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

[kylenne]

I knew about the extra EE characters this summer, but I didn't know they come out before EE begins. This is fun news, we are character people! How much before EE starts were they out? EE seems to start at 8:30, so were they out at say 8? 8:15? How were the lines for the ones you mention Belle/Hook/Smee before 8:30 (I imagine long since there are no rides open yet).

These characters do not have lines. It’s not like a traditional meet and greet, it’s old school style roaming characters like in Galaxy’s Edge. Belle came out in her peasant outfit in France while we were lined up outside of Remy, over by the fountain near the ride (with the current rope drop procedures, they line people up a few feet away from the attraction and closer to/at EE start they let you into the actual queue). She just kinda wandered down the line without stopping too much. Hook and Smee did the same, but we hit Pan second after Mine Train, so EE had already begun by the time we got over there. We were just in the regular line at that point. Similarly at AK we saw Minnie in her safari outfit hanging around the Tree of Life after we rope dropped Na’vi River Journey and were backtracking through Discovery Island to get to Dinosaur.

Personally I would not try to plan for it. It’s meant to be a more spontaneous kind of character encounter and there’s no exact timing for any of this that I’m aware of (they are not listed on the app).

 

[Ariel620]

These characters do not have lines. It’s not like a traditional meet and greet, it’s old school style roaming characters like in Galaxy’s Edge. Belle came out in her peasant outfit in France while we were lined up outside of Remy, over by the fountain near the ride (with the current rope drop procedures, they line people up a few feet away from the attraction and closer to/at EE start they let you into the actual queue). She just kinda wandered down the line without stopping too much. Hook and Smee did the same, but we hit Pan second after Mine Train, so EE had already begun by the time we got over there. We were just in the regular line at that point. Similarly at AK we saw Minnie in her safari outfit hanging around the Tree of Life after we rope dropped Na’vi River Journey and were backtracking through Discovery Island to get to Dinosaur.

Personally I would not try to plan for it. It’s meant to be a more spontaneous kind of character encounter and there’s no exact timing for any of this that I’m aware of (they are not listed on the app).

Thanks, this is great info!

 

[disneyfan150]

These characters do not have lines. It’s not like a traditional meet and greet, it’s old school style roaming characters like in Galaxy’s Edge. Belle came out in her peasant outfit in France while we were lined up outside of Remy, over by the fountain near the ride (with the current rope drop procedures, they line people up a few feet away from the attraction and closer to/at EE start they let you into the actual queue). She just kinda wandered down the line without stopping too much. Hook and Smee did the same, but we hit Pan second after Mine Train, so EE had already begun by the time we got over there. We were just in the regular line at that point. Similarly at AK we saw Minnie in her safari outfit hanging around the Tree of Life after we rope dropped Na’vi River Journey and were backtracking through Discovery Island to get to Dinosaur.

Personally I would not try to plan for it. It’s meant to be a more spontaneous kind of character encounter and there’s no exact timing for any of this that I’m aware of (they are not listed on the app).

Oh my gosh, how fun!! I hope we see characters starting NEXT WEEK!

 

[Ariel620]

With the new rope drop procedures, does ROTR still operate before EE? Last few times we were there, EE started at 8:30, which is when most rides started up, but ROTR usually started operating around 8 (we were actually off the ride before EE even started)

 

[sam_gordon]

With the new rope drop procedures, does ROTR still operate before EE? Last few times we were there, EE started at 8:30, which is when most rides started up, but ROTR usually started operating around 8 (we were actually off the ride before EE even started)

When we were there two weeks ago, we weren't allowed in the park until 8. We were not nearly first to ROTR, and were "boarding" the ship at 820. We were off by 8:40 and got Smugglers Run done by 9:11.

All the times are confirmed by picture time stamps.

 

[wdwfan94]

Where are they holding the line for Frozen at Epcot now? A long time ago it was always by Creations. Are you now able to go all the way to the ride before early entry starts?

 

[kylenne]

Where are they holding the line for Frozen at Epcot now? A long time ago it was always by Creations. Are you now able to go all the way to the ride before early entry starts?

There are no longer any holding areas for attractions with the new procedures. The lines form up right outside of the attractions and then slightly before it at EE start they send you through the actual queue. I haven’t rope dropped Frozen at all with this current process but I can’t imagine it’s any different than Remy or Guardians, which I have done and work this way.

AFAIK the only attractions in any of the parks that are still using holding areas for EE are the Pandora ones at AK.

 

[Jperiod]

We'll be at HS, AK, and EP next week. If I'm willing to use uber, does that save me any time vs getting to the resort bus 90 minutes early? We're staying at OKW and I'm most worried about our AK day since we're from the west coast.

If we rope drop FoP at AK, do you think we could make it up to everest before ETPE ends?

If we rope drop RotR, do you think we could make it over to RR before ETPE ends?

What would you recommend doing after rope dropping GotG? I currently have LLs for MS at 9:25, SE at 10:05, and TT at 11:35. Should we go up to Frozen or would the line for GotG possibly be short enough to get in again during ETPE?

 

[Landry]

We'll be at HS, AK, and EP next week. If I'm willing to use uber, does that save me any time vs getting to the resort bus 90 minutes early? We're staying at OKW and I'm most worried about our AK day since we're from the west coast.

If we rope drop FoP at AK, do you think we could make it up to everest before ETPE ends?

If we rope drop RotR, do you think we could make it over to RR before ETPE ends?

What would you recommend doing after rope dropping GotG? I currently have LLs for MS at 9:25, SE at 10:05, and TT at 11:35. Should we go up to Frozen or would the line for GotG possibly be short enough to get in again during ETPE?

Someone else might correct me, but those plans have all of the 2nd rides across each park from the first ride. Unless you're at the very front of the each line for the first ride, I don't think you can make it to any of the 2nd rides in 30 minutes (including the ride times).

Also, Everest doesn't have extremely long rides in the afternoon, so I wouldn't rush all the way over there. I'd go to the Safari after FoP and get an early ride while the animals are active.

 

[Jperiod]

We'll be at HS, AK, and EP next week. If I'm willing to use uber, does that save me any time vs getting to the resort bus 90 minutes early? We're staying at OKW and I'm most worried about our AK day since we're from the west coast.

If we rope drop FoP at AK, do you think we could make it up to everest before ETPE ends?

If we rope drop RotR, do you think we could make it over to RR before ETPE ends?

What would you recommend doing after rope dropping GotG? I currently have LLs for MS at 9:25, SE at 10:05, and TT at 11:35. Should we go up to Frozen or would the line for GotG possibly be short enough to get in again during ETPE?

Just wanted to report how it all worked out. We used the busses and they picked up around 75 minutes prior to ETPE. We were within the first 10 people at the tapstyles each day. We were off ROTR by 8:25 and easily got to RNRC but the ride was down. They didn't let us into Pandora until 7:30, so we didn't get off of FoP until close to 8:00, so we just did Navi. And even though we were off of GOTG around 8:45, the lines for TT and GOTG were super long, and Frozen was already 40 minutes, so we just did soarin.

Also wanted to add, the ETPE procedure for ROTR and GOTG is absolutely ridiculous. It's like survival of the fittest and designed to thin the herd. No matter where you're at in the tapstyle line, you will lose all your ground if you can't power walk the mile it takes to the actual ride. I wish they'd just do the line walk like they did with FOP.