MK/Fantasyland “Early Morning Magic” (EMM) FAQ & Discussion

[Tigerhornet]

As I understand it breakfast lasts until 10 so as long as you're there by 9:30 or even 9:45 you should be good to go. RD'ing SM is my plan as well before heading over to Cosmic Ray's

We walked in at 9:56 and got a full breakfast and lingered until 10:45 or so with no problem.

 

[ADS2508]

Did anyone notice that Easter 2020 turned blue? That can't be right? Can it?

Has anyone been able to book 2020 this week?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Did anyone notice that Easter 2020 turned blue? That can't be right? Can it?

Has anyone been able to book 2020 this week?

There was an EMM on Sunday this year, FWIW. But yes, that surprised me at the time. Wouldn’t surprise me if they do it again.

 

[mommyslp]

Did anyone notice that Easter 2020 turned blue? That can't be right? Can it?

Has anyone been able to book 2020 this week?

I’m still checking daily and no luck for end of January

 

[OKWFan88]

I just booked for 12/17/19. Never done this before, it will be myself and my brother. Wish there were other rides open besides what is being offered but being in the park before the huge crowd was too tempting to pass on. I'm assuming once let in we can start going on the rides that are open and eat a little later in the morning? Also will the breakfast area be close to Space Mountain when the park full opens?

 

[Tatum20]

I just booked for 12/17/19. Never done this before, it will be myself and my brother. Wish there were other rides open besides what is being offered but being in the park before the huge crowd was too tempting to pass on. I'm assuming once let in we can start going on the rides that are open and eat a little later in the morning? Also will the breakfast area be close to Space Mountain when the park full opens?

That's we did. We did Peter Pan and Snow White over and over, thinking all the other rides would be relatively short waits right at nine, but those two wouldn't be. Those that were in the park on breakfast reservations were allowed to line up in an area outside the main line for the rides. It was a bit awkward walking past them to jump on the ride again. We didn't go to Space Mountain though- we headed for Thunder Mountain Railroad on the other side of the park. Despite our head start from Fantasyland, we were probably still 20-25 people behind the first person on the ride, and it was probably about a ten minute wait. Most people that rope dropped went straight to the mine ride though, so I'd imagine you'd have pretty good luck walking onto Space Mountain with minimal wait times.

We ate breakfast about 9:30-9:40 after Thunder, and were able to walk on to Haunted Mansion at 10. By the time we got out of Haunted Mansion every ride was pretty busy.

I was surprised how busy Main Street was at 8 am. The park was nowhere near empty. Lots of people milling around the bridges.

 

[wrestler72]

All date up to 12 April are bookable now. Wonderful!

 

[Rachel GB]

Oh boy. I had fully prepared myself for this event to be cancelled again when it became un-bookable (as happened in September), and have been making a back-up plan of going from two to three park days and purchasing CL FPs instead. Now we know MK EMM is bookable again!
Has anyone done both (CL FPs and MK EMM) in the past, and can recommend one over the other? @GADisneyDad14 ? Going the last full week of March, an apparently very busy time. We are usually at the parks from RD to 1/2 p.m. TIA!!!

 

[10CJ]

All date up to 12 April are bookable now. Wonderful!

thank you! Got my tickets, so excited!

 

[Alison S]

Glad Disney finally got their act together!

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Now if they'd just announce DAH for March, so I can cancel this

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Oh boy. I had fully prepared myself for this event to be cancelled again when it became un-bookable (as happened in September), and have been making a back-up plan of going from two to three park days and purchasing CL FPs instead. Now we know MK EMM is bookable again!
Has anyone done both (CL FPs and MK EMM) in the past, and can recommend one over the other? @GADisneyDad14 ? Going the last full week of March, an apparently very busy time. We are usually at the parks from RD to 1/2 p.m. TIA!!!

The question is how much value do you put on early park entry with limited attractions you'll have access to and a breakfast vs the flexibility to have quick access to three more attractions per day (three days minimum).

EMM is cheaper ($89 per person vs $150 per person) but less flexible. You have access to only 7 attractions and not all of them may be of interest to you. On the other side, you'll have extra FP access to a total of at least 9 attraction (divided into 3 extra FP's per day). If I had club level, it would have to be a real consideration because I can go either direction ("I've spent so much already, I really shouldn't" or "I've spent so much anyway, what's another X amount").

I've often said on these boards I will pay more for convenience and flexibility if I can. So I would probably weigh CL FP more heavily in favor than EMM just because I would have more options. But EMM is comparably more affordable, and has value if you don't mind the limited amount of attractions you get. All depends on what you value and what you can afford (and how long you're there).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I’d rather do EMM than CLFPs myself, but it suits our style better. Won’t apply to everyone’s wants/needs.

 

[mommyslp]

I called to book this so I could use a gift card. They said nothing was available. So then I got off the phone and booked online!!

 

[ninafeliz]

Oh boy. I had fully prepared myself for this event to be cancelled again when it became un-bookable (as happened in September), and have been making a back-up plan of going from two to three park days and purchasing CL FPs instead. Now we know MK EMM is bookable again!
Has anyone done both (CL FPs and MK EMM) in the past, and can recommend one over the other? @GADisneyDad14 ? Going the last full week of March, an apparently very busy time. We are usually at the parks from RD to 1/2 p.m. TIA!!!

We did both and didn’t regret it. We also did 2 after hours.

 

[wrestler72]

Oh boy. I had fully prepared myself for this event to be cancelled again when it became un-bookable (as happened in September), and have been making a back-up plan of going from two to three park days and purchasing CL FPs instead. Now we know MK EMM is bookable again!
Has anyone done both (CL FPs and MK EMM) in the past, and can recommend one over the other? @GADisneyDad14 ? Going the last full week of March, an apparently very busy time. We are usually at the parks from RD to 1/2 p.m. TIA!!!

We did both. And whilst I think that EMM is the best way to spend your money at WDW (or probably anywhere in the world), I though CL FPs are overpriced if you keep in mind price of a CL room. I honestly thought the difference between CL room at Wilderness Lodge and a "normal" room at Port Orleans where we stayed 5 times is (if you ignore extra FPs) negligible. But the price difference is not. Obviously, depends on your budget but I though CL FPs are not worth it and we decided to stay in a "normal" room for our next trip.

 

[bebec22]

Woohoo, I just booked 4/16!! It will be my 4th time doing this wonderful event!

 

[Rachel GB]

The question is how much value do you put on early park entry with limited attractions you'll have access to and a breakfast vs the flexibility to have quick access to three more attractions per day (three days minimum).

EMM is cheaper ($89 per person vs $150 per person) but less flexible. You have access to only 7 attractions and not all of them may be of interest to you. On the other side, you'll have extra FP access to a total of at least 9 attraction (divided into 3 extra FP's per day). If I had club level, it would have to be a real consideration because I can go either direction ("I've spent so much already, I really shouldn't" or "I've spent so much anyway, what's another X amount").

I've often said on these boards I will pay more for convenience and flexibility if I can. So I would probably weigh CL FP more heavily in favor than EMM just because I would have more options. But EMM is comparably more affordable, and has value if you don't mind the limited amount of attractions you get. All depends on what you value and what you can afford (and how long you're there).

@Unvoiced_Apollo , thank you for your reply ! Although I would be moving from two to three park days if I do the CL FPs (minimum three days), so it would be even more expensive, I can see value in both. MK is our favorite park, so MK EMM does have perhaps a bit extra value to us. Thank you for making some excellent points to consider! I'm starting to consider doing both options! I agree that within reason, we are willing to pay more for convenience and flexibility.

I’d rather do EMM than CLFPs myself, but it suits our style better. Won’t apply to everyone’s wants/needs.

@GADisneyDad14 , thanks for your reply! Yes, vacation styles can vary widely! We like early mornings to early afternoons in the park, and then it's resort time the rest of the day for us. I'm considering doing both CL FPs and EMM! While it would make a less relaxing vacation than we had initially planned, we could get a lot done during a higher crowd week, and lock in all of our 'must-do's'. So much to consider!

We did both and didn’t regret it. We also did 2 after hours.

@ninafeliz , thank you for your reply! This is exactly what I'm considering- doing both! Glad to know I'm not the only one. We could get MK done in one day (whereas my previous plan had it split into two), and we could really enjoy AK and EP with so many tier 1 FPs. I'm glad to hear you had a great experience with it! Thanks again!

We did both. And whilst I think that EMM is the best way to spend your money at WDW (or probably anywhere in the world), I though CL FPs are overpriced if you keep in mind price of a CL room. I honestly thought the difference between CL room at Wilderness Lodge and a "normal" room at Port Orleans where we stayed 5 times is (if you ignore extra FPs) negligible. But the price difference is not. Obviously, depends on your budget but I though CL FPs are not worth it and we decided to stay in a "normal" room for our next trip.

@wrestler72 , thank you for your reply! It's great to hear you consider MK EMM worthwhile! We did TSL EMM in the past, and felt the same way. I'm considering doing both EMM and CL FPs, although agreed, the additional price when already paying for CL is very high! Thank you for sharing your experience and that your stay in a moderate resort vs. WL CL wasn't worth the difference in price for you. All important considerations!

 

[petrola]

All date up to 12 April are bookable now. Wonderful!

Thank you! we just booked our tickets!

 

[Isabelle12345]

Do these events usually sell out?
I am thinking of going in February (27th) but I am unsure how my kids are going to do with a full week of Disney... can we usually book 24-48 hours before the event? Or should I secure a booking and cancel if it doesn’t work? I don’t want to hold a spot if it prevents someone who really wants to go... but I don’t want to miss my chance either!