Extra Magic Hours

Extra Magic Hours is Disney's way to give the guests of Disney World resorts a head start on the day or some extra time in the parks. It's a nice extra that Disney throws in for their guests.

Disney started the "Early Entry" program as a reward for staying on one of the Disney World resorts. Over the years the program has changed and grown.

The program allows Disney World resort guests to enter the parks one hour before everyone else, or stay up in the parks up to three hours after closing time on selected days.

Dad's Disney World Resorts page

It's available at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. It's also available at Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.

Read on for some of the specifics of the program...

Who can use Disney's Extra Magic Hours

You must be staying in one of the following Disney World hotels to be eligible -

What time do I have to get up?

The theme parks sometimes open as early as 8:00am Eastern Standard Time. To which I say...

You gotta be kidding. You want me to be in the park ready for the Rope Drop at 7:00 IN THE MORNING????

Yes, I'm yelling, and no, I won't calm down. I'm on vacation! I want to relax.

(You probably should have chosen a different place to take a vacation, if you wanted to relax. A Disney World vacation is a lot of work.)

Disney World vacations can be very tiring for everyone.

But, the old saying goes...

The early bird gets the worm.

And it's especially true of Disney World.

Eligible hotels are:

• Disney World resorts
• Shades of Green
• Swan and Dolphin
• Hilton at Downtown Disney

How does it work?

It's real easy. Go to the park early on the early day or stay late on the evening day.

All you need to get in is your room key. Simple.

What's the difference between early and late?

When a park has Extra Magic Hours you can get in to the park 1 hour prior to the scheduled opening time.

When a park has late Extra Magic Hours you can stay up to 3 hours after the park "closes".

What rides are open?

Not as many rides are open for the early EMH, but there are enough to keep you busy for an hour.

Magic Kingdom

Early -

• Stitch's Great Escape
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
• Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Cinderella's Golden Carrousel
• Mickey's Philharmagic
• Peter Pan's Flight
• It's a Small World
• Space Mountain

Evening - the same as above plus,

• The Haunted Mansion
• Splash Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Jungle Cruise

Epcot

Early -

• Spaceship Earth
• Living with the Land
• Soarin'
• Mission Space
• Test Track

Evening - All of the above, plus,

• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Honey I Shrunk the Audience
• Journey into Imagination with Figment
• Gran Fiesta Tour
• Maelstrom
• American Adventure
• O'Canada
• Kidcot Fun Stops are open until 11:00pm.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Early -

• Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Toy Story Mania
• Star Tours
• Muppet*Vision 3-D

Evening - same as above, plus

• The Voyage of the Little Mermaid
• The Great Movie Ride

Animal Kingdom

Early -

• It's Tough to be a Bug
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
• Expedition Everest
• Dinosaur

Evening - The same as above, except

• Kilimanjaro Safaris (closes early)
• Kali River Rapids (Seasonal)
• Primeval Whirl
• TriceraTop Spin

More information

You can check out Disney's Extra Magic Hours page here.

Dad's Final Word on Extra Magic Hour

You probably don't need EMH in Animal Kingdom or Disney's Hollywood Studios. Those parks don't take a whole day even when it's busy.

Early Extra Magic Hour - if you have park hopper passes, get to the Magic Kingdom early, experience Fantasyland or Tomorrowland with small crowds. Keep moving until the park fills up and pop on over to another park. Early Extra Magic Hour at Epcot is really helpful. If you can get Soarin', Test Track and Mission Space done before the crowds get there and it doesn't matter how many people show up later.

Evening Extra Magic Hour - This is bonus time. If you don't have an early morning planned the next day, enjoy yourselves. As the day gets later, the crowds will get smailer. There is nothing more exciting than riding Space Mountain at 2 in the morning when no one else is in the park. (Yawn)

Extra Magic Hour is a nice perk for those staying in a Disney hotel. It can be a very effective tool to avoid Disney World crowds, or just fun having extra hours in the parks.