Really, how do you do early mornings???

[Mugglemama]

For years we had good results with the "hour-before-opening" strategy.

However, our most recent experience (2012), was quite different. We were getting up at 6:30, and eating a breakfast of bananas and granola as we stood in line one full hour before opening (often, we were the very first in line at both the security tables AND the turnstiles).

But, when we got to the rope for rope-drop (again, right at the front, literally against the rope), what happened was that a bunch of people just squirmed in between us and the rope and cut in front of us! We were able to fend a few off, but usually what they'd do is send their small children to wiggle in (These were SMALL kids - like, 5 years old and younger...I'm not really comfortable telling other peoples' kids what to do, so I didn't shoo them off), and then come over and act like they were getting their kids, but then just stay there.

I finally got tired of it one morning, when a grown man cut in front of my little girl and effectively pushed her back from the rope so HE could stand there. When I brought it to his attention that he was cutting in line in front of a child who had been standing in line since 7am for that spot, he actually started yelling at me, SWEARING, etc. Pretty aggressive.

I could have had him "dealt" with...my husband was about 20 feet away sitting on a bench with our other kids when it happened and would have literally punched the guy for speaking to us that way...but then he would have been kicked out, etc. LOL...I didn't want our vacation to be ruined just because some weirdo-guy acted like a jerk, KWIM?

After that, I just decided the drama wasn't worth it. Even when the rope did drop on mornings when we were still not far behind it, HOARDS of people were full-on sprinting to rides like PP - so even though we'd gone through all that trouble, and *followed the rules* by walking...the line was 35-45 minutes long by the time we got to it (I'd have to go back through my posts to find out exactly how long).

The next day, we slept until we woke up naturally. We arrived about 9am - an hour after opening, if I'm not mistaken. And it was SO much more relaxed! Nobody shoving, or running, or yelling at us. After that morning, we decided we weren't going to bother with the crazy morning rush anymore.

Now, your mileage may vary. A LOT. Most people here swear by the same strategy we used for many of our visits. But for us, the huge amount of extra effort and discomfort just isn't worth the payout anymore.

 

[jammyjam25]

My Disney BFF and I are EMH/MM people, and don't leave the park until it closes, which means 7am-midnight days in the summer!

We get to the gates about 30 minutes early and get through our days with lots of caffeine and breaks (usually a sit down meal) when we need them. It makes for long days but we love being able to get a lot done in the mornings, and spending our afternoons and evenings taking in shows or re-riding our favorites.

I am also in favor of splitting up when you are with people who don't have the same touring style as you, even if it's just for an hour or two. It's saves you from LOTS of stress and potential arguments!

 

[pindecisive]

I haven't been to DL in about 4 years and "rope drop" is a new term to me now that I'm gearing up for our trip. I don't remember much talk about it before. I'm also curious if taking the monorail for MM is a viable option for anyone? Is it just as crazy, or does it cut some of the crazy time because you get dropped right into the park?

 

[Mugglemama]

I haven't been to DL in about 4 years and "rope drop" is a new term to me now that I'm gearing up for our trip. I don't remember much talk about it before. I'm also curious if taking the monorail for MM is a viable option for anyone? Is it just as crazy, or does it cut some of the crazy time because you get dropped right into the park?

I haven't been in 3 years and to be totally honest, I don't even know if rope-drop is even a "thing" anymore? Also, to the best of my recollection, a rope-drop would only be something a guest was subjected to if they were not participating in MM (as in, I don't think it happens for people taking advantage of MM).

But, what it is (was?) essentially, is a half hour before the park officially opens, when guests are still let in through the front gates, but have to wait on Main St. until the park is open. The stores on Main Street are open at that time, but most people rush to the rope, which is actually a series of ropes, stretched across some point of the hub, holding guests back until opening time arrives, at which time the CM's open the ropes and let everyone through.

In re: to the Monorail - I'm interested to hear what people have to say about that, too. It seems like we tried to make that work for us last time, but in the end there was some reason we didn't do it?

 

[agamble]

After that, I just decided the drama wasn't worth it. Even when the rope did drop on mornings when we were still not far behind it, HOARDS of people were full-on sprinting to rides like PP - so even though we'd gone through all that trouble, and *followed the rules* by walking...the line was 35-45 minutes long by the time we got to it (I'd have to go back through my posts to find out exactly how long).

And if you have a stroller people will push you aside to get where they're going. I get annoyed when I read all these reports of batter ramming strollers (not to say it doesn't happen); if I had a dollar for every time someone stepped directly in front of my stroller because they were in a rush at opening (like we're not ) I'd be able to pay for our next trip. It's easy for walkers to shove and elbow their way through the crowds, and they do, it's much harder for those with strollers or young kids. This is why I have the rule about Peter Pan. If we can get there fast enough we ride, if too many people got in our way and the line is now too long, we skip it.

 

[az4boys]

I absolutely recommend getting there early, but 1 hour seems like overkill. I think it is more important at DL than CA to get there early if that makes a difference in planning.

 

[pindecisive]

I'm interested to hear what people have to say about that, too.

A couple other threads mention long wait times at the station - we'd be partaking in MM/EMH so I'm not sure how much the long wait applies. Others said the walk from PPH was shorter than the wait, but I'm not sure if that applies either.

 

[Mugglemama]

And if you have a stroller people will push you aside to get where they're going. I get annoyed when I read all these reports of batter ramming strollers (not to say it doesn't happen); if I had a dollar for every time someone stepped directly in front of my stroller because they were in a rush at opening (like we're not ) I'd be able to pay for our next trip. It's easy for walkers to shove and elbow their way through the crowds, and they do, it's much harder for those with strollers or young kids. This is why I have the rule about Peter Pan. If we can get there fast enough we ride, if too many people got in our way and the line is now too long, we skip it.

I hear ya. The first year we had AP's we were using a stroller, and we never had those kinds of problems...we were careful, other people were careful, it was all good. But then we moved away and went back a few years later with a new toddler in a stroller, and MAN, things had changed!

My kids now range from nearly 5ft to just under 6ft, and I am soooooo looking forward to visiting the parks with big kids who are so much less likely to get stepped on!

 

[arichau]

I agree with everyone who has said that it isn't a big deal if you are not there super early. We have had great days where we strolled in shortly after the park opened. Can you walk on PP? No. But the last time I got to the parks for rope drop I felt squished and pushed and didn't feel like competing with the runners to get to the rides. I'd rather wait in a 20 min line at PP than get there super early and feel like I have to make a run for it to keep my place at the head of the pack to make waking up so early worth it.

I'm a huge believer in maximizing morning times at the parks but I'm in the "hooray we got there 10 minutes before park opening" category. Of course a lot of it depends on your expectations for what you want to get done that day, how many days you are there, etc. but getting there early is not a deal breaker at all IMO.

Have fun!

 

[lauritagoddess]

I think a lot depends on your normal waking habits. My son for the longest time was a very early waker. On vacation, he'd still be up at 6:00am which meant making rope drop or EMH was no problem. He's almost a teenager now and the last couple of trips we've missed rope drop sometimes and even when we are up in time for it, it's been hard getting there on time. I hate missing the park opening by a short amount of time. My feeling is if I'm not going to make it for rope drop that I'd rather it be because I slept in, and not because we just had trouble getting moving on time in the morning. If you feel like you could get everyone awake and to the park on time, then it's worth it. You can bring food for the kids to eat while you're waiting to get in the park, or just eat breakfast after you're in the park and have done some rides. I don't think you need to be there an hour early though, 15-30 minutes early has always been fine for walking on to the rides.

 

[Butterfly123]

I know if we stayed on site I would want to be up early for EE every day, and it would be a struggle to get my family going...they are not morning people like I am. So it's just as well we stay off site...I can always get us to one MM! And we aim for half hour early on the other days. It always works out fine.

 

[sgrap]

I have read that it is good to get to the park early. I think I have read that an hour early is good to get there by. And that you can get so much done in the first two hours of the day.

I have been thinking it through:
To get to DL or CA for an 8:00 opening, we would need to get there by 7:00 supposedly.
Which means we would need to start eating breakfast by 6:15.
Which means we would need to get the kids (ages 5 and 8) around 5:45 a.m, which really to us is 3:45 a.m. since we will be flying in from Texas the day before.

So the above sounds tiring to me and that is just the start of the day.

Then I call our hotel (Embassy Suites South) and breakfast doesn't start until 6:30 a.m.
And the first shuttle starts at 7:15 a.m.
Which would not put us at DL until 7:30 a.m.

How important is it to get to DL an hour before opening and how does anybody do it that early??? Especially if you are coming in from a time zone east of California?

Just thinking of the above makes me cringe considering the one magic morning we would have on our tickets. Yikes.

Advice please!

Breakfast in line.

 

[707MickeyGirl]

It's so frustrating to have people RUN past you when you've taken the time to show up early for a good spot at the rope. I think it would be nice (and safer) if the CMs would WALK everyone to the castle entrance, the way they walk everyone down Route 66 to RSR.

 

[agamble]

It's so frustrating to have people RUN past you when you've taken the time to show up early for a good spot at the rope. I think it would be nice (and safer) if the CMs would WALK everyone to the castle entrance, the way they walk everyone down Route 66 to RSR.

Has anyone been in the park recently during rope drop? On most occasions they've held us back at the end of Main Street, but one time they had multiple ropes like they do at DCA. They had one on either side of the partner's statue and one by Adventureland and another near Tomorrowland. I really preferred that as it spread the guests out. I think it'd be better if they did allow more space like they do at DCA so people could line up near the area they want to go to.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

^When I was there in April, that's how they were doing it. There were three separate ropes up in front of each of the lands. Even though it was a bit crowded on the days we were there, I didn't experience any shoving, running, etc. It wasn't a huge rush of people, it was more spread out.

 

[agamble]

I hope that's how it is when we go next week. We'll see I guess. I remember it was so much more relaxed that way.

 

[lorijohnhill]

When we went for Easter there was a HUGE line(s) for security bag check. Is this normal for the busier seasons? I never ran into lines like that in January.

 

[Mugglemama]

Has anyone been in the park recently during rope drop? On most occasions they've held us back at the end of Main Street, but one time they had multiple ropes like they do at DCA. They had one on either side of the partner's statue and one by Adventureland and another near Tomorrowland. I really preferred that as it spread the guests out. I think it'd be better if they did allow more space like they do at DCA so people could line up near the area they want to go to.

The week we were there, when we experienced so much difficulty with people worming in to cut in front of us, and running to the rides, etc, it actually was just as you describe here...multiple ropes going across the near-center of the hub, so you could gather on either side of the statue (I can't remember if they were letting people line up *inside* that little area where the statue is)...much more spread out than when they hold you off right before the hub. Didn't help, in our case.

 

[agamble]

That's too bad it didn't help, but it is nice to know they still do that sometimes.

 

[disneychrista]

I don't think you need to get there an hour early, unless you want to be the very first person through the turnstile. 30 minutes is early enough. It is MUCH easier to do during nonpeak times when the park doesn't open at 8am.