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

[AdandO]

Here is my review of EMM from 11/14 - sorry I'm a little late, wanted to wait until I was home and had some more time. This thread was insanely helpful in putting together my game plan and knowing what to expect so thanks to all!! In case you don't want to read all the details below, overall - I thought the event was really really great and worth the expense if you can swing it. I did not think it was overly crowded - although I was prepared in advance for a larger crowd due to reading some of the earlier posts. Below is a detailed timeline - I used the pictures on my phone to rebuild it.

6:30am - Picked up by Mears (reserved in advance, paid $14 for all 6 of us including 2 carseats). Totally worth it not to have to deal with stress of bus being late.
6:46am - Took pictures outside the front gate, got checked in, got bracelets, and through security in 8 minutes
6:54am - Pictures on Hollywood Blvd.
7:00am - ABC Commissary (everyone grabbed fruit, pastries, coffees, and a bathroom break)
7:15am - Joined the crowd waiting to be let into the land
7:20am - Was walked back into TSL. While we were waiting, the Cast Members were yelling out that Andy was still playing with Slinky Dog and he was not ready yet. This led to a little bit of yelling from some people misunderstanding and thinking that SDD was down. I really think this was just their way of trying to get people not to go their first - but I'm not sure. We decided to risk it and go wait there anyway. They let people get in line and let people onto the ride right at 7:30am. You could have rode the other rides right away (before 7:30). The characters were not out yet when we walked by at 7:20am.
7:36am - Exited the line for SDD (so about 10-12 minutes from when we got to queue until we were off the ride). I think going straight to SDD is the key to not waiting in the 20-25 minute waits that people were reporting. Also, this only cut into 6 minutes of actual event time.
7:40am - Got in line for Jessie & Woody since people said early in the event would be the shortest lines. This was definitely true - the line got longer and longer as the event went on.
7:50am - Met Jessie & Woody so only a 10 minute wait (they interact a lot so even though only a few families in front of us - it does go slow).
7:54am - Got in line for Buzz.
8:06am - He took a break right as we were the next people in line (bummer!) so we actually waited longer for him than we did for W&J.
8:10am - Got in line for TSMM - never stopped walking until we got onto the ride and they let us through the FP queue so it was nice and quick
8:20am - Walking out of exit for TSMM
8:26am - AS2 - walk on
8:30am - 1/2 of the group rode SDD again and the other 1/2 rode TSMM again - about a 15 minute wait for SDD
8:50am - Exited the land - we were about 30 seconds too late unfortunately and ran smack into the RD crowd. It surprisingly wasn't hard to pass them as we stayed to the ride and they stayed to their right for the most part. Seeing the RD crowd is what made the rest of my family thank me for booking this event - I don't think you can believe it until you see it. Just so so soo many people that never seem to stop coming. So thankful to have gotten to enjoy the land for the first time with zero crowd.
9:00am - Our group split up after this: My DH and parents went to ride RnR and ToT and were done with both by 9:30 - zero waits for either of them. I took the 2 kids over to get in the Jedi Training line. This was the one bummer as my DS wanted to ride ToT but the Jedi training line was so long, we wouldn't have had time to make it all the way up there. Took us a full 30 minutes to get through it but we somehow snagged the last spot for the 11:40am show - which I thought was really early considering how many people were in line before us.
9:30am - We then split up again, 4 people rode Star Tours with a 10 minute posted wait and I took DD to Meet Olaf with a 10 minute wait.
9:45am - ABC Commisary, zero line for the hot breakfast and it was starting to empty out in there. We tried just about everything and some people got 2 entrees and we asked for fountain beverages. They still were serving food shortly after 10am and had the buffett lines opened. Everyone was really happy with their meals and we felt that we got 2 meals out of it since we had pastries and fruit earlier.

Summary: SDD (2X), AS2 (1), TSMM (1), Met Jessie, Woody, and Buzz. Our kids were 4 and 2 so I definitely think more rides would have been doable with older, faster moving kids. We also could have gotten one more ride in before leaving the land but were anxious to get a few things done before breakfast. Sorry for being long-winded - I hope it helps someone planning!

We attended the 14th as well and had a very similar morning. I agree that they were saying Slinky Dog was down just to get people not to go there first. We were on the ride in less than 10 minutes from the gate and although I was nervous starting there first after the announcement that is was down, it was the right move. In total we ended up doing 2 SDD (could have done more, but it was enough at such an early hour), 1 AS2, 1 TSMM and the Jessie Woody meet (the longest wait of the morning at about 20 minutes, this line goes SLOW, and we were almost cut off for their break). We actually left the area with about 10 to 15 minutes left of the event, but it was the first morning of our trip and we were tired and hungry. Didn't deal with the RD crowd, but saw them waiting and were soooo happy not to be part of that. Food was ok at best, I liked my chilaquiles (minus the "chorizo", I love chorizo and this was not that) but the rest of the fam did not like the "fried chicken" and donuts. The pastries were good though and it was an easy meal on a busy day. When we left, the place was packed, so I was happy we left a few minutes early to get breakfast out of the way, and enjoy the other rides with little wait. My take-away is that that the amount of people there that morning is about max, anymore and the event wouldn't be worth it. There were a lot more people than expected. If nothing changes and it doesn't get more busy we would do it again in a heartbeat. We attended the MK EMM on our last day and it was infinitely better. More rides than we needed on the Mine Train (longest wait was less than 5 minutes), first riders on Space Mountain, decent breakfast buffet. I am bummed they are adding more rides (and most likely a lot more people).

 

[dclDream2018]

Anxiously waiting for April 2019 dates to be released! Anyone else?!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Anxiously waiting for April 2019 dates to be released! Anyone else?!

Nope.

Anxiously waiting for July

 

[bebec22]

Car seats were great! Very clean and were already installed and waiting for us when we got there. I got confirmation emails the day before and morning of so I was comfortable the driver was going to show up. The van itself too was spotless and the driver was very nice. We booked it about 2 weeks in advance. Got a small discount for booking online.

Were both of your seats forward facing? I'm wondering if they would do a rear facing seat. My DD is still rear facing. I know Minnie Vans do but I'd rather have something already lined up if I could.

 

[summerskye]

Quick review of experience on Mon the 19th. Epic fail. Very disappointed. SDD was down when we were let into the land. We did TSM 1 time. Then got in line for SDD. (It was running) It took 28 min. Got back in line and it took 18 min. We did not even try to get in line for the characters. On our 2nd ride on SDD, we could see the HUGE rope drop crowds entering the area. We left and did RnR and ToT. Then we had some interesting breakfast. All told 3 rides and "breakfast" for a low low NOT cost. I did visit guest relations and was pleased with thier response.

We did EMM at MK the next morning. In a word, AWESOME. It was so much better.

 

[Mrjoshua]

Quick review of experience on Mon the 19th. Epic fail. Very disappointed. SDD was down when we were let into the land. We did TSM 1 time. Then got in line for SDD. (It was running) It took 28 min. Got back in line and it took 18 min. We did not even try to get in line for the characters. On our 2nd ride on SDD, we could see the HUGE rope drop crowds entering the area. We left and did RnR and ToT. Then we had some interesting breakfast. All told 3 rides and "breakfast" for a low low NOT cost. I did visit guest relations and was pleased with thier response.

We did EMM at MK the next morning. In a word, AWESOME. It was so much better.

Wow! That has to be the worst report I've read so far... Only 3 rides in 1.5 hours with no character meet and greets. I'm sorry for your experience.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Quick review of experience on Mon the 19th. Epic fail. Very disappointed. SDD was down when we were let into the land. We did TSM 1 time. Then got in line for SDD. (It was running) It took 28 min. Got back in line and it took 18 min. We did not even try to get in line for the characters. On our 2nd ride on SDD, we could see the HUGE rope drop crowds entering the area. We left and did RnR and ToT. Then we had some interesting breakfast. All told 3 rides and "breakfast" for a low low NOT cost. I did visit guest relations and was pleased with thier response.

We did EMM at MK the next morning. In a word, AWESOME. It was so much better.

What was the response at guest relations?

 

[summerskye]

Wow! That has to be the worst report I've read so far... Only 3 rides in 1.5 hours with no character meet and greets. I'm sorry for your experience.

I did feel better after my chat with GS. We went to AK later that day and had a good time. FOP is incredible. Soarin on steroids and then some.

What was the response at guest relations?

After a little back and forth, we got a gift card for almost all of what we paid.

 

[maiapapaya]

Quick review of experience on Mon the 19th. Epic fail. Very disappointed. SDD was down when we were let into the land. We did TSM 1 time. Then got in line for SDD. (It was running) It took 28 min. Got back in line and it took 18 min. We did not even try to get in line for the characters. On our 2nd ride on SDD, we could see the HUGE rope drop crowds entering the area. We left and did RnR and ToT. Then we had some interesting breakfast. All told 3 rides and "breakfast" for a low low NOT cost. I did visit guest relations and was pleased with thier response.

We did EMM at MK the next morning. In a word, AWESOME. It was so much better.

Thanks for the review, and thank you for reporting your less than satisfactory experience to Guest Relations! If people don't give their negative feedback about up-charged events (e.g. too crowded, food subpar, etc) there is never the possibility that these issues might get fixed.

 

[LSUfan4444]

After a little back and forth, we got a gift card for almost all of what we paid.

Since we don't do the DDP and pay OOP for meals, that would definitely work with me. I really hope it doesnt come to that but good to know they are being "fair".

 

[summerskye]

Since we don't do the DDP and pay OOP for meals, that would definitely work with me. I really hope it doesnt come to that but good to know they are being "fair".

We had high hopes from all the research on the boards. It was frustrating and I do understand they had issues with the ride that morning. The communication was not very good. But like i said, they did address my frustration and I walked away happy. The MK EMM was everything we could hope for. It was perfect.

 

[summerskye]

Thanks for the review, and thank you for reporting your less than satisfactory experience to Guest Relations! If people don't give their negative feedback about up-charged events (e.g. too crowded, food subpar, etc) there is never the possibility that these issues might get fixed.

I really do try and express both good as well as bad experiences. I agree that they need the feedback.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Absolutely I check every morning at 6 am then 7 and 8 am.. I’m finding it hard to commit to parks on certain days and we we will cancel our character breakfast if we can get this .
What are your dates?
Inbox me we can stress together lol

Anxiously waiting for April 2019 dates to be released! Anyone else?!

 

[TammyLynn33]

Thank you so much for sharing this as I’m thinking private transportation in the ams and bus on way back.. $14 is crazy affordable .. what resort were you coming from ?
Did you use them again at all?
Thanks so much



QUOTE="Nferk, post: 59976327, member: 622372"]Car seats were great! Very clean and were already installed and waiting for us when we got there. I got confirmation emails the day before and morning of so I was comfortable the driver was going to show up. The van itself too was spotless and the driver was very nice. We booked it about 2 weeks in advance. Got a small discount for booking online.[/QUOTE]
Thank hi

 

[Nferk]

Were both of your seats forward facing? I'm wondering if they would do a rear facing seat. My DD is still rear facing. I know Minnie Vans do but I'd rather have something already lined up if I could.

We had one forward facing infant seat and one booster. Both were installed when we got there. My DD is past 2 so I was fine with her being forward facing and didn’t ask them to turn it around. Although I’m sure he would have.

 

[Nferk]

Thank you so much for sharing this as I’m thinking private transportation in the ams and bus on way back.. $14 is crazy affordable .. what resort were you coming from ?
Did you use them again at all?
Thanks so much

Yes $14 was awesome! We were coming from all star movies. We didn’t use them again only bc I used buses most of the time (didn’t have the stress of having to be anywhere at a certain time). We did use Minnie vans twice to places the buses didn’t go....was very happy with their service as well but they were much more expensive. But we couldn’t pre-book Mears for those since we really didn’t know what time in advance.

QUOTE="Nferk, post: 59976327, member: 622372"]Car seats were great! Very clean and were already installed and waiting for us when we got there. I got confirmation emails the day before and morning of so I was comfortable the driver was going to show up. The van itself too was spotless and the driver was very nice. We booked it about 2 weeks in advance. Got a small discount for booking online.

Thank hi[/QUOTE]

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Many thanks to @Nferk, @AdandO, @MattH, and @summerskye for stopping by with recent reviews. @Nferk, your incredibly detailed timeline on your morning is epic!

Post #3 links to DISer reviews have been updated.

 

[duck524]

Thank you everyone for your reports. We are going on December 3rd, a 2x sold out day, and I will be so disappointed if we spent almost $600 and only get 3 rides and no character greets. It has me wondering if we would be better off cancelling our TSL and Expanded FL EMMs and doing MK DAH and AK DAH instead. I am just worried about how my 6am-7pm kiddo would handle those late nights. Early mornings are much better for her, but it sounds like they have been way overselling this event and I am worried they will do the same with the expanded EMM (which, at least, is thankfully not sold out yet). Our goal for TSL is 1x TSM, 1x AS2, and 1 SDD while half of our party waits for J&W and 1 SDD while the other half of our party waits for Buzz. I used to think these were low expectations until the more recent reports.

 

[mwheatley]

Thank you everyone for your reports. We are going on December 3rd, a 2x sold out day, and I will be so disappointed if we spent almost $600 and only get 3 rides and no character greets. It has me wondering if we would be better off cancelling our TSL and Expanded FL EMMs and doing MK DAH and AK DAH instead. I am just worried about how my 6am-7pm kiddo would handle those late nights. Early mornings are much better for her, but it sounds like they have been way overselling this event and I am worried they will do the same with the expanded EMM (which, at least, is thankfully not sold out yet). Our goal for TSL is 1x TSM, 1x AS2, and 1 SDD while half of our party waits for J&W and 1 SDD while the other half of our party waits for Buzz. I used to think these were low expectations until the more recent reports.

I’ll see you there... I’m worried as well. We will have to do rider switch for SDD, but recent reports have me thinking that will take up most of the time just to have each group ride once.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Anyone going 11-28? It looks like it’s predicted to be 45-48 degrees at 7am? I’m originally from central Florida and that’s COLD to me to be on an outdoor roller coaster!