February 26, 2019

Disney World Extra Magic Hours Pros and Cons

If you have a Disney World vacation and you are staying in one of Disney’s on property resorts, you have access to Extra Magic Hours. Extra Magic Hours is a way to get a little bit more fun out of your day and each park has different days scheduled for these hours. You can view these ahead of time to help you plan your trip. Some people avoid parks with Extra Magic Hours, believing them to be the most crowded of the parks. Others choose to take advantage of the extra time. Extra Magic Hours can be in the morning, or at night and they give eligible guests extra time inside the park, outside of regular hours of operation.

Extra Magic Hours – The Cons

Fantasyland and E-ticket thrills get increased wait times. Yes, more people do visit the parks with extended hours and the attractions affected tend to be the most family-oriented rides in Fantasyland as well as the big draws like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Hollywood Studios has the fewest attractions and almost all of them are E-ticket rides, so they will have longer lines.
If you don’t stay at a Disney Resort, you can’t take advantage. It’s a lose/lose for anyone who doesn’t stay at an Extra Magic Hours eligible resort. You don’t get the extra time and if you pick the wrong park, you may have to compete with additional crowds.
Morning Extra Magic Hours may be hard to follow through on. Staying late is easier than arriving early. Although, if you don’t pace yourself, you may find that you aren’t up for the evening hours either. Morning hours are tougher to make time for, especially if you have small children to corral.
More people visit the park than otherwise would. So, even if you do get extra time, there is no guarantee that that added time will be all that beneficial.

Extra Magic Hours – The Pros

More time in the park that has the Extra Magic Hours is the big draw for this perk. Even though– as I said before– some lines get longer, others don’t. You still have a good chance at getting some added fun. Even if you don’t experience any extra rides, the extra time allows you to pace yourself. You can take more time with your meals, or just enjoy being within the park a little bit longer.
Scheduling according to Extra Magic Hours can give you more accumulative time in the parks with no added charge. If you make every day in the parks an Extra Magic Hours Day, within a weeks time, you can rack up practically a whole other day. The bottom line is that you get more time for the same money.
Morning Extra Magic Hours generally see less competition in the form of additional crowds. So, if you really are concerned that more guests will offset the value of more time, show up bright and early when you will have less competition from other guests. Extra Magic hours add flexibility. You can even leave a park early and return for the extended evenings if you care to.