Need strategy for Anna and Elsa

[staceychev]

Grr. So, I missed FP for A&E for all of our days, and our window just opened today. I'm taking a 5-year old: if I have to spend my entire week at Disney waiting in line to see Elsa, that's what we're going to have to do. So, what's my best strategy for seeing them without Fast Pass? (We're going Sept 27 through Oct 3)

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Ya know, waits for A&E generally average to be around an hour these days. If that's too long to wait for your #1 must do, then you can go in the first two hours or the last two hours of operations, and you'll be waiting half that. If you're going to be in the MK on a party day (but not going to the party), I'd recommend getting into line around 6:15.

 

[Kathryn777]

Your best bet is to keep trying to get fp. Or stalk the a & e cancellation thread

 

[Mamato2cutekiddos]

I'm there with you sister! My DD is 6 and I'm in the same boat. So far no A&E FP for us either. Are you doing the MNSSHP any of the nights you're there? That's my plan. First through the gate on the night of the party (which will be our first half day in the parks) we are headed directly to them and hope there isn't a huge line. My next strategy is to go directly after Rope Drop at MK on our early day OR end of the day on our late day.

It's frustrating though!

 

[oceanmarina]

I would keep checking fast pass +, the same thing happened to me last year, I missed my fast pass selection day by a week. I was swamped at work & it slipped right past me. I was able to get A & E more than once for our trip (in late August) by looking for 2 fastpasses instead of 4. My son & DH happily did something else when we went to see A & E.

All I know is every time I walked by A & E on our last trip, It was a 90 minute wait, no matter when we walked by (but we usually get to the parks by or after 11, not at rope drop)

 

[staceychev]

Good plan! We are doing MNSSHP. Maybe I'll try that. An hour is do-able, though. I had hear horror stories much worse!

 

[EvieBug]

This is something I am dreading. Most FP+ selections should not be a big issue for us since the kids are too short for many of the big deal rides. But we - like everyone else! - neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed that A&E one!

If we can't get it my plan is just to head straight there the moment we hit the park I guess.

 

[Mamato2cutekiddos]

My friend was there in March and said their wait time was 90 minutes. Which... considering it was March isn't terrible. I'll wait an hour for A&E. I waited much longer last time to see Cinderella, Aurora and Belle, and my daugther was only 3 and had no idea who or what a princess was. Now that I think of it, I have no idea how we even ended up in that line... haha

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Good plan! We are doing MNSSHP. Maybe I'll try that. An hour is do-able, though. I had hear horror stories much worse!

Just to clarify...what I mean is to get into the A&E at 6:15 on a night when a party is occurring but you're not actually going to the party. The last FP+ window closes at 6:30 on party nights, and non-party guests are sent through the line quickly, bypassing all the party guests, so that they'll be out of the park by the time the party starts at 7:00. I wouldn't recommend meeting A&E during a party...that's a valuable waste of party time for characters that aren't exclusive to the parties.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that they actually send non-party guests through the FP+ line after 6:30, while the party guests queue up in the regular line.

 

[staceychev]

Oh, OK. That makes sense jtown. Thank you!

 

[LoveThatMouse!]

We were unable to get FPs in June.
We arrived at MK 30 min before opening. We were at the front of the right tunnel going under train station. We stayed right behind the rope down Main Street. When you come up to the hub, we stayed to the right of the castle and took the secret path just before by Merida's Meet and Greet, bolted up that path, around the Carousel, and we were in to see A&E in the second round of guests... In and out before the first 20 minutes of being in the park. Be aware that when you come up to the Carousel, you will be made to go all the way to the left of the Carousel and around the back. CMs have the direct path on the left side blocked off. (unsure why).

You may want to weigh your options on whether it would be fewer steps to go through the Castle. We debated and felt like funneling through the Castle would slow us down.

Good Luck!

 

[JRawkSteady]

Yeah, if you go there first thing in the morning, the line will be minimal. But, of course, keep checking for those Fastpasses. Keep the MDE website up and refresh til something pops up

 

[DisneyMooners2010]

Don't worry quite yet. I was crushed when nothing was available for our Sept trip (our little girl LOVES Anna and Elsa), but I just kept trying to change various fastpass experiences on the App. After a few days of trying, a spot opened up! I couldn't get one for DH to go with us, but haven't lost hope! Good luck!

 

[nilla]

Elsa's a bit of a wildcard, so I would suggest trying to win Anna's heart instead. She seems REALLY desperate for love, so she'd be easily manipulated.

You can then use Elsa's inevitable meltdown (or, should I say, "freezedown"?) as an opportunity to "step up and reluctantly take control of the kingdom", later imprisoning her as a "traitor" while doing away with Anna as well.

Unless something goes horribly wrong, such as a troll intervention or some outsider getting in the way, you should be golden. Arendelle will be yours.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

If you want an alternate strategy, the A&E line on a recent visit was about 10 minutes just before 11:30 pm. The posted wait was 90. Just keep in mind that the A&E line closes a half hour before park close.

After the visit, we still had time to ride 7D twice before the park closed at midnight. The posted wait there was 65.

We felt it was a pretty efficient use of a half hour and probably more than could be accomplished in the morning.