Disney usually requires most families to prioritize and budget….Just getting to Disney is a real struggle and spending extra on add ons sometimes isn’t in the budget. However, if you can squeeze something else into your budget then Early Morning Magic is a must! On a recent summer trip, my family participated in Early Morning Magic. We each had our individual reasons for wanting to do this special event, but collectively we ventured into the unknown of this extra price tag on our trip.
Early Morning Magic (EMM) Facts:
Early Morning Magic is a ticketed ($$) event available to all guests of Disney regardless of whether you stay on or off the property. This special event starts at 7:45 am and ends at 9:00 am on designated days of the month usually Sundays and Tuesdays, but that is always subject to change. The ticket is good for only Fantasyland and you must have a Magic Kingdom park ticket. There is a limit to the number of tickets sold for each event, so it does sell out. We bought our ticket months before our trip.
The following Fantasyland rides/meets are included in the Early Morning Magic ticketed event:
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Princess Fairytale Hall
- It’s a Small World
- Under the Sea –Journey of the Little Mermaid
- Mad Tea Party
Included in the price of the ticket is a breakfast buffet from 8-10 a, m.at Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe. The offerings are the typical eggs, breakfast meats, oatmeal, yogurt, and pastries. You may go anytime from 8-10 am and you can come and go as you wish within those hours. Read on to see when I think the best time is to partake in breakfast.
Our Morning Experiences:
We wanted to make sure we got to the park early so we made the trek to the bus stop from our room at 6:15 am. We grabbed the first bus and were at the park around 7:00 am. We got through security and waited in the plaza area by 7:15 am, At this time all the other guests that were doing EMM and those that had dining reservations were gathering as well as the early bird rope droppers. It’s always best to get there as early as possible and be in the front of the pack as the crowd gets thick as the morning goes on.
Once the Cast Members let us in at 7:40-ish we made our way toward the castle. The number one thing on my list was to get a picture in front of the castle with no other people in the picture. I accomplished that!!!
There are Cast Members all around helping with directions. We saw the sign directing EMM guests to the left. There we got our special wristbands-you need those to ride the rides-and formally checked in. We made our way around the castle to Fantasyland.
My husband wanted to ride 7DMT as much as possible so he and my son started on this quest. I rode three times with them but could not hang any longer so I sat and enjoyed a drink. They rode 11 times before we moved on to Peter Pan’s Flight. After that, we made our way to the remaining rides.
Here is the best part: You can ride these rides as much as possible. We walked off a ride and walked right back on with NO LINES!!!! It was so nice to be in the park with NO CROWDS!
So when did we eat breakfast? Here is a good tip…so read carefully.
Strategy:
Ride all the rides you want up until 8:45-ish, then make your way to either Splash Mt or Space Mt at 8:45 am. You will not be able to ride until 9 am, when park opens, but you will be the FIRST people in line for these rides. We were the first people on Splash Mt and then ran over to Big Thunder THEN went to breakfast. You do not want to waste precious park time eating breakfast at 9:00 am, because the best time in the park is the first hour.
We arrived at breakfast at 9:45 am and the food was plentiful and hot. We had ample amount of time to enjoy all the breakfast we wanted.
Conclusion:
My family loved Fantasyland’s Early Morning Magic. We got a special castle picture, rode 7DMT LOTS of time and was done with the park by noon that day. The best part for my family was we got to experience the park with little to NO crowds. When can you actually say that in the summertime? If you can include this special ticketed event during your trip, I would absolutely do it!
