Security Lines

[BGinCali]

I would walk or take the CCI shuttle and just use the Harbor security lines. Driving around that area can take just as long it seems. We were there for 5 days and only faced one crazy long wait in the line for security. With that being said, when we had reservations we did make sure to leave about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes before just in case. Luckily we were early each time!

Thank you! Appreciate the feedback & your experience - we will definitely allow time for any reservations.

 

[HydroGuy]

Unless you are part of my family They do this at Disney World. Seems like we get a slow guy, and then they switch. Then that guy picks from the side that just got serviced (most tables at WDW have 2 sides with 1 security person). Then they switch again and we get another slow guy and/or they start from the wrong side again. I have seen them switch guys 2 or 3 times at WDW in less than about 5 minutes. I have just warned people to not get behind us, because that will definitely be the slow line

Can you please upload photos and your names so we can all make sure we do not get behind you???

 

[bethwc101]

Duplicate.

 

[bethwc101]

yeah it was bad Tuesday evening.d like most were in DCA. To me, DCA seemed "summer crowded" yesterday evening.

Yesterday was really busy all day but last night was really packed in DCA due to the FFA event. Half our group went baline was backed up all the way into BugsLand and standby was 135 minutes. It didn’t affect us that much because we only rode that one ride and then hopped to DL but it was definitely packed.

I would have said it seemed pretty consistent (at least on the Harbor side), but I did notice that they didn't have it on Wednrs.

Yes, I agree that it can be frustrating when one line is moving much slower than the surrounding lines. I had a random idea (while waiting in one of the very slow lines this week)...they should have the screening CMs move over one station every 5 guests (or so). That way, it should all average out, right?

My tip for preparing for early entry into the parks:

Hand ALL bags and purses in your party to one person and send thanerally frowned upon.

The trick I found is the pick the line with the young people checking bags. The older people take it too seriously and thus slowly.

Getting the right bag checker makes all the difference. The wrong line is at least twice a slow.

How are people finding the lines an hour after opening? We will be there in June with an anticipated open time of 8. What I have been reading is harbor side is a mess just before and right after opening. So if we get to security at 9 will it be better? Since the parks will have been fully open for an hour?.
Will be there on a Wednesday so no MM at Disneyland.

 

[HydroGuy]

How are people finding the lines an hour after opening? We will be there in June with an anticipated open time of 8. What I have been reading is harbor side is a mess just before and right after opening. So if we get to security at 9 will it be better? Since the parks will have been fully open for an hour?.
Will be there on a Wednesday so no MM at Disneyland.

I am not convinced that the security lines "are a mess". They may be at certain times on certain days. Bu that it is consistent, and something to be avoided, well, I have not seen any evidence of that.

I am not sure exactly what you are asking, but it sounds like you are asking if you should plan to arrive an hour after park opening to avoid long security lines. If that is what you are asking, I would say absolutely not. If you do happen to arrive an hour after park opening, it is possible the security lines may be shorter. They may also be longer. But I cannot fathom why anyone might choose to arrive at certain times to avoid security. Especially if one is setting themselves up for waiting in even longer lines inside the parks.

 

[figment_jii]

I haven't honestly found any really good system to guess when the lines will be short (non-existent) versus long (other than I've almost never seen much of a line in the hour or so before park closing, especially after all the nighttime entertainment is finished). The issue is that when the crowds lighten up, then tend to shut down some of the lines, resulting in longer lines at the remaining check points. I have found that the lines tend to be shortest before opening on days when opening is early (e.g., 8:00 am) and there is no EMH/MM in DL (at least on the Harbor Side). I suppose if I had to guess, I would go with several hours after opening and before the after work/school crowds arrive as the most likely time to find short(ish) lines, but that being said, I've gotten to security mid-morning and walked right up and other times there have been lines 20-25 long. It's like flipping a coin...

 

[goooof1]

I have reservations at Candy Cane in June (going for multiple days with my niece who is visiting). I normally drive down for the day & park at Mickey & Friends. I have not experienced any long wait times at security at M&F since they've moved it inside. (I arrive in time to make rope drop). Would I be better to try to drive each day & park at M&F in lieu of waiting on the Harbor side? Or would the time I would need to leave to park be about the same time to walk to Harbor side entrance? (The comments about long wait times at Harbor have me concerned!)

Agree with pp....just walk or take the Candy Cane shuttle. Driving would be an absolute waste of time......driving, traffic and signals, parking, etc. If you are going rope drop just leave earlier. It would take more time to drive and park.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I am not convinced that the security lines "are a mess". They may be at certain times on certain days. Bu that it is consistent, and something to be avoided, well, I have not seen any evidence of that.

I am not sure exactly what you are asking, but it sounds like you are asking if you should plan to arrive an hour after park opening to avoid long security lines. If that is what you are asking, I would say absolutely not. If you do happen to arrive an hour after park opening, it is possible the security lines may be shorter. They may also be longer. But I cannot fathom why anyone might choose to arrive at certain times to avoid security. Especially if one is setting themselves up for waiting in even longer lines inside the parks.

Yes, the advantage of rope-dropping certainly more than makes up for a few additional minutes in the security lines, which is usually all you’re talking about. It certainly makes no sense to me to wait in a 10-minute line rather than 20 minutes, but lose a whole hour or more of park time for that??!

The security lines on Harbor CAN be an absolute nightmare, as evidenced by the photo I attached (those people stretch back most of the way to Harbor, and I’m not exaggerating). It’s not the norm, but it happens (especially on Tuesdays, which is when this was taken). So, that’s something you want to be mentally prepared for. But that’s not a situation that’s particularly predictable or avoidable at all. And on a day like this picture was taken, arriving an hour later wouldn’t have helped much anyway.

 

[DizneyMommy]

We find the lines an hour prior to park opening are about as good as they get. The lines at the garage can and do get far worse than the Harbour Blvd lines too! If you are going on an AP/local heavy day the garage is usually worse, on blackout dates and heavy vacationer days, the Harbour lines seem worse. Except when they aren’t.


Last weekend, Harbor was nice and fast every time but the one time we parked the garage lines were ridiculous.

An hour after opening the lines are insane everywhere. That is not a good strategy.

 

[shooting4life]

I never had problems when getting to the park with rope drop. It is from opening +2 hours it really sucks. Same with the late afternoon and early evening with everyone coming back to the park

 

[Purerockfury1]

We found morning lines to be a bit quicker as more stations were open. We tend to arrive 30-60 minutes after the park opens though. The afternoon lines were a little more unpredictable.

 

[bethwc101]

We find the lines an hour prior to park opening are about as good as they get. The lines at the garage can and do get far worse than the Harbour Blvd lines too! If you are going on an AP/local heavy day the garage is usually worse, on blackout dates and heavy vacationer days, the Harbour lines seem worse. Except when they aren’t.


Last weekend, Harbor was nice and fast every time but the one time we parked the garage lines were ridiculous.

An hour after opening the lines are insane everywhere. That is not a good strategy.

Thank you

 

[minnieralyks]

Yes, the advantage of rope-dropping certainly more than makes up for a few additional minutes in the security lines, which is usually all you’re talking about. It certainly makes no sense to me to wait in a 10-minute line rather than 20 minutes, but lose a whole hour or more of park time for that??!

The security lines on Harbor CAN be an absolute nightmare, as evidenced by the photo I attached (those people stretch back most of the way to Harbor, and I’m not exaggerating). It’s not the norm, but it happens (especially on Tuesdays, which is when this was taken). So, that’s something you want to be mentally prepared for. But that’s not a situation that’s particularly predictable or avoidable at all. And on a day like this picture was taken, arriving an hour later wouldn’t have helped much anyway.

That's how it was maybe a year or so back the whole time we were there. It calmed down during the afternoons, but the mornings were sheer madness! October was when it was like that I believe.

I would say it's typical for it to stretch to that green fence or a little past in your photo now, though.