EMH vs crowd level when off property

Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar
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Hi!
My family (2 adults, 3 kids : 14 months baby, 5 years & 7 years) will go to WDW for the first time at the beginning of March.
We will stay off-property (camping in Magnolia park) and shoot for rope-drop (RD) on March 4, 6, 7 & 8.

When selecting the parks, I’m wandering if I should choose the lower predicted crowd level (CL) or plan to avoid EMH-morning as we won’t be able to use them.

Here are the options I’m considering :

Option A (lowest crowd level for MK)

March 3 : CL6 MK - 9h(Peter Pan) - 11h30 / break / 14h45-16h

March 4 : CL8 HS - RD-11h30 / break / 18h-20h45

March 5 : rest-beach

March 6 : CL6 AK - RD(Avatar) - 11h30 / break / 12h30-13h30 / break / 18h-19h30

March 7 : CL6 EMH Epcot - RD(frozen) -15h30 (lunch & leisurely touring WS in afternoon)

March 8 : CL7 EMH MK - RD(7dwarf) -13h / break / 15h45-20h30

Option B (slightly higher CL for MK but no EMH-morning, & lower CL for HS)

March 3 : CL6 MK - 9h(Peter Pan) - 11h30 / break / 14h45-16h

March 4 : CL8 MK - RD(7dwarf) -13h / break / 15h45-20h30

March 5 : rest-beach

March 6 : CL6 AK - RD(Avatar) -11h30 / break / 12h30-13h30 / break / 18h-19h30

March 7 : CL6 EMH Epcot - RD(frozen) -15h30 (lunch & leisurely touring WS in afternoon)

March 8 : CL6 HS - RD - 11h30 / break / 18h-20h45

So, should I go with option A or B?

Also, feel free to comment on our planning in general!

Thank you very much!

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Cool, you’re there the same time as us!
The advice has always been don’t go to an EMH park unless you’re making use of it. Some have disagreed with that more recently saying it doesn’t really make that much of a difference, but it’s still the advice we’re sticking to.
Where it absolutely makes a difference though is if you’re hoping to rope drop. You can’t reallly rope drop a park if that section has already been open for EMH. So your Epcot FEA isn’t going to be a short queue on either day and your Plan A 7 dwarf won’t be either. As you switch that on Plan B and only have the Epcot clash I’d go with that.

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I would never start the day at a morning EMH park if I wasn’t eligible for the early entry. By the time you get to the Mine Train the wait is likely to be at least an hour, for Frozen at least 30 minutes. My advice would be to avoid EMH. :slight_smile:

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I always do am emh.
If I could not, I would avoid that park. Furthermore, I would plan to go to the park that had EMH the previous day, if possible in my planning.

My thought would be that the park that has emh in the am would have more ppl, since the ppl that use emh but do not have hoppers cannot go to another park. And since EMH is a “draw,” more ppl would at least try to go. As usual, many of those people will not have researched like you. They just may have some thought of, “Nobody else will be there for the whole hour, just me, since it’s only for guests of this hotel, and nobody else is here except me, so the waters should part for me and my family.” - :roll_eyes:

If you cannot take part in emh, it makes sense to me, that the people who planned to go to the emh park the previous day, will “scratch that park off the list” and plan to be at a different park the next day.

Just my .02. My logic might be flawed. I zag when the hordes of people zig, and I always hop. EMH am is ALWAYS my plan. Park closing early? I am THERE, no question. Rain? LET’S GO!!!

If you think your logic is better, go with your gut (and brain.)
Good Luck!

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I wouldn’t worry about CL. Those can easily be wrong in either direction so I don’t think a difference of 1-2 is meaningful. I agree to avoid parks with EMH. I think you need a plan C. Looks like you want your later nights before the rest day and at the end, which makes sense. Are you set on starting with MK? is that not a RD day so that’s why? could the rest day be moved a day later if needed? That would give you more flexibility to move things around. Also, are your breaks leaving the park? Maybe I’m reading your times the wrong way because it looks like a lot of running back and forth and not too much park time.

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Interesting. There is logic to this train of thought, I think. Those “extra” people who took advantage of EMH the day before probably will go to another park the next day. I’ll have to think about that!

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another note, I’d still try for FPP for 7DMT instead of RDing it. I got those at 30 days, so it’s possible.

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I’m confused by your multiple breaks on your AK day. Are you leaving the park for break? We took DS2 back every day for a nap and did RD-12:30 and 5-8 each day. It took us 30 minute to leave and 30 minutes to get back (which is quick… we were very close to the parks).

Our strategy is the park that had EMH the day before. We avoid EMH since we’re not taking part. The CL difference one day to another isn’t that significant and it’s just an estimate after all. Do you care about seeing Epcot Flower & Garden Festival? Assuming you don’t, here’s what I would do:
March 3 : MK
March 4 : Epcot
March 5 : rest-beach
March 6 : HS/AK (these are about the same. HS has EMM that day, but that’s not very many people.)
March 7 : MK
March 8 : HS/AK

Assuming you do what to see Flower and Garden:
March 3 : MK
March 4 : HS (has EMM)
March 5 : rest-beach
March 6 : Epcot/AK
March 7 : MK
March 8 : Epcot/AK

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The conventional wisdom has always been to avoid EMH parks if you will not be able to take advantage of the special hours. However, I recently compared MK plans for a mEMH day (not using the EMH) and a non-EMH day that had the same CLs, and it didn’t make much of a difference.

The caveat here is that any advice like this really depends on what you are trying to do during the day in question. Therefore, your best bet is to make a Personalized TP and Optimize it for the days you are considering and see which one works best for you.

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If it’s important to you to be able to RD 7DMT, then I would take option B. If you’re willing to check for drops and modify a lot, it may not be necessary - or you could put it right before the end of the day in order to keep the wait from interfering from the rest of things.

All things considered, I thing and 8 in MK (vs a 7) is comparatively negligible compared to getting a 6 at HS (vs. an 8) when HS has so many fewer attractions. I would choose B based upon that alone.

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Hi @felicia3333!
In fact, I fly to Orlando with the kids while my spouse drive there with our camping van.
I’d like to RD on our first day as well, but as we will go to bed late the night before, I more realistically planned a relax first day at MK with the kids (Peter Pan, Small World, Winnie(FPP), Dumbo(FPP), Mickey meet&greet(FPP), Pirate’s Adventure and the Fantasy Parade) while my spouse might just rest from the driving.
I originally planned to take the rest day on March 6, but it was the least crowded day according to TP while March 5 was quite crowded.
As for the break, we planned to picnic, rest and play in Tom Sawyer Island while in Magic Kingdom and to leave HS to rest, have lunch and even dinner outside the park (we don’t have much to do there, just the Meet&Greets, TS mania, Slinky and the night shows). I think we will stay in AK for the break to do Wilderness Explorers, play in the Boneyard and explore the trails. We’ll see if that’s enough “out of the crowd” to recharge our batteries.
The breaks might be shorter than planned if we feel recharged or if we get behind schedule with fussy kids or a dirty diaper.
I’ll keep checking for a FPP for 7Dwarfs, just in case. About that, is there a way to see the available FPPs in MDE without cancelling one of my 3 booked FPP? I’d hate to lose a secured FPP while looking for a possible better one… (not much of a gambler :roll_eyes:)

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I think we will stay in AK for the lunch break and also in the afternoon break to do Wilderness Explorers, play in the Boneyard and explore the trails. We’ll see if that’s enough “out of the crowd” to recharge our batteries. (I really hope so!!!)
The breaks might be shorter than planned if we feel recharged or if we get behind schedule with fussy kids or a dirty diaper.

And yes, we would like to see Epcot Flower & Garden Festival! Also, I’d like to schedule the 2 night shows (MK and HS) before the rest day and at the end to not impair our ability to RD the next morning.

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Thank you all for your insights! I’ll go with option B. :slight_smile:

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