What time to get to parks to be at the very front of the crowds?

[DumboDash2006]

We are staying off site so may have to forgo a few Fastpasses for the popular rides. We are morning people and do not plan to be at any parks in the late evening except for one day at MK (going back for a nap/rest early or mid afternoon that day). So we plan to be serious rope droppers. I know about the refresh option for Fastpass but I also know some of those may be later in the day when we'd rather be hanging out at our condo by the pool

We are also middle aged and out of shape and teen dd has some health problems so we can walk fast but probably not really fast. We are working on getting fitter for this and our health. We want to be at the front of the line when they start letting people into the park. If the parks open at 9:00 those days, what time should we plan to be there and waiting to be let in?

 

[mesaboy2]

Ninety minutes or more to be at the very front.

 

[siren0119]

Agreed. If your priority is to be at the very front of the line, 90 minutes will work for Epcot and MK. For Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, I'd even push that to closer to 2 hours ahead. We arrived at AK about an hour and 15 minutes ahead, and the crowd at the tapstiles was all the way back to the ticket booths. That said, we still got on and off FOP before 9:15

 

[Klayfish]

All hope isn't lost, at all. With the potential exception of SDD and FoP, you may well be able to get a morning or afternoon FP+ using refresh for any attraction. We do it regularly. It may take a little time, but keep with it. I'm not saying you shouldn't rope drop if that's what you want to do, but if you can't/don't, then give it a shot via FP+

 

[Figvention]

90 mins sounds brutal! During the week (non-summer) we don't usually line up more than 30 mins ahead, weekends and summer hours 45 mins. While we are not front on the line, we never have to wait more than 15 mins for SDD, FoP, or 7DMR. Using these start times we can ride TT and Soarin within an hour of park opening.

 

[briemer99]

We recently did a day at MK and got to the tapstiles at 7:30. When they let people in around 7:45 we were literally the first people (excluding people with breakfast reservations) to tap and head in which was pretty cool. If we wanted to we could have gone to the rope for Mine Train and been the very first people of the day to ride it but we had FPs for later so we instead chose to spend 8-9am enjoying the quiet atmosphere of Main Street which was awesome in the morning. Riding the Main Street vehicle and having it all to ourselves was pretty cool too.

 

[NickC]

I think it depends on the park, and which attractions you want to do. For example, doing FoP at AK, you'd have to be at the park much earlier than when doing Splash Mountain at MK. I don't think we've ever done more than 45 minutes to an hour before RD, but we've never had to dash for the brand new mega headliners.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We show up 45-60 minutes early except for AK and FoP. (75-90 minutes to that one).
The slop factor varies based on season. Dec 20th is different than Sept 20th.
Important- be sure to calculate in the time for transportation, parking, walking, tram time, etc.
If staying off site- MK requires the most "time" because you have to park near the TTC and do a Monorail/(Bus sometimes)/Ferry over to MK

 

[Ermise]

Wouldn't waiting 90 minutes to be let in just negate the time savings of waiting in line for the first ride, whatever it may be?

 

[Klayfish]

Wouldn't waiting 90 minutes to be let in just negate the time savings of waiting in line for the first ride, whatever it may be?

Yes, but the theory is that if you wait 90 minutes before the park opens, you can get on and off the first ride within a matter of minutes which would allow you to then go onto the next ride. It's a personal decision if that's worth it.

 

[jbish]

I just came back from two trips - one in mid-January and one just last week. If FOP and SDD are priorities for you, and you don't want to get swallowed up by the swelling crowd, 90 minutes is a safe bet. They start letting people in to the park (with intermediary stops) at least 30 minutes before official opening (and I have no idea exactly when that is because I missed it every time). You'll get stopped a couple of times but the staggered opening really does help dissipate the crowd right at the tapstiles.

That said, even just last week, I made it to both AK and HS about 40 minutes before official opening, "walked with a purpose" (not a sprint, but a pretty fast walk) to FOP/SDD and was on within 30 minutes. But thinking back, both of those were EMH days so, since you are offsite, I would definitely avoid those two parks on EMH days. If you go in with the regular opening crowd, and resort guests have already had a one hour head start on you, then you will be looking at a 2 hour wait on FOP, at least a 60 minute wait on SDD.

For EP and MK, I think you can arrive closer to 45-60 mins before opening if you really want to be ahead of the crowd.

 

[monkyby87]

Wouldn't waiting 90 minutes to be let in just negate the time savings of waiting in line for the first ride, whatever it may be?

I've thought about this previously, but by waiting BEFORE the park opens, you aren't using park time to wait. That then, in theory, allows you to get more done when the park is actually opened and not spend it in line. As others have said, it's a personal decision though and how you feel best to allocate your time, but personally I'd rather wait outside before the park opens, since that's essentially the only thing you can do.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

I've thought about this previously, but by waiting BEFORE the park opens, you aren't using park time to wait. That then, in theory, allows you to get more done when the park is actually opened and not spend it in line. As others have said, it's a personal decision though and how you feel best to allocate your time, but personally I'd rather wait outside before the park opens, since that's essentially the only thing you can do.

This!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I've thought about this previously, but by waiting BEFORE the park opens, you aren't using park time to wait. That then, in theory, allows you to get more done when the park is actually opened and not spend it in line. As others have said, it's a personal decision though and how you feel best to allocate your time, but personally I'd rather wait outside before the park opens, since that's essentially the only thing you can do.

That still seems like a long wait. Using FOP as an example, waiting 90 minutes before the park opens is still a lot longer than waiting 20 minutes after the park closes. Neither take up any park time, but a lot more can go wrong in the morning.

Fortunately, most guests don’t want to stay late which is why it works so well.

 

[Ermise]

I've thought about this previously, but by waiting BEFORE the park opens, you aren't using park time to wait. That then, in theory, allows you to get more done when the park is actually opened and not spend it in line. As others have said, it's a personal decision though and how you feel best to allocate your time, but personally I'd rather wait outside before the park opens, since that's essentially the only thing you can do.

That makes sense. We usually rope-drop so I have no problem waiting a bit to get it, usually 15-20 minutes for us. One time we didn't arrive to a park until just after it opened and it was the most enjoyable experience! There was no wait at the gates to get in and it was still early enough to have low wait times at the start.

 

[HydroGuy]

Wouldn't waiting 90 minutes to be let in just negate the time savings of waiting in line for the first ride, whatever it may be?

If you value time inside the park and outside the park the same, then yes. But most people place higher value on time inside the park. So that extra 90 minutes, or whatever the number is, spent outside the park waiting is worth it since it allows you to more effectively manage your more valuable time inside the park.

 

[married2mm]

My first thought-4am!

Is it truly worth it to wait for hours & hours before the park opens?
Will others in your group be accepting of your plans?

I would simply aim to arrive just before opening & be content with that strategy..

There are lines and waits whichever you look at it.

 

[glocon]

Last July we rope dropped ak and hs and got there about an hour early. We were at the front of the pack both times. I think if we got there 90 minutes early, it wouldn’t have saved us any time at all. But that was last July and things may be different now.
I watched some YouTube videos that were quite interesting about rope dropping. You can try that for info too.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I'd rather wait outside before the park opens, since that's essentially the only thing you can do.

You can sleep.

But that said, I agree with the rest of your post. Effectively using park time is important to me since we don't have APs so I'd rather wait before park open too.

OP when are you going? That will help people give you a more accurate answer. I at think MK and EP, 90 mins would be overkill. We've done 60 and been in the first 10 people at the rope for 7DMT. But if you really are early risers and don't mind it then go for the 90 mins, at least at AK and DHS. Also, even off site you should be able to get TT or Soarin at a reasonable time and FEA doesn't build the lines as quickly as it used to. Soarin is pretty easy to get as a 4th FP and it's waits aren't too bad since the 3rd theater opened.

 

[cgattis]

We do rope drop regularly and we did AK in June WAY early (we were third in line overall) to do FOP because we only had one day in the park. I do agree with the strategy but I do offer one caution. You say you’re out of shape and your DD has some issues as well...just remember that most of that wait will be standing up, as people just can’t seem to avoid crushing forward in line, whether it’s getting the in sooner or not. And the actual walk to FOP (and I’d imagine SDD—which ironically opened on our one day to do FOP!) is pretty wild. There’s a good bit of pushing and jostling, with a good bit of tripping and lost flip flops mixed in. Not to say it isn’t manageable, just want you to be prepared for that. Have fun!