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

[princessbride6205]

It really depends what you want to do...

Slinky Dog Dash is a priority for us, and we try to get as many rides as possible. Mania and Swirling Saucers are less of a priority, and MUCH easier to get fastpasses for. So we skip the early breakfast, line up for ASAP entry into Toy Story Land, and ride Slink until the rope drop crowd arrives... like an unstoppable rebel force. After basically boarding Slink a few times with little or no wait, we exit to suddenly discover a 65 minute wait at the entry. This happens around 8:50am, and marks the official end of our rides on SDD.

The great part is that while the rope drop crowd runs to Slinky Dog, Alien Swirling Saucers is largely ignored. We casually walk over to the Saucers, which has less than a 5 minute wait.

It's possible to do both Alien Swirling Saucers AND Toy Story Mania quickly during the rope drop madness, but I'd only plan on 1 of the 2 with almost no wait. Anything more is a bonus.

If you want to do all 3 rides during EMM, I would personally ride Mania first (however many times), Slinky Dog second (however many times), and Saucers last during rope drop.

If you want to meet characters, I would meet Woody and Jessie first thing, or after 1 ride on Toy Story Mania. Earlier is best for meeting them quickly. Buzz is a much shorter wait, so maybe when you're leaving EMM?

I think Toy Story Mania is a waste of EMM time. I love the ride, but we had to walk through a fairly long que (NOT the fastpass entrance) before and after the ride. It really guzzles your limited time. If you decide to ride it, I would recommend doing
it once, either at the beginning or the end of EMM.

If possible, try to avoid going back to rides after you've left to ride something else. Unnecessary walking back and forth across Toy Story Land will cut into your ride time.

The first time we attended EMM (December), we decided to meet the characters also.

- Met Woody and Jessie
- Met Buzz
- Rode Slinky Dog Dash x 9
- Rode Alien Swirling Saucers x 1

If I were to do that morning over again, I would've rode Toy Story Mania first, before meeting the characters. Woody and Jessie meet between Mania and Slink, and we waited (first in line) 10 or 15 minutes before they came out. It proved to be an unnecessary waste of time. Woody and Jessie's line remained very short for a few minutes after we met them.

Amazing advice! Thanks for all the tips and strategies!

 

[TammyLynn33]

What time did you leave and head over to RNR?

I would say we left TSL around 845

 

[Megan138]

Hi. We are doing this tomorrow and I’m staying at the Beach Club. The front desk told me the boats will be running to HS at 6:30. Does anyone have experience with transportation to HS for this experience from the Beach Club that can confirm? Thanks

 

[Mcky36]

Hi. We are doing this tomorrow and I’m staying at the Beach Club. The front desk told me the boats will be running to HS at 6:30. Does anyone have experience with transportation to HS for this experience from the Beach Club that can confirm? Thanks

We just did this on Wednesday from the Yacht Club. We got the boat at the lighthouse dock at 6:45 a.m. and they told us it was the 2nd boat of the day. Have fun!

 

[ninafeliz]

We just did this on Wednesday from the Yacht Club. We got the boat at the lighthouse dock at 6:45 a.m. and they told us it was the 2nd boat of the day. Have fun!

When we did it we were walking down Hollywood Boulevard at 6:45 AM, I wouldn’t want to wait and be getting on a slow boat at that time.

 

[Mcky36]

When we did it we were walking down Hollywood Boulevard at 6:45 AM, I wouldn’t want to wait and be getting on a slow boat at that time.

The boat was very fast. There was only one stop and one family since it was so early. We were at Hollywood Studios by 6:55 and going through the gates around 7:05 (after stopping to check in, get wrist bands etc.) They held everyone outside Toy Story Land until about 7:25, so we ended up standing around for about 20 minutes even after we took the 6:45 boat.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

They must be starting the boat earlier these days. Last Oct, it wasn’t an option pre-7am.

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

The boat was very fast. There was only one stop and one family since it was so early. We were at Hollywood Studios by 6:55 and going through the gates around 7:05 (after stopping to check in, get wrist bands etc.) They held everyone outside Toy Story Land until about 7:25, so we ended up standing around for about 20 minutes even after we took the 6:45 boat.

Thank you for this!

 

[writersblock]

I wish they’d release the next load, I really want to book for November!

 

[ellbell]

I wish they’d release the next load, I really want to book for November!

They probably won't have them in HS past the end of August because of GE

 

[mercydisney]

I have the event booked for Aug. 28th. I am getting nervous that it may be more crowded then usual and the strategies that have been posted might not work. Anyone else feel this way?

 

[pryzeless]

I have the event booked for Aug. 28th. I am getting nervous that it may be more crowded then usual and the strategies that have been posted might not work. Anyone else feel this way?

I am in the exact same boat. I am hoping Star Wars people won’t be at Disney that early but that is just wishful thinking.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I wish they’d release the next load, I really want to book for November!

Granted no one knows, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. My ‘assumption’ is that once SWGE opens, that’ll be the end of DHS TSL EMM. Likely do to what could be a lengthy run of pre-9am openings and/or any sort of new EMM-type event they may eventually incorporate into the new land (although I feel like that’ll be a ways down the road).

Sorry to be a downer!

 

[dachsie]

I have the event booked for Aug. 28th. I am getting nervous that it may be more crowded then usual and the strategies that have been posted might not work. Anyone else feel this way?

They should still sell the same number of tickets and all the other dates sell out so I would not worry about this

 

[NJlauren]

I have the event booked for Aug. 28th. I am getting nervous that it may be more crowded then usual and the strategies that have been posted might not work. Anyone else feel this way?

I am in the exact same boat. I am hoping Star Wars people won’t be at Disney that early but that is just wishful thinking.

Same! See you there!!

 

[Megan138]

We just did this on Wednesday from the Yacht Club. We got the boat at the lighthouse dock at 6:45 a.m. and they told us it was the 2nd boat of the day. Have fun!

When we did it we were walking down Hollywood Boulevard at 6:45 AM, I wouldn’t want to wait and be getting on a slow boat at that time.

The boat was very fast. There was only one stop and one family since it was so early. We were at Hollywood Studios by 6:55 and going through the gates around 7:05 (after stopping to check in, get wrist bands etc.) They held everyone outside Toy Story Land until about 7:25, so we ended up standing around for about 20 minutes even after we took the 6:45 boat.

They must be starting the boat earlier these days. Last Oct, it wasn’t an option pre-7am.

Thanks for all the replies! We were at the dock at 6:30am and the first boat was waiting. It was super fast and easy. We had such a great experience. We got on all the rides multiple times with no or minimal waits. The breakfast was amazing. We did the MK EMM yesterday morning and it was great but the breakfast was pretty boring. This breakfast was really impressive. I’m so glad we did this event.

 

[Woody412]

We went on the 24th and it was great. We jumped on the Woody/Jessie line immediately and it was the longest wait of the morning. There were maybe 5 or 6 families ahead of us and it took a little over 25 minutes but I can’t complain because the character interaction was great, especially Woody. AS2 was down all morning but it didn’t seem like it increased the wait anywhere else. TMM was a walk-on and we rode SDD 3x. The first time was maybe a 15 min wait, the last about 5 min. I checked a couple of days prior and it was completely sold out but it didn’t seem crowded at all. Breakfast was great and it seemed completely empty. The only problem we encountered was I lost track of time and we got caught near the entrance when the RD stampede came through. A CM pulled one of my kids to the side and put him on a bench, terrifying DW because we couldn’t see him through the crowd, but it kept him from getting trampled. I would absolutely do it again if they continue after galaxy’s edge opens.

 

[jhoannam]

RD stampede came through. A CM pulled one of my kids to the side and put him on a bench, terrifying DW because we couldn’t see him through the crowd, but it kept him from getting trampled.

This is why we decided to do EMM, RD is still crazy and people continue to be rude.

Glad it was great even during a sold out event.

 

[Katrina Y]

We went on the 24th and it was great. We jumped on the Woody/Jessie line immediately and it was the longest wait of the morning. There were maybe 5 or 6 families ahead of us and it took a little over 25 minutes but I can’t complain because the character interaction was great, especially Woody. AS2 was down all morning but it didn’t seem like it increased the wait anywhere else. TMM was a walk-on and we rode SDD 3x. The first time was maybe a 15 min wait, the last about 5 min. I checked a couple of days prior and it was completely sold out but it didn’t seem crowded at all. Breakfast was great and it seemed completely empty. The only problem we encountered was I lost track of time and we got caught near the entrance when the RD stampede came through. A CM pulled one of my kids to the side and put him on a bench, terrifying DW because we couldn’t see him through the crowd, but it kept him from getting trampled. I would absolutely do it again if they continue after galaxy’s edge opens.

How many times were you able to ride Toy Story?

 

[Woody412]

This is why we decided to do EMM, RD is still crazy and people continue to be rude.

Glad it was great even during a sold out event.

Completely agree. Any crowd that needs 15 CMs at the front trying to slow people down is a crowd I don’t need to be a part of.