How early for rope drop

[monarchsfan16]

We will be staying at Portofino Bay at the very end of February (the week after Presidents Day). If we want to attempt to rope drop Hagrid's, what time should we be leaving the resort, walking? It'll be a weekday if that matters.

 

[georgina]

We will be staying at Portofino Bay at the very end of February (the week after Presidents Day). If we want to attempt to rope drop Hagrid's, what time should we be leaving the resort, walking? It'll be a weekday if that matters.

In my experience, AT LEAST an hour before EE. Possibly more to be at the front of the line. To be safe plan to be at the entry an hour ahead (I know, sounds crazy). I usually bring my coffee and breakfast pastry from Starbucks along. Not sure when the security line opens for walkers. There is a walking shortcut through the Hard Rock parking lot that is more direct than the garden path and cuts off some time.

I did EE at IOA in the middle of August, got there maybe 30 minutes early and by the time I got to Hagrids it was already something outrageous like 2+ hours wait. Skipped it then and went back in the afternoon. I will be staying closer to Disney off-site end of Feb, I have EE with my AP, but do not plan to try.

 

[princesserin1350]

We just did early entry walking from Portofino on January 7. Early entry started at 8am. We left the hotel around 6:10am and arrived to the Hard Rock security station around 6:30am, but honestly, we didn't need to leave that early - security didn't open until 7am, and by that time, there were only 4-5 other parties waiting to enter so everyone was through security very quickly. In the future, I would probably leave Portofino around 6:30am. I jogged over to the IOA gates and was first in line at one of the turnstiles. They opened the gates around 7:45-7:50am and everyone RAN to Hagrid's (team members do tell you to walk, but that was largely ignored). Luckily it was running at park open this day (with a short delay in the queue) so we were able to get on and off in about 15 minutes. We spoke to a couple in line who had done Early Entry the day before but had walked to Hagrid's instead of running and they waited about an hour. Good luck and have fun!!

 

[cschaaf]

I think it depends on what you want to accomplish during EE.

If EE is at IoA and you are using EE to ride Hagrids first, I think you need to be at the park gate 45 minutes prior to the scheduled opening.

It does sound like a lot, but showing up 15 minutes later will cost you much more than 15 minutes when you make it to Hagrids.

The crowd grows quickly as the ‘30 minutes early’ time approaches and they typically open the gates 10-15 minutes earlier than the posted time.

If you aren’t using that time to ride Hagrids first, you can show up later.

We are rope droppers by nature, but with EP, if USF has EE, we don’t rush to get there.

 

[Skywalker3]

Agree w previous posters about at least an hour, but probably a little more, to add some extra time for walking. Like if EE is at 8, leave Portofino about 10 mins to 7, or maybe a tad more. That should put you near the front of the turnstiles, but after it opens, it's a free for all for sure. We don't run, but we super power walk, usually DH and kids leave me in the dust. I try my best to keep up with them. ha.