What time should we arrive at MK for rope drop?--Driving

[Rose77]

We are planning to visit MK on May 20th, which is predicted to be a moderate crowd level day (5 or 6). We are driving our own car, so we will need to park, get to the TTC, and then to MK. Is 8:15 a good time to arrive at the parking lot if we want to be through the turnstiles before rope drop? I'm just not sure how long it takes to get from the parking lot to the MK entrance. Thanks so much for any advice you may have!

 

[wdwrich]

We are planning to visit MK on May 20th, which is predicted to be a moderate crowd level day (5 or 6). We are driving our own car, so we will need to park, get to the TTC, and then to MK. Is 8:15 a good time to arrive at the parking lot if we want to be through the turnstiles before rope drop? I'm just not sure how long it takes to get from the parking lot to the MK entrance. Thanks so much for any advice you may have!

I would arrive at 8:00 if I were driving/parking. Remember that you also have to get through the security check before getting to the turnstiles.

 

[linskypens]

Depending on how long it takes to get a tram , how long it takes for a monorail to show up (I advise skipping a long line and take the resort monorail if the regular line is outrageous.)and how far back you are in line for said monorail or boat,I think 8 AM is a better option for you. it will take 30 minutes to park, catch a tram and a monorail and arrive , get through bag check, and get through a turnstile. You are pushing it in my opinion with an 8!5 arrival. Not to mention if you do make it, you will be in the back of the rope drop crowd, which frankly could be a couple thousand people.
We like to be standing at the rope at LEAST 30-45 minutes before RD to make it count.
I have had ONE epic recovery from a later RD arrival, Starting OUTSIDE of the turnstiles, and Sprinting (I mean SPRINTING) down main street, and hooking a right through the terrace to land at the front of the second rope at Tomorrowland. Its nothing I ever (especially at age 53) want to have to repeat.

 

[Alesia]

We are planning to visit MK on May 20th, which is predicted to be a moderate crowd level day (5 or 6). We are driving our own car, so we will need to park, get to the TTC, and then to MK. Is 8:15 a good time to arrive at the parking lot if we want to be through the turnstiles before rope drop? I'm just not sure how long it takes to get from the parking lot to the MK entrance. Thanks so much for any advice you may have!

That's fine if you don't mind being toward the back of the pack.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I would arrive around 8...when we stayed off site we had a goal to be there by 8:15 so we left our hotel at 8 and with driving and taking the boat/monorail plus getting through security it was already crazy busy by the time we got there. Also if you want to see the show before rope drop that starts around 8:45ish. I would aim to be in the park meaning getting off the monorail and to security by 8 so you are at the front of the pack.

 

[LetsTalkWDW]

Depending on how long it takes to get a tram , how long it takes for a monorail to show up (I advise skipping a long line and take the resort monorail if the regular line is outrageous.)and how far back you are in line for said monorail or boat,I think 8 AM is a better option for you. it will take 30 minutes to park, catch a tram and a monorail and arrive , get through bag check, and get through a turnstile. You are pushing it in my opinion with an 8!5 arrival. Not to mention if you do make it, you will be in the back of the rope drop crowd, which frankly could be a couple thousand people.
We like to be standing at the rope at LEAST 30-45 minutes before RD to make it count.
I have had ONE epic recovery from a later RD arrival, Starting OUTSIDE of the turnstiles, and Sprinting (I mean SPRINTING) down main street, and hooking a right through the terrace to land at the front of the second rope at Tomorrowland. Its nothing I ever (especially at age 53) want to have to repeat.

Never have done RD before, but it seems to me that if you are waiting an hour in line for RD, wouldn't it be better to wait until the park opens. Will all the headliner stand-by lines be more than 1 hour long that early in the morning? Maybe I am just naive.

 

[wdwrich]

Never have done RD before, but it seems to me that if you are waiting an hour in line for RD, wouldn't it be better to wait until the park opens. Will all the headliner stand-by lines be more than 1 hour long that early in the morning? Maybe I am just naive.

Yes, the lines for some of the headliners can fill very quickly at park opening.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Never have done RD before, but it seems to me that if you are waiting an hour in line for RD, wouldn't it be better to wait until the park opens. Will all the headliner stand-by lines be more than 1 hour long that early in the morning? Maybe I am just naive.

No, not really and here is why. When you arrive to the TTC at say 8 am, then are standing in front of the train station at 8:20 you aren't missing anything. I guess the argument could be made that are are missing sleep and the opportunity to be having breakfast, but no standby wait times are building. The goal for many rope droppers isn't just to do one attraction with mimimal wait, but to maximize what they can get done before 10 or 11 am.

So for example, if I am standing past the Mickey Readers / turnstiles at 8:20 am, then at 8:45 the park opens I am on and off of Mine Train by 9:05 am. Then, I head over to Peter Pan and done with that by 9:15 am. Then over to Enchanted Tales with Belle and done with that by 9:45 am. Then head over to Pooh and check the standby wait...if the wait time is not that long do it now, if it is over say 20 minutes, skip it and head to Pete's Silly Side show, then Dumbo. By this time you're looking at about 11 am.

Compare that to arriving to the TTC an hour later (9 am) and arriving to MK by 9:20 am. By the time you get to Mine Train at 9:30/9:45 am you are looking at a 60-90 minute wait in the summer and 40-60 in slower times.

 

[Alesia]

Never have done RD before, but it seems to me that if you are waiting an hour in line for RD, wouldn't it be better to wait until the park opens. Will all the headliner stand-by lines be more than 1 hour long that early in the morning? Maybe I am just naive.

Here's the thing: you may only wait an extra 15 minutes for the first ride, but that will lead to an extra 30 to 40 minutes for the second ride, an then an extra hour for the third ride.

Waiting an hour for the park to open will save you hours of waiting later.

 

[LetsTalkWDW]

Here's the thing: you may only wait an extra 15 minutes for the first ride, but that will lead to an extra 30 to 40 minutes for the second ride, an then an extra hour for the third ride.

Waiting an hour for the park to open will save you hours of waiting later.

Ok got it. So in this RD scenario you would do all the rides standby in the morning and schedule your FP+ selections for after 11:00 or 12:00?

 

[Rose77]

Okay, looks like the consensus is that we should be there by 8:00. I'll just move our departure time up 15 minutes!

I would arrive at 8:00 if I were driving/parking. Remember that you also have to get through the security check before getting to the turnstiles.

I hadn't thought about the time it will take to get through security, so thanks for that reminder!

Now, if I can just manage to get my slow moving husband and two young children out the door on time, we will be all set! (Who am I kidding, I'd better shave another 15 minutes off the departure time so when we end up leaving 15 minutes late, we'll actually be leaving on time. )

 

[LSUfan4444]

Ok got it. So in this RD scenario you would do all the rides standby in the morning and schedule your FP+ selections for after 11:00 or 12:00?

Yes, absolutely. Or, if you have hoppers you can spend your mornings in a recommended park, then hop to a more corwded park (say for p.m. EMH) and have your FP+ waiting for you.

 

[Alesia]

Ok got it. So in this RD scenario you would do all the rides standby in the morning and schedule your FP+ selections for after 11:00 or 12:00?

Yep.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

We were in line at 8 for Rope Drop, and were at the front of the line. We rode like crazy. I would schedule FP's for later on, maybe around 11ish or after lunch. We had one for 10AM and it was a waste as the standby line was the same length. Have a plan, ride the rides that are close to each other and do not waste time going back and forth across the park. You might want to do (depending on ages) Fantasyland first, then head next to Adventureland and/or Frontierland. You could get your FP's for Tomorrowland attractions later on in the day. Save the attractions and shows that do not typically have long lines for later in the day.

And if your day in the MK is a day where it is Early Magic Hour for WDW Resort guests, change your date around as it will be crowded already when you get in.

 

[wdwrich]

We were in line at 8 for Rope Drop, and were at the front of the line. We rode like crazy. I would schedule FP's for later on, maybe around 11ish or after lunch. We had one for 10AM and it was a waste as the standby line was the same length. Have a plan, ride the rides that are close to each other and do not waste time going back and forth across the park. You might want to do (depending on ages) Fantasyland first, then head next to Adventureland and/or Frontierland. You could get your FP's for Tomorrowland attractions later on in the day. Save the attractions and shows that do not typically have long lines for later in the day.

And if your day in the MK is a day where it is Early Magic Hour for WDW Resort guests, change your date around as it will be crowded already when you get in.

As of today, May 20 is not a morning EMH day at MK. It's always a good idea to keep checking though, as schedules can sometimes change.

 

[LSUfan4444]

This is from last April, but this is what you can expect at rope drop. Regardless of how busy the park is, rope drops are pretty consistent...it's after the first hour or so where the crowds really start to look different on a 8/10 compared to a 3/10

 

[goofy4wdw2]

What are your thoughts on the best time to arrive on an EMH morning? Thanks!

 

[LSUfan4444]

You can probably arrive a little later, but not much. For an 8 am opening, parking by 7:15 would be appropriate.

Early is good, earlier is better, every single day.

 

[Rose77]

Thanks so much to everyone for all of the advice! We do want to be through the turnstiles before RD but don't really care about being at the very front or seeing the show. Right now my plan is to head to Fantasyland first (kiddos are 5 and 2). I thought we would hit PP first before the line builds and then hit the other rides/attractions in FL. We aren't planning to do 7DMT since DD (age 2 and very petite) is too small to ride. Also, not planning to to do A&E, since it just seems like too much trouble (and we probably wouldn't be able to get a FP anyway). We'll be back to WDW in the future, so we can do the things we miss this time when we plan a longer trip at WDW.

I'm also hoping to get and ADR for lunch at BOG. If we are able to get that, I'm planning to do a FP+ for ETWB before lunch and then we'll get our other 2 FPs in the afternoon in some of the other lands.

As of today, May 20 is not a morning EMH day at MK. It's always a good idea to keep checking though, as schedules can sometimes change.

We do have some flexibility on when we can go to MK. We are on vacation the entire 3rd week of May (but are only spending one day at WDW), so we can change the day we are planning to go if EMH change. I'll be keeping an eye out for any changes. Thanks!