Everything Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE) - Please Read Post 1

[gottalovepluto]

Lining up for early entry question: do a lot of people line up to rope drop even if they don't have early entry? Will they let us go ahead? I know they will "hold" at the ropes but how do you get in if there's already a big crowd?

Yes they line up and some parks even let them in and sort out Early Entry people later. They won’t be in your way, EE area will be well marked and normal guests cannot crowd the large pathways to it.

 

[hershey4]

What time should I head out to catch a bus to a Magic Kingdom if I’d like to be there for when the park opens at 8:30? We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

Would the time recommended be any earlier or later for the other parks, also assuming I’d like to be there for when they open at 8:30?

Thank you!

 

[DWillowBay]

Buses begin to run one hour prior to park opening. We always get out there early as the early morning crowds can be large. Have a great trip!

 

[floyeah211]

I'd say definitely be there 45ish minutes early if you want to be closer to the front of the early entry line. Also, depending on where you are staying at Port Orleans, it may be worth it to walk to the bus stop by the lobby. I know the east depot was last to be picked up so you may be dealing with a full bus.

 

[Shughart]

I always wondered how it works with EE. Do they start running an hour before opening for EE days too? So if it opens at 8am, but you have EE for 7:30 (not sure if that's right) would the bus start running at 6:30 am? It's been a while since I stayed onsite.

 

[scrappinginontario]

What time should I head out to catch a bus to a Magic Kingdom if I’d like to be there for when the park opens at 8:30? We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

Would the time recommended be any earlier or later for the other parks, also assuming I’d like to be there for when they open at 8:30?

Thank you!

I always wondered how it works with EE. Do they start running an hour before opening for EE days too? So if it opens at 8am, but you have EE for 7:30 (not sure if that's right) would the bus start running at 6:30 am? It's been a while since I stayed onsite.

Please read post 1 of this thread as it includes information that has been used thousands of times since ETPE began.

The key is arriving at your resort transportation 90 mins before ETPE begins.

 

[leeniewdw]

ETPE was a bust for us at EP yesterday. We were at the Swan and walked over to the Intl Gateway, got in line for Remy. About 10-15 mins later a CM walked the line saying the ride hadn’t open yet. We decided to wait for a bit but by 9am or so we bailed out (as were so many people we wondered if it actually had started loading/running). We asked some people to confirm it wasn’t running and they said there was still no ETA.

We left and stood in line at Joffreys (near American pavilion) for hot chocolate (it was cold and windy, low 40s). That line was the slowest line we stood in all day aside from the Guardians VQ. Took 30 mins to get hot chocolate.

Definitely a bummer, curious when it actually opened. When we left the line was WAY past France, almost to Morocco. Was also disappointed there was no CM updating those of us waiting other than once.

I know there are no guarantees, but first time that’s happened to us.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Dropping by to report that being at the bus stop 90 minutes prior to resort guest opening time allowed us to be at the tip of the spear and "be at the rope" ......(of course we walked very, very fast!)

We were on the first loads for SDD, FoP, and 7DMT.

We were then able to get lots of top tier rides done by late morning without getting G+.

Filled the rest of the day by doing lower tier rides, having lunch, and hopping to a second park to knock out a ride or two.

 

[marielynn724]

What time should I be at International Gateway to rope drop Remy's?

Staying at Boardwalk Villas in late April and spending all of my time either at Epcot, shopping and eating at Disney Springs, or just relaxing and resort hopping. This will pretty much be my only early morning on this trip so I don't mind whatever it takes. I've never been on RRA before, I'm really excited to finally see it for myself!

 

[slp87]

Early entry starts at 8:30, so we leave the room at 7:45. This gives us 15 minutes to get to the gate, then time to go through security. They usually start letting people through the tapstiles early then hold you at the top of the bridge. The last few trips, we were released to the ride early. I think we were finished riding by 8:45.

 

[Huskermom]

Any suggestions on how soon we need to leave AofA for early entry.

 

[slp87]

I think the skyliner starts running an hour before opening so I'd plan to be there just before 7:30. When we've stayed at POP there were some days the line was nothing and others it was packed. The line does more pretty quickly when they load up the cabins.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Any suggestions on how soon we need to leave AofA for early entry.

Please see post 1 of this thread for a lot of ETPE information.

It is recommended you arrive at AoA transportation 90 mins before ETPE begins to be towards the front at any park.

 

[denecarter]

Dropping by to report that being at the bus stop 90 minutes prior to resort guest opening time allowed us to be at the tip of the spear and "be at the rope" ......(of course we walked very, very fast!)

We were on the first loads for SDD, FoP, and 7DMT.

We were then able to get lots of top tier rides done by late morning without getting G+.

Filled the rest of the day by doing lower tier rides, having lunch, and hopping to a second park to knock out a ride or two.

Curious which resort you were staying at.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Curious which resort you were staying at.

The particular park focused portion of the trip was at A/S Movies.
On one day, the bus got to DHS 5 minutes before the official release time...and our driver let us go since they saw another bus releasing passengers....that 5 minute "head start" put us gathering with the walkers.....we were standing there with the security guards even before the Skyliner was fully operational for guests. It was a very lucky day for us.

 

[denecarter]

The particular park focused portion of the trip was at A/S Movies.
On one day, the bus got to DHS 5 minutes before the official release time...and our driver let us go since they saw another bus releasing passengers....that 5 minute "head start" put us gathering with the walkers.....we were standing there with the security guards even before the Skyliner was fully operational for guests. It was a very lucky day for us.

Awesome... that's where we'll be staying for the majority of our trip! Hopefully, we'll have similar experiences since mileage varies.

 

[kylenne]

Awesome... that's where we'll be staying for the majority of our trip! Hopefully, we'll have similar experiences since mileage varies.

Dropping by to report that being at the bus stop 90 minutes prior to resort guest opening time allowed us to be at the tip of the spear and "be at the rope" ......(of course we walked very, very fast!)

We were on the first loads for SDD, FoP, and 7DMT.

We were then able to get lots of top tier rides done by late morning without getting G+.

Filled the rest of the day by doing lower tier rides, having lunch, and hopping to a second park to knock out a ride or two.

This is exactly why we're always telling folk to be there early, that kind of thing happens more than you might think. Last time I stayed at Gran Destino I was at the bus stop 90 min prior to rope drop MK and saw a couple of buses come for AK while I was waiting for mine. When the third one pulled up a family got on it sounding very pleased with themselves that they got on the "first bus" and I'm glad my mask hid the "oof" face I was making, lol. The board was still showing "first bus starts at ____" when the first two showed up, btw. I also remember a video where the Ear Scouts guy rope dropped HS from Art of Animation and the Skyliner started like 15 min before advertised.

But I don't think people realize just how much more you can accomplish--and sooner--when you begin EE at the front of the pack vs further back, especially for the FoP type rides. It's not about that first ride so much as it's setting yourself up for rides 2 and 3. If you can walk on to the first ride the others will be walk ons bc everyone is still pouring into the first one you just did. Well worth getting up early for imo, if you're allergic to lines the way we are.

 

[Topaz Scorpio]

Can someone advise what time the first bus would board and depart to Magic Kingdom from Boardwalk Villas on a day where early entry is at 8:30am? How early prior to bus boarding should we arrive at the bus stop?

 

[CarolynFH]

In general, to be at the front of the pack for early entry you should be at the bus stop approximately 90 minutes before stated early entry time. That way you’ll be on the first bus, which usually runs about 1 hour before early entry time.

 

[CarolynFH]

If you haven’t already found this thread, you’ll want to read the first post. It’s definitely kept up to date and will answer most of your questions! Then start at the end and follow along, asking questions you still have.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/everything-early-theme-park-entry-etpe-please-read-post-1.3855945/