Extra, Extra Magic Hours to debut this fall at Walt Disney World

MisterPenguinMay 14, 2019

To catch up those just joining in: From the time Star Wars Land opens on Aug 29 all the way to Nov 2, there are no upcharge morning times at any of the four parks. The morning upcharge times were called Early Morning Magic ($) and were taking place at the MK and DHS and they all end by the end of August. The upcharge late night times called After Hours ($) (or Villains After Hours at the MK) that would take place in MK, DHS, and DAK will also not be available from the middle of August to Nov 2 at any park. Neither Early Morning Magic ($) nor After Hours ($) took the place of Extra Magic Hours (EMH), the morning or evening times given to Disney Resort guests as a perk (which also included some Disney-related resorts). From Aug 29 to Nov 2, the Extra EMHs are going to be every morning for DHS, MK, and DAK. There is no ticket for this, it's free to Disney and Disney-related resort guests. This is called Extra Extra Magic Hours, The exception is that for the first three days of the opening of SWL (Thur Aug 29 - Sat Aug 31) DHS will open at 6 AM to all guests. (Closes at 10 PM.) No EMHs on those three days for DHS. Epcot is not included in the Extra EMHs. It will continue to have the regular EMHs twice a week, one in the morning and one in the evening. Note that the Food & Wine Festival begins the same day SWL opens. During the month of September, the MK will continue to have evening EMHs on Wednesdays, but, that will end in October when the Halloween party goes to four nights a week. Every day in September and October: DHS: Morning EMH: 6 - 9 AM daily DAK: Morning EMH: 7 - 8 AM daily MK: Morning EMH: 7 - 8 AM daily Ep: F&W begins at 9 AM daily. (Also one Morning and one Evening EMH per week.) There has not been announced any upcharge event for special access to Star Wars Land. So far. It and the times above could change. But, anyone in this thread talking about an upcharge time for SWL has been joking. [/SIZE]As of now, there are no announced upcharge access times for SWL.[/SIZE]

CalmdownnowMay 13, 2019

I think the great unknown is how the early access is going to affect the experience of those who arrive at the official opening time or later. If 5% of those who qualify for early entry show up, there will be in the region of 6,000 people already in the park at opening time; if 10% show up there could be 12,000 people already in the park when the gates open to everyone else. This would have a big impact on how crowded the park (which is much smaller than MK and EPCOT) feels and how long the waits for all rides are during the rest of the day.

eliza61nycMay 11, 2019

lol, I was being facetious. sorry.

DisneyOutsiderMay 11, 2019

What are you confused about? That different people have different opinions?

eliza61nycMay 11, 2019

Wait, didn't some one up thread say the morning EMH's were a waste of time?? I'm confused again.

monothingieMay 11, 2019

There are August packages including AP discounts available now, with travel through the end of August. Earlier in the year prior to SWGE announcement there were packages with steep discounts and free dining for travel through September 30. There is still plenty of across the board availability for WDW Resorts in September. I am starting to really think that the while it will be extremely busy at DHS for SWGE, it’s just going to be locals and a redistribution of crowds from one park to another. September with school and college starting it is not going to be an easy time for families to drop everything and spend a week at WDW. Unlike DLR where their version is opening at the start of the summer vacation season.

nickysMay 09, 2019

Indeed those things are all different. I know this because DH tells me it all the time. The fact he can’t actually watch the videos anymore because we don’t have a video player is irrelevant lol! 😂 And I cannot criticise, I am exactly the same with books. I have multiple copies of the same books! If I have a signed copy of a book, I have an unsigned copy to read. And I have hard cover and soft cover versions, maybe the soft cover is a much earlier edition and then I buy it again! It’s the collection that’s important. And just as they collect stuff about the movies, and books and so on, so they ‘collect’ visits to Galaxy’s Edge. And they will revel in the differences. Because the two lands will feel different, and there are bound to be small differences. Maybe the casual observer will have no clue about them, but I am absolutely sure there will be a thread on this forum which will be discussing the differences that no one realised were there.

Tom P.May 09, 2019

But the things you list are all DIFFERENT things. There is a reason to own the original theatrical release of a film and the director's cut and the remastered Blu-ray and so forth. All of those are different. Galaxy's Edge is exactly the same thing at Disneyland as at Walt Disney World. There is literally no difference other than their location.

nickysMay 09, 2019

I guess it depends what you call several thousand. That to me would be over $5K. I doubt 2 nights at WDW and DL would come to that. Still a reasonable cost but not out of the question for someone who probably already spends quite a bit on paraphernalia each year.

LuvWDW2May 09, 2019

There was a resort discount out when the opening of SW:GE was announced. I booked a room deal at CSR with it (sun & fun).

cosmicgirlMay 09, 2019

There was before, which could be a further indication that they're doing this to fill rooms. Edit: I just checked again and you're about the single nights. You can even get them with a discount. But if you try 8/28-8/30 a suite at AoA is the only value option that shows up.

Tom P.May 09, 2019

Resort discounts for fall, with the exception of free dining, are historically never released until mid-June. However, August discounts would normally be out by now. My suspicion -- based on nothing but my gut -- is that we will not see any discounts released for the first month or so of Galaxy's Edge, but that we will see them come out in June with typical fall discount offers on rooms for October and beyond. Even though park attendance will be through the roof for GE, park attendance is not the same as room occupancy, and Disney will want to make sure as many of those people as possible are on property during their stay.

scottieRossMay 09, 2019

There is no minimum stay for opening weekend, I can book a single night 8/28, 8/29, 8/30 or 8/31 at all of the levels of room. However the rates are significantly higher than last year and there are no discounts available

ImperfectPixieMay 09, 2019

As our boys get older, I'm right there with ya. I still tend to get up early when we're at Disney, but I'll stay until the parks close, too. That's the problem when your favorite times in the parks are from open-11am and then from dark-close, lol.