How many rides can you do during an Extra Magic Hour at

[*I'msoooBelle*]

For MK

I think you will only get three of the four of those finished by 9am. And you have to be at VERY front of rope drop pack. Here was my schedule on VERY LIGHT crowd level day early this month.

Gates open at 7:45
Held at tomorrow Land bridge.
Scan with CMs for EMH proof of eligibility
Held at Fantasy Land until 8am
#25 in line sdmt 8:02

Technical difficulty for the ride so had to wait. Was in 2nd train.
Off ride about 8:24
( so you could be off by 8:15)
Peter Pan line @8:31
On ride at 8:38
Walked to Pooh. Cast member said at least 25 min wait. Too long
8:48 on small world (lengthier ride lasting about 10 min)
Exit ride 9:00

I was solo so could easily keep myself at front of pack

In June with my family of 4 on a 7 crowd day, we were at rope drop, held at bridge for EMH eligibility scan, but we were NOT at very front of pack. 20 min wait for Space Mtn. Off ride at 8:28. Then Buzz. Then Under the Sea, off by 9am.

If you are not at front of pack, ride PP before SDMT. Touring Plans has recent vlog on this.

This is awesome information and insight! Thank you so much!!! So appreciated!

 

[*I'msoooBelle*]

Just did yesterday’s MK EMH. Held at fantasyland rope until 8:03. Not terribly far from front (we didn’t run and pass anyone). Walked to SDMT took about 10mins to get there and walk queue. On about 8:15. Walked over to Peter Pan. In queue at 8:23 and off at 8:46 per timestamps on my pictures. Two years ago got through these two and Pooh in about an hour during EMH. This time used restrooms and waited for RD to Frontierland.

AK 8a EMH last sat: let in about 7:30. Walked past Tree of life about 7:35. Started through FOP queue at 7:39, on ride preshow at 8:07. Out by 8:29. Then did Safari, 8:45-9:07. On EE train at 9:34 after ~10-15 min wait.

Epcot 8a EMH last thurs. Rope was dropped at 7:53. First twenty at TT, but there was a slight delay and let in at 8:05. In preshow at 8:09. On ride by 8:16. Then rode soarin at about 8:50 with 15 min wait. Was eating breakfast at 9:15 at sunshine seasons.

Never rope dropped HS.

This is great! I plan to do the same at AK. And I agree with you on the amount of rides that could have been done a couple of years ago vs nowadays. Thank you for sharing your experience!

 

[ClapYourHands]

AK 8a EMH last sat: let in about 7:30. Walked past Tree of life about 7:35. Started through FOP queue at 7:39, on ride preshow at 8:07. Out by 8:29. Then did Safari, 8:45-9:07. On EE train at 9:34 after ~10-15 min wait.

Epcot 8a EMH last thurs. Rope was dropped at 7:53. First twenty at TT, but there was a slight delay and let in at 8:05. In preshow at 8:09. On ride by 8:16. Then rode soarin at about 8:50 with 15 min wait. Was eating breakfast at 9:15 at sunshine seasons.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

May I ask where you were in the AK entrance line and how early you got there? From everything I've read and seen on YouTube, the RD for FOP can get really crazy.

How crazy was Epcot? It's the only park where I didn't book any FP+ (have park hoppers), and am hoping to get at least two of the tier 1 rides done during EMH. Ideally, I'd like to do all three, but assume the lines will be really long once 9am hits.

 

[*I'msoooBelle*]

Anyone that has done EMH recently at HS and focused on Toy Story land? What rides were you able to do in that hour? Thanks!!

 

[Madame]

Anyone that has done EMH recently at HS and focused on Toy Story land? What rides were you able to do in that hour? Thanks!!

We did the last wk in Aug. SDD - 25 mins, Saucers - 5 mins, TSMM walk on, 10 min snack, ST 5 mins.

 

[*I'msoooBelle*]

We did the last wk in Aug. SDD - 25 mins, Saucers - 5 mins, TSMM walk on, 10 min snack, ST 5 mins.

This gives me hope!! Thank you for sharing those details, much appreciated!!!

 

[Micca]

I personally would not criss-cross the park like that. You're wasting time walking back and forth. Have you tried to get a Peter Pan and/or Space Mountain FP? The Speedway should be fairly easy to get as a 4th.

If Mine Train is your starting point for EMH, I would either head to Tomorrowland or Fantasyland after, but not both. Use FPs for the critical attractions in the other.

This makes a lot of sense to me--You could probably put a huge dent in the Tomorrowland attractions with an EMH, and the less busy attractions just won't be that crowded in the first hour of regular park operations.

 

[Daisy1940]

Hello friends!

Looking to hear from your experience how many rides in total have you been able to do during that Extra Magic Hour in the morning at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios; assuming the following - get there before opening time (so to be inside the park at 8:00 am), and during high season.

In my head the list goes like this:

Magic Kingdom (high season) Extra Magic Hour 8:00 am to 9:00 am touring advice:
1. Seven dwarfs mine train (15 minutes)
2. Followed then by Peter pan (20 minutes)
3. Head straight to Space Mountain (15 minutes)
4. then to Speedway raceway (20 minutes)

Then the same for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios:

Any information or strategies are appreciated!! Thank you in advance!

I think that plan is really ambitious for high crowds. Here is what we recently (Friday-Sunday of labor day weekend) did during EMH from 8:00-9:00. We were at each park around 7:00-7:15.

MK crowd level 1:
SDMT
PP
SDMT Rider swap pass
Carousel
Restroom break
Barnstormer
Dumbo

AK crowd level 4-5:
Let in at 7:30
FoP (riding na’vi twice during this time with the too short kids)
Na’vi (while using FoP rider swap)
Took our time in pandora so could have been leaving by 8:30

HS crowd level 6:
SDD
TSMM
SDD rider swap pass

 

[*I'msoooBelle*]

This makes a lot of sense to me--You could probably put a huge dent in the Tomorrowland attractions with an EMH, and the less busy attractions just won't be that crowded in the first hour of regular park operations.

True, thank you!

 

[*I'msoooBelle*]

I think that plan is really ambitious for high crowds. Here is what we recently (Friday-Sunday of labor day weekend) did during EMH from 8:00-9:00. We were at each park around 7:00-7:15.

MK crowd level 1:
SDMT
PP
SDMT Rider swap pass
Carousel
Restroom break
Barnstormer
Dumbo

AK crowd level 4-5:
Let in at 7:30
FoP (riding na’vi twice during this time with the too short kids)
Na’vi (while using FoP rider swap)
Took our time in pandora so could have been leaving by 8:30

HS crowd level 6:
SDD
TSMM
SDD rider swap pass

Thank you, thank you! for sharing your experience. This level of detail is perfect. I now know I can squeeze three of the newest rides in that hour. My family will be so relieved!

 

[juuuliebeth]

I went to a 7am EMH at MK on a MNSSHP day in August (so very low crowds) and I got six attractions done by 8:00am:

Peter Pan - off at 7:11
Pooh - off at 7:19
Dumbo - off 7:27 (waited one rotation)
Barnstormer - off 7:33
Space Mountain - off 7:46
Buzz Lightyear - off 8:00

I had a FP for 7DMT the evening before so I wasn't going to bother with it. Thing is, the crowds were so low that day I rode it around 9:30am with only a 25 minute wait. I highly recommend avoiding 7DMT at Rope Drop because you can get so much more done!

 

[jennab]

I went to a 7am EMH at MK on a MNSSHP day in August (so very low crowds) and I got six attractions done by 8:00am:

Peter Pan - off at 7:11
Pooh - off at 7:19
Dumbo - off 7:27 (waited one rotation)
Barnstormer - off 7:33
Space Mountain - off 7:46
Buzz Lightyear - off 8:00

I had a FP for 7DMT the evening before so I wasn't going to bother with it. Thing is, the crowds were so low that day I rode it around 9:30am with only a 25 minute wait. I highly recommend avoiding 7DMT at Rope Drop because you can get so much more done!

So even for EMH rope drop (7am) the lines for 7DMT were long? I am debating trying to get 7DMT done right away on EMH then going elsewhere.

 

[juuuliebeth]

So even for EMH rope drop (7am) the lines for 7DMT were long? I am debating trying to get 7DMT done right away on EMH then going elsewhere.

To answer your question, the wait for 7DMT was crazy low all day because it was a MNSSHP day during low crowd season. It's normally 60-120 minutes all day, while it was only 25 mid-morning and rarely went above 45 the rest of the day.

As for Rope Drop, there really is no fool-proof method. You can have the best plan of attack and it can be ruined by a ride being down. Generally, unless you're right at the beginning of the pack, the wait first thing in the morning is prohibitive to having a productive day, or at least I think so. For instance, if you take 20 minutes for 7DMT first thing, the waits for PPF and Pooh will already be at 45 and 20 minutes when you're done. (Just an estimate.) I'd rather take those first 20 minutes and get those two things done instead of one. But that's just me. I still like to Rope Drop, and definitely use the time to my advantage by going to an attraction that sees a bigger wait later in the day - in MK that's Peter Pan, Space Mountain, or Fairytale Hall. You only save time at 7DMT at Rope Drop if you're among the very first in line. Otherwise, you're stuck in line for 20-40 minutes while waits are lower elsewhere. In case you wanted my two cents.

 

[jennab]

To answer your question, the wait for 7DMT was crazy low all day because it was a MNSSHP day during low crowd season. It's normally 60-120 minutes all day, while it was only 25 mid-morning and rarely went above 45 the rest of the day.

As for Rope Drop, there really is no fool-proof method. You can have the best plan of attack and it can be ruined by a ride being down. Generally, unless you're right at the beginning of the pack, the wait first thing in the morning is prohibitive to having a productive day, or at least I think so. For instance, if you take 20 minutes for 7DMT first thing, the waits for PPF and Pooh will already be at 45 and 20 minutes when you're done. (Just an estimate.) I'd rather take those first 20 minutes and get those two things done instead of one. But that's just me. I still like to Rope Drop, and definitely use the time to my advantage by going to an attraction that sees a bigger wait later in the day - in MK that's Peter Pan, Space Mountain, or Fairytale Hall. You only save time at 7DMT at Rope Drop if you're among the very first in line. Otherwise, you're stuck in line for 20-40 minutes while waits are lower elsewhere. In case you wanted my two cents.

Yeah this would be a busy holiday weekend but I’m hoping if I rope drop 7am EMH there would be less people willing to get up that early

 

[ClapYourHands]

Any thoughts on what I could accomplish in the first hour if I rope drop on a non-EMH morning? I'm going on a 5-day trip this fall, and there are NO days with EMH at MK (though I plan to take advantage of EMH at all the other parks). I'm pretty bummed about it, but fortunately have 7DMT for both of my MK days. I might try for it if I'm at the head of the pack, but otherwise, I can skip it for other attractions.