Which attraction to rope drop in Fantasyland?

[LeslieB123]

We have three MK days planned. I'm travelling with my husband, 10 year old son, 6 year old daughter and 16 month old baby. This day, I want to spend the whole day in Fantasyland. We might head over to Liberty Square if we have enough time but are totally willing to save that for another day.

Here's what we have booked so far:
9:45am Reservation at Be our Guest
12:45pm fastpass for Peter Pan
6:10pm fastpass for Enchanted Tales with Belle
7:30pm fastpass for Fairytale Hall (Cinderella) (for DD and me)
7:45pm fastpass for Seven Dwarves (booked for DH and DS, will use rider switch for DD and me after Fairytale Hall)

We want to visit as many attractions as we can in Fantasyland. We want to go at rope drop and do at least one attraction before breakfast. Which one should we head to first?

Here are some attractions I'm considering based on the wait times I've seen on websites and fastpass priorities:
-Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid
-Ariel's Grotto
-Barnstormer
-Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Which one would you rope drop?

 

[piglet1979]

When are you going? We tend to go in early September and the lines are usually not long for these. Winnie the pooh or Barnstormer I think have been the longest for us in this area. Are you spending the whole day in FL or only a half day? If you are doing a full day you should have not problem getting all the rides done in this area and Liberty Square. If you are doing a full day we tend to go with the least amount of walking so I would do Winnie the pooh and then it you still had time Do Little Mermaid ride or M&G.

 

[LeslieB123]

When are you going? We tend to go in early September and the lines are usually not long for these. Winnie the pooh or Barnstormer I think have been the longest for us in this area. Are you spending the whole day in FL or only a half day? If you are doing a full day you should have not problem getting all the rides done in this area and Liberty Square. If you are doing a full day we tend to go with the least amount of walking so I would do Winnie the pooh and then it you still had time Do Little Mermaid ride or M&G.

We're going the beginning of May. In 30 days! We're going to spend the full day in Fantasyland and not go to other areas of the park, but we want to take a break in the afternoon. I'm thinking rope drop to do a ride (or two?), go to breakfast, do some more rides from 10:30-12:45 then go on Peter Pan with our fast pass. After that, leave the park for lunch and a nap then come back in the evening to do our evening fastpasses and see Wishes.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Assuming you'll want to do some rides more than once, Peter Pan. That's going to be the ride with the longest wait times throughout the day other than 7 Dwarfs. I'd try to ride Peter Pan first, then Pooh, then breakfast.

 

[LeslieB123]

Assuming you'll want to do some rides more than once, Peter Pan. That's going to be the ride with the longest wait times throughout the day other than 7 Dwarfs. I'd try to ride Peter Pan first, then Pooh, then breakfast.

It would be nice to do some rides more than once. I didn't think that would be possible. Do you really think we could do two rides before breakfast?

 

[jlnten17]

PP for sure. I always rope drop it rather than FP+ because our kids love the queue

 

[Ambehnke]

I also would do PP or 7DMT followed by Pooh (7dmt would be a good one with your rider swap that you could use later in the day and the other could ride Pooh with the little). I don't think the lines will be as long as you are expecting. We have never been able to stay in only one land all day, unless you are planning on riding the rides multiple times.

 

[jvz82]

We have three MK days planned. I'm travelling with my husband, 10 year old son, 6 year old daughter and 16 month old baby. This day, I want to spend the whole day in Fantasyland. We might head over to Liberty Square if we have enough time but are totally willing to save that for another day.

Here's what we have booked so far:
9:45am Reservation at Be our Guest
12:45pm fastpass for Peter Pan
6:10pm fastpass for Enchanted Tales with Belle
7:30pm fastpass for Fairytale Hall (Cinderella) (for DD and me)
7:45pm fastpass for Seven Dwarves (booked for DH and DS, will use rider switch for DD and me after Fairytale Hall)

We want to visit as many attractions as we can in Fantasyland. We want to go at rope drop and do at least one attraction before breakfast. Which one should we head to first?

Here are some attractions I'm considering based on the wait times I've seen on websites and fastpass priorities:
-Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid
-Ariel's Grotto
-Barnstormer
-Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Which one would you rope drop?

Based on the list you gave, I would meet Ariel first. We hit most of those same rides at RD this past trip (during EMH) and had similar fast passes as you. Meeting Ariel was already a pretty long wait even at 7:30 am (I think we waited like 20-30 minutes already when the park had only been open half an hour!!) but if you went there right at RD it would probably be pretty short. The other rides you mentioned we walked right on.

You could definitely do PP instead if you want to do that twice. Personally, while I enjoy PP I don't have any desire to do it twice in a day.

 

[barbliny]

I vote PP (my favorite ride) and it has become almost impossible to do it on standby other than at ropedrop

Then Pooh, then breakfast - just as someone else suggested

If you wanted to separate - your son and husband could go to Tomorrowland Speedway or Space Mountain - the Speedway is one of those rides that builds long waits after first thing in the morning.

You and your daughters would fit in a single ride car on both PP and Pooh (although handling stroller parking on your own may be a pain - but the rides are close enough that the stroller can be kept in one place while walking between the 2 rides

 

[LeslieB123]

Do you think it would be possible to do both Under the Sea and meet Ariel before our 9:45am breakfast at Be our Guest? I like the Peter Pan then Pooh idea but I'm also thinking that meeting Ariel first might be good if she gets long lines later in the day. I think my husband and son might not like waiting in long lines for character meets (but my daughter would totally wait!). I think if they are going to wait in a long line, they'd rather do it for a ride.

 

[LeslieB123]

I also would do PP or 7DMT followed by Pooh (7dmt would be a good one with your rider swap that you could use later in the day and the other could ride Pooh with the little). I don't think the lines will be as long as you are expecting. We have never been able to stay in only one land all day, unless you are planning on riding the rides multiple times.

I hope you are right about the lines! I'm thinking that even if the lines are short, it still has to be about 15-20 minutes plus walking time. The biggest thing is that we don't want to go all day and all evening. I want to go back to the resort for a rest and swim in the afternoon and then come back for evening rides. I think it'll make for a much more pleasant vacation for everyone. So, I think with that plan, Fantasyland and Liberty Square will be plenty.

 

[Ambehnke]

If you are planning to spend the whole day in Fantasyland I would just get the lines app and then when I saw that Ariel had a short line pop over there. With Anna and Elsa gone the most of the M&G with maybe the exception of talking Mickey are usually doable without FP or almost always available for a 4th SDFP later in the day.

 

[Ambehnke]

I hope you are right about the lines! I'm thinking that even if the lines are short, it still has to be about 15-20 minutes plus walking time. The biggest thing is that we don't want to go all day and all evening. I want to go back to the resort for a rest and swim in the afternoon and then come back for evening rides. I think it'll make for a much more pleasant vacation for everyone. So, I think with that plan, Fantasyland and Liberty Square will be plenty.

My kids are only 3 and 4 so a midday break is a must for us. Our last trip was in Busy busy July. We never waited longer than 15 min. If you plan and use the lines app you shouldn't have to. The only downfall I see to your plan is the later FPs. There will be limited room for 4th 5th etc because of that. We generally do FP around 11, 12, 1. Break around 1-4 or 5 and then head back for the evening and use SDFP for anything we want to do with a line. Sometimes we save the 3rd FP for evening.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Were there any earlier fast passes? If you make your three for earlier in the day, many Fantasyland FPs are available throughout the day for fourth and fifth choices once your first three are used. M&G and Peter Pan are often gone, but you have a good chance of other rides . I don't think you need to worry much, if you are spending an entire day in FL, but I would still rather not wait in lines, if I could get FPs.

 

[AddiesMama3]

I would head to PP and Pooh first. We found during our February trip the best time to see characters is during the parades and fireworks, because everyone is watching them and not in line with you! The character experiences were always wonderful, they were just the best during those times. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much you can get done between park open and 11ish.

 

[LeslieB123]

Were there any earlier fast passes? If you make your three for earlier in the day, many Fantasyland FPs are available throughout the day for fourth and fifth choices once your first three are used. M&G and Peter Pan are often gone, but you have a good chance of other rides . I don't think you need to worry much, if you are spending an entire day in FL, but I would still rather not wait in lines, if I could get FPs.

I just double checked and the times I got were the earliest fastpasses. I think it will be ok. We want to come back for Wishes anyway and I doubt we could make it from rope drop to Wishes without a meltdown.

 

[LeslieB123]

I would head to PP and Pooh first. We found during our February trip the best time to see characters is during the parades and fireworks, because everyone is watching them and not in line with you! The character experiences were always wonderful, they were just the best during those times. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much you can get done between park open and 11ish.

Hmmm another vote for PP and Pooh. Is the line for PP that great. I was originally planning on just riding it when we have our fastpass but if it's that good we could go twice.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Fantasyland isn't particularly big - the walk from Pooh to Peter Pan is perhaps 5 minutes, and then from Peter Pan to Be Our Guest is only 5 minutes. Peter Pan is about a 2 minute ride, so if you head straight there and don't have a long wait, and then head over to Pooh and don't have a long wait (and you shouldn't for either at RD), then you should be able to do both before breakfast. Any chance you can push breakfast to 1030 or so? We typically don't eat the first couple of hours because it is a great time for hitting the rides. Another option (if interested) would be to ride Pooh first, then Buzz Lightyear, then go to breakfast. There is a bit more backtracking with that plan.
We went the first week of May a few years ago and the crowds are very manageable.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

What is this Character Lines app? Can you provide a link?

 

[Surgie2]

What is this Character Lines app? Can you provide a link?

Touring Plans has an app called Lines when you search in the app store. Not sure if you have to be a subscribed member of TP to use the Lines app or not? But the Touring Plans website is very helpful in trip planning IMO and is not that expensive in the big picture of Disney budget (maybe $15). The Lines app is great - you can immediately see on your phone the posted wait and even more helpful you see the expected actual wait based on real time information. There is also a Lines app for Universal.