Stand By for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

[asmarykay]

If I arrive at rope drop and head straight to SDMT what type of wait can I expect?

TIA!

 

[rteetz]

Depends on how close to the front of the "rope" you are. At the front minimal wait. Middle could be 20 minutes. Back of the pack could be 30+ minutes.

I believe touring plans did this test on their youtube channel not too long ago.

 

[dwheaton]

I'd count on 25-30 minutes, which isn't bad given what the Standby wait usually is for most of the day.

 

[CAS239]

Depends what you mean by "arrive at rope drop". If you mean pulling into the parking lot when the park opens, I'd say 60+ min. If you mean getting on the monorail when the park opens, I'd say 45+. If you mean walking up to the MK entrance when the park opens I'd say 30+ min. If you mean you're going to be at the MK entrance 30+ min prior to park opening, I'd say 1-30 min.

 

[asmarykay]

Thanks! This was very helpful! Now to make a plan.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Hubby & I did this just this past Sat. We were at the back of the pack when MK opened. Wandered thru the castle to the ride. Posted time was 65 mins. We were in & on & out in 30 mins !

 

[gharter]

I would be at the park 30-45 minutes before RD. That will probably put you midway in the mob.
I would suggest instead of going through the castle, at the hub turn right and then left to take the path that goes around the castle. It is usually less crowded and will put you closer to the entrance of &DMT.

 

[MomOTwins]

I'm confused because I thought the path through the castle is closed at rope drop for the welcome stage show, and the rope drop for 7DMT is at the right of the hub (on the path toward the teacups). Have they changed the rope drop procedure?

 

[MouseMum]

What @rteetz mentioned...

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Perhaps not a fair example as it was during Easter Week (read, very busy) on an 8AM opening day, but Josh / EasyWDW had a relatively recent detailed walk through of the 7DMT rope drop experience - https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/m...m-rope-drop-to-seven-dwarfs-mine-train-32918/

 

[Nancy O]

I know this wasn't your question but we got in line at 5-10 minutes before close. The wait time was 70 minutes. We waited 10 minutes.

 

[MouseMum]

I know this wasn't your question but we got in line at 5-10 minutes before close. The wait time was 70 minutes. We waited 10 minutes.

Wow!! Is this the norm now?!

 

[CarrieR]

Yep. Relatively short just before closing. I’ve waited as long as 20 minutes or as short as 7-8. The posted time will always be much, much longer.

 

[MouseMum]

Yep. Relatively short just before closing. I’ve waited as long as 20 minutes or as short as 7-8. The posted time will always be much, much longer.

Good to know! This wasn't the case in 2016 when I was there last.

 

[Haley R]

We always show up an hour before park opening and usually are the first ones in line at a turn style. We walked very quickly to 7DMT and were the second ones on the ride. That is typical for us, though. We were the very first ones on TSMM for rope drop one morning.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I rode twice in a row as a walk-on standby.

About an hour before HEA began, that was a heavy downpour that cleared out many people. It dried up, and then we got great spots in the hub to see HEA. We hurried over to 7 Dwarves and pretty much hopped on. It was great!