Wait time of Mine train at rope drop?

[WaDiWo]

Hi all!

Just wanted to get a sense of everyone's experience with the wait times of mine train at rope drop. whether the attraction is hyped or not, we would like to experience it ... and my fastpass window is coming up. Thing is , we'll only be in the parks for 2 days, and who knows if we can get FPs for MT.

thanks!

 

[ellie05]

In our Nov trip we were there at RD we were not trying to go to 7DMT, but we had to go around it. Wait time posted was 45 min and people were lined up all the way out of the queue.

 

[fbarker]

Hi all!

Just wanted to get a sense of everyone's experience with the wait times of mine train at rope drop. whether the attraction is hyped or not, we would like to experience it ... and my fastpass window is coming up. Thing is , we'll only be in the parks for 2 days, and who knows if we can get FPs for MT.

thanks!

This may help
http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...er-bell-moves-the-4th-fp-magic-kingdom-52814/

 

[karenklo]

Depends on where you are in the crowd. If you get RD and go past teacups and are close to front-maybe 10-15 min. At the end of the wall of people-30-40 min almost immediately. The line wraps all around the front side of mountain to around the side by dumbo.

 

[jhaig]

We got to RD last year and went straight to 7DMT. We were around the tenth group in line but still waited 40 minutes. That's what happens when the ride is down and not running at park opening. Be aware that this may happen on occasion. This last Sept we were at MK for RD on five separate occasions and the Mine Train was not running at park opening on three of those mornings, and on each of these days we were not told by cast members of any delays before we actually got into the park. We just found out as we waited in the non-moving line, roasting in the sun.

 

[WEDWDW]

Just a heads-up-they have been doing Magic Kingdom Welcome at 8:40 AM(7:50 AM on EMH days)for quite a while now,thus Rope Drop is "around" 8:50 AM so be sure to plan accordingly.

 

[WaDiWo]

This may help
http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...er-bell-moves-the-4th-fp-magic-kingdom-52814/

Thank you for this! wow, ok I guess it will be crowded, lol. I feel so claustrophobic already with the crowds in the pics and the video.

 

[nessz79]

Just a heads-up-they have been doing Magic Kingdom Welcome at 8:40 AM(7:50 AM on EMH days)for quite a while now,thus Rope Drop is "around" 8:50 AM so be sure to plan accordingly.

About a year and a half ago we got there a couple minutes before 9 and we felt really late! We were still fine, but that was before 7DMT!

 

[SeilerBird]

You might want to wait for Wishes to get in line. Might be a lot shorter.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Take this with a grain of salt, as I was at MK on Dec. 27th and 29th, so VERY busy days. That said, I would think you would see a similar pattern each day.
Both days we were there for EMH starting at 7AM. The overwhelming majority of the people headed for the Mine Train with a decent sized group heading for A & E as well. A VERY small percentage of guests headed for any of the other attractions!
Both days when we walked by between 7:15 am and 7:45 am (so BEFORE the park opened to all visitors), the line was backed up past the tea cups and once the park opened to all guests it was back to Storybook Circus. It was insane!
By contrast, between 7 and 9 am, on some of the busiest days of the year, we were able to WALK ON many rides including: Space, Buzz, Peter Pan, BTMRR, Splash, Pooh, Ariel, etc...
IMO, it is a huge time waster to head to Mine Train first thing. If you can get ahead of the crowd, you might have a short wait, but I don't think it would be worth the stress. I would either get in line towards the end of the night or keep stalking for FP+'s. I was actually able to change the time for my Dec. 29th FP+ the day before! (For a party of 5) FP's do pop up from time to time.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

If you want an alternate strategy, the lines can be much shorter near the end of the day. During opening week for 7D this summer, we were able to ride twice in about a half hour at 11:30 pm. The posted wait was 80 minutes, with an actual wait of 20 the first time then 10 for the 2nd trip.

We find this to be a more efficient use of time than earlier in the day.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

It jumps from 0-120 min. at rd almost every day. Show up 45 min to an hour prior to rd, stick to the right and take the bridge. Don't go through the castle! As long as you are at the front for rd and hold your own in the crowd you should have no more than a 25 min wait. You don't have to be pushy, just hold your ground to the people who are.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

It jumps from 0-120 min. at rd almost every day. Show up 45 min to an hour prior to rd, stick to the right and take the bridge. Don't go through the castle! As long as you are at the front for rd and hold your own in the crowd you should have no more than a 25 min wait. You don't have to be pushy, just hold your ground to the people who are.

That sounds exhausting.

 

[erc]

That sounds exhausting.

Welcome to Disney World.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

That sounds exhausting.

If you're already a rd person it's really not that bad. Just gotta keep a good mantra circulating in your head as you try and keep your group together in the crowd. It's really not much different from TSMM at rd.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I don't know, your plan gets you on one ride in about an hour and a half while my plan gets me on the same ride twice in about a half hour, or one third of the time.

Also, we can generally ride Toy Story up to 4 times during the last hour of operation. I've not heard of anyone getting that type of efficiency in the morning. The key is taking advantage of the overstated wait times.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

I don't know, your plan gets you on one ride in about an hour and a half while my plan gets me on the same ride twice in about a half hour, or one third of the time.

Also, we can generally ride Toy Story up to 4 times during the last hour of operation. I've not heard of anyone getting that type of efficiency in the morning. The key is taking advantage of the overstated wait times.

I merely outlined the best strategy for those wishing to ride 7DMT at rd. It is a tried and true method.

As far as closing down HS, no thanks! For me it is a half day park at best.

We have always been rd people. My parents maingates did not allow us to use fp+ until day of for quite awhile. On a busy holiday that meant getting to the parks early. We also enjoy watching the parades and wishes so don't care to do rides during those times.

There is more than one wdw touring strategy. We rode 13 attractions on Dec. 27th and had curbside seats for MSEP, and we did it all without fp+.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Thanks for the info Sarge, it sounds like you've got a pretty good plan. We just don't do mornings as it wouldn't be the most efficient use of our time. We tend to stay out until the last park closes so that the kids can get multiple re-rides on the headliners. We also find time to catch all the parades and fireworks plus a few late night Dole Whips as well.

You're right, there are many different ways to see the World.

 

[keep smiling]

We were there during Christmas week and had less than a 10 minute wait. We had two small kids in a double stroller. We also had a wonderful CM park our stroller for us.
This was also our first experience at rope drop. We may have been lucky following very fast people who know where to go.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I don't know, your plan gets you on one ride in about an hour and a half while my plan gets me on the same ride twice in about a half hour, or one third of the time.

Also, we can generally ride Toy Story up to 4 times during the last hour of operation. I've not heard of anyone getting that type of efficiency in the morning. The key is taking advantage of the overstated wait times.

Interestingly, we saw a mix on our vacation of which was better, early morning or late night.
For MK, early morning was the easy winner. Rides were almost empty from 7 - 9:30 or so. But, we went back one night (MK was open to 1) and there were long lines (60+) for all the headliners until well past midnight!
OTOH, we walked into Diagon Alley one evening at Universal around 9:30 and Gringotts was a virtual walk-on but the line built VERY quickly in the morning.
We burned the candle at both ends on our trip since it was the best way to get things done.
Overall, we had much better luck in the morning. But, I think that can vary depending on a lot of things, including how early the park actually opens (we only saw one 9 am opening, most were 7 am with a couple 8 am). I don't think people like to get up and head out when it is dark.