Extra Magic Hours

Since I've referenced Extra Magic Hours (EMH) in a few posts, I thought that today I might give some more details on this popular Disney Resort guest perk.  As with most things in life, there are pros and cons for EMH, and I will try to fill you in on some of those today.

Pros:  I love the morning EMH.  Lots of people want to sleep late on vacation, so if I can get up early and be in the park at 8, beating the heat and the crowd, I'm a happy camper.  When I enter the park for morning EMH, I head straight to those most popular attractions, so I can enjoy them without the long wait.  I rarely use the evening EMH because I have a young child, but I can imagine if you can stay out a bit later, many people are watching parades/fireworks and you can enjoy shorter lines at some attractions.  During the actual EMH times, the parks will likely be less crowded, because only Disney Resort guests will be able to enjoy the attractions that are open.

Cons:  During the midday, parks with EMH tend to be even more crowded because many resort guests are there for the EMH, plus the "normal" crowd.  Some planners will tell you to avoid parks with EMH for this reason.  It can also be tedious trying to plan your vacation around EMH, whether you're trying to use them or avoid them.

So to me, all in all, it looks like the pros outweigh the cons.  Granted, I don't plan my vacation around EMH.  I have used them, and enjoyed them, but I plan my schedule how it works for me, and if the EMH fall on the day I'm going to the park, I take advantage of them.  Overall, if you want to use EMH, I'd recommend getting to the park as soon as they begin, leaving during the midday crowd, and returning in the evening for parades or fireworks, or other attractions.  I can't give a lot of advice about evening EMH, because they just don't work for the stage of life I'm in, but if you can do it, go for it, and let me know how it went! 

Until next time...
Disney Diva

Why Stay at Disney?

There are many debates out there about whether to stay on-site or off-site when you visit Disney World.  I can honestly say that I can't give you a good debate about the pros and cons of each, because we always stay on site at Disney World.  There is just something wonderful about parking our car when we get there, and not coming back to it until we leave.  Since I am the driver in our family, that, in itself, feels like a vacation to me!

So my first reason why staying on-site is the thing to do, is that you can use Disney transportation!  We take the buses to and from the parks each day, and we enjoy that nice break to sit down and rest on the air-conditioned bus!  We don't have to worry about directions, or being able to find our car in a massive parking lot, we just head to the bus station and go where we want to go!  There are also the monorail and the ferryboats.  These are an experience in themselves!  This is probably my favorite perk of staying at a Disney resort.

And secondly, of course, are the Extra Magic Hours.  Every day, specific parks open early or stay open late just for the Disney World resort crowd.  This is a great time to enjoy the attractions that usually have the longest wait times, because the crowd is significantly lower.  Granted, the parks with EMH are usually MORE crowded during the day, because they have the normal crowd, plus those taking advantage of the EMHs, but if you come and leave the parks during the most crowded parts of the day like we do, that is not a problem. 

And don't forget, the Disney magic!  Each Disney resort is totally themed-out, and is an amazing experience!  Stay at the Caribbean Beach resort for your little pirate, the Polynesian for an island adventure, or Animal Kingdom Lodge for an African safari!  And it's not just the deluxe resorts, you can stay at All-Star Sports for the sports fan in your life, All-Star Music for the musician, or Pop Century to reminisce about years gone by!  All of the Disney resorts are unique and special.  And each one is full of Disney magic!  And of course, that famous Disney service is nice, too! 

We love staying on-site at Disney World, and for us, we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Until next time...
Disney Diva