One of the most commonly offered pieces of advice about going to Disney World is to make sure you’re there for rope drop.
Although this advice works…sometimes…things have changed in the parks over the last decade. Some rides still have REALLY long lines at rope drop, maybe because everyone has the same idea to hit them first. We can explain.
Let’s take a look at the wait time for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom on a random January morning. This ride generally has high wait times throughout the day — but even at rope drop, the ride already had an 80-minute wait time. Whew — that’s a long time. This ride had one of the highest wait times on this particular day and hit 130 minutes at one point.
So, what can you do if this is a priority ride for you? Well, the best way to skip the long standby line is to purchase the Individual Lightning Lane option for the ride (it’s basically a paid FastPass to the front of the line). This will end up saving you a lot of time. This ride rarely sees short wait times throughout the day, so a Lightning Lane may be worth it.
Your only other option to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is to wait in the standby line, which, as we’ve already discussed — can be a bit of a doozy. With an 80-minute wait at park open, what else can you do?
Well, part of the reason why the ride has such a high wait at “park open” is because of Early Theme Park Entry. People staying at Disney World hotels can enter the theme parks up to 30 minutes early, which often contributes to high waits right at park open.
But, if you get the chance to take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry, well, it can really come in handy for avoiding long lines or having to pay to skip the line!
The same can be said for Extended Evening Hours, which are exclusive to guests of Disney Deluxe hotels and take place in select parks on select nights. During Extended Evening Hours, only Deluxe hotel guests can stay in the parks which often means walk-on waits. It’s certainly a reason to consider staying at a Deluxe hotel!
At the end of the day, though, waiting in lines can be part of the whole Disney experience and you might find yourself in a line or two — but that’s okay!
We’ll continue to keep an eye on ride wait times in Disney World, so check back with AllEars again soon for the latest tips and more.
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What’s your strategy for riding Disney World’s most popular rides? Let us know in the comments!
If you qualify for early entry and show up to the park at rope drop time, you will be behind the thousands of people that showed up before rope drop. To get those short lines, you need to be standing at the front gates at least 30 minutes before rope drop’s announced time, and 60 minutes before the rope is scheduled to drop at Hollywood Studios because HS often allows guests in early.