Rope Drop Meet Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse at Town Square Theater?

[Kevin1281]

Is this a decent use of rope drop?

 

[Robo]

No more or less viable than choosing any "mid-level" attraction at RD.

I prefer going to a more in-demand "headliner" attraction at RD when fewer guests are in the park.

 

[cakebaker]

Is this a decent use of rope drop?

We always do secondary rides at rope drop, but we have FP’s for the headliners. The meet and greets aren’t our priority anymore, but if it is to you, it’s as good a choice as any of them.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

It tends to have as much of a wait most of the day as most of the non-headliners (Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion). Waits are around 40 minutes most days, and lately there have not been FP left (to grab as a 4th or later FP) so I'd say if it's something high on your list of things to do, it's as good a use of RD as anything else.

I'm not sure what the rest of that day looks like for you, but sometimes waits have gone down to 20 minutes or less during the FoF parade, and from about 8 PM on (but that would depend on whether or not you're trying to get prime real estate for the fireworks).

 

[Kevin1281]

My thought is that once we venture into the park, we won't backtrack later to this attraction. Meet and Greets aren't high on our list of things to do (we are doing Akershus one morning, and Chef Mickey's on our son's 3rd birthday), but I figured if we do one it might as well be the Main Man/Mouse.

 

[sscamarogirl2000]

I think it's as good as anything else. Sometimes during the day it climbs to 75-90 minutes. You might not think characters are your high priority right now but things might change when you get into the park. We took our grown up children this past September. We had talked beforehand how characters are not a priority but we would get some if wait times were low. I grabbed a fastpass for the character spot in epcot the first day we were there because we had gotten the memory maker and i figured we should get at least 1 picture with Mickey. My 19 year old was standing in line saying "i don't understand why we are waiting on this. No one gets excited over someone dressed up like a mouse". However, the minute we rounded the corner she started crying and it was magical. After that characters became a priority and we came home with almost 500 pictures. When you get your 3 year old there depending on his reaction it might become more of a priority.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

My thought is that once we venture into the park, we won't backtrack later to this attraction. Meet and Greets aren't high on our list of things to do (we are doing Akershus one morning, and Chef Mickey's on our son's 3rd birthday), but I figured if we do one it might as well be the Main Man/Mouse.

I also avoid backtracking as much as I can (with a 2 yo in tow, I sympathize), and later meets don't work for us either. We don't do many unless we happen to catch a short wait but I agree, seeing Mickey at MK is high on the list (and right now it's a special meet for Mickey's 90th and he's meeting with Minnie, in their party attire). I'd say using RD to do it first before heading into the park would be the way to go in your case.

 

[GoingSince1990]

If you want to do it, definitely. Years ago we rope-dropped the meet Mickey in Toontown in Disneyland, for which the wait can be excruciating, and there is no FP.

 

[Kevin1281]

I think it's as good as anything else. Sometimes during the day it climbs to 75-90 minutes. You might not think characters are your high priority right now but things might change when you get into the park. We took our grown up children this past September. We had talked beforehand how characters are not a priority but we would get some if wait times were low. I grabbed a fastpass for the character spot in epcot the first day we were there because we had gotten the memory maker and i figured we should get at least 1 picture with Mickey. My 19 year old was standing in line saying "i don't understand why we are waiting on this. No one gets excited over someone dressed up like a mouse". However, the minute we rounded the corner she started crying and it was magical. After that characters became a priority and we came home with almost 500 pictures. When you get your 3 year old there depending on his reaction it might become more of a priority.

I don't doubt one bit that it could become a priority once our kids lay eyes on the characters. To be honest, I hope it doesn't become a priority, because there are so many other things I'd like for them to see. I certainly won't deny them other Meet and Greets if that is what they want to do. At the same time though, I don't plan on pushing the Meet and Greets.

 

[Kevin1281]

I also avoid backtracking as much as I can (with a 2 yo in tow, I sympathize), and later meets don't work for us either. We don't do many unless we happen to catch a short wait but I agree, seeing Mickey at MK is high on the list (and right now it's a special meet for Mickey's 90th and he's meeting with Minnie, in their party attire). I'd say using RD to do it first before heading into the park would be the way to go in your case.

Cool. Thanks! I think I might suggest this to my wife then as our plan of attack.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I haven't been watching it but did notice that it was right up there with BTMR and Space for not having FP availability early in the day early in our trip at 60 days and I have noticed waits of 40 mins so it's in demand right now. When we RDed talking Mickey after they started opening Main Street before park open we were shocked to find a half hour wait right at RD. People lined up for it early since they could get into Main Street. I don't know if that's happening now or not but suspect it might be given the demand. I would watch MDE at park open for a while and see what kinds of waits are being posted at RD.

 

[Brett Wyman]

We were just there mulling around between the 8-9am hour and there was decent line for it already at 8:30am.

 

[TinkerPan]

I think a 3 year old would love this first thing. Meet and Greats can take some time without fastpass. I say go for it. Years ago when we first took our little girls to Disney we thought the rides would be the big draw. All we heard all morning was "Where's Mickey? Where's Mickey? Where's Mickey?" We finally gave in. I so wished we'd done it first thing.

 

[gharter]

If that is something that is high on your list, then it is a good use of RD.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I just took a look and TP lines has it preloaded as a 40 min wait at RD and Disney has it as 50. Based on that and the pp's experience of seeing the line at 8:30 I would not RD it OP. Because of being on Main Street the RD for it is different than the other MK rides. If it's important and the only way for your group to do it, I would line up by 8:15. You're going to wait at least 45 mins that way too which is annoying but it is very out of the way which is tough.

I wrestled with this one too, wondering if I should use an FP on it. Ultimately I decided to get an FP for 11 and we plan to see the flagpole characters at 11:30 to try to get some additional value for waking all the way back to park entrance.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

I just took a look and TP lines has it preloaded as a 40 min wait at RD and Disney has it as 50. Based on that and the pp's experience of seeing the line at 8:30 I would not RD it OP. Because of being on Main Street the RD for it is different than the other MK rides. If it's important and the only way for your group to do it, I would line up by 8:15. You're going to wait at least 45 mins that way too which is annoying but it is very out of the way which is tough.

I wrestled with this one too, wondering if I should use an FP on it. Ultimately I decided to get an FP for 11 and we plan to see the flagpole characters at 11:30 to try to get some additional value for waking all the way back to park entrance.

I was just coming here to say something similar. I just started watching times for this more closely and it does seem that at park opening the wait has consistently been in the 45 minute range, and RD would mean waiting that same 45 minutes or more.

It boiled down to priorities and we decided that meeting Mickey was enough of a priority to get FP and back track a little during the day. We’d be coming from Tomorrowland which isn’t so far, and we can try to see the flagpole characters around that time.

Overall, no, I wouldn’t tell someone it’s a waste to RD it but after looking at more data and considering that I’d be lining up for 45 minutes that way, I’m changing my vote and I’m not sure RD is the best way to do this unless you really have to.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I was just coming here to say something similar. I just started watching times for this more closely and it does seem that at park opening the wait has consistently been in the 45 minute range, and RD would mean waiting that same 45 minutes or more.

It boiled down to priorities and we decided that meeting Mickey was enough of a priority to get FP and back track a little during the day. We’d be coming from Tomorrowland which isn’t so far, and we can try to see the flagpole characters around that time.

Overall, no, I wouldn’t tell someone it’s a waste to RD it but after looking at more data and considering that I’d be lining up for 45 minutes that way, I’m changing my vote and I’m not sure RD is the best way to do this unless you really have to.

It's definitely one of the quirkier attractions to deal with. I was sad that Talking Mickey went away but happy to not have to put it in my plan anymore. Then we decided no Fab 5 meals this year and 3 days at MK and only 1 at Epcot and back into my plan Townsquare goes.

 

[Skippyboo]

You are going to have to backtrack to this area eventually to get out of the park. It’s the first thing you see going into the park so a lot of people are going to go get in that line. There are going to be other areas of the park like in Adventure land and Frontierland that aren’t going to be super crowded at RD. You could hit a bunch of other rides during that first hour of opening instead of waiting 40 to 50 minutes for Mickey.

If you don’t specifically want the birthday Mickey at MK, the other parks all have Mickeys with probably less wait time than MK Mickey. I personally like the Safari Mickey & Minnie Meet n Greet at AK.

 

[Kevin1281]

It's definitely one of the quirkier attractions to deal with. I was sad that Talking Mickey went away but happy to not have to put it in my plan anymore. Then we decided no Fab 5 meals this year and 3 days at MK and only 1 at Epcot and back into my plan Townsquare goes.

Oh, wait a minute. Mickey doesn't talk here? Whoops. I was under the impression that he did. That changes everything. No need to RD this then. We'll be meeting him later in the week at Chef Mickey's. Thanks!

 

[Rach3975]

Oh, wait a minute. Mickey doesn't talk here? Whoops. I was under the impression that he did. That changes everything. No need to RD this then. We'll be meeting him later in the week at Chef Mickey's. Thanks!

He used to talk, but they stopped that about a year ago. Glad it makes your decision about RD a lot easier!