Does this make sense for rope drop?

[Scarlet_J]

We are early birds. I'd much rather take advantage of a quieter early morning, take a mid-day break, a go back out for dinner and a few rides.

Although I'd like to do official rope drop once at MK to see the welcome show, I'm wondering what to do on other days. Should we get there the recommended 40 minutes before rope drop, or show up a few minutes after? I'm wondering if the crowds will start to taper off as the mass of people waiting will have already gotten in.

This is my thought:

arrive 8:20 for 9:00 open. start time to get going on rides 9:05/9:10

or

arrive 9:05/9:10, start time to get going on rides 9:25/9:30.

Does this seem accurate? A lot less wait, with a start time less than 30 minutes after rope drop. Will that extra 30 minutes make a difference?

 

[kimbe21]

What time of year are you going? Depending on time of year, 25+ minutes could add up to a long wait for certain rides.
If you don't mind getting up and being at the gate 30 mins before opening I would recommend that. And you MUST see the welcome show. It gives me goosebumps every time.
Have a great trip!

 

[Kathryn777]

What rides do you want to do at rope drop. 20 min can make a huge difference on some depending on crowd level

 

[disney world dreamer]

in my opinion option #2 is not a good strategy.

the welcome show often starts around 8:40am and once its complete you are let in so you'd be walking in prior to official opening time and you could potentially get on your first ride prior to 9am.

if you wait until 9:05am-9:10am to walk in people will already have been on a ride and the lines will already start forming.
lines still won't be long yet but when you think about the fact that you could have already gotten on 2 possibly 3 rides in the amount of time it takes you to get on 1 it just makes more sense to get there early.

 

[hedberg1661]

I think your plan really depends on what attraction you plan on rope dropping. Let's take MK for example. Everyone wants to go to 7DMT or Space Mountain. If you want to ride either and/or don't have a FP for one I highly recommend getting there about 30 minutes early. Each park is different however. Just keep in mind your high volume attractions will fill up fast.

Another option if you are staying on property is to take advantage of EMH.

 

[Scarlet_J]

I will be there mid-fall, and not on Thanksgiving. Touring plans is giving me crowd levels of 4-7 that week.

 

[Scarlet_J]

I think your plan really depends on what attraction you plan on rope dropping. Let's take MK for example. Everyone wants to go to 7DMT or Space Mountain. If you want to ride either and/or don't have a FP for one I highly recommend getting there about 30 minutes early. Each park is different however. Just keep in mind your high volume attractions will fill up fast.

Another option if you are staying on property is to take advantage of EMH.

Nothing too big. I plan to FP 7DMT, and probably won't do Space Mountain. I plan do do Fantasyland one morning, so the biggest ride is probably Peter Pan.

I plan to take advantage of morning EMH too, but would the process be the same? Should I get there 30 or 40 minutes before EMH?

 

[hedberg1661]

Nothing too big. I plan to FP 7DMT, and probably won't do Space Mountain. I plan do do Fantasyland one morning, so the biggest ride is probably Peter Pan.

I plan to take advantage of morning EMH too, but would the process be the same? Should I get there 30 or 40 minutes before EMH?

Yeah 30 should do the trick.

 

[quakechicago]

Best strategy is to do an early pre-park breakfast if possible at CRT or BOG since that will get you deeper into the park earlier. If you look at youtube videos of opening, there are no quiet mornings unless it's pouring with rain. Especially in November or possibly during free dining with thousands of other resort guests trying to take "advantage" of EMH. Your best bet is often to skip EMH early days and use those with a pre-park breakfast at another park since most resort guests seem to think they have an advantage and use it almost like Disney is telling them where to go. It's 30-50 THOUSAND people all going to the same place at the same time. A crowd level of 4-7 is a pretty crowded day compared to a 2 and depending on the day of the week, that might work against you. Check out ride max and touring plans to see what they suggest. We use both and other services to make our plans since I hit the ground running.

Also, make sure you don't set your expectations too high. I've been going since the parks first opened (I'm old haha), usually plan long trips, and still have never done everything I wanted to get to on every trip. The top things? Always, but occasionally not in the order I would have ideally liked.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

In the busy times of the year, I get there about an hour before opening. On the off times, I get there about 30 minutes before opening. I'd never go any later than that. No matter the time of the year, I find that arriving past opening, even by 20 minutes, makes a huge difference.

 

[itchin2go]

We are early birds too. We pretty much do rope drop every day, regardless of which park we're visiting. Rope drop isn't for everyone, but if you're up anyway, why not?

This may help.
http://www.easywdw.com/cheatsheets/mk_cheatsheet_v3.pdf

You can see wait times toward the end of that pdf. You can see how quickly some of them go up with time. That will help you plan better, if you do want to take it easy some mornings.

Have a great trip!