My touring plans keep having me arrive at shows really close to their start. I’m in a relatively low crowd time, but I still think it’s a good idea to arrive at a show 3 minutes before it starts. I’ve moved things around to create a little more room, but I’m not sure if it’s enough.
My trip is this coming week with crowd levels of 3/4 across most of the parks. Do you think these are big enough buffers?
Frozen Sing Along - 10:17 Arrival for 10:30 AM show
Beauty and the Beast - 1:41 PM Arrival for 2 PM show
Voyage of the Little Mermaid - 3:27 PM Arrival for 3:30 PM show (for this one, we could just take a break and do the 4 PM show)
Frozen - probably ok
BATB - definitely fine
VOTLM - probably not fine
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TP suggests 5 minutes ahead for every CL so a CL3 is 15 minutes. We arrived at FoLK about 20 ahead and I accidentally waited in FPP line for about 10 minutes so we were in regular line 10 minutes ahead and couldn’t sit together.
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That’s really helpful, @flutegarden. Not what I wanted to hear since I will be there at a more crowded time, but helpful! Thanks.
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I get that you’re referencing TP advice here, but I would not say the 5 mins per CL applies to all shows. I’m not even sure I think it applies to many shows. I think it’s very case-by-case and one should plan in that way. There’s totally no reason to arrive 30 minutes in advance of BATB any time ever, at least in my extensive experience.
Also, OP should note that the plan probably has the disclaimer of “this plan my have you arriving to a show/meal/break later than you’d like but you should be okay” (or similar). This is a cue to the user to pay attention to the steps affected and determine for themselves - and I would argue, based on the show in question - whether they are comfortable with that or want to move things for more breathing room.
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Thanks! As a first timer, I have no idea what shows are more popular and need more wait time. I also can’t tell which shows (or all) are giving me the TP warning.
Any specific advice for Frozen Sing Along? It’s probably in the top 5 things my girls want to see, so I’d hate to not get in after waiting.
Frozen sing along I would aim for 10 minutes or so minimum before. I think we snuck in last week with under 5 mins to spare and got seats we liked/wanted (EquityBen/left side of stage toward front) but there were not a ton of seats left by that time. FPP not needed IMO
For the Frozen Sing Along it may depend a little on your dates, too. I’ve heard (I think on a TP blog post or podcast) that they suspect most Frozen things will see a bump in the fall and winter due to Frozen 2 being released.
We did get there last week CL2 about 15 minutes early and got a seat near the front.