DHS/Toy Story Land "Early Morning Magic" (EMM) FAQ & Discussion

[jhoannam]

Okay this morning’s EMM (4/10) was not worth it. I’ll post more details later. Also RnR coaster is not open and they don’t know when, so that plan is bust.

I’m sorry, I ver how many tickets they are selling?

 

[TammyLynn33]

Oh no so sorry

Ohhh nooooooo.....sorry to hear!!! Awaiting your review...

 

[JerseyTraveler]

Okay I’m waiting for the Frozen sing a long to start and part of the issue is that my four year old was not cooperating and that bus from pop didn’t arrive until 6:47am and we didn’t get to TSL due to my kids not cooperating this early. If I ever did this again, I would definitely Uber it to get there at 6:45am or earlier.

By the time we got into TSL at 7:35, the line for SDD was 40 min long. I thought that might be a joke, but the line looked long and was moving very slowly. We opted to go to TSM instead, which was very quick, but it takes time to walk through. We went back to SDD and the wait said 45 min, but we decided to go for it. It was about 25. (Got on like at 7:55, ride at 8:25). Toward the end, they brought another car out and started loading a lot faster.

After that ride, we went to AS which was quick. It was around 8:40am at this point and my 7 year old wanted to go to RnR. So we left TSL having only gone on each ride once. We took a quick pic with Buzz and the TSL sign. We get to Hollywood Blvd and see the rope drop crowd. The CM tell us both ToT and RnR coaster are not open. It would have been nice if the CM who asked us where we were going and directed us to those rides to let us know that, but whatever.

So we went back to TSL and went on SDD, it took about 5 mins this time since they had more cars and were loading much faster. This is what I would have expected in the first place.

While we were on the RD crowd arrived so we tried going back to RnR but it was close. My kids didn’t want to to ToT, but that would have been a 5-10 min wait. RnR still wasn’t open around 9:25am, so we decided to go by the Disney Jr characters since my 4 y/o wanted to do that. We met Vampirina and Sofia then went to breakfast by 9:45am. The food was pretty good and they do let you order as much as you want.

After breakfast, around 10:15am, we headed to the Frozen sing along and that’s where I am now.

 

[JeninTexas]

Thank you for the info, @JerseyTraveler. Sorry your morning didn't go better. I can't understand why they wouldn't have had the other car running on SDD. That would have made things go much smoother. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

 

[Brett Wyman]

I've never heard of that long of a wait for SDD during EMM. Sounds like a mechanical issues maybe? There was one less coaster operating?

 

[JerseyTraveler]

I've never heard of that long of a wait for SDD during EMM. Sounds like a mechanical issues maybe? There was one less coaster operating?

I went by guest relations and they said there was one less coaster operating and then they added a fourth later on, which is when I went the second time. They gave me 6 paper fastpasses to use, not for TSL, but for anything else. That was fine because we wanted to do RnR and are on the FP line now.

I hope everyone has better luck. SDD is a lot of fun!

 

[SaintsManiac]

I went by guest relations and they said there was one less coaster operating and then they added a fourth later on, which is when I went the second time. They gave me 6 paper fastpasses to use, not for TSL, but for anything else. That was fine because we wanted to do RnR and are on the FP line now.

I hope everyone has better luck. SDD is a lot of fun!

Unacceptable, IMO. That would not have worked for me.

 

[JerseyTraveler]

Unacceptable, IMO. That would not have worked for me.

You definitely could have asked for something different, but because my kids were already tired and because we were leaving HS soon to go to Epcot after a mid day break, it worked so that my older one could go on RnR before we left. It is what it is, but I am definitely hesitant about doing EMM toy story land. Next time I’ll try the MK one instead since there are more rides. Since TSL EMM is only 3 rides and with SDD being the most popular, if something doesn’t go smoothly with SDD, it will definitely mess up your experience. Anyway, hope my review helped.

 

[cincystamper]

Have to agree about SDD issues this morning. We waited 20 minutes in a very slow line....even the cast members in line said they thought it was unacceptable for a special event. I honestly didn't even think about going to guest relations because we were done for the day at HS. Only rode it once and it was a LOT of fun but not worth waiting that long line again.

On the plus side, we got 4 rides on TSMM which is my favorite!!

 

[djc9699]

When we went in December, SDD was down for the first 30 minutes. We went ahead and did TSM several times and went to wait for RNR (you can be at the front of the rope drop crowd, but it does not open until the park opens). I emailed customer service when I got back to the room that night and told them how disappointed I was. They called me back a day later and loaded 2 anytime SDD and 2 anytime TSM FPs on my account for Christmas day. That is exactly what I asked for when I explained that we could not get the rides we anticipated. Of course, I was going back to HS later in my trip. This would not work for anyone who is leaving or not returning to that park. Disney is normally very good about trying to meet guest expectations and to work out concerns.

 

[DisneyMomma930]

Okay I’m waiting for the Frozen sing a long to start and part of the issue is that my four year old was not cooperating and that bus from pop didn’t arrive until 6:47am and we didn’t get to TSL due to my kids not cooperating this early. If I ever did this again, I would definitely Uber it to get there at 6:45am or earlier.

By the time we got into TSL at 7:35, the line for SDD was 40 min long. I thought that might be a joke, but the line looked long and was moving very slowly. We opted to go to TSM instead, which was very quick, but it takes time to walk through. We went back to SDD and the wait said 45 min, but we decided to go for it. It was about 25. (Got on like at 7:55, ride at 8:25). Toward the end, they brought another car out and started loading a lot faster.

After that ride, we went to AS which was quick. It was around 8:40am at this point and my 7 year old wanted to go to RnR. So we left TSL having only gone on each ride once. We took a quick pic with Buzz and the TSL sign. We get to Hollywood Blvd and see the rope drop crowd. The CM tell us both ToT and RnR coaster are not open. It would have been nice if the CM who asked us where we were going and directed us to those rides to let us know that, but whatever.

So we went back to TSL and went on SDD, it took about 5 mins this time since they had more cars and were loading much faster. This is what I would have expected in the first place.

While we were on the RD crowd arrived so we tried going back to RnR but it was close. My kids didn’t want to to ToT, but that would have been a 5-10 min wait. RnR still wasn’t open around 9:25am, so we decided to go by the Disney Jr characters since my 4 y/o wanted to do that. We met Vampirina and Sofia then went to breakfast by 9:45am. The food was pretty good and they do let you order as much as you want.

After breakfast, around 10:15am, we headed to the Frozen sing along and that’s where I am now.

Oh man. How disappointing. EMM costs too much to have a ride be 40 minute wait. I wouldn’t be happy. I don’t understand why they didn’t get the issue fixed sooner. They should be testing the rides before EMM even starts to make sure there are no issues. I would have complained for sure. But it sounds like you guys made the best of it. Thanks for the heads up about the bus at Pop. Our first morning we are doing EMM at MK and coming from Pop, our second morning for EMM at HS we are coming from AoA. Now I’m thinking we should just do a Minnie van so we don’t take any chances. I guess it’s hit or miss because I have seen people say they have caught a bus at 630 am before but you just never know. And I can’t believe RnRC was down for that long. I mean cmon, HS only has a handful of rides and for 2 of them to be down at RD is not acceptable.
I hope you have a great rest of the day! Thanks again for your review!

 

[Katrina Y]

Okay I’m waiting for the Frozen sing a long to start and part of the issue is that my four year old was not cooperating and that bus from pop didn’t arrive until 6:47am and we didn’t get to TSL due to my kids not cooperating this early. If I ever did this again, I would definitely Uber it to get there at 6:45am or earlier.

By the time we got into TSL at 7:35, the line for SDD was 40 min long. I thought that might be a joke, but the line looked long and was moving very slowly. We opted to go to TSM instead, which was very quick, but it takes time to walk through. We went back to SDD and the wait said 45 min, but we decided to go for it. It was about 25. (Got on like at 7:55, ride at 8:25). Toward the end, they brought another car out and started loading a lot faster.

After that ride, we went to AS which was quick. It was around 8:40am at this point and my 7 year old wanted to go to RnR. So we left TSL having only gone on each ride once. We took a quick pic with Buzz and the TSL sign. We get to Hollywood Blvd and see the rope drop crowd. The CM tell us both ToT and RnR coaster are not open. It would have been nice if the CM who asked us where we were going and directed us to those rides to let us know that, but whatever.

So we went back to TSL and went on SDD, it took about 5 mins this time since they had more cars and were loading much faster. This is what I would have expected in the first place.

While we were on the RD crowd arrived so we tried going back to RnR but it was close. My kids didn’t want to to ToT, but that would have been a 5-10 min wait. RnR still wasn’t open around 9:25am, so we decided to go by the Disney Jr characters since my 4 y/o wanted to do that. We met Vampirina and Sofia then went to breakfast by 9:45am. The food was pretty good and they do let you order as much as you want.

After breakfast, around 10:15am, we headed to the Frozen sing along and that’s where I am now.

I am so sorry, that is not acceptable. It makes me wonder if I should cancel my EMM for June 5th.

 

[Katrina Y]

Have to agree about SDD issues this morning. We waited 20 minutes in a very slow line....even the cast members in line said they thought it was unacceptable for a special event. I honestly didn't even think about going to guest relations because we were done for the day at HS. Only rode it once and it was a LOT of fun but not worth waiting that long line again.

On the plus side, we got 4 rides on TSMM which is my favorite!!

What time did they let you into the land?

 

[cakebaker]

I am so sorry, that is not acceptable. It makes me wonder if I should cancel my EMM for June 5th.

In fairness, they did arrive late enough to be at the back of the crowd and the worst choice to make is to ride SDD first. As she pointed out, they did ride with a 5 minute wait at one point. I wouldn’t cancel over one or two experiences.

That said, I don’t think the line should ever reach that kind of a wait and I would’ve complained too. I’m still keeping mine unless this kind of thing seems to become the norm.

 

[cincystamper]

What time did they let you into the land?

Well, I was with my 71 year old mother so we were walking pretty slow. She also wanted a first breakfast before heading over. That said, we left Backlot Express at 7:24 and as we walked, we heard the announcement that TSL was now open. Wasn't there to see if folks were actually let in earlier or not.

In fairness, they did arrive late enough to be at the back of the crowd and the worst choice to make is to ride SDD first.

I know this wasn't in response to my earlier post, but for the record, MY party did NOT go to SDD first. By my notes, we got in line at SDD at 7:59. By all reports here, that should have been a pretty quick moving line by then. However, we waited in line for 20 minutes and even the CMs were commenting on how it didn't seem right for a special event. We've been here since 3/31 and have had great success with FP+....Ironically the SDD line was the longest wait we've had since we've been here. Definitely not right.

I'm not going to post my time breakdowns because I doubt they'd be very helpful to anyone planning....as I said, I was with my older mother who uses a walker and walks slowly. So on TSMM, for instance, our times were different than they would be for anyone going through the normal line because we went through the accessible line and had to wait a bit for the cars to come back.

Our very general report:
Getting through security and check in took all of 10 minutes, which included our very slow walk from the bus
First breakfast was pastries and cereal
Rode TSMM
Rode SDD (skipped Aliens....not fans of whippy/spinny rides)
Back to TSMM, rode 3x
Photopass in the exit line after our last time off
Photopass at the TSL ride
Second (full) breakfast at 9:30

If you want to know specific times, let me know...I did write them down!

 

[Katrina Y]

Well, I was with my 71 year old mother so we were walking pretty slow. She also wanted a first breakfast before heading over. That said, we left Backlot Express at 7:24 and as we walked, we heard the announcement that TSL was now open. Wasn't there to see if folks were actually let in earlier or not.



I know this wasn't in response to my earlier post, but for the record, MY party did NOT go to SDD first. By my notes, we got in line at SDD at 7:59. By all reports here, that should have been a pretty quick moving line by then. However, we waited in line for 20 minutes and even the CMs were commenting on how it didn't seem right for a special event. We've been here since 3/31 and have had great success with FP+....Ironically the SDD line was the longest wait we've had since we've been here. Definitely not right.

I'm not going to post my time breakdowns because I doubt they'd be very helpful to anyone planning....as I said, I was with my older mother who uses a walker and walks slowly. So on TSMM, for instance, our times were different than they would be for anyone going through the normal line because we went through the accessible line and had to wait a bit for the cars to come back.

Our very general report:
Getting through security and check in took all of 10 minutes, which included our very slow walk from the bus
First breakfast was pastries and cereal
Rode TSMM
Rode SDD (skipped Aliens....not fans of whippy/spinny rides)
Back to TSMM, rode 3x
Photopass in the exit line after our last time off
Photopass at the TSL ride
Second (full) breakfast at 9:30

If you want to know specific times, let me know...I did write them down!

Thank you for all the information. I appreciate it.

 

[jhoannam]

Okay I’m waiting for the Frozen sing a long to start and part of the issue is that my four year old was not cooperating and that bus from pop didn’t arrive until 6:47am and we didn’t get to TSL due to my kids not cooperating this early. If I ever did this again, I would definitely Uber it to get there at 6:45am or earlier.

By the time we got into TSL at 7:35, the line for SDD was 40 min long. I thought that might be a joke, but the line looked long and was moving very slowly. We opted to go to TSM instead, which was very quick, but it takes time to walk through. We went back to SDD and the wait said 45 min, but we decided to go for it. It was about 25. (Got on like at 7:55, ride at 8:25). Toward the end, they brought another car out and started loading a lot faster.

After that ride, we went to AS which was quick. It was around 8:40am at this point and my 7 year old wanted to go to RnR. So we left TSL having only gone on each ride once. We took a quick pic with Buzz and the TSL sign. We get to Hollywood Blvd and see the rope drop crowd. The CM tell us both ToT and RnR coaster are not open. It would have been nice if the CM who asked us where we were going and directed us to those rides to let us know that, but whatever.

So we went back to TSL and went on SDD, it took about 5 mins this time since they had more cars and were loading much faster. This is what I would have expected in the first place.

While we were on the RD crowd arrived so we tried going back to RnR but it was close. My kids didn’t want to to ToT, but that would have been a 5-10 min wait. RnR still wasn’t open around 9:25am, so we decided to go by the Disney Jr characters since my 4 y/o wanted to do that. We met Vampirina and Sofia then went to breakfast by 9:45am. The food was pretty good and they do let you order as much as you want.

After breakfast, around 10:15am, we headed to the Frozen sing along and that’s where I am now.

Gosh that sounds like a rough start, 40 minute wait is unacceptable for a special event.

 

[cakebaker]

Well, I was with my 71 year old mother so we were walking pretty slow. She also wanted a first breakfast before heading over. That said, we left Backlot Express at 7:24 and as we walked, we heard the announcement that TSL was now open. Wasn't there to see if folks were actually let in earlier or not.



I know this wasn't in response to my earlier post, but for the record, MY party did NOT go to SDD first. By my notes, we got in line at SDD at 7:59. By all reports here, that should have been a pretty quick moving line by then. However, we waited in line for 20 minutes and even the CMs were commenting on how it didn't seem right for a special event. We've been here since 3/31 and have had great success with FP+....Ironically the SDD line was the longest wait we've had since we've been here. Definitely not right.

I'm not going to post my time breakdowns because I doubt they'd be very helpful to anyone planning....as I said, I was with my older mother who uses a walker and walks slowly. So on TSMM, for instance, our times were different than they would be for anyone going through the normal line because we went through the accessible line and had to wait a bit for the cars to come back.

Our very general report:
Getting through security and check in took all of 10 minutes, which included our very slow walk from the bus
First breakfast was pastries and cereal
Rode TSMM
Rode SDD (skipped Aliens....not fans of whippy/spinny rides)
Back to TSMM, rode 3x
Photopass in the exit line after our last time off
Photopass at the TSL ride
Second (full) breakfast at 9:30

If you want to know specific times, let me know...I did write them down!

Thanks for more details. Please email guest services about your experience.if they start getting complaints, it might help stop this before it becomes the norm.

 

[Mrjoshua]

I went on 4/3, and it was pretty smooth.

Between 7:25 and 9am:
- Slinky Dog Dash x 8
- Alien Swirling Saucers x 1
- Toy Story Mania x 1

After 9am:
- breakfast at Backlot Express
- Met Mike & Sully
- Met Edna Mode
- Fastpasses

A few notes... It was more crowded than when we attended in December. This time, castmembers tried to steer us toward breakfast first thing, but we politely declined. Our decision to visit Mike & Sully after breakfast paid off, because there was only a 15 minute wait. By the time we left, the wait was 50 minutes!

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experiences yesterday. During my first After Hours event, Space Mountain and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train were down for most of the evening, which was a bummer.

 

[EEva]

I went on 4/3, and it was pretty smooth.

Between 7:25 and 9am:
- Slinky Dog Dash x 8
- Alien Swirling Saucers x 1
- Toy Story Mania x 1

After 9am:
- breakfast at Backlot Express
- Met Mike & Sully
- Met Edna Mode
- Fastpasses

A few notes... It was more crowded than when we attended in December. This time, castmembers tried to steer us toward breakfast first thing, but we politely declined. Our decision to visit Mike & Sully after breakfast paid off, because there was only a 15 minute wait. By the time we left, the wait was 50 minutes!

I'm sorry to hear about the bad experiences yesterday. During my first After Hours event, Space Mountain and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train were down for most of the evening, which was a bummer.

Hi! This is exactly what we are hoping to do after EMM when we go in July. Can you share what time you lined up for Mike and Sully? Did they start earlier than the posted 10am?