Extra, Extra Magic Hours at Hollywood Studios: DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS!
It’s been a busy long weekend. It started with our 20-Hour Day at Walt Disney World, continued with more Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, plus Food & Wine at Epcot. Bright and early this a.m., we once again returned for Extra, Extra Magic Hours (ExEMH) at DHS, which we’ll cover in this ‘morning report’ that also offers something of a touring plan.
For those who haven’t been paying attention, I’ve been pretty hyped on Extra, Extra Magic Hours at Walt Disney World since they were announced in the spring. I thought these would offer a huge strategic advantage to anyone willing to get up early, and would put to bed a lot of the complaints about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening earlier than anticipated.
In retrospect, all I can think is how naive of me. ExEMH only added fuel to the fire, leading to more issues due to the ridiculously early morning hours, and lack of an evening counterpart. That’s understandable coming from many guests, especially families who have a difficult time getting out the door so early. However, you’ll absolutely want to take advantage of ExEMH if you can. The rest of what follows is a breathlessly long-winded post about why Extra, Extra Magic Hours are the greatest thing at Walt Disney World in a while…
After finishing our fist round of Extra, Extra Magic Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I’m even more sold on the excellence of this invention. This was one of our best-ever “days” at DHS, and it makes me want to scoop up some more DVC reservations. I’m doubling-down, and imploring you to take advantage of Extra, Extra Magic Hours.
Seriously, do not sleep on this. Extra, Extra Magic Hours instantly jumps to the top of our list for best ways to experience the parks, well ahead of evening Extra Magic Hours, or even the paid After Hours events. You’ll have large portions of the park almost entirely to yourself–all you have to do is drag yourself out of bed super early. We know that’s asking a lot on vacation, but the payoff here is totally worth the effort.
Even if this means taking a nap each and every day of your Walt Disney World vacation between 11 am and 6 pm (except Epcot day), you’ll still come out ahead. The reason so many people have complained about ExEMH is the reason they’re so great: no one wants to get up before 5 am on vacation.
Because no one wants to get up before 5 am on vacation, these mornings are going to be criminally under-attended, allowing you to experience “nighttime” at Walt Disney World, see the sunrise, and experience (essentially) an entire day in the parks, all in one condensed morning. AND ALL WITHOUT PAYING AN UPCHARGE COST.
This simply wouldn’t be possible with a late night event, as far more people are willing to stay until midnight or even 1 am than are willing to get up at 5 am. We more or less witnessed exactly that with the evening EMH for Pandora – World of Avatar, which were just as crowded as a regular day.
For those who don’t pay close attention to Walt Disney World news, ExEMH was announced at a time when most prognosticators (including Disney’s own) anticipated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to be chaotic and crowded for months on end upon opening. That didn’t happen at Disneyland and has not happened at Walt Disney World. At this point, it could be December before crowds really spike.
Suffice to say, Extra, Extra Magic Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a great way to experience the park’s most popular attractions, including Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Mania & Slinky Dog Dash in Toy Story Land, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror all as virtual walk-ons. (Don’t expect ExEMH to be extended for November and/or December.)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be offering Extra, Extra Magic Hour from 6 to 9 am every day from now through November 2. We decided to partake in the fun on day 2 of ExEMH, opting to skip the first day because we assumed there would be some pent-up demand for that, and it wouldn’t necessarily be representative of future ExEMH mornings.
One could argue that today is also not representative of actual crowds due to Hurricane Dorian cancellations. While there definitely have been some of those, today is still only the second day of this offering and is also a holiday. Accordingly, I think the ‘missing’ guests who cancelled are easily offset by the remaining pent-up demand and the slight spike due to Labor Day.
As excited as I was by the prospect of experiencing these attractions with minimal waits, the real reason we got up at the crack of dawn to head to Disney’s Hollywood Studios was for the sunrise photos. The necessity of doing a post offering some “strategy” was simply my excuse to convince Sarah to accompany me…and do most of the work.
We arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios extra early for Extra, Extra Magic Hours…getting inside the park just after 5:30 am.
Our thinking here was that the park might quietly open even before the published start time, but that didn’t happen, so we ended up just waiting a bit longer.
We always get questions about what time buses start running, and the answer is almost always earlier than necessary. If the park opens at 8 a.m., buses are on the prowl by 6 a.m.
I don’t know what time the buses start running during ExEMH, but if you wanted to be there at 5 am for some reason, you’d probably have no problem catching a bus. Same will likely go for the Skyliner once it starts operating later this month.
We waited on Hollywood Boulevard until exactly 6 am, at which point an announcement played and Stormtroopers slowly walked us back to the queue for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run.
All told, the walk took 18-20 minutes (depending upon when you stop the clock) and it was excruciatingly slow, and unpleasant. At this point, Sarah did the attraction and I ran off to take photos.
This was a tag-team approach throughout, as we each did some attractions individually and some together, meeting up after every ride so we didn’t cross-over one another time-wise.
Anyway, here’s what Sarah and/or I managed to get done during Extra, Extra Magic Hours between 6 and 9 am…
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (6:20-6:44 am)
- Slinky Dog Dash (x3) (6:50-7:08 am)
- Toy Story Mania (7:10-7:19 am)
- Slinky Dog Dash (7:23-7:40 am)
- Wandered Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (x2) (8:01-8:20 am)
- Tower of Terror (forgot to count–it was a walk-on)
- Left park at 8:50 am
A couple of important notes here. First, we cannot understate how unpleasant that slow march was back to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
It’s in a large blob of humanity, and even if everyone around you has showered and is wearing deodorant (a huge if), it’s already hot and humid at 6 am in Florida this time of year, so…there’s that.
This is unpleasant to the point that rather than heading to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with almost everyone else, we’d do Toy Story Land first next time.
Barely anyone was heading that direction, and judging by the 5 minute wait time for Slinky Dog Dash well after 7 am, we’re guessing you could ride that coaster literally a half-dozen times with no wait.
Plus, the posted wait time for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run actually goes down over the course of ExEMH. It peaked at 70 minutes around 6:30 am. That 30 minute posted wait above is the ride’s status as of around 8:30 am.
So long as you’re in line before 9 am, you should experience a relatively low wait for this attraction. The posted times are definitely inflated across the board, but even an actual wait of 30 minutes isn’t too bad considering all you can get done by doing Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge “last” during ExEMH.
Speaking of the 9 am crowd, that’s it to the left, waiting behind the turnstiles.
It’s tough to tell from the photo, but there are a ton of people waiting in line here. If you’re staying off-site, I’d probably recommend saving DHS for later in the day. These people are going to be behind 3 hours worth of on-site crowds–that’s still not a ton (wait times were still pretty manageable when we left), but it’s way worse than a normal rope drop day. Go at night instead.
Even towards the end of the morning Extra, Extra Magic Hours, Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster were all at or near walk-on status. Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run and Slinky Dog Dash are the only rides that had a long posted wait times.
As for the full strategy, you could probably do Slinky Dog Dash 8+ times or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster over a dozen times if you cut Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge from the beginning of this itinerary and instead moved it to the end of the night. One, that’s an objectively better time to be on Batuu. Two, we’re already noticing highly disproportionate crowds in Galaxy’s Edge first thing in the morning.
Going forward, it’s entirely possible that Extra, Extra Magic Hour will get progressively more popular as we enter October and Walt Disney World gets busier. Moreover, word is going to get out about how great ExEMH is thanks to glowing posts like this one, and more guests will get up to partake.
Consequently, you can bump up wait times by about 25% across the board if you’re visiting in mid-September or later. It’s unlikely to get much busier than that, simply because arriving to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at 6 am is a non-starter for so many families on vacation.
Among attractions, don’t expect priorities to shift much. “Everyone” will start their morning in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge before moving on to Toy Story Land before moving on to Sunset Boulevard. So long as you arrive right at 6 am and ‘surf the wave’ of the crowd, this will remain the best approach.
That is, unless you don’t want to be part of the ‘Star Wars: GalaxSea of Humanity’ at the start of ExEMH, and would prefer cutting ahead and doing Slinky Dog Dash, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, or Tower or Terror repeatedly as walk-ons.
By arriving at the start of Extra, Extra Magic Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you can easily experience Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, all three Toy Story Land attractions, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Star Tours before 9 a.m. You could probably experience Slinky Dog Dash multiple times, in fact.
Right now, this is especially huge given that it’s impossible to simultaneously hold FastPass+ for the headliner attractions on that list. If you’re a repeat Walt Disney World visitor who isn’t interested in Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ shows, you could be done with this park, walk to Epcot’s International Gateway entrance, and be there right around rope drop.
Ultimately, this post underscores how clutch getting up early can be in accomplishing the must-dos at Disney’s Hollywood Studios now and for the next couple of months. We cannot overstate the value of Extra, Extra Magic Hours at DHS–you can literally do more in these 3 hours than in all of the remaining hours of the day the park is open (excluding shows). If that’s not enough to sell you on Extra, Extra Magic Hours…what about sunrise on Batuu?!
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Your Thoughts
Have you done morning Extra, Extra Magic Hour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios yet? Which attractions did you do? Are you planning to take advantage of this wonderful offering? Will you go for sunrise serenity in DHS or doing a ton of rides? Do you agree or disagree with our morning ExEMH advice or attraction order? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
No way will we be able to make it by 6 but probably 7. Looks like our best bet is to hit TS Land first then go to Star Wars to do Smugglers Run before off site guests come in. We go last week of September so I’m going to try and keep an eye on early wait times over the next couple weeks.
Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, both Toy Story Land attractions, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, purchased a legacy lightsaber and built a droid before 9 am arrived at 5 am on Aug 30 all in all there was no crowds in all parks I have been going for 10 years straight and never saw crowds this low
Being forced to evacuate Charleston, SC. May head to Orlando. What is the word on weather down in Orlando? Is Dorian playing havoc? I checked weather.com but was hoping for a man/woman on the ground perspective.
Were those waiting at 9 not eligible for the ExEMH? Or will they only open gates at 6 am and again at 9? Wondering if we rolled in at 7 that would still get us in early – I had some balking at the regular EMH last trip so can only imagine what the response to ExEMH will be!
ExEMH are only for on site guests, so everyone lined up to enter at 9 were not staying on site
We will be there in two weeks, and now we have a game plan for DHS! I think you’re right; families will not make a 6 am open. But this one will!!!
thanks to dorian and rescheduling our trip a week later, i’m going to have to get really creative wit ha few things. in our reschedule, i of course lost our coveted slinky dog fps, but i plan, kids and all, to take full advantage of this eemh plan and immediately head to toy story land first and foremost so we can get on slinky! maybe even multiple times? then hit sunset blvd, then swge.
I cannot express how helpful this is! We are coming next week with our kids (pending weather, of course) and we were debating how “worth it” the early morning wake-ups would be. Read this article to the family and now everyone is on board and excited for low crowds during ExEMH! And our kids are actually more excited for Toy Story Land, so doing that first totally works for us!! Thanks!!
We had to reschedule our trip due to the hurricane as well. We were pleasantly surprised when Disney emailed us yesterday to let us know that we were given Multiple Experiences FPs and Slinky Dog & Flight of Passage FPs that can be redeemed anytime during our trip. They will definitely still try to make it a magical trip.
oh wow, i hope we get that!! we lost FoP, slinky, and 7dmn in our reschedule.
Is the Disney skyliner from pop century to DHS running now. It was rumored that this leg might open sooner than the rest. We are going 9/6 to 9/16
i think any hope of the skyliner opening up earlier than scheduled was dashed with dorian’s arrival.
Great info! I’d appreciate a follow-up visit and report later in September also! Thanks!
This sounds fantastic – is there any way to access these extra early magic hours if you are not staying at a Disneyworld property (either on-site or a property with “official WDW hotel” status)? We were there a couple of weeks ago but were staying off-site and were advised that extra magic hours were not an option for us.
That unfortunately is the case. Extra magic hours are one of the perks to staying on site/with partner hotels. They don’t have exceptions to that rule, unlike most things Disney.
Awesome thanks! Based on crowd levels even in mid-August I will definitely seriously consider one of the official partner hotels next time – that’s a great perk. One thing we were able to buy that was definitely worthwhile was the After Hours pass for the 9 pm – 12 a.m. opening at Animal Kingdom – similar sort of experience – very short waits on all rides including Flight of Passage.
Is there a way you can optimize your site? I was able to read the article before the images would load. I end up never seeing your pictures anymore unless I leave it up in the background to load while I do some other task. I’ve tried on my home and work networks, desktop and mobile, so it’s not my hardware, software, or internet provider.
These photos are awesome. I can totally tell you had the time and space to frame and capture these. Beautiful light. I am hoping the eemh are extended through the first week of December. I need some clutch in my life.
We are going August 25 next year (so excited!) Do you think the ExEMH will be available aging then, or is this a one shot deal? Thank you for all your insight!
Great post. With all of the great information you’ve posted this year I booked us at Pop Century in October. we should be able to walk out the door to the skyliner to be there before dawn
Tom, do you think there is any chance this is extended into Feb? If so, when do they usually post that? Thanks!! Loved following along! What an awesome morning!
I’d be surprised if ExEMH is extended further into November or December and completely shocked if it goes through February.
Dang!!! Thanks for the awesome pics though!
Wouldn’t you know?? We will arrive on November 3. Crossing my fingers that they will extend exEMH for awhile.
Thanks for the info!
Thanks for the detailed review with time frames and everything! I’m honeymooning at Disney in October and am hoping to get my future hubby up early (it will not be easy!) to participate in EEMH! Do you think walking or bussing from Yacht Club to HS will be the quickest way to get there by 6am?
Walking is a hike… check to see if the boats are running!
Boat is an option, but I’d walk. It’s more predictable, you’re in control of your own destiny, and it’s usually fastest.
I am staying at the Yacht Club and the walk is around 20mins. I don’t find it bad and the boat usually takes longer….but at that time in the morning, a boat may be worth it. I’m going in October and am ditching my husband to walk down from the Yacht Club.
It is so worth it to go early!
Ask your significant other to at least try it the first or second day you are there. You will be so amazed at all you can ride!
Pack really good snacks-protein bars, peanut butter, etc; treat yourself to mid morning break at Starbucks or similar-promise them a Mickey ice cream bar or Dole Whip-whatever it takes! If you are close enough go back for a nap if needed.
I know it is hard to leave the park once you are there, but to keep everyone from getting cranky it is so worth it. Slinky Dog is awesome but the lines are terrible. Same with 7 Dwarfs Mine train. We couldn’t even get a fast pass for mine train our whole trip. Slinky is hard to get fast pass. Go ride 3 or 4 times if the line is short. You won’t be disappointed. And enjoy the sunrise. By the way it is really cool to walk Main Street early in the morning, before the throngs of people come in. Get some great castle and family pics too. At least try it once.
For those with little kids (or those behaving like ones) give them their baths night before, jump in the clothes, brush their teeth and go. Don’t waste valuable time eating breakfast! Pack bars, eat on the bus etc snack frequently just get up and go. They might even remember that time you let them eat ice cream at 10 am in the morning (instead of breakfast) LOL or buy them a giant cinnamon roll mid morning. Just pack a lot of snacks and go!
My husband and I got to Disney about two times a year….he’s more of a been there, done that kind of person. He will repeat things with me, but I also have zero problem ditching him if I want to do something (I will be doing things alone twice on this coming trip). I am also not sold that he will like the Millennium Falcon ride. I’m definitely going to do a recon mission at 6am to decide if it is going to make sense to get him up the next day. We also have reservations for Oga’s around 4, so he could still see the land if he wants. His parents also live 30 mins from Disney, so snagging his stepdad a lightsaber reservation (everyone gives me their passwords so I could literally plan everything for everyone) that same day….everyone seems pleased without having to wake up early. My cats get me up at 5:30 every morning so it really is no biggie to get up half an hour earlier and walk to HS â€â™€ï¸
Thanks for report. I am hoping to get DH there by 7:30 for our October trip….no way he will do 6 am, sigh! I will keep monitoring wait times and may have to go early by myself, but that’s not nearly as much fun (IMHO) as both of us going
Lol I’m in the same boat!! I’m trying to mentally prepare my future hubby already for the expectation that we’ll be out the door by 5:30am for EEMH (he’s completely resistant at this point, but I’m hoping that if I show him this blog post he’ll open his mind to the possibility!) 🙂
Thank you! I was really hoping for this article, and I was really hoping that his is how it would go. You answered a ton of questions I had for this extra extra magic hours thing.
It looks like maybe it might be best to go straight to toy story for an hour then galaxy’s edge after that?
Thanks again.
“It looks like maybe it might be best to go straight to toy story for an hour then galaxy’s edge after that?”
Yep!
I was wondering the same thing. Thanks!
I really hope crowd levels prompt Disney to extend this past November 2– at least, if not every day, then for a span of time around the opening of Rise of the Resistance. My next upcoming trip is December 2-6. It’s planned as a “see WDW at Christmas” bucket-list trip and I was planning to not even visit GE, saving it for my next visit. But the announcement that RotR will open December 5 has prompted me to put GE on my itinerary that day– riding an attraction on its opening day isn’t on my bucket list but would be fun to be able to say I’ve done.
I’m normally a late riser but I’d get up for these early hours.
Thanks for this informative post. I am excited and intend taking full advantage of ex ex hours. I am packing now while watching hurricane Dorian and hoping it has little effect on wow. I am due to go 9/9!
Really appreciate the field report Tom. Please re-visit mid sept and provide an update. Hoping your prediction is accurate and very low crowds for EEMH for a long time. 6 am start is tough though!