Arrival Time Not Rope Dropping

[brockash]

Hi,
We are planning to not rope drop on our next trip. Older kids don't want to get up so early and thinking a break from the chaos and crazy crowding will be nice.

With that in mind how early can we arrive and generally be able to walk right into the park not having to wait in lines for security and to tap in. We will be going either end of July/beginning of August.

 

[JodyK]

I think as long as you are like 30 mins to an hour after opening it is a bit of the luck of the draw and unpredictable.

ETA I should have clarified to say generally low but there may be some ebbs and flows and those are luck of the draw if you arrive at magic kingdom as the same time as a full boat for example.

 

[scrappinginontario]

The lines after rope drop are pretty consistent. E.g. You may have a few people in front of you but probably not a lot. This will happen very shortly after the park officially opens.

 

[JARNJ3]

I would gage about two hours after it opens. But keep in mind, most of the crowds are then in lines & you will be behind all of them.

 

[gharter]

If you arrive about 11, you will have a very short line at every park to enter. You will also have about a 60 minute wait for every attraction.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Arriving any later than 90 mins after park opening will likely mean little to no wait at the entrance but long waits at each attraction.

Have you visited since the security changes? Access to the parks is much easier since the scanners were implemented. Personally, I would not consider the wait to get into the park in planning my arrival time as that wait is minimal regardless of when you arrive.

 

[sixcats]

Security is definitely much better now. But not lining up with cranky teens, or in my case husband, can work too. I purchase genie+ and start booking rides at 7 am. We can head in later, and avoid lines.

 

[brockash]

Arriving any later than 90 mins after park opening will likely mean little to no wait at the entrance but long waits at each attraction.

Have you visited since the security changes? Access to the parks is much easier since the scanners were implemented. Personally, I would not consider the wait to get into the park in planning my arrival time as that wait is minimal regardless of when you arrive.

Yes, many times, but we always rope drop and are almost always on the first bus of the day, so waiting is new territory to us. I guess I'm just wondering when the rope drop crowds diminish at the tap styles. It's always so crowded and such a chaotic mess before opening, but maybe that dissipates within mins. of opening? - We're just always in the parks by then waiting for the next rope or in line lol.

I just know if we're not going to get the benefits of rope dropping then I at least don't want to be in the middle of the crowds to get in lol.

We realize lines for attractions will be long, but just wondering about getting through security and the entrance.

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you’re hoping to avoid the majority of crowds at the entrance I would probably recommend 60 mins or more after official park opening.

 

[columbus2016]

Last week with Spring Break crowd, we arrived at the parks around 10-10:30AM every day with very minimal line. I did have Genie+ and started booking at 7AM. I just couldn't get the kids and husband to rope drop.

 

[sponica]

We almost never made it for rope drop, I think the only time we were there early was for an 830 CRT reservation, and entering that day was probably the worst. We're never rope drop people, but we're usually there within 30 minutes of rope drop and don't generally have too much of a hassle with entry.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

This is how we visit WDW now too since my teens won't get up early more than maybe 1 day on a trip so we usually roll in mid morning or before lunch and we rarely wait in any long lines. Between improved security protocols and not carrying a giant back pack, getting in the parks is painless now.

 

[nolatravelgirl]

If you are willing to pay for ILL and Genie+ I would just start stacking rides and have a leisurely morning. Similar situation is we flew in and didn't get to the parks till 1:30 but had a very full day. If you are going to plan on a late start, I would confirm that it is a date where the parks are open late. If you have folks who can stay up late in the parks it is nice to be able to enjoy the parks after dark without the sun beating down on you.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We loved the slower pace/morning of the days we chose to purchase Genie+. Stacking, swimming, sleeping in.

Other days we rope dropped but I will say this was one of the few perks to Genie+ that we found.

 

[BroganMc]

I think Genie+ is design to get you away from rope dropping. You can start stacking your rides early in the morning while you're still at the resort in your pajamas.

I'm not a rope dropper. I've done it a few times but I don't like the experience. I feel like I'm in the middle of a herd elbowing my way to the front. It's not pleasant. I prefer to be the one that closes the park. I will stay late. And I usually am able to get on every ride I want.

I can tell you that if you show up within an hour of park opening you're still going to have a crowd. But if you show up 2 hours after park opening that crowd's inside. 11:00 a.m. was a good start time for us in March. Everybody was able to get to the park at their own speed and we started touring. Sure some rides had really long waits but most of those disappeared as the evening got late.

 

[JAMJAM]

Just another thought, if you are staying on-site, we had no line (walked right through security and park entrance) arriving 15-20 minutes in to EMH in the morning but before park open. Beat the non-resort guest crowds and had short lines fr any first ride we tried...

 

[mlbrv]

Was there all last week - during very busy spring break crowds......we showed up to all parks around 9:30 each day so about and hour after park opening (including early entry for resorts guests) and we had very minimal lines to get in.