Best Time to Leave AKL for Rope Drop?

[dakotix]

It's our first stay at AKL. About what time should we be at the bus stop to make it in time to get to MK for rope drop?

 

[gharter]

If you want to be at AK for RD, you need to be at the turnstiles about 60 minutes before the park opens to be toward the front of the line.
So you have to factor in what time the buses come by. It is about a 5 minute ride to AK from AKL. Depending how busy it is, security can take a while as there are not too many lines open that early in general.
So probably 80-90 minutes before official park opening time.

 

[DisDreaming4116]

If you can take an Uber, save the potential headache and stress of waiting for the bus. Usually I'm a "bus person" but not at rope drop where 5 minutes can make a difference.

 

[gharter]

we often have a car at WDW. While we normally take the bus, we drive to AK for RD for that very reason.

 

[FCDub]

If you want to be at AK for RD, you need to be at the turnstiles about 60 minutes before the park opens to be toward the front of the line.
So you have to factor in what time the buses come by. It is about a 5 minute ride to AK from AKL. Depending how busy it is, security can take a while as there are not too many lines open that early in general.
So probably 80-90 minutes before official park opening time.

OP wants to go to MK

 

[JETSDAD]

I'd probably want to be at the bus stop about 90 minutes prior to MK opening if you want to hit RD. You won't be at the front but should be there prior to people being released from the hub.

 

[FCDub]

It's our first stay at AKL. About what time should we be at the bus stop to make it in time to get to MK for rope drop?

What's your priority for rope drop? If you're headed to 7DMT, that makes a big difference over, say, Pirates.

 

[gharter]

OP wants to go to MK

Oops. I 'd still leave about 90 minutes before.

 

[dakotix]

Our plan is to go left...hit pirates, splash and Thunder Mtn. After that we have a FP+ to Haunted Mansion (@1030am), 7DMT (@12:30pm), and Buzz(@1:30).

 

[monkyby87]

Our plan is to go left...hit pirates, splash and Thunder Mtn. After that we have a FP+ to Haunted Mansion (@1030am), 7DMT (@12:30pm), and Buzz(@1:30).

You shouldn't have any problem hitting up those attractions at Rope Drop. A lot of people head right at RD to get to 7DMT and Peter Pan. RD can also be deceiving with the crowd; it will seem like there are a million people trying to get into the park, but the crowd will spread out pretty quickly.

 

[FCDub]

Our plan is to go left...hit pirates, splash and Thunder Mtn. After that we have a FP+ to Haunted Mansion (@1030am), 7DMT (@12:30pm), and Buzz(@1:30).

This will make your RD experience less stressful, for sure! Being at the very front of the pack in the hub is really only critical if you're headed to something like Peter Pan, 7DMT, or Space Mountain. I'd still shoot to arrive like 30 minutes before rope drop, so that means being at the bus stop about an hour before that.

 

[kiford]

I always count on leaving my hotel 60 minutes prior to where I want to be. Sometimes we get a bus right away and we arrive very early, other times we get there at the 60 minute mark. If you want to be IN at RD, you'll probably need to be there 30-60 minutes prior to opening. Depends on time of year and how busy it is. You should also check when the first bus leaves - sometimes they only leave the resort 60 minutes prior to park opening so you would only be at the park at best 30-40 minutes prior (which can still be good but it depends on how busy the park will be).

 

[mountdew1]

I'd say at least 90 mins, if not more. Our most recent AKL stay, we shot for that departure time, and still ended up getting into the park way closer to rope drop that we anticipated. Think it took 30-45 mins for the bus to show, and when they did, it was literally 3 buses pulling into the depot within 30 seconds of each other. Figure 20-30 mins travel time, and then another 10-15 mins to clear security, and suddenly rope drop is 10 minutes away.

You should also check when the first bus leaves - sometimes they only leave the resort 60 minutes prior to park opening so you would only be at the park at best 30-40 minutes prior (which can still be good but it depends on how busy the park will be).

Regardless of what the official answer from the front desk may be, buses are running by around 6:30 or so each morning. And I believe this goes even earlier when they have crazy early hours.

 

[kiford]

Don't forget that you can now monitor the bus schedule from your MDE account at your resort (and only at your resort). That really helped us to schedule our time this last visit. Instead of leaving the room just whenever and maybe waiting 20 minutes, I checked the schedule about 30-45 minutes prior to when I expected to leave and was able to figure out the best time to head out of the room in time to get the bus without much waiting. If you're taking the first bus in the morning, it will help you to make sure you get there ahead of it and don't miss it.

 

[Searc]

Don't forget that you can now monitor the bus schedule from your MDE account at your resort (and only at your resort). That really helped us to schedule our time this last visit. Instead of leaving the room just whenever and maybe waiting 20 minutes, I checked the schedule about 30-45 minutes prior to when I expected to leave and was able to figure out the best time to head out of the room in time to get the bus without much waiting. If you're taking the first bus in the morning, it will help you to make sure you get there ahead of it and don't miss it.

Don't forget, those times change frequently. Don't count on using them, as they aren't always accurate.

 

[kiford]

Don't forget, those times change frequently. Don't count on using them, as they aren't always accurate.

We found them to be reasonably accurate as they are the same posted times at the bus stops and are based on the GPS monitoring. I would check 30-45 minutes prior to when we wanted to leave, add increments of 20 minutes to the current ETA and then check a couple of times and update my estimates of when it would arrive. That way I knew approximately how much time we had to get showered and dressed while still making sure there was time to spare to get out there if it was a bit early and even knew if I had time for coffee in the room before leaving. I had our walk timed from our room as 2-3 minutes so we would leave our room 5-7 minutes prior to the estimated time of arrival and rarely waited more than 2-3 minutes. I definitely wouldn't cut it too fine since they can arrive a bit earlier than the ETA but it's better than getting there just as one left and end up waiting 20 minutes or more. I just wish they'd add the ability to check the schedules at other locations beyond your hotel but it's a really nice addition to MDE. Not feeling like we had to rush out of our room only to have to wait for ages when you have to spend most of your day in line at the parks really enhanced our stay in a positive way.

 

[dwheaton]

The ride from the AKL to the MK is about 20 minutes, and you should allow 15-20 minutes to be safe for waiting for the bus. It could be 2 minutes, but it could be 20. I'd think you'd want to be there for rope drop at least 45 minutes before opening. So you're probably looking at leaving at least 80 minutes prior to opening to be safe.