Hi Everyone.
I was wondering how early I need to be at the parks. I know it's best to be there for rope drop, but do I need to stand there for an hour before that or can I be there, say, at 8:45 for a 9:00 opening and still do well with the headliners?
I'll be there in mid-December before the Christmas crowd, so it really shouldn't be overly crowded yet.
Thanks!!!
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Hi Reflections -
We usually try to get to the park about 30 minutes before opening. We've never been there an hour before, and we usually go during the low-to-moderate crowd times of the year. But I even think at 8:45 for a 9:00 opening, you will still be in pretty good shape.
AT HS it's usually a mad rush to Toy Story Mania. We've been known to head there, just get a FastPass, then head over to Tower of Terror & Rock n Roller Coaster, then come back for TSM. It just depends on how quickly the line fills up. It doesn't take long to get to to 30+ minutes, which is over my general threshold for waiting 
Hope that helps.
Hi Reflections -
We usually try to get to the park about 30 minutes before opening. We've never been there an hour before, and we usually go during the low-to-moderate crowd times of the year. But I even think at 8:45 for a 9:00 opening, you will still be in pretty good shape.
AT HS it's usually a mad rush to Toy Story Mania. We've been known to head there, just get a FastPass, then head over to Tower of Terror & Rock n Roller Coaster, then come back for TSM. It just depends on how quickly the line fills up. It doesn't take long to get to to 30+ minutes, which is over my general threshold for waiting
Hope that helps.
For Magic Kingdom... a half hour is good. If you are wanting to see the Princesses or Mickey real quick... head over to the right side tunnel. If you want to see the festivities more than anything of the rope drop there then stand right in the middle. Between the two tunnels.
As for rope drop at HS. Two ways to do it. When we did it last week, we went straight to Toy Story Mania and waited about 25 minutes to ride the ride. It was even like a 10 minute wait for the FP for it. By the time we got out of TSM... the FP was already at 2pm. So my opinion... if you want to ride Toy Story Mania... just ride it first thing. Now... if thats not your thing. Head STRAIGHT to Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster. They are dead in the morning because everyone is heading towards TSM and Star Wars. The best time to hit Star Wars is during the Jedi Training things. We would get on right away when those things are going on because people will start to get on the ride, and see it, and not get on the ride and watch it. And it seemed like we would get a 10-25 minute wait when it wasn't going on. But either way.... thats a great ride to wait for. Some funny things in the line... heh
As for AK... we didn't have much wait time for many of the rides. I think the longest was Primevil Whirl... but I didn't ride that one. Even Everest was quick in the middle of the day for me.
Epcot. Test Track, and Fast Passes all day. Or Soarin and Fast Passes all day. Epcot is the easiest to deal with.
- 2013 Trip Report!
- My Int3ractiv3 Trip R3port '12 - CLICK HERE!
[url='http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/forum/pick-mases-dinner-disney']- My Interactive Trip Report '11[/url]
Hi Everyone.
I was wondering how early I need to be at the parks. I know it's best to be there for rope drop, but do I need to stand there for an hour before that or can I be there, say, at 8:45 for a 9:00 opening and still do well with the headliners?
I'll be there in mid-December before the Christmas crowd, so it really shouldn't be overly crowded yet.
Thanks!!!
Honestly, at low crowd times, especially at MK, I think you'd be fine with the 15 minute wait. When I was there in Feb, I did rope drop (eternally grateful, Jeff!) with the express intention of seeing rope drop, not necessarily riding anything quickly. I walked right on to several rides though, and did Space Mountain quickly twice. Good luck!
Thanks Jeff, Mase and Lizzy!
I'm not sure if Dec. 11- 17 is considered a low crowd time. I'm a little concerned about that time of year because I'm now used to the September crowd that we had. I know mid-December isn't Christmas, but it's got to be worse than September for crowds. I'm being a little more cautious and don't know if I need to be.
Are Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear both like being in a video game? I've never been crazy about video games, so may not ride either. If it's much better than a big video game, then I might ride because everyone raves over those two rides.
If it's not like a big, giant video game, then I may do what Jeff does and get a FastPass for later and go to the other two headliners. If it's too much of a video game and not enough of a ride, then I'll do what Mase said and skip completely to go directly to the other two rides.
I may have to YouTube Toy Story and Buzz to see what it actually looks like on the ride!
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You're very welcome!
Buzz Lightyear is like a video game. TS Mania is more like an old fashioned arcade game, and is CRAZY fun! I had never been on it, and my good friend dragged me into the 30+ minute line last year during DHS EMH. The queue alone is worth visiting for in my opinion - everything is scaled so that you feel like a toy yourself! It's fascinating, and I kept snapping soooo many pics and sending to my best friend, I loved it so much! But then the ride is an absolute blast! Believe me, I'm no gamer, but I totally get why this ride is such a big hit now. Definitely try them at least once if you can.
As for crowds, check Touring Plans. I don't use them myself, but others swear by them. In my experience, the crowds build slowly the closer to Christmas you get, and Christmas week is a madhouse. Weekends in December can also get kinda crazy, probably because a lot of locals come on the weekends to take in the special events and see the decorations.
We usually go for the first 2 weeks of December and the parks aren't busy at all, apart from MK when they film the parade, that's simply manic.
I can only please one person per day. Today isn't your day... tomorrow doesn't look good either.
Thanks for the info about the rides, Lizzy. That queue itself sounds like a lot of fun. Ok, so the plan for HS will be go directly to Toy Story and get a FP, then go over to Tower and Rockin. Use Toy Story a little later...maybe even right after the other two. I just can't stand more than a 20 minute wait for any ride. I'll also get a FP for Buzz first thing at MK. I hear there are secrets, at least with Buzz, for getting good scores.
I'm really going to focus on the rides and shows that I didn't experience in September. There are only a few exceptions to that rule...rides that I absolutely must do again like Soarin', Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Big Thunder, Test Track. I also need to make sure to do Sum of all Thrills...I didn't even know it was there on my Sept trip!
I've never been to HS or Animal Kingdom, so everything will be a new experience there. I'm really looking forward to Osbourn Lights.
I will be missing the Christmas taping, so that's good. Also, I thought about weekends being more crowded, so those will be hotel/pool days. My days to get out and about in the parks will be Mon-Fri.
Thanks Lizzy and Tony for your input!
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Now.... if ya want a bit of practice and have a Wii?
- 2013 Trip Report!
- My Int3ractiv3 Trip R3port '12 - CLICK HERE!
[url='http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/forum/pick-mases-dinner-disney']- My Interactive Trip Report '11[/url]
Thanks for the preview, Mase!
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