Animal Kingdom – Sunday, March 20th (Touring Plans “actual” crowd level: 8 out of 10)
This was my first experience rope dropping any park and also my first time using the new Genie+/Lightning Lane scheme. Some observations and maybe some tips/tricks recapped below.
This was largely a Universal trip with two days carved out for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, so we took an Uber from Portofino Bay to Animal Kingdom. Regular park open was 7:30am with Early Entry at 7:00am (yes, I was one of those people who booked a throw away Campsite at Fort Wilderness for the on-site privileges) – so the plan was to get there right as parking plaza opened. Goal was to ride Flight of Passage immediately and also purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for FoP at 7:00am.
Despite my research I could never get a clear answer as to exactly when the parking lots would be open. Consensus seemed to be “about an hour before Early Entry”. While I can’t speak to the past, they opened exactly at 6:00am. We requested an Uber around 5:30am and arrived to cones blocking off the entry ramp at 5:59am. Security promptly removed them so the parking lot opened right when the clock hit 6:00am.
We were effectively the first car through the parking toll booth but it appears beating a Disney bus still isn’t possible as there were a few dozen people that had arrived at security ahead of us. Not a big deal as being the absolute first group there wasn’t my concern, but worth noting that Disney transpo will still beat those who drive or ride share.
The security lines opened around 6:15am and everyone queued up at the various tap-points. We ended up being the first group at one of the tap-point lanes.
At roughly 6:55am they started letting people tap in and the mad rush towards Pandora began. Cast members were stationed with tablets about 100 feet past the tap-point entries to block and validate Early Entry privileges, so that was a little chaotic as people started funneling to them. For those not familiar with rope dropping, there’s not actually a crowd/crush of people at this second check point because the crowds get strung out as they get through the initial tap-point – but it’s definitely chaotic with some people walking and some running and every pace in-between. And, of course, the 7:00am Lightning Lane timeslot was rapidly approaching.
I had familiarized myself with the latest iteration of the Disney app and had done several dry runs of the LL reservation process so I knew exactly how it worked and to use it efficiently. I eschewed park WiFi and was relying on AT&T 5G for my connection – not sure if this was the best strategy but my connection seemed fine as I ended up having to make the ILL reservation while speed-walking through the entrance to Pandora and towards the FoP entrance. It worked like a champ and I was able to pick my time (ended up picking 11:00am) and was purchased and confirmed by roughly 7:00:40am. I also booked a regular LL for Kilimanjaro Safaris whilst walking through the FoP queue.
We were within the first 100 or so guests on FoP, I’d imagine. Walked the entire regular queue and didn’t stop until we hit the loading lanes.
After that the day was super easy:
My only other comment is that things have gone well past comically expensive. I’m fortunate enough to not be a particularly cost sensitive traveler but the prices were eye-popping. $6.50 for a Mickey Bar?! I have no idea how most people afford these trips. And given the immense crowds, Disney has no excuse about not investing in the parks. They must be making money hand over fist. So seeing empty attractions and lands (ahem, Dino Land) is just embarrassing. And I’m pretty sure 75% of the animatronics on “Dinosaur” were broken.
Hollywood Studios – Monday, March 21st (Touring Plans “actual” crowd level: 9 out of 10)
Same drill as with Animal Kingdom – be there for rope drop to ride Rise immediately and also buy an ILL for Rise for later at 7:00am. Second priority would be to get a LL for Slinky Dog Dash.
Regular park open was scheduled for 8:30am with Early Entry at 8:00am. We planned for a 7:00am arrival - called for an Uber at about 6:30am and showed up to the cones blocking off the entrance to the parking lot at 6:56am. There were a good dozen other cars waiting by the time we got there.
Still in the Uber, I was again connected to AT&T 5G getting ready for the 7:00am Lightning Lane virtual dash. I did some refreshing and the Disney app hung on me at 6:59:40am. I was able to quickly force quit it and fire it back up just in time for 7:00am on the nose and bought a 1:00pm Rise ILL. Whew!
There was a strange argument between my Uber driver and the Parking Lot attendant about where we were allowed to be dropped off. Our driver kept telling us “this is wrong” as we weren’t allowed to be dropped off at the ride share pickup point (at the far end of the bus loops). Instead she was forced to “pretend to park” whereupon we jumped out and jogged to the park entrance. Despite it being strange the distance was about equivalent from the rideshare area anyway.
There was a much more hefty crowd than there was at Animal Kingdom by the time we got through security and to the tap-point lines but it was very spread out. I’m guessing bus and (more importantly) Skyliner guests can more easily get a jump on folks arriving via car. Unlike Animal Kingdom, Early Entry credentials were checked before you were allowed to get into the tap-point lines. Still, we were only about a dozen people from the tap-point in the line we chose.
Slinky Dog LL’s had been booked up within the first minute of the 7:00am open (while I was busy booking our Rise ILL), so I kept checking for fresh drops of LL availability while waiting. Sure enough, a whole bunch became available at 7:10am and I picked one up for 10:50am.
Tap-points opened up around 7:30am and the dash was on! I’m not going to lie, we jogged all the way to Rise. Many hundreds of people were ahead of us after tapping in but we passed most of them while jogging (sorry!). They were only loading the outdoor queue at Rise and we ended up being within the first 50 people in line.
At around 7:55am they opened the line and we all filed through the Rise queue and right into the first pre-show room by 8:00am.
The day itself was as easy as Animal Kingdom – I was actually shocked at how well it went:
A few random thoughts:
This was my first experience rope dropping any park and also my first time using the new Genie+/Lightning Lane scheme. Some observations and maybe some tips/tricks recapped below.
This was largely a Universal trip with two days carved out for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, so we took an Uber from Portofino Bay to Animal Kingdom. Regular park open was 7:30am with Early Entry at 7:00am (yes, I was one of those people who booked a throw away Campsite at Fort Wilderness for the on-site privileges) – so the plan was to get there right as parking plaza opened. Goal was to ride Flight of Passage immediately and also purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for FoP at 7:00am.
Despite my research I could never get a clear answer as to exactly when the parking lots would be open. Consensus seemed to be “about an hour before Early Entry”. While I can’t speak to the past, they opened exactly at 6:00am. We requested an Uber around 5:30am and arrived to cones blocking off the entry ramp at 5:59am. Security promptly removed them so the parking lot opened right when the clock hit 6:00am.
We were effectively the first car through the parking toll booth but it appears beating a Disney bus still isn’t possible as there were a few dozen people that had arrived at security ahead of us. Not a big deal as being the absolute first group there wasn’t my concern, but worth noting that Disney transpo will still beat those who drive or ride share.
The security lines opened around 6:15am and everyone queued up at the various tap-points. We ended up being the first group at one of the tap-point lanes.
At roughly 6:55am they started letting people tap in and the mad rush towards Pandora began. Cast members were stationed with tablets about 100 feet past the tap-point entries to block and validate Early Entry privileges, so that was a little chaotic as people started funneling to them. For those not familiar with rope dropping, there’s not actually a crowd/crush of people at this second check point because the crowds get strung out as they get through the initial tap-point – but it’s definitely chaotic with some people walking and some running and every pace in-between. And, of course, the 7:00am Lightning Lane timeslot was rapidly approaching.
I had familiarized myself with the latest iteration of the Disney app and had done several dry runs of the LL reservation process so I knew exactly how it worked and to use it efficiently. I eschewed park WiFi and was relying on AT&T 5G for my connection – not sure if this was the best strategy but my connection seemed fine as I ended up having to make the ILL reservation while speed-walking through the entrance to Pandora and towards the FoP entrance. It worked like a champ and I was able to pick my time (ended up picking 11:00am) and was purchased and confirmed by roughly 7:00:40am. I also booked a regular LL for Kilimanjaro Safaris whilst walking through the FoP queue.
We were within the first 100 or so guests on FoP, I’d imagine. Walked the entire regular queue and didn’t stop until we hit the loading lanes.
After that the day was super easy:
- FoP (rope drop, no wait)
- Navi River Journey (effectively a walk on)
- Dinosaur (walk on – could have done it over and over but I find this ride to be sort of annoying)
- Kali (twice, walked on)
- Walked around Asia and enjoyed the Maharaja Jungle Trek
- Grabbed a Noon lunch reservation at Tiffins while walking around
- Grabbed a boozy Dole Whip and enjoyed some Africa entertainment
- Used Safaris LL (waited approximately 5 minutes)
- Booked and used a LL for “It’s Tough to be a Bug” (zero wait)
- Used our ILL for FoP (waited about 5 minutes)
- Wandered around Pandora until lunch at Tiffins – Tiffins was absolutely fantastic food and drink and an oasis of calm amidst the chaos of a theme park
- Walked around Pandora some more and then booked and used a LL for “Flights of Wonder” (unnecessary to use LL)
- Enjoyed the Gorilla Falls trail
- Ended up leaving the park right around 3:00pm (mostly because one of our group really wanted to check out Volcano Bay for a couple of hours)
My only other comment is that things have gone well past comically expensive. I’m fortunate enough to not be a particularly cost sensitive traveler but the prices were eye-popping. $6.50 for a Mickey Bar?! I have no idea how most people afford these trips. And given the immense crowds, Disney has no excuse about not investing in the parks. They must be making money hand over fist. So seeing empty attractions and lands (ahem, Dino Land) is just embarrassing. And I’m pretty sure 75% of the animatronics on “Dinosaur” were broken.
Hollywood Studios – Monday, March 21st (Touring Plans “actual” crowd level: 9 out of 10)
Same drill as with Animal Kingdom – be there for rope drop to ride Rise immediately and also buy an ILL for Rise for later at 7:00am. Second priority would be to get a LL for Slinky Dog Dash.
Regular park open was scheduled for 8:30am with Early Entry at 8:00am. We planned for a 7:00am arrival - called for an Uber at about 6:30am and showed up to the cones blocking off the entrance to the parking lot at 6:56am. There were a good dozen other cars waiting by the time we got there.
Still in the Uber, I was again connected to AT&T 5G getting ready for the 7:00am Lightning Lane virtual dash. I did some refreshing and the Disney app hung on me at 6:59:40am. I was able to quickly force quit it and fire it back up just in time for 7:00am on the nose and bought a 1:00pm Rise ILL. Whew!
There was a strange argument between my Uber driver and the Parking Lot attendant about where we were allowed to be dropped off. Our driver kept telling us “this is wrong” as we weren’t allowed to be dropped off at the ride share pickup point (at the far end of the bus loops). Instead she was forced to “pretend to park” whereupon we jumped out and jogged to the park entrance. Despite it being strange the distance was about equivalent from the rideshare area anyway.
There was a much more hefty crowd than there was at Animal Kingdom by the time we got through security and to the tap-point lines but it was very spread out. I’m guessing bus and (more importantly) Skyliner guests can more easily get a jump on folks arriving via car. Unlike Animal Kingdom, Early Entry credentials were checked before you were allowed to get into the tap-point lines. Still, we were only about a dozen people from the tap-point in the line we chose.
Slinky Dog LL’s had been booked up within the first minute of the 7:00am open (while I was busy booking our Rise ILL), so I kept checking for fresh drops of LL availability while waiting. Sure enough, a whole bunch became available at 7:10am and I picked one up for 10:50am.
Tap-points opened up around 7:30am and the dash was on! I’m not going to lie, we jogged all the way to Rise. Many hundreds of people were ahead of us after tapping in but we passed most of them while jogging (sorry!). They were only loading the outdoor queue at Rise and we ended up being within the first 50 people in line.
At around 7:55am they opened the line and we all filed through the Rise queue and right into the first pre-show room by 8:00am.
The day itself was as easy as Animal Kingdom – I was actually shocked at how well it went:
- Rise (rope drop, no wait)
- Falcon (no wait)
- Falcon again (10 minute wait)
- Walked around Galaxy’s Edge for quite a while, got blue and green milk and a thermal detonator Coke
- Picked up a Runaway Railway LL (for 6pm)
- Used Slinky Dog LL (2 minute wait)
- Docking Bay 7 lunch
- Did some additional gawking and shopping in Galaxy’s Edge (bought a Star Wars helmet at an outdoor kiosk for my son and was able to have it shipped home at Dok Ondar’s – very easy process) – also noticed Rise was down for about 2 hours around mid-day
- Picked up a Toy Story Midway Mania LL (for 5pm)
- Rise a second time with ILL (waited 2 minutes)
- Left the park and rode the Skyliner to Epcot and then walked around the Boardwalk
- Took the Boardwalk boat back to Hollywood Studios
- Was just checking randomly and found a 6:45pm Brown Derby dinner reservation
- Rode Star Tours three times in a row (longest wait was 15 minutes)
- Used Toy Story Midway Mania LL (5 minute wait)
- Went to use Runaway Railway LL but it was down (and never came back up, so LL turned into a “multi-experience” pass – Rise and Slinky were not included)
- Had dinner at Brown Derby – very good! But not nearly as good as Tiffins
- Rode Star Tours two more times (got the Pod racing sequence 3 out of the 5 times, which was annoying)
- By then it was 8:30pm and Runaway Railway was still down so we used the LL to ride Falcon for a third time
- Had a 9:00pm Oga’s Cantina reservation so capped off the day with a drink – fun place but much smaller than I imagined it would be – they definitely need to build the restaurant that was originally planned.
A few random thoughts:
- The “throw away” campsite reservation worked flawlessly. We were mailed Magic Bands and I activated them on my Disney account. I did a virtual check in via the Disney app the day before our reservation. All park tickets and reservations linked seamlessly and our Magic Bands worked correctly.
- Rope dropping isn’t nearly as stressful as I had imagined it to be. As long as you get there at roughly the hour before Early Entry opening mark, you’re in fantastic shape.
- Rope dropping absolutely changes the game as far as smoothing out your day. I can’t recommend it enough.
- It seems like half the country was in Orlando last week – Universal crowds were 10 out of 10 every day and Disney crowds were similar. Still, we were able to easily do everything we wanted with very little stress with a combination of rope drop, Lightning Lanes/Individual Lightning Lanes, and Express Pass. But, in that sense, you have to pay for the experience in both money and time.
- I noticed a significant number of VIP tours in both the Disney and Universal parks. Much more so than any time I’ve visited in the past. I also, for the first time, noticed third party tour guides. I know they exist but had never actually recognized them before.
- I’ll state again that for the amount of money the Orlando theme parks are raking in, having closed or empty attractions is criminal. Dinoland is an embarrassment. Hollywood Studios is begging for more high capacity attractions. And Universal having three giant theaters empty (Sinbad, Fear Factor, Toon Lagoon) as well as the now super lame Kid’s Zone is ridiculous. I really appreciate a lot of what Universal has done – opening fantastic new attractions, building Epic Universe, and really putting the pressure on Disney – but letting that stuff just sit looks bad.
