If you don't have early entry or MM...

[BensWife]

how long ahead do you get there before rope drop? DH and I are coming in July and are staying at the CCI. We are getting annual passes. We thought about upgrading at the end of our trip, but we would rather have access to the discounts from the annual passes at the beginning of our trip more than getting in early 1 day of our trip.

Also, if we aren't there for rope drop, is it likely to get FP for RPR if that is the first place we head to when we get to CA (maybe 8 or 9 am)?

Thanks!

 

[Girimama33]

We have annual passes and do not stay onsite, so no EMH or MM here. I don't feel I need it. We go for rope drop about 15-30 minutes before the park opens. If we get there earlier, I may get in the RSR FP line right then (but I hear reports they are not forming the line prior to rope drop anymore). Otherwise, I head to TSMM first and grab an RSR FP within an hour after opening.
At DL, you may want to get there earlier in order to tackle FL if that's where you want to go. I never start there, so I roll in around opening and head to either BTMRR, IJA or ST.

 

[figment_jii]

RSR FPs tend to last about 90-120 minutes after the park opens regardless of whether it is an EMH/MM or not. So, even if you aren't there for rope drop, as long as you get there within an hour of opening, the chances are good that you'll get an RSR FP.

As Girimama33 said, they no longer have the pre-opening RPR FP line form. Instead folks are encouraged to be to the left side of the street and then head to the FP entrance once the park opens. It does create a chaotic scene initially as lots of folks converge on the FP entrance. Also, if RSR is not open, they do not issue FPs anymore (they used to run the machines at opening even if RSR was not running, but that is no longer the case).

Depending on how your trip is scheduled, some folks try to plan it so that their first morning is on the MM day. That way, they can take advantage of the MM and then upgrade their tickets. They might lose out on a little of the discounts, but it won't be much if it's the first morning.

 

[sherilaine]

We had APs our last two trips - and stayed off site.

I found picking the opposite park for EMH or MM worked well for us, as you can do rope drop.

We found early morning in either park using this strategy provided us with very short wait times. This was also when the park opened as late as 10AM on some days. So being in July when I am sure almost every day is an 8AM opening will be just as great.

 

[Luv2Diz]

We also stayed at CCI last month. We started our day at the park without EMH or MM. We arrived at the parks usually no more than 15 minutes before rope drop. The crowds disburse pretty quickly. That first 1-1/2 hours was great to practically walk on most rides before the parks started getting crowded.

 

[lozzypop]

I like arriving about 30 minutes before rope drop. Disney is always tinkering with their opening procedures, so you can sometimes get in 30 minutes before opening (even when you don't have MM or EMH) where you can have a nice leisurely wait on Main Street or Buena Vista Street.

I will add that arriving early can have its benefits. We were pixie dusted on a Monday morning recently when we arrived at DCA about 45 minutes prior to opening. It was an EMH morning, but we were in a regular entry line held at the gates right next to an EMH line. A cast member approached us and asked how many were in our party. Then she handed me a card that allowed us a complimentary EMH entry to the park. We had a blast having EMH when we weren't supposed to. We even managed to snag RSR FPs at 11:30 pm that day (official opening was at 10am).