Looking at various Disneyland wait time sites, it looks like people are booking Lightning lanes as early as 7am. We’ve booked our visits to each park to avoid the early entry days (Wed and Fri for DL / Thu and Sat for DCA), because we’re staying off resort. My understanding is that Rope Drop will at 8 am for us every morning. But despite that, is it still possible that people will be booking LL rides starting at 7 am? Thanks in advance.
At DLR you can’t buy G+ until tapping into a park. At that point you can book your first LL. So it’s not a 7am rush like at WDW. More of a gradual ramp up.
For a 8am rope drop, you can and should be tapped in by 7:30. There will be plenty of LL available for every ride. It’s not nearly as competitive as WDW. Even on the busiest days there should be availability into the afternoon for the most popular rides.
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That’s good news. Thanks Will.
My impression was that you arrive at the gate and at 8:00 they begin tapping people in. Sounds like what actually happens is that you tap in at whatever time you arrive. So I have a few more questions, if you don’t mind…
- What is the earliest tap-in time?
- After tap-in, what happens between then and Rope Drop? You tap in and wait in a crowd, like waiting for the starting pistol at a marathon to sound? Or do they actually let you into the park as soon as you tap in?
- If people are tapping in at 7:30 as you suggest I do, are they already booking LL’s at that point? Or is the system not operative until rope drop?
Thanks in advance for your help.
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Things have changed a little lately with them going to an alternating EE schedule, but in the past it’s been like this:
7am: Crowd starts to build at security
7:15am: Security opens
7:30am: On-site guests admitted to park for EE (if applicable)
8:00am: Regular guests admitted
Sometimes they start letting people into the park as soon as security opens. They are always playing around with protocols to test different things out. It can also depend on how many people are there and whether they feel like they need to clear out crowds from security / turnstiles.
If you want to be among the first in the park, I would be at security at least an hour before official opening and if you’re ok being part of the crowd, be there 30-45 minutes before opening. If you’re parking, make sure to figure in plenty of time to get from the lot to the gate.
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Depending on protocols, there can be a second area to wait in. For example, at DCA they often have a rope near Carthay Circle restaurant where you have to show your room key to get into early entry. Everyone else can just hang out or line up behind that second rope waiting for regular rope drop. You can already be getting LLs during EE if you are tapped in, even if you are an off-site guest.
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Thanks Jeff. This is very helpful.
Bruce
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It has been a year since I’ve been there, but I thought it was similar to the MK. Anyone with a park reservation and ticket can get onto Main Street as soon as they open the gates. Then guests eligible for EE veer to the right of the castle where they are scanned again. Everyone else joins the crowd waiting for regular RD.
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That’s been my experience since the re-opening in 2021. I am definitely curious if it’s any different now that they don’t do EE in both parks everyday.
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Since you will be visiting the parks on days without Early Entry for those parks, the gates may open a little later than on EE days, but it will be sometime between 7:30-7:45. You can pass through security and wait outside the gates before that time. The line outside the gets will get long, but it moves quickly, so don’t be too intimidated by it. You’ll want to be there around 7:00 if you want to be near the front of that line. You’ll be held at the end of Main Street USA until rope drop at 8:00.
You can purchase Genie+ and begin to make selections once you are scanned into the park, even if that’s before 8am. Don’t worry too much about this, though, as LL selections aren’t as competitive at DL as they are at WDW. Most return times in the morning will be near-immediate, and it may be better to rope drop your most wanted attraction and then book it on G+ later to get a reride in. If you start at rope drop, you should be able to book most or all G+ attractions that day, and you can keep refreshing/modifying to earlier times as the day goes on.
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Yes that has been my experience as well. I meant to clarify that it is when you’re admitted to the rest of the park.
Yes, this is what we did last year. Booked first LL (Indy / TSMM) as soon as we entered the park, and then waited at the end of main street for ropes to drop. Allows you to make your second selection quicker.
DLR almost always allows you to enter prior to posted start times even on non-EE days.
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This week the park with EE opened the gates at 7:30 while the other park waited to around 7:45. Both parks held non onsite guests at ropes until 8. I bought GP & booked first LL as soon as I tapped in at the gates.
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Thanks for the intel! I’ll be there tomorrow! 