Nitty Gritty MK Rope Drop Qs

[Hatbox]

No, they don’t (unfortunately).

You can beat/manage the Starbucks rush by being there when they open Main Street 7:45-8AMish. If you get there much after that.... well, that line is SCARY!

Oh, I'll definitely be there at 7:45. If I'm waiting for a bus at CSR at 7:00, I should be fine, yes? Or should I plan to call an Uber for dropoff at the Contemporary?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

(Oh yeah, that's kind of important, isn't it?) Yes, it's a 9 AM right now, but there's an Early Morning Magic event, too. That shouldn't effect things too much, right?

Then that’s golden. If it’s an Early Morning Magic event morning, then the 9AM park opening is guaranteed not to change. So one less thing to worry about!

Oh, I'll definitely be there at 7:45. If I'm waiting for a bus at CSR at 7:00, I should be fine, yes? Or should I plan to call an Uber for dropoff at the Contemporary?

I don’t have experience getting to MK from CSR so can’t comment specifically, but I would think that bus plan sounds OK. But I’m a little weird in that I take rope drop pretty seriously and sometimes being able to ‘control’ your transportation timing vs relying on Disney transport can be a benefit, if an option or a preference for you.

Sometimes I’ve made it a game time decission - if we’re running a bit behind schedule then I may opt for something quicker like Uber/Lyft/taxi/etc. If I have more time to spare, then I stick to Disney transport.

Good luck!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

(Oh yeah, that's kind of important, isn't it?) Yes, it's a 9 AM right now, but there's an Early Morning Magic event, too. That shouldn't effect things too much, right?

I don't believe you can order via the starbucks app, at least you couldn't as of fall 2017- you can pay with the app but that's it. I love starbucks too but we do the joffreys coffee and we love it, it's pretty good and IMO I would rather ride a ride than spend time waiting on coffee. I've heard people wait as long as 40 min for it, NUTS!! But as far as time of year, end of august is a pretty low to moderate crowd time. We've gone early August a few times and feel like the crowds are manageable however it's a weekend so I could see how crowds could be higher than other days. We usually do MK on a Monday to avoid weekends.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

EMM is 200ish people, it won't have any effect on your morning. At 9AM, those people will scatter to breakfast or to other rides besides 7DMT, PP, and Pooh, for which that will have had access for an hour already. But even still, it's a tiny, tiny fraction of the overall MK population, so nothing to worry about.

 

[disneyvoice]

EMM won't affect you at all. They allow like 200 people into Fantasyland and by rope drop everyone has had more than their share of the rides that were open.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

and I'm sorry your husband hated his first trip. I know some people that question my affinity for disney and I get it, but I always think they don't know what their missing since they've never been to WDW- but to hate it after going--- What every you all do, you'll have a blast, late August is a great time IMO- ENJOY!!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

OK, I am losing my mind, I edited my Early Morning Magic part of my post as I thought I posted my comment after what disneyvoice and GADisney14 posted, just ignore me ya'll. Glad to hear it's minimal impact on fantasyland. I've never been to early morning magic so I wasn't sure how many people went.

 

[Hatbox]

and I'm sorry your husband hated his first trip. I know some people that question my affinity for disney and I get it, but I always think they don't know what their missing since they've never been to WDW- but to hate it after going--- What every you all do, you'll have a blast, late August is a great time IMO- ENJOY!!

His first trip was with my family and they do not vacation (or live) the way we do, but insisted on doing everything together. And we were newlyweds then so he was on his best behavior the whole time, which takes a real psychological toll when it's 95 degrees and you just want to punch your new sister-in-law in the face outside the Canada pavilion! Add to that not growing up with any Disney and, like, I totally get why he had a miserable time.

So every aspect of this trip is focused on making him want to come back with our children (because he knows it's happening anyway!).

 

[ChristineOH]

Last June, we walked into MK at 8:47, walked to the Hub, watched the opening show, headed toward Liberty Square and then cut back using the path that heads right, back toward the castle. (The castle was still closed from the show, but this was our plan.) We went straight to Peter Pan. There was enough of a line to enjoy the queue, and we were out of the ride at 9:20. The queue is almost as good as the ride, so we prefer not to use a FP on it. There is no reason to be afraid of doing Peter Pan at RD.

 

[Hatbox]

Last June, we walked into MK at 8:47, walked to the Hub, watched the opening show, headed toward Liberty Square and then cut back using the path that heads right, back toward the castle. (The castle was still closed from the show, but this was our plan.) We went straight to Peter Pan. There was enough of a line to enjoy the queue, and we were out of the ride at 9:20. The queue is almost as good as the ride, so we prefer not to use a FP on it. There is no reason to be afraid of doing Peter Pan at RD.

Oh wow, that was so authoritative that it gave me confidence. (But will I keep it? Stay tuned.)

 

[blemon]

This is a good thread. I thought that when the park opens at 9, there is a morning show at the castle at 8:55.
Because of this I had read that you had an hour on Main St. to shop and wait in line at Starbucks.

Has that changed?

On our MK day there is no EMM or EMH as far as I know.

We are planning to get there around 7:45 or so. Hoping to shop around and enjoy Main St. without too many people before the rest of the "Lands" open at 9.

 

[Hatbox]

This is a good thread. I thought that when the park opens at 9, there is a morning show at the castle at 8:55.
Because of this I had read that you had an hour on Main St. to shop and wait in line at Starbucks.

Has that changed?

On our MK day there is no EMM or EMH as far as I know.

We are planning to get there around 7:45 or so. Hoping to shop around and enjoy Main St. without too many people before the rest of the "Lands" open at 9.

That's all still true - but people who want to be first in line at the most popular rides go straight to the castle and get in line. Touring Plans has a wonderfully detailed video that breaks down what it's like to do 7DMT at rope drop:

 

[GADisneyDad14]

This is a good thread. I thought that when the park opens at 9, there is a morning show at the castle at 8:55.
Because of this I had read that you had an hour on Main St. to shop and wait in line at Starbucks.

Has that changed?

On our MK day there is no EMM or EMH as far as I know.

We are planning to get there around 7:45 or so. Hoping to shop around and enjoy Main St. without too many people before the rest of the "Lands" open at 9.

As PP noted, you’re correct. Your plan sounds solid, so long as your days stays a 9am opening. Have fun!

 

[BalooFan]

Just my opinion, but I don’t think most people who are rushing for a ride at rope drop are heading to PPF. I don’t think a lot of people visiting are savvy enough to know that this might be a good idea. It is a good option for seeing the regular queue, but if you are successful in getting there with few people in line ahead of you, you will move quickly and may want to let those behind you pass if you want to pause to appreciate the queue. I would choose to take the Liberty Square bridge because my hunch is that more people would head toward the castle.

Adventureland is a good place to start the day. When I visit (usually early or mid-May), there are very few people there at rope drop. I usually don’t ride Splash Mountain, but I think the standby queue might still be manageable after you ride POTC and in my experience the standby queue at HM doesn’t really pick up until late morning or afternoon.

 

[marcais]

I've only ever FP'd PPF. What goes on in the regular queue that I've missed?

 

[Thing 1]

So what we did last trip was to get an 8:00 reservation for breakfast at BOG. We ate and were done about 8:30. Got in line for SDMT ride and had ridden. By 8:50. Got in line for PP and were finished about 5 minuets before they let the crowds enter. We were in place to head to adventure land as soon as they dropped the ropes to it. While all the crazies did fantasyland and tomorrow Land, we enjoyed a relaxed morning in frontier and adventure land. We did BTMR first as it builds quickly and then the other things, skipping Splash for then as it was a bit cool and we had a FP planned later in the day. No crazy crowds or running to attractions. It did not give us time on Main Street but with the early Main Street opening, that has gotten to be a bit crazy in itself.

 

[MeganS721]

I have never rope dropped Peter Pan, I always do Pirates. It's so nice. Cast Members walk you to Pirates and you get on so quick. After Pirates I did Big Thunder, Splash, back to Magic Carpets, then Jungle Cruise, and the Haunted Mansion, all with little to no wait.

This is exactly what I do, every single time. I always go left in the morning. Then I use FP for Fantasyland rides in the afternoon.

 

[samsteele]

This is exactly what I do, every single time. I always go left in the morning. Then I use FP for Fantasyland rides in the afternoon.

I've done the same for years but POTC was down so often early in the morning during my last few trips, that I'm giving up. A few times, BTMR &/or HM was also down first thing along with POTC so a real waste of rope drop. I'm going to join the crowds in the rush right to 7DMT or PP next time. Too many early morning disappointments.

 

[MeganS721]

I've done the same for years but POTC was down so often early in the morning during my last few trips, that I'm giving up. A few times, BTMR &/or HM was also down first thing along with POTC so a real waste of rope drop. I'm going to join the crowds in the rush right to 7DMT or PP next time. Too many early morning disappointments.

That would be really frustrating. I don’t blame you for wanting to switch it up.

 

[kwdw]

Starbucks first thing in the morning on Main St. is a PAIN. Unless you are really there early enough to be in the line INSIDE the store - I'd not plan that. And don't compare it to the morning rush at your local Starbucks. With kids in tow and non-regulars in line - folks can't order and pay as quickly as they may do at your local haunt - and it's typically multiple drinks per order - so it just takes a lot longer than you might expect.