Seven Dwarves Mine train - is it really really worth it?

[Yinn]

i wouldn't rope drop 7DMT unless you are at the front of the rope drop line - you can get a lot else done in that time. i would try to ride it during deluxe resort late hours (if you have) or just buy the lightning lanes - this isn't RotR, you'll be able to get them. it's probably worth a ride if you don't come often but i wouldn't wait hours for it (or anything).

It's a decision factor. If you rope drop 7DMT, it's still a good 30-45min wait. In that time you could easily knock out Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, it's a small world, and another ride. Peter Pan especially can back up quite a bit. But, if you're set on it during a busy season, it's still better than a multi hour wait.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Yes, it's really worth it. Adding that you'll definitely not want to sit in the FRONT of the train as then it's debateable whether or not it's worth it.

 

[WIll C]

Yes, it's really worth it. Adding that you'll definitely not want to sit in the FRONT of the train as then it's debateable whether or not it's worth it.

I actually prefer the front to the back. I had a lot more fun in the front. The back seems to be weird for me.

I think it's something anyone should do at least once if you like coasters. After that, it's certainly not worth the wait. I've always done it at rope drop when it's a walk on.

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

Do you you prefer the front? Huh... my kiddos always want to sit in the back. I also prefer the back.
When we went in November I was just 4 months post discectomy and we sat in the front (where I held on for dear life just in case) and my youngest (15) was truly so unhappy so we had to ride again - this time she made sure to sit in the back!

I do agree that trying to do SDMT at rope drop is where.it's.at!

 

[Bork]

It's a fun ride, but I wouldn't wait in a long line for it. That being said, it has a special place for our family because we got our favorite WDW picture while riding it 6 years ago.

 

[LilyWDW]

So overrated. Had FP for it (back in the days of FP) and still felt like we waited too long for it (was maybe 10 minutes lol). The ride is super short and not that exciting.

 

[MomOTwins]

I can’t speak for anyone else, but it is definitely in my top 5 rides at WDW (Splash, Soarin, FOP and Frozen being the others). It is such a smooth coaster compared to some of the older ones and the sideways swaying adds some fun. The animatronics are excellent. I recommend it at night especially because the queue is so gorgeous with the lanterns, your eyes see better in the dark ride “dwarves mine” portion of the ride since they don’t have to adjust from daylight, and the castle is a beautiful sight lit up in your line of sight on the outdoor portion the ride. We have twice done it during the fireworks because the line is much shorter and the fireworks view from the ride is really great, though you can only see the fireworks, not projections if that matters to you.

Surprised so many complain it is too short. It is three minutes, same as Space, BTMRR and EE. RnRC is only 1 min 22 secs!

I would do it if I were you. Buy an ILL if you can, or ride in the evening. Rope drop is scary.

 

[kc51570]

I can’t speak for anyone else, but it is definitely in my top 5 rides at WDW (Splash, Soarin, FOP and Frozen being the others). It is such a smooth coaster compared to some of the older ones and the sideways swaying adds some fun. The animatronics are excellent. I recommend it at night especially because the queue is so gorgeous with the lanterns, your eyes see better in the dark ride “dwarves mine” portion of the ride since they don’t have to adjust from daylight, and the castle is a beautiful sight lit up in your line of sight on the outdoor portion the ride. We have twice done it during the fireworks because the line is much shorter and the fireworks view from the ride is really great, though you can only see the fireworks, not projections if that matters to you.

Surprised so many complain it is too short. It is three minutes, same as Space, BTMRR and EE. RnRC is only 1 min 22 secs!

I would do it if I were you. Buy an ILL if you can, or ride in the evening. Rope drop is scary.

I think the ride portion is very, very quick. Some of that 3 minutes is taken up going extremely slow by the animatronics, whereas, BTMRR feels like more nonstop action. I would have never thought it was near the length of Big Thunder.

I would say it’s worth it especially if you’ve never been on it. I wouldn’t wait 2 hours for it, but we have rope dropped during early hours pre-Covid if we weren’t using FP+ that day. We rode it during the fireworks last summer for a lower wait time.

 

[pixiedust2u]

Thanks all! I think I may have exaggerated when I said wreck plans - but what I mean, is every version of the touring plan suggests it is a minimum of an hour wait. Obviously once you get stuck in a line for an hour, other lines build. Cutting it out means I will see a lot more. Given I have kids, we aren't going to be able stay too late in the park - going to try early to bed and early to rise. Seems the consensus is - very good ride, fun, but not worth a crazy crazy wait. I suspect we'll skip and maybe use Lightning Lane if available. Or maybe we'll find we are back at MK having done everything and then will just wait.

If using this strategy I’d either utilize ILL or hope in line at end of night if wait time is resolvable. I wouldn’t wait more than an hour. I don’t think any ride in all of WDW is worth over an hour wait!

 

[kathy884]

IMHO - no (One and done). Sure it's a cute coaster that young and old can enjoy together with reasonably cute theming. I would do it for a 20 minute wait, but it's just way too popular and lines are always long - usually an hour or more -- say what? I feel the same way about Peter Pan. Neither are ever on my MK touring plan -- not worth doing Genie or LL and not worth waiting for. That's just me though. Both of these are worth no more than a 20 minute wait IMHO and are ones I skip because the wait is always longer than that. And there are way better rides to rope drop (again just my opinion).

My 26 year old though put it on his touring plan, as he has time to fit it in and has people who have never been to the Magic Kingdom with him and wants them to experience it. He said though he'll skip if the line is over an hour. He'll have Genie+ and LL, but being offsite probably won't be able to get this ride since he can't do reservations till 9 a.m., and those onsite can do those at 7 a.m. This is one too that offsite visitors almost could never get a FP+ for when that system was in affect except for during the fireworks show. For some reason, it's one of the hottest rides in the park. I honestly don't get it.

Oh and I almost forgot. As an offsite visitor I don't have the ability to rope drop anymore either. All onsite can ride a 1/2 hour before we do, so no more rope drop advantage for offsite. If you are onsite and want to try it I'll go LL or rope drop vs. waiting an hour or more.

 

[Sydnerella]

Apologies if this is a stale topic - I have searched but haven't found the exact thread.

Seems that the Seven Dwarves Mine Train is one of the hardest to get on in the Magic Kingdom. Haven't been for 20 years. Going with my family (mid August - 4 of us) and probably not back for a long while (we are from the UK). Looks a wonderful ride. However, every permutation of every touring plan (from the unofficial guide) suggests it will wreck all my plans to see loads. I am also told it is very very hard to even get a Lightning Lane reservation.

So, as disappointing as it may be, it seems for the greater good, I should skip it? Am I wrong? Is it unmissable?

If you’re staying on-site and it’s a “Once in Lifetime” trip for folks, book ILL at 7am on one phone nd book PP/JC or whatever on another phone - Same MDE account.

You will get both no problem.

It is a cute, short, coaster with fun Disney photpsss pics/movies (if you buy the package). I love the slow animatronic portions most. We hit it once per multi-day trip.

My teens don’t hate it, they love all Disney rides, but for them it’s not much different than going on a Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh ride.

So it is not worth waiting in line for 45 minutes or more. Or trying to rope drop even with EE - we wasted 45 minutes even though we were in the very front 50 people because people sprinted as fast as possible once they drop the rope at the bridge.

Too many other nice experiences at MK to enjoy versus waiting in this line for such a short ride. So ILL or skip it. People could say end of the night but I would rather hang out in the hub on the grass watching projections after the fireworks or shop then go run to mine train and miss the end of enchantment.

 

[nicksinger8]

So definitely not a stale topic! Interesting to see the different views. Truth is, I know Peter Pan also has long lines (albeit perhaps not quite as long), but I think we will prioritise that as a family. I just love that ride and its atmosphere especially as it has an idealised view of Victorian London. And it is the perfect dark ride for me - I also want to see the queue changes. There is a coaster in Legoland in the UK which starts as a dark ride and turns into a great, short coaster which we love. So I am definitely going to try to get on this - prepared to pay for ILL as it is once in a lifetime trip - even if we go again, kids won't be young by then; although we are off site so we'll see if that works. But I find it unlikely we'll use the standby line - I'd rather use that time to do other things including Peter Pan and I doubt we'll be in the park after 8.

 

[Miffy]

OP: Since you haven't been for 20 years, there are a few things that you shouldn't miss. If you don't feel like reading all of this, the 2 absolute must-dos these days are (1) Rise of the Resistance at DHS and (2) Avatar Flight of Passage at DAK.

Read on for more:

(1) Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at DHS. Rise of the Resistance is a must-do. Pay for the ILL$ is my best advice here. There's always a huge line. Try like crazy to avoid spoilers. And SWGE itself is an amazing area.

(2) Pandora at DAK--also a wonderfully well done area. Avatar Flight of Passage is the other must-do at WDW. The lines are usually huge and if you want to plan your day and not stay until closing, when the line's shorter, you might want to pay for an ILL$.

(3) Toy Story Land at DHS, particularly my favorite ride there, Toy Story Mania. Easy to get a good time using G+. People love Slinky Dog Dash, but I kinda don't get it, yet you might want to do this too.

(4) There will be arguments about this, but I love love love Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at DHS. If you rope-drop this, you might be able to ride twice (you'll have to exit and enter again, btw). It's a fantastic ride. But if you loved the Great Movie Ride you might disagree. I was not a fan and MMRR is not competition--it's completely different.

Epcot: People love Remy, but we were not impressed. I'm not sure when they changed the film at Soarin' but you may not have seen Soarin' Around the World. Be warned: there's tremendous distortion on the screen if you sit anywhere but in the middle of the middle of the theater.

DAK: Of course, another must-do is the safari. You could do this multiple times a day and always get a different experience. And if you love coasters, then Expedition Everest should be on your must-do list as well.

MK: You haven't been for 20 years, so you've never seen Philharmagic. It's great. Zero line at park opening, so no need to waste a G+ on this.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

 

[nicksinger8]

OP: Since you haven't been for 20 years, there are a few things that you shouldn't miss. If you don't feel like reading all of this, the 2 absolute must-dos these days are (1) Rise of the Resistance at DHS and (2) Avatar Flight of Passage at DAK.

Read on for more:

(1) Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at DHS. Rise of the Resistance is a must-do. Pay for the ILL$ is my best advice here. There's always a huge line. Try like crazy to avoid spoilers. And SWGE itself is an amazing area.

(2) Pandora at DAK--also a wonderfully well done area. Avatar Flight of Passage is the other must-do at WDW. The lines are usually huge and if you want to plan your day and not stay until closing, when the line's shorter, you might want to pay for an ILL$.

(3) Toy Story Land at DHS, particularly my favorite ride there, Toy Story Mania. Easy to get a good time using G+. People love Slinky Dog Dash, but I kinda don't get it, yet you might want to do this too.

(4) There will be arguments about this, but I love love love Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at DHS. If you rope-drop this, you might be able to ride twice (you'll have to exit and enter again, btw). It's a fantastic ride. But if you loved the Great Movie Ride you might disagree. I was not a fan and MMRR is not competition--it's completely different.

Epcot: People love Remy, but we were not impressed. I'm not sure when they changed the film at Soarin' but you may not have seen Soarin' Around the World. Be warned: there's tremendous distortion on the screen if you sit anywhere but in the middle of the middle of the theater.

DAK: Of course, another must-do is the safari. You could do this multiple times a day and always get a different experience. And if you love coasters, then Expedition Everest should be on your must-do list as well.

MK: You haven't been for 20 years, so you've never seen Philharmagic. It's great. Zero line at park opening, so no need to waste a G+ on this.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

All great advice! Have been amazed to see what has changed since I last went and I know there might be more to do at Epcot, albeit there is a lot of uncertainty at that. Just hoping the construction is largely finished by mid August. There is another thread complaining about how Disney has made undesirable changes re Genie+ and other costs. Does seem that the attractions you list above, might be quite hard to get on without a disproportionate investment in time and money. Even with an entry ticket and Genie+ there seems no guarantee, which is extraordinary to me - I have spent £2200 on tickets for a family of four.

 

[Eastern]

It's a nice ride but I could miss it. I certainly would not wait more than 1 hour for it.

 

[Miffy]

All great advice! Have been amazed to see what has changed since I last went and I know there might be more to do at Epcot, albeit there is a lot of uncertainty at that. Just hoping the construction is largely finished by mid August. There is another thread complaining about how Disney has made undesirable changes re Genie+ and other costs. Does seem that the attractions you list above, might be quite hard to get on without a disproportionate investment in time and money. Even with an entry ticket and Genie+ there seems no guarantee, which is extraordinary to me - I have spent £2200 on tickets for a family of four.

Read up on Genie+ and you'll have a better idea of what it's good for, how to time it, etc. ILL$, which is separate from G+ but which uses a Lightning Lane, is a different story. For the big-time attractions, like FoP and RotR, if you want to make pretty sure you're going to get these, ILL$ are almost a necessity, unless you don't mind standing in line for 3 or 4 hours or perhaps you want to chance visiting either of these close to park closing. I'd advise against that for RotR since this attraction often breaks down (it has several elements) and even if you have an ILL$, you might have to wait and come back later. If you wait until near park close to stand in line, you could miss it altogether, if it's broken. Right now, this is the main attraction at WDW and you really do not want to miss it, even if you don't give a rip about Star Wars. It's an extraordinary experience, unlike anything else at WDW.

Are you staying onsite? If so, make use of Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE), available to guests at all the WDW resorts--it's a great way to get in short lines at top attractions (although, warning--FoP and RotR have huge lines even during ETPE unless you don't mind racing to get there). If you're staying Deluxe, then you also have some late-night extras at MK and Epcot, I believe, although by August that could change.

 

[Jennasis]

I will go against the grain just a little here and tell you 7DMT is my favorite attraction on property. The primary reason for this is because, to me, it is by far the most comfortable roller coaster I've ever been on. While I generally like roller coasters, I do not enjoy how jarring, shaky, or forceful so many of the more "thrilling" ones are (like Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Rock'n Roller Coaster). 7DMT is unique in that each car is suspended on hinges, allowing it to rock side to side, which results in such an incredibly smooth gliding experience on the coaster. It's so much fun and easy-going. Slinky dog dash is a close second place -- as it is very smooth also!

I will say that the line does get pretty long. Since I've been on it so much, I will skip if I think the wait will exceed 45 min, but if you've never been on it, you might get in line even at 60-75 min.

The other drawback, as others have mentioned, is that it's so short. I really wish it were 3x longer than it is. The cave scene is also so darn loud, I have to cover my ears inside lol!

It's literally the only roller coaster that HURTS my back. I've had two spine surgeries and the side to side swinging of the cars is very problematic for me.

 

[nicksinger8]

Read up on Genie+ and you'll have a better idea of what it's good for, how to time it, etc. ILL$, which is separate from G+ but which uses a Lightning Lane, is a different story. For the big-time attractions, like FoP and RotR, if you want to make pretty sure you're going to get these, ILL$ are almost a necessity, unless you don't mind standing in line for 3 or 4 hours or perhaps you want to chance visiting either of these close to park closing. I'd advise against that for RotR since this attraction often breaks down (it has several elements) and even if you have an ILL$, you might have to wait and come back later. If you wait until near park close to stand in line, you could miss it altogether, if it's broken. Right now, this is the main attraction at WDW and you really do not want to miss it, even if you don't give a rip about Star Wars. It's an extraordinary experience, unlike anything else at WDW.

Are you staying onsite? If so, make use of Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE), available to guests at all the WDW resorts--it's a great way to get in short lines at top attractions (although, warning--FoP and RotR have huge lines even during ETPE unless you don't mind racing to get there). If you're staying Deluxe, then you also have some late-night extras at MK and Epcot, I believe, although by August that could change.

Off site I'm afraid. I have heard that about RotR for sure - I am moderately interested in Star Wars. But I know the ride seems like nothing ever made. But with my wife and two girls - who really don't know or care about Star Wars - going to be quite a task to get on this ride mid August; they certainly wouldn't stand in line for even 75 minutes. I suppose I'll try to get an ILL$ as early as possible. If I can't get one, c'est la vie. Plenty to enjoy in WDW. I still feel Disney shouldn't create a situation where I have spent £2200 on tickets and I can't get on the best ride without sinking half a day or more money.

 

[gharter]

Agree with many that it is a really fun and cute ride. Worth waiting 30 minutes, maybe slightly more. Not worth an hour + IMHO.
Really enjoy sitting toward the back. Makes the ride much more fun as you get the whip from the drops, whereas the front is more meh.

 

[Miffy]

Off site I'm afraid. I have heard that about RotR for sure - I am moderately interested in Star Wars. But I know the ride seems like nothing ever made. But with my wife and two girls - who really don't know or care about Star Wars - going to be quite a task to get on this ride mid August; they certainly wouldn't stand in line for even 75 minutes. I suppose I'll try to get an ILL$ as early as possible. If I can't get one, c'est la vie. Plenty to enjoy in WDW. I still feel Disney shouldn't create a situation where I have spent £2200 on tickets and I can't get on the best ride without sinking half a day or more money.

You are hardly alone in this estimation. Many of the posters on the DIS are not at all amused by the current upcharges. I include myself in that. To make matters worse, not only are things that used to be free now costly, but you can't even plan anything in advance, like you used to be able to do with FP+.

I would not advise standing in line for anything for 75 minutes in mid-August. Much of the RotR queue is inside, which could help, but when the line is huge, there's a lot of it that's outdoors with zero shade.

Warning about Toy Story Land: also no shade there. They just recently built some shade for Woody's Lunchbox, the QS place in TSL, I'm happy to report.

Read up on mobile ordering as well. I imagine you'll be having at least one meal a day in a park and mobile ordering is your friend.

You will have a fun trip no matter what. You haven't been in 20 years. Prepare to be amazed (as Rik Mayall said on the Young Ones)!