ETWB: Rope Drop or Last Attraction?

[taythecray]

T-6 days until Disney! Looking over our plans again after finding out Haunted Mansion will be open! Obviously this needs to be squeezed in to our busy day, so I'm just looking for suggestions on how to rearrange our schedule.

Our plan was to hit Enchanted Tales with Belle at RD and then make our way through Fantasyland/Tomorrowland (we have an 8:40-9:40 FP for Space Mountain reserved if needed). However now that Haunted Mansion is open, we're debating on hitting the Liberty Square area first. I've also heard of instances where people haven't made it to ETWB fast enough and had to wait the 20min even at rope drop which is something we'd like to avoid first thing if possible. Now we're looking at switching our Fantasyland visit until the end of the night. Anyone know when lines for ETWB are better or had experience with either 8am RD or 11:30pm with a 12am closure?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

T-6 days until Disney! Looking over our plans again after finding out Haunted Mansion will be open! Obviously this needs to be squeezed in to our busy day, so I'm just looking for suggestions on how to rearrange our schedule.

Our plan was to hit Enchanted Tales with Belle at RD and then make our way through Fantasyland/Tomorrowland (we have an 8:40-9:40 FP for Space Mountain reserved if needed). However now that Haunted Mansion is open, we're debating on hitting the Liberty Square area first. I've also heard of instances where people haven't made it to ETWB fast enough and had to wait the 20min even at rope drop which is something we'd like to avoid first thing if possible. Now we're looking at switching our Fantasyland visit until the end of the night. Anyone know when lines for ETWB are better or had experience with either 8am RD or 11:30pm with a 12am closure?

There is no way I'd dedicate the amount of time it takes to do ETWB at RD. The last two times we did it without FP+, we walked right in during the evening. Honestly, I don't think you'll even have to wait until 11:30 to do it with little to no wait.

 

[taythecray]

There is no way I'd dedicate the amount of time it takes to do ETWB at RD. The last two times we did it without FP+, we walked right in during the evening. Honestly, I don't think you'll even have to wait until 11:30 to do it with little to no wait.

Well that's good to hear! I know most people mob over to Fantasyland at RD so it would be nice to head the other direction, I just want to make sure we don't miss it

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Right now, at 11:30 ET, EasyWDW is showing a 20 minute posted/10 minute actual wait time for ETWB.

http://www.easywdw.com/waits/?park=mk

 

[Minnie222]

We were there at March Break.

At 10pm onwards, there were very few people at ETWB. DD was four and loved ETWB. We did it again and again at 10pm. When we were about to head back in line, the CMs told us that there are not enough people lining up yet, and we had to wait for people to arrive to start a show. (Posted wait time is 20 minutes, and there is no line) We waited and it ended up about 20 minutes before they gather enough people for a show.

I think the main audience for ETWB is younger kids. That's why it is really quiet at late night. If I were you, or I were to do it again, I will go for late night.

 

[ruthies12]

I've been following wait times in preparation for our trip and honestly ETWB never seems to have much of a wait anymore unless it's a day when everything is packed, and then it only has waits in the afternoon. I think you'll be fine waiting until evening. I think this was a one and done attraction for most people so it's not nearly as popular now that it isn't the newest thing.

 

[JimmyV]

As noted above, do NOT make it a RD event. Too much time will pass until you exit the attraction and the "RD Effect" will have largely worn off. RD should be used to go from attraction to attraction, doing as many things as you reasonably can, (unless, of course, your stay is so long that just doing one or two things before the crowds filter in is fine with you.) Also, the ETWB requires a certain "critical mass" of people in order for it to be fun. You really want a full audience and a lot of kids who can participate in the show. If you go first thing and only 10 other people are there to join you, it isn't really the same experience.

For these same reasons, I would NOT go at the very end of the day. This is an attraction that depends on the participation of little kids and at the end of the day, there are fewer of the, and those that stick around may not be in the best frame of mind to make a good show of it.

Just monitor the wait times during the day and pick a time when the posted wait is 30 minutes or less. Odds are, that will really mean 15-20 minutes.

 

[taythecray]

Thanks for the input everyone! Looks like we will plan different attractions for rope drop then. My friend is a huge Beauty and the Beast fan and this will be her first time at Disney so I feel like she'll just be happy during the walkthrough of Belle (seeing the cabin/library etc) instead of the quality of the play itself.
I'm actually kind of relieved you all pointed me away from doing it at RD because I was secretly wanting to try and avoid Fantasyland in the morning

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Thanks for the input everyone! Looks like we will plan different attractions for rope drop then. My friend is a huge Beauty and the Beast fan and this will be her first time at Disney so I feel like she'll just be happy during the walkthrough of Belle (seeing the cabin/library etc) instead of the quality of the play itself.

See, and therein is one of the issues with the queue of ETWB...you almost need a wait to be able to appreciate all the rich details it offers. We've done ETWB 4 times now, I believe, and I've only been able to snap one quick picture in the queue.

Also, if you use a FP+ for it, you skip the cottage entirely, which is a bummer.