Time I should be there for parking and rope drop

[Daniel Disney mom]

Good afternoon,
We are staying in Newport Beach and for the first time will not be staying close. I would like to get there and parked for a 8 am rope drop on Wed April 6th and Thursday April 7th. What time do you recommend I leave and or get to Disneyland? We have never had to park at the actual park. So it will all be new to us.

Thank you so much for the help.

 

[figment_jii]

The parking facilities open 60 minutes before regular park opening on non-MM mornings and 90 minutes before regular park opening on MM mornings (i.e., 30 minutes before MM starts). In terms of when to arrive...I think it depends a lot on what you want to do. The earlier you arrive, the better chance you have at being at the front of the ticket turnstile lines and then into the parks. But unless you want to be one of the first guests on Peter Pan (i.e., have a shot at a short line) or RSR (using the wide-right technique), I don't think you really need to get to the parks all that much ahead of opening. Personally, I would probably aim to be in whichever park you chose about 15 minutes before rope drop. Note that DCA has EMH on Wed and DL has MM/EMH on Thu, so if you start in these parks on those days, guests will already be in the park (and in-line) ahead of you.

 

[MikeRx]

Pictures on Facebook regarding security lines from today looked very long 45 minutes prior to rope drop! (Facebook site: DISNEYLAND Trips, Tips & Beyond!) and it's a Tuesday well before spring break. If you want to get as much done during the "golden hours" it might be best to arrive as early as possible. With the increased security it seems as if the security check is the rate limiting step getting in.
Mike