Everything Rope Drop

[scrappinginontario]

Please someone correct me if I am wrong, if you drive to Magic Kingdom I don't think you get to park right there. I think you have to park at the TTC and monorail over... possibly giving the advantage to walkers, bus riders, etc.

Please read this post as I think it will help put your mind at ease.

All transportation for all parks are being synced to arrive at approx the same time. However you choose to arrive, you will get there at approx the same time. Currently there does not appear to be one form that has an advantage over the other.

One day the first into a park by a couple minutes may be one form of transportation but the next day it may be another. Transportation is being coordinated to hold guests until the parks are ready for guests to enter.

Cars appear to be turned away from the gates if they arrive 70 mins before park opening but this can change by a few mins too.

Those taking Disney transportation of bus or Skyliner are recommended to arrive at their transportation approx 90 mins before park opening to line up, waiting for transportation to actually start running approx 45-60 mins (give or take) before park opening.

 

[justprettynpink]

I intend to be on the first bus tomorrow to rope drop MK. I was planning to do it this morning but I am not moving from this bed. LOL. I am at Pop now and the app shows a MK bus coming at 6:44 with a 7:04 arrival at Magic.

Would love more information about where you find the bus arrival times....

 

[scrappinginontario]

Would love more information about where you find the bus arrival times....

Once you arrive at your resort, bus wait times will be available on the MyDisneyExperience app.

 

[sailored]

Hi! Both of our magic kingdom days, it opens at 8 am. Will they still let people in about 45 minutes early? Thank you!

 

[lorileahb]

Hi! Both of our magic kingdom days, it opens at 8 am. Will they still let people in about 45 minutes early? Thank you!

No guarantees, but typically the parks are opening 30-45 min early. In November, even on 8 a.m. opening days, we had parks open early.

 

[Linkura]

So, to confirm current knowledge:

-Parks are generally letting people in 45 minutes early.
-Still arrive to the buses at least 90 minutes before official open to make that unofficial rope drop. Or should we arrive sooner?

 

[scrappinginontario]

So, to confirm current knowledge:

-Parks are generally letting people in 45 minutes early.
-Still arrive to the buses at least 90 minutes before official open to make that unofficial rope drop. Or should we arrive sooner?

Yes and, 90 mins should be good. Most people don’t go that early.

 

[Linkura]

Yes and, 90 mins should be good. Most people don’t go that early.

Thanks. That was my normal procedure pre-COVID and it worked well then. Means I can get a hot breakfast before a 9am open.

 

[coolbrook]

I know there are not guarantees, and I've seen a couple people ask this question, but I'm very curious about which rides are usually open when folks arrive before official opening time. It would be very helpful to have this information to save valuable time in the morning by preventing wasted walking to a ride that is uaually not open then. Maybe if we pool our knowledge we can create a working list. My May trip will be my 4th Covid trip. From the reports on this thread and what I have seen, it looks like this:
MK: 7 Dwarfs, Big Thunder
EP: Test Track, Frozen
HS: Falcon, Mickey and Minnie's, Slinky
AK: Flight of Passage

What can you add?

ETA
MK: Space Mountain
HS: Rock 'n Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror

 

[coolbrook]

I edited the above post with a few more I have seen consistently mentioned in the Just Back posts. What else?

 

[boltjames]

I edited the above post with a few more I have seen consistently mentioned in the Just Back posts. What else?

Great idea!

We arrive on Saturday and intend to be rope droppers in all four parks but I am unclear on which rides to target during those first crucial 60 minutes and in what order.

 

[TheMick424]

I know there are not guarantees, and I've seen a couple people ask this question, but I'm very curious about which rides are usually open when folks arrive before official opening time. It would be very helpful to have this information to save valuable time in the morning by preventing wasted walking to a ride that is uaually not open then. Maybe if we pool our knowledge we can create a working list. My May trip will be my 4th Covid trip. From the reports on this thread and what I have seen, it looks like this:
MK: 7 Dwarfs, Big Thunder
EP: Test Track, Frozen
HS: Falcon, Mickey and Minnie's, Slinky
AK: Flight of Passage

What can you add?

ETA
MK: Space Mountain
HS: Rock 'n Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror

Great idea! I’d love to hear from recent visitors on how their rope dropping went - from transportation, timing, ride strategy, etc. Wondering if Disney is making adjustments as the crowds grow for Spring break

 

[lnR_Texas]

Great idea! I’d love to hear from recent visitors on how their rope dropping went - from transportation, timing, ride strategy, etc. Wondering if Disney is making adjustments as the crowds grow for Spring break

I documented our rope drop experiences last week for DHS, MK, and AK. The link to the first is below. You should be able to scroll down to the others.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...-including-park-hopping.3807247/post-62777865

 

[boltjames]

Great idea! I’d love to hear from recent visitors on how their rope dropping went - from transportation, timing, ride strategy, etc. Wondering if Disney is making adjustments as the crowds grow for Spring break

I just want a list of each park and the 3 rides to hit in that first hour based on current conditions and in what order:

MK:
1.
2.
3.

Epcot:
1.
2.
3.

HS:
1.
2.
3.

AK:
1.
2.
3.

 

[lorileahb]

I just want a list of each park and the 3 rides to hit in that first hour based on current conditions and in what order:

It depends on your preference, but my two cents:

MK:
1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
2. Big Thunder Mountain
3. Splash Mountain (doesn't seem to open as early as Mine Train and Big Thunder)

AK:
1. FOP
2. Navi River Journey
3. Kil. Safari (for a.m. animals) or Expedition Everest (for coasters)

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

My DW, DS and DD are going to stay at the BC in June. We have never stayed at an EPCOT area resort. We have never used the International Gateway. We haven't been to WDW since the Skyliner was built. And my family are highly motivated rope-droppers. I stress HIGHLY MOTIVATED.

I understand there are Skyliner terminuses at DHS and EP. Further, as stated on the first page of this thread, I understand that transportation starts about 1 hour before park opening. But, from researching park times, it appears that DHS and EP commonly open at different times in the morning with DHS opening about 2-3 hours before EP.

Does the Skyliner to EP start at the time that the Skyliner to DHS starts? I guess what I'm asking is whether Skyliner riders could possibly be showing up to the International Gateway 2-3 hours before EP opens for rope drop?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. May the Force be with you.

 

[lnR_Texas]

My DW, DS and DD are going to stay at the BC in June. We have never stayed at an EPCOT area resort. We have never used the International Gateway. We haven't been to WDW since the Skyliner was built. And my family are highly motivated rope-droppers. I stress HIGHLY MOTIVATED.

I understand there are Skyliner terminuses at DHS and EP. Further, as stated on the first page of this thread, I understand that transportation starts about 1 hour before park opening. But, from researching park times, it appears that DHS and EP commonly open at different times in the morning with DHS opening about 2-3 hours before EP.

Does the Skyliner to EP start at the time that the Skyliner to DHS starts? I guess what I'm asking is whether Skyliner riders could possibly be showing up to the International Gateway 2-3 hours before EP opens for rope drop?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. May the Force be with you.

I can’t directly answer your Skyliner questions but I can tell you that HIGHLY MOTIVATED rope droppers WALK to EP and DHS. No need to rely on Disney transportation if you don’t have to!!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Does the Skyliner to EP start at the time that the Skyliner to DHS starts? I guess what I'm asking is whether Skyliner riders could possibly be showing up to the International Gateway 2-3 hours before EP opens for rope drop?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. May the Force be with you.

The Epcot line Skyliner does start at the same time as the other lines as there are guests travelling from the Epcot resorts to DHS.

That being said, guests heading to Epcot who do not have early dining reservations at Riviera, any of the BW resorts or Epcot (not sure if there are currently any pre-park opening dining at Epcot) are normally held at CBR or Riviera stations until about an hour before Epcot opens.

 

[Tom_E_D]

My DW, DS and DD are going to stay at the BC in June. We have never stayed at an EPCOT area resort. We have never used the International Gateway. We haven't been to WDW since the Skyliner was built. And my family are highly motivated rope-droppers. I stress HIGHLY MOTIVATED.

I understand there are Skyliner terminuses at DHS and EP. Further, as stated on the first page of this thread, I understand that transportation starts about 1 hour before park opening. But, from researching park times, it appears that DHS and EP commonly open at different times in the morning with DHS opening about 2-3 hours before EP.

Does the Skyliner to EP start at the time that the Skyliner to DHS starts? I guess what I'm asking is whether Skyliner riders could possibly be showing up to the International Gateway 2-3 hours before EP opens for rope drop?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. May the Force be with you.

On days that DHS opens 2 hours before Epcot, people using the skyliner can indeed get to Epcot quicker by taking the skyliner to DHS and then walking to the International Gateway. I don't think it can get them there 2 full hours early, but an hour and a half-plus is certainly doable. Please note that people who drive to the DHS parking lot and walk over can also get there earlier than those who drive to the Epcot parking lot. If you want to be on line before all those people get there, you'll have to line up early.

 

[Linkura]

On days that DHS opens 2 hours before Epcot, people using the skyliner can indeed get to Epcot quicker by taking the skyliner to DHS and then walking to the International Gateway. I don't think it can get them there 2 full hours early, but an hour and a half-plus is certainly doable. Please note that people who drive to the DHS parking lot and walk over can also get there earlier than those who drive to the Epcot parking lot. If you want to be on line before all those people get there, you'll have to line up early.

Just how many people are going to do that, though?