Peter Pan rope drop advice

[Kazi7]

I'm trying to advise friends who are taking their 5yo, 4yo and 2yo to MK for the first time in late Feb. The predicted crowded level is 3. They will be eligible for early entry and want to RD Peter Pan. I was going to advise them to arrive at least 30 min before early entry starts and stay to the left entering Fantasyland so they can veer to Peter Pan. I realize that the earlier then arrive, the shorter the wait for PP but I'm not sure how long they will be willing to wait in the RD crowd before early entry starts. I'm trying to be realistic without scaring them. LOL

 

[pixiedust33]

Advise them not to do it Kidding, kinda. But they should definitely be prepared for a lot of unpleasantness trying to navigate three small kids and at least one stroller in those crowds. We rope dropped with my 2.5 year old but we targeted Pooh and just smiled to ourselves at the horde going for Peter Pan.

Thirty minutes before does seem reasonable to me otherwise though. It’s not as bad as mine train, for sure.

 

[Kazi7]

Haha yeah I know what you mean. They are getting LLMP so they could get a LL for PP but they also want to get JC so I think it's better if they RD Peter Pan. Honestly, their kids probably wouldn't know the difference if they skipped PP altogether. (Most little kids have never heard of PP probably.) They are Pooh fans, so they could just RD Pooh and then move on. Might even be able to do Pooh 2x. I guess I could suggest that to her as an option.

 

[pixiedust33]

Haha yeah I know what you mean. They are getting LLMP so they could get a LL for PP but they also want to get JC so I think it's better if they RD Peter Pan. Honestly, their kids probably wouldn't know the difference if they skipped PP altogether. (Most little kids have never heard of PP probably.) They are Pooh fans, so they could just RD Pooh and then move on. Might even be able to do Pooh 2x. I guess I could suggest that to her as an option.

That was my thinking on our last trip! We skipped it because I didn’t think my son would care and, while I think the ride is cute, it’s not a must do for me either. We’re going again at end of March this year and we are thinking of trying to do it but my plan is to try to pick it up after we use our first lightning lane. Not sure when your friend is going but I can report back on if that strategy works! We’re planning to rope drop Buzz this year because the Tomorrowland rope drop seemed less crazy to me.

 

[Kazi7]

They will be there end of Feb but thanks for the offer. If they skip PP, I would tell her to see if she can pick up a LL for later, but I wouldn't count on it. Seems like it's often gone for the day, or maybe available only later in the evening and they don't want to stay past dinner.

 

[pixiedust33]

They will be there end of Feb but thanks for the offer. If they skip PP, I would tell her to see if she can pick up a LL for later, but I wouldn't count on it. Seems like it's often gone for the day, or maybe available only later in the evening and they don't want to stay past dinner.

Makes total sense! I think it’s only a risk worth taking if you’re not going to really mind if you don’t get it and are ok just skipping it.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I've done - more or less- rope drop at MK a number of times, including very recently.

Here's my take.
1. We don't arrive all that much ahead of rope drop, and it doesn't usually make much difference in the sense that your arrival time does not always = front of the crowd. It is how aggressive you are once the crowd starts moving that determines where you land in line, not how early you arrive. (Unless the park opens early)
On the other hand, it can be tricky to get the arrival timing just right. So we don't beat ourselves up if we don't arrive before RD. We just adjust and get in line for a ride that opens at 9am.

2. Avoid the in-park Starbucks at all the parks unless they want to wait in a long line.

3. Specific rides don't always open at rope drop. It can be frustrating to get in line for a popular attraction only to have that attraction be late opening. If it happens, then your entire effort is wasted unless you successfully bail for a different attraction.

4. The parks are not currently very crowded. That works in their favor. (could change a bit once Epic opens.) Currently, all the WDW/Universal parks are pretty empty. Each day's crowds peak around 11am-5pm, but outside of that, many rides had fairly short waits, especially when the weather was cold or rainy. Another factor right now though is how many WDW rides are closed for renovation or soon will be. Having a major ride down decreases park capacity, so the park can quickly go from short lines to longer lines.
I think:
MK: Astro, BTMRR, Dumbo playground, HoP, and ahead: Riverboat, TSI.
AK: TtbaB, Kali, Triceratop Spin
Epcot; TT, Gran Fiesta
HS: LMcQueen

Our general strategy is pretty simple: know which rides get long mid-day waits and avoid them during peak hours or use LLMP for them. During peak hours, hit all the low-wait attractions. We often do well if we just avoid 7D at rope drop. We often do well heading to Space Mtn, but Pan is also a good option.

In AK, we can cover multiple rides while many park goers are stuck in the FoP queue. In the morning, that is the only queue with a long line.

5. Posted waits are often incorrect at WDW. Hard to know when they are correct, but early and late posted waits are especially suspect. They tend to be more accurate roughly noon-5pm.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We rope dropped PP on our November and January trips. Both were Sundays. We got thru the line to verify on property for EE around 15m before they released the horde. Both times it was roughly a 15m wait to get on once we made it in line.

But one trip the youngest was 11 and one was all adults. A family of 5 where the kids 5 and under out number the adults is a different dynamic for sure. If it was me I'd go to bed early the previous night and take a minivan to MK that morning to be dropped off around here 8am (assuming EE starts at 830am).

 

[Minsc]

We pretty much always RD. For MK, it's usually for SDMT. On the occasions that the carnage along the path to SDMT is just too much, we've rerouted to PP or SM. SM is usually late opening, but if you go ahead and line up, we've found we are able to ride as fast as we can exit and get back through the queue to the loading area. It tend so work several times (or as many times as your spine will hold up) before the line grows long enough to actually have to wait more than 10 minutes. For PP, I agree with one of the previous posters in that it actually won't make a big difference on how close to the front of the "rope" you are other than the stress of being right in the middle of the horde as they press through. But Conan the Barbarian was right when asked about his philosophy for rope drop: "Crush your enemies! See them driven before you! Hear the lamentations of those left behind!"

 

[Wood Nymph]

We always rope drop Peter Pan during early entry. If you don't get there early, then the wait time gets very long. You will have to park the stroller at either the area by the carousel or the area that is past the entrance to PP,

The standby entrance is the most fun for children. It has interactive displays. But if you get a LLMP for Peter Pan then you will miss that interactive area. There will be some LL availability for Peter Pan later in the day - usually.

 

[Flash_Sloth]

A couple of weeks ago, I rope dropped MK twice, and both times there was a delayed opening for 7DMT. One of those times, DW and I were trying to rope drop PP, but it seemed like most of the people who would have been on 7DMT if it were open opted to go to PP, and it was a crazy long line. DW was not happy about that.