Entering DCA through GCH

[Jmaddog]

I'm planning to stay at PPH in April and I have questions about entering DCA through GCH. Can you enter at park opening? 10:00 AM on the day I am there. Are the lines long and is it quicker than waiting at the main gate? If it's my goal to run to Toy Story Mania first to avoid long lines, would this be the best plan and when should I plan to line up at the entrance into the park?

 

[sonnyjane]

Yes, because you are staying at PPH, you can use the GCH park entrance at opening, and actually, you can enter even sooner than 10:00. The park unofficially opens at 9:30. Guests are allowed in to ride Soarin' and line up for the rope drop heading to TSMM and other attractions. It used to be that if you were staying on-site, you could get a WOC FP earlier than the rest of the public as well, although I am not sure what the current policy is on that?

 

[Jmaddog]

Thanks so much for your reply!

So if I get there to line up at the rope drop for TSMM at 9:30 I should be good? Does it get packed with DLR guests with the same idea (this will be a Thursday morning, but during Spring Break)?

I will be seeing WoC on a different day, so I'm not worried about trying to get a FP- just want to spend the day in DCA. We are planning to go to Goofy's Kitchen at 8:00, then on to DCA. Seems like it should work out about right, I hope.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks so much for your reply!

So if I get there to line up at the rope drop for TSMM at 9:30 I should be good? Does it get packed with DLR guests with the same idea (this will be a Thursday morning, but during Spring Break)?

Some people do that. It will not be packed but there will people there. If you go at 9:30AM you will be at the front. If you go at 9:45 you will be in a decent place. Whether it is worth it to use your time this way is debated around here. I perosnally think not. I have done TSMM rope drop twice.

 

[mrswh]

When I was there a few weeks ago, DLR hotel guests could enter through the GCH entrance at 9:15. In the past (during peak times) it has been at 9:00. The main gates open at 9:30. Sometimes Soarin' and Little Mermaid will open around 9:20-9:30 - when this happens, there is time to get a WOC FP, ride Soarin', get a Soarin' FP, and ride Little Mermaid before rope drop at 10:00. Yes, there will be a lot of people at rope drop. Without construction walls, there were two rope drops - one in Sunshine Plaza and one near Little Mermaid. Since construction there has been just the one (at least when I have been there) near Little Mermaid, but who knows what it will be like in April.

About TSMM - I used to be one of those people lining up for rope drop to be the first on TSMM, but have since decided it doesn't make sense. If you are right at the rope, and are super fast (read: have no children and break the "don't run" rule), and there isn't another rope drop somewhere else, you will get on with little wait. BUT - if you have been waiting at the front of the rope drop line, you've already spent 30-40 minutes in line. In the morning, the line for TSMM quickly builds to 45 minutes, because everyone else wants to ride it first thing in the morning too. If you are not first in line and you are not fast, then you will wind up waiting just as long, if not longer (taking into account the time you waited in line for rope drop) than you would if you went to ride TSMM at some other time that day.

Just my .02.

 

[sonnyjane]

I agree with Hydroguy and mrswh in that I don't think it's beneficial to hit TSMM at rope drop. You're either standing at rope drop or standing in line at the ride, but either way, you're still waiting the same amount of time. I'd rather just get a snack and hang out in line for 30 minutes at some point during the day than fight the masses in the morning.

 

[Jmaddog]

Wow, that all makes sense. Thanks so much!

 

[starshine514]

I agree with Hydroguy and mrswh in that I don't think it's beneficial to hit TSMM at rope drop. You're either standing at rope drop or standing in line at the ride, but either way, you're still waiting the same amount of time. I'd rather just get a snack and hang out in line for 30 minutes at some point during the day than fight the masses in the morning.

It depends on when you're going. I was there earlier this week and everytime I walked by during the day, the line was 50 minutes + people wrapped around for a couple loops to get to the 50 minute point. We ended up fighting the WOC crowd and hitting it less than an hour before park closing with a 30 minute posted wait time twice.

That being said, the rope drop crowd headed there (the one day I attempted CA rope drop, it was so totally not worth it earlier this week) was HUGE. By the time we rode GSS and SSS (twice) the line was already the length I described above. If you could have been at the front of rope drop, it may have been worth it.

 

[Denton]

Do CMs still hand out WOC fast passes while you line up at the GCH DCA entrance? They were doing that during our visit last May.

 

[HydroGuy]

Do CMs still hand out WOC fast passes while you line up at the GCH DCA entrance? They were doing that during our visit last May.

There were reports of this happening but it was never a regular thing. So to ask if they "still do it" is misleading in that they never really did it in the first place - except in special circimstances. So the answer would be "no" - which is not to say it can't happen - it just doesn't happen regularly.