Pandora open before official park opening time?

[ruby33]

We were at AK for rope drop last week. The park was scheduled to open at 9am. We arrived at around 7:40am. It was a long walk from the parking lot to the entrance. No trams were running. As the crowd gathered and got larger, they opened at 8:15 am. We walked quickly towards Pandora. Some people were running. Just past Tiffins, the path was closed. I could see the crowd was long behind me. Those that ran were signaling to their families that they were towards the front. These family members then tried to PUSH their way through us to meet up. Not fun - rude people! Very crowded!! At 8:30am, cast members “walked” the crowd towards FOP. At least this part was semi-civilized and others could catch up to members of their party. The line moved quickly and we were off before 9am.
So..... if you plan to rope drop be prepared for the pushy crowd. We were all there to do the same thing, but some people are just not nice!

 

[MIChessGuy]

Yes, I noticed this kind of thing earlier this month at RD. In fairness it is not so easy for large parties to stay together during the surge to FOP. I wasn't all that bothered by it since the main goal was to avoid waiting for 210 or 300 minutes or whatever, which I accomplished.

 

[mort1331]

Do you think it would be better on a reg day or a emh day for rd?

 

[Robo]

Do you think it would be better on a reg day or a emh day for rd?

If by "better" you mean fewer guests... at WDW, the earlier in the morning, the fewer the guests... all relative to the overall crowd levels, of course.

 

[mort1331]

If by "better" you mean fewer guests... at WDW, the earlier in the morning, the fewer the guests... all relative to the overall crowd levels, of course.

Thanks, Yes I meant fewer guest. We are flipping between this thurs or friday. Friday has EMH.

 

[Robo]

Thanks, Yes I meant fewer guest. We are flipping between this thurs or friday. Friday has EMH.

In general, if you can get there early enough, you'll have fewer guests in line with you at the start of AM EMH.

 

[Burgermom]

I would think more than OK - we've done Na'vi at Rope Drop twice getting to the turnstyles at about 15 minutes before rope drop and Na'vi was 5 minutes wait once and 10 minutes wait once. It builds very quickly after rope drop but it really does look like 95% of the traffic goes to FoP.

Ok thanks for this. If we are rope dropping Navi but also don't want to get caught up in the pushy rope dropping stuff should we actually aim to get there a bit later? Like 8:30? I'd rather wait an extra 10 minutes and not have to deal with pushing. Or would 8:30 just make it worse?
Sorry, I have no Disney experience so have no idea what I am doing

 

[Robo]

Ok thanks for this. If we are rope dropping Navi but also don't want to get caught up in the pushy rope dropping stuff should we actually aim to get there a bit later? Like 8:30? I'd rather wait an extra 10 minutes and not have to deal with pushing. Or would 8:30 just make it worse?
Sorry, I have no Disney experience so have no idea what I am doing

If you're going to "err," don't do it by being "too late."
Far better to be "too early" and if there is a mash-up of guests, just hang back a bit.
If you simply decide that you're going to arrive later, you will be stuck if there is a huge
group getting into line.

Also, it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE for guests to accurately time their arrival to a certain time.
There will always be situations that can throw off your careful timing.

Be early... be in control of your choices.

 

[Burgermom]

If you're going to "err," don't do it by being "too late."
Far better to be "too early" and if there is a mash-up of guests, just hang back a bit.
If you simply decide that you're going to arrive later, you will be stuck if there is a huge
group getting into line.

Also, it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE for guests to accurately time their arrival to a certain time.
There will always be situations that can through off your careful timing.

Be early... be in control of your choices.

Very good points. Being in control is always good thank you!