Hi Cynthia!
Extra Magic Hours are a great way to make the most of your time at the Walt Disney World Resort! It really is incredible how much magic you can experience in that short amount of time before or after regular park hours!
We usually arrive at the parks between 45 minutes to an hour before Extra Magic Hours begin. Because of the popularity of
Pandora - The World of Avatar at
Disney's Animal Kingdom and
Toy Story Land at
Disney's Hollywood Studios, I think this would be an ideal time frame to make sure that you are some of the first Guests to experience the new attractions. Although it doesn't always happen, sometimes, the parks have multiple "rope drops" that allow you to enter the parks to a certain point so that Guests aren't running to attractions, which makes the wait time seem shorter than standing in one place. Plus, getting an early start helps with the heat!
On our last trip, my husband and I were able to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom during Extra Magic Hours (which began at 7 a.m. that morning), ride both Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey, then drive over to Epcot before "rope drop" so we could be some of the first Guests to ride Frozen Ever After when Epcot opened. Although this was a special set of circumstances, it does speak to the fact that Extra Magic Hours are particularly magical!
Have a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow!
-Lindsey N.