Magic Kindom @ Rope Drop

[tsimmons289]

My strategy for our first day at Magic Kingdom includes heading straight for Fantasyland at Rope Drop with my 8 and 3 year old. We will be going in mid-June on a most recommended day but with crowd levels still between 8/10. Realistically possible, how many rides can we get through before it gets really busy in Fantasyland?

 

[amandals2007]

i think 2-3, but i would like to see others opinions. i go in sept when its so slow so i have a hard time judging other times of year. i need to so i can help my dad with his business so id love to know the answer.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Easywdw just had a post up about spring break wait times with all of these charts and data for each ride. Not about June but still a high crowd time and you can see when the wait times start to go up. Based on what he has there, it really depends on which rides you want to do how many you can fit in before the waits start ticking up.

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorized/spring-break-walt-disney-world-wait-times/#more-15314

 

[ElsaColon]

Depends on the rides. If you do mine train first, even at rope drop it's pretty hectic and can go up to a 30-40 minute wait so by the time you get off waits may be long. I suggest with fantasyland you should ride the most popular rides first (Mine Train, Peter Pan and Storytime with Belle) and then the less populated rides like It's a small world and Ariel's. It all depends on the day. By the time you do the big rides, you may go do Ariel's ride and that could be up to an hour wait. I have gone to that ride mid-day and there has been no wait and other times there have been a 60-minute wait. All depends on the day and crowd.

June is pretty crowded. Why don't you get a fast pass for mine train and the big rides and when you get there at rope drop do all the rides in fantasyland you can before it gets flooded. Either way, I hope you are able to ride everything you want to ride! Remember, don't focus on doing it ALL because it's just not going to happen. Just do what you are most interested in doing and have fun!

 

[JZCubed]

My strategy for our first day at Magic Kingdom includes heading straight for Fantasyland at Rope Drop with my 8 and 3 year old. We will be going in mid-June on a most recommended day but with crowd levels still between 8/10. Realistically possible, how many rides can we get through before it gets really busy in Fantasyland?

The attractions might matter, but ordering matters too.

Your 'must-do's' for the 3 y.o. matter in these suggestions as well.

So too would your ability to obtain any FP+.

By mid-June, Disney is geared up for a busy season, so rides should be ready to go at Rope Drop.

Between 9-9:30 - at least two rides.
Between 9:30-10 - possibly two more.
Between 10-11 - not more than two.

Peter Pan, Pooh, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Under the Sea, Royal Carousel, Small World or Tea Cups....by 11am, no FP+. 7 Rides

You could switch another headliner - Meet'n'Greet, 7Dwarfs - for Peter Pan and/or Pooh.

Rides are most busy between 11am-1pm - these are good times to have FP+.

Is 3 y.o tall enough for 7Dwarfs??

 

[tstottle]

"Rides are most busy between 11-1"...I haven't been in two years, is this a recent development? We always go in the summer, May, June, or July, and always have felt like between 1-4 are the most crowded times and longest lines. No one is eating lunch, and everyone who is coming for the day is definitely there by 1. But I know things have changed so am curious to hear, because I have never used FP+ and am figuring out my strategy!

OP: Again, 2-6 years ago, summer, we would be there at rope drop and I would say rode 6 or so rides before 11...then it started to get busy, and we were a little worried because the kids had an expectation of just going from ride to ride, no waits, like we had for those lovely first hours. This does NOT include Dumbo though...that will slow you down incredibly (is it still there?)

 

[ArwenMarie]

"Rides are most busy between 11-1"...I haven't been in two years, is this a recent development? We always go in the summer, May, June, or July, and always have felt like between 1-4 are the most crowded times and longest lines. No one is eating lunch, and everyone who is coming for the day is definitely there by 1. But I know things have changed so am curious to hear, because I have never used FP+ and am figuring out my strategy!

OP: Again, 2-6 years ago, summer, we would be there at rope drop and I would say rode 6 or so rides before 11...then it started to get busy, and we were a little worried because the kids had an expectation of just going from ride to ride, no waits, like we had for those lovely first hours. This does NOT include Dumbo though...that will slow you down incredibly (is it still there?)

Rope drop isn't what it used to be since FP+ came, for a lot of reasons I guess, but including the fact that they start the FP return times right at park open now. It's hard to say how many rides you can fit in before 11 because it depends on the rides, crowd levels, etc. Still worth getting there early though!

 

[karpy111]

i think 2-3, but i would like to see others opinions. i go in sept when its so slow so i have a hard time judging other times of year. i need to so i can help my dad with his business so id love to know the answer.

I'll be doing my first trip in September. I hear its slow. I'm used to June so describe slow if you can.

 

[speake]

In late June of last year, we did all this by 10:20am.
Ride Peter Pan’s Flight: 9am – 9:10am
Ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: 9:15am – 9:30am
Meet Ariel: 9:35am – 9:55am
Ride Journey of the Little Mermaid: 9:55am – 10:05am
Ride The Barnstormer: 10:10am – 10:20am

 

[karpy111]

In late June of last year, we did all this by 10:20am.
Ride Peter Pan’s Flight: 9am – 9:10am
Ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: 9:15am – 9:30am
Meet Ariel: 9:35am – 9:55am
Ride Journey of the Little Mermaid: 9:55am – 10:05am
Ride The Barnstormer: 10:10am – 10:20am

Thats pretty Awesome!

 

[disney world dreamer]

My strategy for our first day at Magic Kingdom includes heading straight for Fantasyland at Rope Drop with my 8 and 3 year old. We will be going in mid-June on a most recommended day but with crowd levels still between 8/10. Realistically possible, how many rides can we get through before it gets really busy in Fantasyland?

i've been in june, july, august, september, november, december (first half and xmas/nye), and january.
the only time i had a hard time getting things done at RD was xmas/nye.
every other time i've gone i've gotten numerous things done within the first couple hours.
this has been out plan lately and even though we give ourselves 2 hours we suually get it done quite a bit sooner than that.
-peter pan's flight
-its a small world
-haunted mansion
-mickey's philharmagic
-winnie the pooh
-under the sea
-and sometimes dumbo

keep in mind that sometimes our party has consisted of ages from 15-35 and other times it has consisted of ages toddler-70 so this plan generally works well no matter the ages going for my family.

 

[amandals2007]

I'll be doing my first trip in September. I hear its slow. I'm used to June so describe slow if you can.

i say slow as in we hardly use fastpasses. we use them on the major rides to guarantee we can get on but for the most part we can get on things in 30 min. i mean TSM and Soarin are a long line, thats a given. as is the SDMR. but we got through animal kingdom by like 2 and got there around 9, and we did safari, all the shows, everest and even walked some animal trails. its just a slow time. the busy areas are always "busy" but uts much more doable to get on a ride in september. we have even done soarin stand by and got on in 20 min

 

[karpy111]

i say slow as in we hardly use fastpasses. we use them on the major rides to guarantee we can get on but for the most part we can get on things in 30 min. i mean TSM and Soarin are a long line, thats a given. as is the SDMR. but we got through animal kingdom by like 2 and got there around 9, and we did safari, all the shows, everest and even walked some animal trails. its just a slow time. the busy areas are always "busy" but uts much more doable to get on a ride in september. we have even done soarin stand by and got on in 20 min

Awesome. Thanks for the info. Cant wait.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Realistically possible, how many rides can we get through before it gets really busy in Fantasyland?

Depends on the rides you choose. For example, you would be able to do alot more if you chose Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid Ride, Pooh, Barnstormer, Dumbo and Philharmagic then if you tried Mine Train, Cinderealla Meet & Greet, Ariel Meet & Greet then Pooh, then Peter Pan.

My advice is to not think as much about quantity, but rather quality. Use that first two hours to do things you do not have FP+ for that will have longer standby times through the day.

 

[Dawnlight]

I can't speak for June, but in December during Christmas week we arrived at approx. 7:15 (Extra Magic Hours rope drop was at 7am) and we did:

Met Pluto at park entrance (5 minutes)
Peter Pan (approx. 20 minute wait)
Haunted Mansion (10 minutes or less)
Small World (0 wait)
Enchanted Tales w/Belle (20-30 minutes)
Tea Cups (5 minutes)

Had stops for photopass pictures, looking in some shops, and bathroom breaks and may have missed a ride- all of this done before 10:30 (when we head to lunch at BOG).

Our fast passes started after lunch, so we hit the headliners then.

 

[tsimmons289]

Thanks for all the great replies! Both of my children are most interested in meeting characters, but the rides they want to do are in Fantasyland. My 3 year old is pretty tall at 44 inches, so his height is really not an issue. As for a fast pass for Mine Train, I am really not expecting it because we are staying off site; therefore, only a 30 day window. However, we do have 2.5 days in MK so I expect to be able to complete some of the busier attractions on the second and third nights during parade times. Trains are one of my 3 year olds favorite things (as is most little boys) so anything train like is a must do. My 8 year old is more of a go with the flow, nothing is that important to her, she is just excited to be going! Again thanks everybody for the tips!

 

[MermaidMommy]

Last week during spring break, with an 8am opening (not EMH), we were able to ride PP, Pooh, Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Little Memaid -- in that order -- all by 9:00. It was just DD15 and me, so we do move faster than families with "littles," but it worked out great. The Mine Train isn't like Anna and Elsa, so you stand a good chance of FP's even at 30 days, so you should definitely try for them.

I'd recommend looking at Josh's cheat sheets at easyWDW.com. They worked really well for us, and we were able to modify them easily.

 

[IBLarsen]

We were in the World last week and have an 11 and 9 year old. Crowds were listed as 8/10. I took detailed notes We did Rope Drop (8am) at MK and rode in this order: Went straight to Peter Pan, Winnie Pooh, Dumbo, Mermaid (posted at 15, but was walk on), stopped for a cinnamon roll at Gaston's Tavern, Barnstormer, Tomorrowland Speedway, Tea Cups, Small World and got in line for Haunted Mansion right at 10:00, which was posted as 25 min wait, but was 10 min. Pirates at 10:35, and then I had a FP for 7DMT at 11:00. By then the parks were getting pretty crowded, we used our 3 FP's between 11 - 2:00.
My kids were not interested in Enchanted Tales with Belle (already have done that before), other than that one, you can see we did all of Fantasyland quickly, but didn't stop for character meet and greets either.
Each day we got more done in the first couple hours after rope drop than we did the rest of the day.

 

[Jfsag123]

This past Thursday with a 7am EMH we did Peter Pan, Pooh, met Ariel, rode Little Mermaid ride, Barnstormer, Dumbo, met All Silly Sideshow characters, and rode teacups twice by 8:40. As you can see by my signature, this was done with littles. You can get a lot done even during crowded times if you show up early!

 

[senadler]

In late June of last year, we did all this by 10:20am.
Ride Peter Pan’s Flight: 9am – 9:10am
Ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: 9:15am – 9:30am
Meet Ariel: 9:35am – 9:55am
Ride Journey of the Little Mermaid: 9:55am – 10:05am
Ride The Barnstormer: 10:10am – 10:20am

This is very similar to our experience over spring break last year. I think we also did Dumbo twice during this time frame, but no Meet with Ariel. We did not schedule any FP+ until 10:30 - 11:30 so could take advantage of the short waits at RD.