Rope Drop First Attractions

There has been some speculation on this but no confirmation. In any case, it is reasonable to presume that Disney would prefer to only have one VQ at a time because it is confusing to guests to have to navigate two different VQs rather than having a single one to select. I would not be surprised if there are IT related issues, though.

First thought:
With those low wait times, and the amount of time you are staying in the park, Iā€™d suggest being in line for entry at 8am with drinks and snacks. Not leaving your room at 8am, but physically being in line at the park, waiting to get in. It would seem to me, that with those wait times throughout the day, then the early entry will be less ppl as well. Iā€™d consider thinking of which headliners are most important based on the crowd levels being reported closer to your dates, and then think about hitting those rides youā€™d like to maybe do more than once during that day if they are within reasonable distance from each other, and also open during early entry. Tron, Space, Astro Orbiter, and The Speedway come to mind, but that would be an individual preference thing. My reasons in no particular order:

AO and Speedway at night are cool, and I know that kids generally love to drive their own cars, if they can. AO is a personal fave - it scares the crap out of me, and at night itā€™s a whole different ride. Space is just Space, I love it.

The whole Peter Pan / 7D thing is a huge draw for ppl to sprint to. I absolutely LOVE PP, but 7D is far more sizzle than steak. The ride is not worth our time anymore. The stuff around the ride, and if they still make the video in Photopass would be the only reason weā€™d consider a wait of 20 minutes or less for that anymore. Thatā€™s just a personal thing.

Over on the other side of the park, Big Thunder and Splash are faves, but Splash is out for the refurb iirc, so the big hitters would be TMRR and HM and PIrates and JC.
I could see a case to be made if you wanna do PP and 7D (maybe squeeze HM in) then hightail it back to Tomorrowland to start with Buzz (I wouldnā€™t start with Buzz first, Iā€™d start with Space) before the big influx starts after regular Rope Drop - but again, personal preference, I think Buzz is a complete waste of time. (anyone remember the good old days of the BOG PPO? We were able to do 7d and Pan, and then hit Space twice before the Rope Drop crowd hit.)

I think youā€™ll know a lot more about the crowds and be able to make a better guess in mid August. Iā€™d adjust then. As it stands now, Iā€™d say get there at 8am, and then be at your first EE attraction at 8:30 something.

Also, itā€™s gonna be hot. Not sure where youā€™re from, but thereā€™s a chance the heat and humidity will be stifling. Iā€™m guessing everyone will be getting a good nightā€™s sleep that night. Iā€™d think about adding in a few breaks for ice cream / Pineapple Floats, Mickey Bars (treats in general) before people in your group start asking to chill for a sec, or the kids start possibly losing steam.

Just some random-ish thoughts, HTH in some way.

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It looks like Tron will definitely be on the list now that they released the official start date. Iā€™m glad it is earlier in the year, that will give it a little bit of time to cool down before we go.

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Thank you everyone for your insight and tips. This will all be very helpful as I refine my plan as the trip approaches (only 220 days left).

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I think saving the one big ride and just dealing with the painful wait time once is a good strategy if you donā€™t have little kids. With kids, I prefer to hit the big ride early to keep each wait relatively low even if that means I have fewer walk-ons than I would with your strategy.

So how early do you need to get to the security gates to be in the front of the pack? If early entry is 8am, is 730 early enough, or is that middle of the pack?

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This spreadsheet has a wealth of knowledge on what time the buses arrive. It gives you an indication of what time the first guests will be arriving at the taps.

It looks like lately the first buses are picking up guests about 60-80 minutes before Early Entry begins, meaning they are dropping off at about 40-60 minutes before EE. So if you want to be at the head of the pack, you need to match that one way or another.

Also, Security has been opening up about 45 minutes before Early Entry with taps opening about 30 min before depending on the park.

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Thatā€™s great information, thanks! We are staying at BWV and walking/taking boat, and aiming for 30 minutes before EE. I donā€™t think I can get up at 5 am every day if my vacation. AK and 6am the rest of the park days is enough.

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So hereā€™s another question. Iā€™m budgeting an hour for transport from BWV to MK and AK. Half an hour for EP and HS. I think that probably puts me at the head of the pack for MK and AK, but looking at HS, they are opening tapstiles a full hour before EE and ROTR opens 30 minutes before EE starts. Is there data on ride waits before EE? I really love ROTR and DH loves ToT.

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I have heard of people arriving early for HS and not waiting long for RotR if itā€™s running. But since it often experiences a delayed opening or downtime, it is a great ILL option if you can swing it.

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With no real data to back this up, Iā€™d definitely do HS as the earliest arrival at any park.
Second would be AK.

If HS were early opening at 8 Iā€™d probably be on the walkway by 7 am. When we were at BWV we joined the walkway up by the bridge to Swolfin. We strolled - nice morning walk - for maybe 15 min. It might have been longer but surprised me with its brevity.

Iā€™d try to be at the bus stop by 6:45 for AK. If I were really motivated, even 6:30 am.

They can run 2 VQ at once (they had them for GOTG and a passholder magnet in the fall). But whether they want to have one going for multiple rides at the same time is a different question, I suppose.

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Thatā€™s the plan. Getting up at 0500 for AK and 0600 for HS.
I think next year I might just pay for Genie+

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Yabbut

Thatā€™s what they want you to do

You can always sleep at home

:grin:

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I am so not a morning person. Practicing getting up at 6 at home so I can maybe do it there. Last year we finally made rope drop, but HS was awful. We were there Sept 2021 and the walk on, ride as you pass through the lands really spoiled us.

It sure looked like the folks on the liner meet this month had few crowds in the parks late at night.

Maybe thatā€™s the plan for you. :wink:

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Yep, doing the rope drop, nap midday, night time play strategy. Going to try out Jaleo for lunch and hopefully take some Ronto into our Oga reservation.

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What are your trip dates?

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We are there 2/11-17. Are there monthly liner meets?

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I didnā€™t know you could bring food into Ogaā€™s?! Thatā€™s a game changer. :slight_smile: Was thinking about eating at DB7 before Ogaā€™s, but if we can just pick up food and carry it over, that would be great.

But, thereā€™s not much seating in there, right? So maybe we just keep our original plan. Hmm.