The rope drops at mk, now where to go....

[shoney]

you get there before opening and wait patiently, the rope drops and then.....

if you had 2 little boys in tow (ds5 and ds7) where do you hit next.....

Since we are going next monday, it will probably be pretty busy. I generally like to take things easy, wander wherever we feel like it. The last two visits (1994 and 2004 were in January! (spend 1 adults only day at epcot in 2005) crowds weren't any issue)My husband is usually the fast pass man, but I want to come with a plan this time.

Should we start in Fantasy land?
Any info from the experts is always greatly appreciated.

 

[°O°Joe]

you get there before opening and wait patiently, the rope drops and then.....

if you had 2 little boys in tow (ds5 and ds7) where do you hit next.....

Since we are going next monday, it will probably be pretty busy. I generally like to take things easy, wander wherever we feel like it. The last two visits (1994 and 2004 were in January! (spend 1 adults only day at epcot in 2005) crowds weren't any issue)My husband is usually the fast pass man, but I want to come with a plan this time.

Should we start in Fantasy land?
Any info from the experts is always greatly appreciated.

No matter where you go, if you are there for the rope drop, you will walk-on whatever attraction you choose. Generally speaking, Dumbo and Peter Pan in Fantasyland usually have long lines from 11:00 on... Splash Mountain and Space Mountain as well. Sometimes Big Thunder Mountain and Pirates. Sometimes Buzz Lightyear and Tomorrowland Indy Speedway can have long lines as well. I would have your boys rate which of these attractions they want to see the most and start with them. Also, it might be a good idea to hit the busy attractions without fast passes first, and grab a FP for one of these attractions just after your first ride. Unless your boys don't care about Dumbo, that would probably be a good place to start. You could probably hit Dumbo and Peter Pan walk-on back-to-back.

We (DD5 and I) were there just Sunday and pretty much walked on 10 attractions by noon in this order: Dumbo, Peter Pan, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Ariel's Grotto, Teacups, characters in Toontown (Mickey Mouse and Princesses (get to Toontown at 10:00am if you want walk-on for these)) , Stitch, Haunted Mansion and Snow White.

Have fun!!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I might think about hitting a favorite first, but I generally prefer your husnband's strategy. We like to play it by ear, that way we aren't stuck if the line for something looks long. If that's thet case, then you can grab fast pass and move on. It' s hard to predict what the lines will look like exactly, so the best plan is to be flexible, IMHO.

Also some rides don't always open right away...

 

[Dis13]

For years, I read about Rope Drop, how exciting it was to "walk/run" to Space Mountain.... on my first (and so far, only) rope drop morning we waited with much anticipation for the all clear to head to... yes, the Indy Cars!

My boys were SOOOO excited to be the first ones on the Indy Cars (go figure!)

 

[ougrad86]

We walked to Space Mountain after rope drop and got on with only about 5 minute wait. My son was older tho, so he wasn't into Dumbo (which I heard always has long lines). It depends on what your favorite rides are. You will have a short window where there will be very little wait, and you can pick out favorite rides.
Also, altho I haven't been there in November, the crowds shouldn't be too bad. Probably like I experienced in early March. We very seldom waited more than 10-15 minutes for anything (except Soarin' and Test Track at Epcot - fast pass all the way!).

 

[woodlandsparty]

If it were my boys, they would be dragging me to the Buzz ride.....then riding it over and over till the line got too long!

 

[JPN4265]

My first thought, get out of the way of the made rush.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I'm doing fantasyland first since I have a 3 year old. I was gonna go straight to Toontown by 10am (when it opens), but I might save toontown for later. If your kids like thrill rides, I'd run to space mt. or splash mt. first, then get fastpasses for other stuff.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

First head straight to Fantasyland:
There will be Disney Character Greetings all around Main Street, but you can see them later when everyone else is standing in long attraction lines.

1.) Dumbo the Flying Elephant
2.) The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
3.) Peter Pan's Flight
4.) "It's a Small World"
5.) Mickey's PhilharMagic (Fastpass Have DH pick up fastpasses after Dumbo if you need one. (usually you don't need a FP if you are there during the first hour after opening)
6.) Cinderella's Golden Carrousel
7.) Snow White's Scary Adventures
8.) Mad Tea Party

Numbers 6, 7 & 8 typically don't have mega wait times so you may choose to go to Liberty Square and visit The Haunted Mansion after PhilharMagic waiting until later for these rides.

That should give you a good start to your day we have completed all of Fantasyland in under a hour doing this method.

Remember always have a Fastpass before waiting in a long line so you don't have to wait in the next line. Always have a Fastpass for your next attraction before you stop to eat...your husband will be the GO-FER use him.

In Frontierland get a FP for either Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Railroad which ever line is the longest then stand in line for the other attraction usually Splash is longer.

For rides like Space Mountian remember if you and your husband both want to ride they have a child swap for any rides your young children can't/won't ride that way both adults can ride taking an addition child with them each time without waiting in line twice.

 

[rie'smom]

For years, I read about Rope Drop, how exciting it was to "walk/run" to Space Mountain.... on my first (and so far, only) rope drop morning we waited with much anticipation for the all clear to head to... yes, the Indy Cars!

My boys were SOOOO excited to be the first ones on the Indy Cars (go figure!)

 

[MomofKatie]

We always head straight for Dumbo as soon as we hit the park- that line gets so long so fast, and the queue is tortuous- nothing really to look at, and some of it is in the hot sun. Blah!

After Dumbo, we like to hit Peter Pan and Pooh, then do the other Fantasyland attractions- with very little or no wait. We can do every attraction in Fantasyland by 10:30am this way.

We usually head over to Toontown next, then ride the WDW Railroad to Frontierland for Splash and BTMRR (get FP for 1 then ride the other)- then lunch.

 

[LaraK]

We head straight for Dumbo....I hate that line and the kids HAVE to ride it every time. (if we're in MK five days, they want to ride it for five days)...Personally, I like the Buzz, than Buzz again, then Asto Orbeter morning better, but Dumbo is the first thing each vacation.

 

[mecllap]

I think we're going to hit Indy Speedway first (or third after Dumbo and Teacups for me) for DGS age 7 -- he wants to go on it again and last time we had nearly an hour wait --don't want to do that again! It doesn't have a FastPass like Buzz.

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

When we are turned loose at rope drop, (if the grandkids are with us) we head up to the train station, take the train to toon town to visit Mickey/and pictures, then to the Barnstormer for a quick ride, then off to Fantasyland.

If its just DW and I, we will take our time walking up main street to take in the sights.

 

[MermaidMommy]

We (DD5 and I) were there just Sunday and pretty much walked on 10 attractions by noon in this order: Dumbo, Peter Pan, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Ariel's Grotto, Teacups, characters in Toontown (Mickey Mouse and Princesses (get to Toontown at 10:00am if you want walk-on for these)) , Stitch, Haunted Mansion and Snow White.

Have fun!!

Joe, your morning plan looks a lot like ours (except we do Pooh between Dumbo and Peter Pan), but I'm intrigued by where Ariel's Grotto fits in. Is she opening before 10:00 now? I've got a princess-crazy daughter, and I'm always flummoxed about how to hit both Ariel and Toontown at their 10:00 openings to avoid the lines. Please tell me there's hope!

Shoney, you might as well do Dumbo first and get it over with. If your kids want to go on it, you're stuck, and you might as well not have to wait in a long line -- and that line gets really long, really fast. And watch out for the lines at Indy Cars, too -- ugh.

 

[Loves Disney]

It completely depends on what you would rather see first.

We were at Rope Drop this past July during an EMH morning and we headed straight for Space Mountain (that was a ride we hadn't done yet) and then casually walked into Fantasyland after. There were no lines for any of the major Fantasyland rides such as Peter Pan's Flight (which is notorious for over hour long queues). This was strangely odd considering it was near the middle of July and EMH's are generally just as bad as it is during the day.

I have never been to WDW outside of July or March (once April) but I can positively say that which ever attraction or land you choose first, it will be a nearly empty area...nearly. So just think about what you and your family wants to do definitely. Frontierland is usually jam packed during the day (Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain).

 

[°O°Joe]

Joe, your morning plan looks a lot like ours (except we do Pooh between Dumbo and Peter Pan), but I'm intrigued by where Ariel's Grotto fits in. Is she opening before 10:00 now? I've got a princess-crazy daughter, and I'm always flummoxed about how to hit both Ariel and Toontown at their 10:00 openings to avoid the lines. Please tell me there's hope!

Shoney, you might as well do Dumbo first and get it over with. If your kids want to go on it, you're stuck, and you might as well not have to wait in a long line -- and that line gets really long, really fast. And watch out for the lines at Indy Cars, too -- ugh.

Yes, Ariel's Grotto was open when we went in at 9:30... I looked at the digital pictures just to make sure...

Now that I think about it though, it does seem like Ariel's Grotto has weird hours, maybe not open very late or something?? I still have my times guide at home, I'll check it out when I get home tonight...