Rope Dropping "Minor"Rides - Feedback please!

[pixiedust33]

Planning for a trip the first week of March with two adults and one 2.5 year old. Have been to Disney many times but the latest was 2019 so a whole new strategy game since them. Staying at the Polynesian with a kid that doesn't sleep past 6:30 anyway, we plan to arrive for early entry (but not super early, was planning to get to the gates at like 8:15 maybe, since we don't need to be at the front of the pack). We also plan to buy Genie+ to minimize wait times. I know the standard advice/have researched to death but everyone with a strategy seems to assume you want to do at least one of SDMT, Space, Big Thunder, or at least Peter Pan. We plan to skip all of them. So these are our ride priorities for Fantasyland and I'm looking for feedback on two things: 1) which of these do you think will develop a line soonest/which should I do first at rope drop and/or potentially use a LL for and 2) Do you think it's possible to accomplish all of this before a 10:45 breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace with 8:30am EE? We would really like to tackle the park one "land" at a time and avoid any criss crossing.

• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mad Tea Party
• Small World
• Dumbo
• Barnstormer
• Would maybe add in the carrousel, philharmagic and/or the Little mermaid ride, time permitting

After our brunch reservation, we plan to go back for nap time at the Poly, then hopefully return in time to get a spot in Frontierland for the 3pm parade and knock off the rides over that side of the park. I was potentially thinking of saving/stacking lightning lanes for that (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion) and then making it back over to Tomorrowland to finish out the night with the speedway, buzz lightyear and the people mover.

Open to any feedback on whether this seems doable! If we can't get to Tomorrowland or need to go back to Fantasyland after brunch, I think we would just add a second MK day to our itinerary (omitting AK).

 

[mom2rtk]

I love rope dropping lesser rides! You can zip through a lot while everyone else is waiting on the headliners. It’s also fun to be in the lands when they are less crowded

 

[juxtapose]

We do this all the time. My kids love riding rides over and over, sometimes they'll even let us stay on them if there is zero line. I think Dumbo might get a line first, however that is kind of a slow load ride,, so I'm not sure I'd do it first but yes I think you can do all of that before 10:45. Maybe Barnstormer or Winnie the Pooh first as they're quick rides.

 

[pixiedust33]

We do this all the time. My kids love riding rides over and over, sometimes they'll even let us stay on them if there is zero line. I think Dumbo might get a line first, however that is kind of a slow load ride,, so I'm not sure I'd do it first but yes I think you can do all of that before 10:45. Maybe Barnstormer or Winnie the Pooh first as they're quick rides.

Thank you! This is a good point about avoiding a slow load ride first. This is our son’s first trip and first experience with rides so I also want to pick something that I’m relatively confident will be a hit. He does love Winnie the Pooh so that might be the move!

 

[MainMom]

If Pooh is a favorite I would start there. Then I would do Tea Party, Dumbo, Barnstormer. With whatever time is left I would then decide between Small World & Little Mermaid.

 

[pixiedust33]

If Pooh is a favorite I would start there. Then I would do Tea Party, Dumbo, Barnstormer. With whatever time is left I would then decide between Small World & Little Mermaid.

Thank you! Do you think there is any point in using lightning lanes for those that early in the morning, or will they mostly be walk in? I was thinking it might make sense to save the lightning lane spots for stacking rides over in adventureland/frontierland for later in the day, but not sure.

 

[MainMom]

Thank you! Do you think there is any point in using lightning lanes for those that early in the morning, or will they mostly be walk in? I was thinking it might make sense to save the lightning lane spots for stacking rides over in adventureland/frontierland for later in the day, but not sure.

I probably wouldn't use LL, but I also haven't done minor rides first thing for a very long time. I just seem to recall Pooh getting a surprisingly long line sometimes. In June 2022 we rode Dumbo late morning. We had a LL, but I'm 99% sure we didn't need it.

 

[kylenne]

Thank you! Do you think there is any point in using lightning lanes for those that early in the morning, or will they mostly be walk in? I was thinking it might make sense to save the lightning lane spots for stacking rides over in adventureland/frontierland for later in the day, but not sure.

Don't waste LLs on the Fantasyland rides tbh. They will all be walk ons during EE because everyone is headed to one of Mine Train or PP and then immediately hopping in line for the one they didn't do. You'll definitely be able to get the rest done in your target time frame. Even during the busiest parts of the day, the only Fantasyland rides that ever really see a substantial wait besides those two are Pooh (which can be weirdly spikey) and Barnstormer. I would definitely start stacking rides for the rest of the park instead, and you'll want to grab Jungle Cruise first because it sells out the quickest.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Dumbo has the cool indoor playground so maybe save that one for when you're sensing he needs running around time?

 

[ShannyMcB]

Pooh first then Dumbo so you can repeat later in the day if they are hits. Barnstormer early am is great we rode 3 times without getting off...you will start to get dizzy then ha! Since heat shouldn't be in issue in March small world, Philharmagic and mermaid can be next. If it was summer I'd say save those for mid-day.
Def stack jungle cruise, pirates, mansion etc. Be ready for maybe needing a snack break after pirates or mansion. Some kids (and adults even) could be thrown by the darkness and need some time to de-frag. Mansion or pirates could be great right before the parade if you can swing it.

 

[Miffy]

The only thing about the Pooh ride is that it's often not up and running at early entry. That's happened to us a few times. Then, if you do something else and go back, there might be a 30-minute line. So if you're going to do Pooh first, have an alternate strategy in mind.

There's never more than a 15-minute wait for Philharmagic, and G+ is not needed for this since the wait would have to do with when you got to the theater and nothing else. Because you could get there 2 minutes before showtime or just after the doors had closed for the current show.

The Little Mermaid ride often has low-to-no wait time in the a.m.