 7:45. The walk down Main Street to get back to the fantasyland area should not eat into your time when you are paying so much for every minute.