Hi
For each of the WDW park , how early shall I arrive before rope drop. I am using EMH for HS, and EP and for MK and AK I am going to be on days with no EMH
Thanks
If you’re riding FOP at RD, be there 90 minutes early. Otherwise, 45 mins is my rule for all parks. It depends on crowd levels though.
Yikes. Any sense for this on magic mornings? We planned to RD FOP on a magic morning before hopping over to MK for the remainder of the day.
Yes, the same. Practically every resort guest will try to ride FOP thinking the EMH will be an advantage.
Thanks for the heads up. So much for that plan. Maybe we’ll just do EMH for AK and do everything except FOP. I’ve heard the regular queue is cool to go through but it may not be worth that.
I think you will be fine if you show up 45 minutes before the rope drop. Getting there 90 minutes before rope drop is definitely overkill. I’m not sure if the gates will even be open at 6:30 AM. The buses will definitely not be running. You might not be the first one on if you arrive 45 minutes before rope drop, but you should get in on in less than 30 minutes so you will have less waiting overall. I went in July and there was basically less than 200 people there at 45 minutes before opening.
Also, if you are a resort guest just get a fastpass. The queue is definitely not worth the wait.
Disagree. There are people already getting to AK 90 minutes prior to RD, and every one of those early risers is heading to Pandora first to ride FoP. The only ways I would get there later is either with s FP+ or if you have no interest in FoP.
Also, arriving 60 minutes before scheduled opening to the parking lot of MK is suggested by Touring Plans.
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For Magic Kingdom I agree because you have to take the boat across.
But at Animal Kingdom the buses are definitely not running at 6:30 AM and are they really parking people 90 minutes before opening. Have you done this recently. I went in July and there was basically no one there before 7:15 for an 8:00 AM opening. There weren’t even people at the baggage check yet. It may be different at Christmas time when it is more crowded, but 90 minutes is overkill on most non EMH day.
Also there may be a few people somehow getting there at 6:30 AM, but there are not 1000’s getting there before 7:15 AM. I don’t think the busses will get you there much earlier than 7:30 AM. If you get there at 7:15 you might wait in line until 8:30 AM. Unless you want to be one of the first 10 people there 7:15 is plenty early. At least it was in July. Most peole with breakfast reservations at Tusker House don’t even get there until 7:30.
I have not done this. Just passing on information. There are several current threads regarding RDing strategy for FoP on this site you should check out.
I’m not doing it again anytime soon. Just speaking form personal experience. I also believe there is a Touringplans.com youtube video where Brian arrives about 45 minutes early by bus and has no problem getting on FOP within about 5-10 minutes. I find that people often overestimate how early you need to get there.
Didn’t mean to start something. 
We have 2 FP+ for FoP during our stay, so if the queue’s nothing special then we’ll just play it by ear the morning of. Thanks to both of you!
The queue is nice, but it’s not worth waiting over 40 minutes for.