For those with pre-park ADR's

[pcdesmond]

how do you get done in time to beat the rope drop crowd? I've been checking the MDE wait times for Magic Kingdom and on several occasions the park opens 15 minutes early. I checked it this morning at 8:38am and Peter Pan already had a 25 minute wait! And it's not an EMH day, all the rides had waits.

 

[ArielSRL]

Forgot what I posted....I was not awake yet...or at least that is the excuse I am sticking with.....haha.

 

[Mikie]

I've only had a pre-park open ADR once, so I'm no pro about it, but for ME the big perk was that we got a relaxed breakfast (which we love), walked into the park early and got pictures with very few people around, avoided the 30-45 min of standing outside the gates waiting for a shoulder-to-shoulder dash when the tapstiles open (HATE standing around in close crowds), and still out of breakfast in time to enjoy lots of low wait times. We were not first in line for anything, so I don't think it'd be a good strategy for peak waits like 7 dwarfs or A&E meet - if I needed those without a FP, I'd probably forego breakfast and do the rope drop dash

 

[slbgnb]

I guess when I've done them in the past, they didn't open the park early. I've only done CP and I love getting pictures in front of the castle with no crowds. We've always gotten out of the restaurant right before or right as people are piling in from the gates.

 

[DWillowBay]

I guess, for us, the goal is not to beat the Rope Drop crowd. Our goal is to have breakfast and then have a plan, no matter the time we are finished. We usually schedule a FP for about 11/2 hours after our reservation time. That way, we're not rushed.

 

[Ensusieasm]

how do you get done in time to beat the rope drop crowd? I've been checking the MDE wait times for Magic Kingdom and on several occasions the park opens 15 minutes early. I checked it this morning at 8:38am and Peter Pan already had a 25 minute wait! And it's not an EMH day, all the rides had waits.

Your problem for today is that MK opened at 8am. It only works if you get your ADR for BOG before 9 on a day that MK opens at 9am. ( unfortunately, sometimes it changes to 8 even a few says ahead). You could still do it if you get to MK early enough to be in front of the early ADR line that gets in to MK at 7:45 ONLY on a day when MK opens at 9. Your ADR must be at BOG anytime before 9. Everyone gets in to BOG when it opens no matter what pre MK opening reservation time they have. Pre order your food, and eat fast. You can still get a ride or maybe even two on 7DMT before the crowd from the front gets there. But really it's only good for one attraction now that they have started opening 15 min early for everyone.

 

[mrsjoannh13]

If you do CP or CRT you will not get done in time to beat the crowds. If you do BOG with pre-order you might.

 

[mom2rtk]

We go into our early entry ADRs like this:

1) We arrive as early as possible, but still take time on Main Street for our photos.
2) We take our time enjoying our breakfast and never hurry out before the characters all come by.
3) We ask for our check as soon as the server arrives so that we can leave on OUR schedule and not end up waiting to pay.
4) If we are out by rope drop, it's a happy bonus.
5) If we are out after rope drop, we're still there early and will have decently low lines for a while.

 

[Ensusieasm]

how do you get done in time to beat the rope drop crowd? I've been checking the MDE wait times for Magic Kingdom and on several occasions the park opens 15 minutes early. I checked it this morning at 8:38am and Peter Pan already had a 25 minute wait! And it's not an EMH day, all the rides had waits.

Today MK opened at 8. It works when it opens at 9

 

[PSULion]

If you do CP or CRT you will not get done in time to beat the crowds. If you do BOG with pre-order you might.

We did. We had breakfast at CRT at 8. Left the restaurant at about 8:50 and were held at a second rope in Fantasyland. They let us in just before the masses arrived behind us. It just depends on what time they end up letting people in that day.

 

[alh2011]

I love pre park opening ADRs. We had a 810 ADR for BOG back in Sept and we were done by 840. When we left restaurant we headed right to SDMT and were able to ride twice before the rope drop crowd got there. It was awesome because we were able to get ahead of crowds for Pooh and PP as well. We are going back in July and have 8am ADR at BOG this time.

 

[Ensusieasm]

We did. We had breakfast at CRT at 8. Left the restaurant at about 8:50 and were held at a second rope in Fantasyland. They let us in just before the masses arrived behind us. It just depends on what time they end up letting people in that day.

Recently they have been opening up MK 15 minutes early

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

I've had 8 am BOG ressies when the park opens at 9. In December I did what a previous poster mentioned. Was done eating prior to rope drop and rode 7DMT as soon as they opened the line.
I have a similar ressie for my trip in 2 weeks...bringing a 1st time visitor with me. My plan for that day is to go to Peter Pan first. Not sure how she would do on 7DMT right after eating lol so I FP'd Mine train for an hour later.

 

[Robertfam08]

As others have said, it's only worth it if the park opens at 9:00. We do pre-park ADR's nearly every MK day. We go for the earliest reservation we can get, which is usually 8:05am. They let us in with plenty of time to leisurely walk into the park and get our pictures, which is honestly a huge part of the appeal. Peter Pan is always our first ride, and we're getting in line just about as the rest of the first arrivers are. We have done CP and BOG and have never rushed through a meal. I can't imagine doing MK any other way, because it's what we've always done!

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

I love pre park opening ADRs. We had a 810 ADR for BOG back in Sept and we were done by 840. When we left restaurant we headed right to SDMT and were able to ride twice before the rope drop crowd got there. It was awesome because we were able to get ahead of crowds for Pooh and PP as well. We are going back in July and have 8am ADR at BOG this time.

Sometimes the pre park BOG works better than others for early rides on Sdmt. In September we were out of BOG by 8:30 and they let us ride Sdmt at 8:45 so we got in two rides before the rope drop crowd hit the attraction. Last week, we were out by 8:30 and were very disappointed that they blocked us off and would not let us on the ride until after rope drop crowd had already filled the queue. They then took us in thru the FP line so we got in one ride with little wait, but by the time we got off the line was already very long. Appeared that they were waiting on a VIP tour to finish their tour then let them ride Sdmt on the first coaster of the day. That seemed to be why we had to wait so long. I know that it may seem silly to complain about whether we got one or two no- wait rides and that we were lucky to get one. Nonetheless, I think it would be nice if the policy were always the same every day. I paid $45 for two breakfasts with a certain expectation and it was not fully met. Seems like we can say that most likely we can expect one ride and possibly two, but I have seen some posts here where people did not even get one before the rope drop crowd. Consistency is important for guest satisfaction, I think.