Rope drop?

[Khara]

As far as the buses: if you're doing something where being among the first at the gate is absolutely critical, like meeting Anna and Elsa, I'd suggest getting to the bus stop about an hour and 45 minutes before opening, maybe 2 hours before if the park you're going to is further from your resort.

On my last trip I arrived at the bus stop at 7:30 for a 9:00 opening, watching in dismay as the Epcot bus pulled away when I rounded the corner. The next Epcot bus didn't come until 8:05 while two buses for every other park passed in the meantime. I ended up switching my plans around and trying for Anna and Elsa on a day I woke up even earlier.

...but Anna and Elsa is the quickest-building line in all of WDW, in most other situations it won't be such a huge deal if your bus is late.

 

[Robo]

If one is not interested in the Rope Drop Show or actually being the first in the park, what is the difference between arriving at 8:15 and 9:00.

Being behind hundreds to thousands (depending) of guests who arrived earlier.

 

[glamdring269]

We always do RD and try to ensure we are there at least 45 minutes before official open time. The debate for us this year is whether we will do EMH or not. We have park hoppers so getting stuck in the park is not an issue for us. Rope dropping EMH and hopping worked great for us a few years ago when paper FP were available. Last year we just showed up at recommended park RD and things worked fine as well but we had paper FP as well as testing FP+.

This year we will just have FP+ so I'm thinking RD the EMH park or recommended park and hop to a recommended park in the afternoon/evening to use our FP+. At this point the FP+ situation is too fluid to really know what to expect in October.

Bottom line: RD is the best means to get the most bang for your buck. But get there at least 30-45 minutes before posted park opening.

 

[glamdring269]

Being behind hundreds to thousands (depending) of guests who arrived earlier.

Yep. And you definitely want to be towards the front now with the magic band process at the gate not being as efficient as the old KTTW system. At least that was our experience in October.

 

[BrerNashville]

At WDW, it is better to be far "too early" than be one minute "too late."

I'm sure if I've seen it here, but I know there are some posts at easywdw showing "time lapse" photos every five minutes between, say 8 and 9 at the various park rope drops. The buildup over just 5-10 minutes between 8:25-8:35 or so is incredible.

Also, OP, if you are going in June, you may or may not be going to Star Wars weekends. They have been opening DHS up to an hour before the posted opening times for SWW over the past couple of years.

 

[bocaj1431]

I'm sure if I've seen it here, but I know there are some posts at easywdw showing "time lapse" photos every five minutes between, say 8 and 9 at the various park rope drops. The buildup over just 5-10 minutes between 8:25-8:35 or so is incredible.

Also, OP, if you are going in June, you may or may not be going to Star Wars weekends. They have been opening DHS up to an hour before the posted opening times for SWW over the past couple of years.

Wow! Definitely thankful for this info!