Option 1
Monday Feb. 11: Epcot arrive afternoon, stay till close at 9, CL 2
Tuesday Feb. 12: AK open till close, 9-8, CL 2
Option 2
Monday Feb. 11: AK am EMH till close, 8-8, CL 6
Tuesday Feb. 12: Epcot arrive afternoon, stay till close with EMH at 11, CL 3
Either way, we plan to relax the next morning at the hotel. Sunday evening shouldn’t be too late of a night.
Is it worth the +4 (AK) and +1 (EP) crowd levels to gain the 3 hours of EMH park time?
It really depends on how much you want to get done in each park. Are those your only days at AK and Epcot? Morning EMH at AK is great, especially if you have a fastpass for FOP later in the day. You can knock out most of the other rides in the park (including NRJ) before 9 am! I am not sure if evening EMH at Epcot is as useful. We have never managed to make it to the fireworks there before heading back to the resort.
I enjoy the relaxed touring style on a low CL day. EMH gives you a few extra hours but with increased crowds it can negate any benefit. The true benefit of EMH is the first or last hour only. I can get more touring in on a shorter/low CL day without EMH.
In your case the CL’s seem low enough that it wouldn’t concern me. I say utilize the EMH and go with option 2.
As much as it’s my favorite, I do find that AK feels crowded even at a low CL. I would happily take a CL2 - and expect to be able to enjoy more attractions – over EMH. I would go with option 1. EMH at EP has never impressed me much because of how limited attractions are as compared to other parks.
I am doing Disney the 2nd week of December, do the story tellers at EP do their performances during the evening EMH and are the holiday food booths open?
I honestly don’t know the answer to this.
Dang, I hate that!
The storytellers definitely do not do performances during EMH. See historical showtimes on this site to see what their performance schedules look like. I’m also like 80-90% sure the booths are not available during EMH.