Guests staying at an on-property resort at a Walt Disney World have the added benefit of Extra Magic Hours. In case you’re not familiar with Extra Magic Hours, this is additional time the parks are open exclusively for on-property resort guests. This is a great time to take advantage of reduced wait times on your favorite attractions. While not all attractions are running during Extra Magic Hours, the most popular attractions usually are.
On most days, one WDW parks will be open early for Extra Magic Hours, and another will be open late for Extra Magic Hours. So this poses the question, which is better – AM or PM Extra Magic Hours? Personally, I prefer PM Extra Magic Hours for multiple reasons. Morning Extra Magic Hours are generally only one hour prior to park opening; while evening Extra Magic Hours are usually two hours after park closing. That’s double the amount of extra time in the parks!
I don’t know about you, but I am not a morning person…not even at Disney. So evening Extra Magic Hours are perfect for me. Another advantage to evening Extra Magic Hours is that many of the families with young children have already returned to their resort. If you’re not traveling with kids or if your kids can stay up later, evening Extra Magic Hours may be a little less crowded than morning Extra Magic Hours. However, if your kids can’t stay up that late or if you are a morning person, the AM Extra Magic Hours will be perfect for you. No matter which Extra Magic Hours you choose, you’re sure to have a magical time in the Disney parks!
Which Extra Magic Hours do you prefer – AM or PM? Let us know in the comments!
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Definitely PM and especially when its open till 3:00am for the previous reasons listed. On top of that, Disney has seemed to have cut back on extra magic hours especially at the MK citing that it isn’t needed because of the new fast pass+. I don’t like them doing it and I think it is a mistake. I am an annual pass holder from Texas. I have worked at Disney in the college program. I think my stance is considerable. The MK has grown recently with new attractions and a huge expansion in Fantasyland. As a result it has modified our “Disney routine” to incorporate that which requires more time at the park. Fastpass+ has not saved us any time. In fact it can kind of be a pain. Forget using the kiosks there. People are slow in using them and the lines are really long. You need a fast pass to get a fast pass. Sometimes you don’t get the internet coverage to use the app on your phone while in the parks. They still have a long ways to go with it. Secondly, the biggest reason we stay on property is due to extra magic hours being offered. We fell less motivated to stay on property when there are no extra magic hours. There are plenty of great hotels and resorts around. Most of which I can use Hilton or Marriott points at. Surely there are others in the same boat with this.
evening > morning
On our last trip the MK closed at midnight but was open with EMH one night until 2am! We took a nap at the resort during the afternoon and headed back to the park around dinner time. Got SO much done between 12-2, it was like having the parks to ourselves! With taking a nap and getting back up to go to a park, it even felt like a bonus day of vacation.
PM…definitely better. If we can’t get up early enough to be there when the parks open on a regular day there is a slim-chance-to-none that we’ll be able to get our buns out of bed yet another hour early to be there for a.m. magic hours! I’m glad they offer both!