I'm subscribing to this because I'd like to know this little secret too. Every time we go I tell the person at the gates that we are trying to get parked and up to the front for rope drop. We're usually the first car there in our lane. No joke. And they make us wait, and wait, and wait telling us that no one is getting in earlier than us (even though I can see monorails of people going by us. When we finally get let in and we get parked and up to the front of MK the rope drop is over and there are tons of people up there. So if we were first in one of the lanes at the gate then how on earth did all those people get up there so fast and why did we miss the rope drop?
Wow, I've never had that problem before, even on peak days, although I haven't been to the parks since spring 2011. In fact, I've gotten to the parking lot as early as 5 or 6 AM and been let in! I just show them my AP and drive through. I'm not arguing though, I am just very surprised to read this, as I have done at least 100 MK rope drops since 2006, and never experienced the parking turnstyles to the TTC lot being closed. And my arrival time has ranged anywhere from 5 AM to 8:30 AM (although I usually try to be there by 8 AM for a 9 AM rope drop).
Ok since they are towing cars at my school tomorrow, I am planning on making Magic Kingdom rope drop for the first time, so i have a few questions, 1. Whats the earliest i SHOULD BE PARKED ??
2. Should i take Monorail or ferry boat (Which opens first, or should i take resort monorail)
Answer coming soon. EDIT - Ok, I found one of my old posts where I answer the question, so I copied and pasted rather than type it all again from memory:
I've never seen the parking lot ever really "closed", (so what I am reading in some post here is new to me). I know I've parked there as early as 5 AM before. If you get there real early (or late, depending on your point of view), there won't be any booths manned by attendants, and a sign will just say "Please proceed to your destination". (Not that dodging the parking fee is an issue for me, as it's covered on my AP).
Ideally, you will want to be parked AT LEAST one hour before opening, such as 8 AM for a 9 AM opening, especially at MK, as the MK has one issue not found at the other 3 parks. Transportation to the park itself!
Also, sometimes they stop filling the Minnie lot (the closest!) for some reason after just filling one or 2 rows and start parking Pluto, which is a bit further away. I've seen this happen as early as 8 AM or a few minutes after. So, you already have less time to work with if you are running a little late, and now you are faced with either waiting for the tram or a longer walk just to get to the TTC from your car.
In my experience, everytime I get there nice and early, (one hour before opening, the norm for me) everything goes smoothly with the monorail, and I get to the MK by around 8:30 AM for the 8:48/8:50 AM Welcome Show.
But almost without fail, (call it Murphy's Law), on the odd day I am running a little late, something always seems to be wrong with the monorail that causes me to either almost miss (or occasionally miss) the Welcome Show. Sometimes it's technical difficulties; other times they are late with the safety checks for Express, and the only option is the resort line, which takes longer to get to the MK since it has to stop twice (at Poly and Floridian). Further compounding the issue is if you are running late of the ideal 8 AM arrival time, the lines for the monorail can get backed up, especially if there is some sort of issue on their end. There is always more demand for the monorail the closer it gets to opening.
I think the first ferry is supposed to leave for the MK at around 8:30 AM, but I've seen days where it was later than this. The last time I was running later than 8 AM, the entire monorail system was down, but luckilly they were loading buses from the TTC and I walked into the MK turnstyles about 5 seconds before the first notes of the Welcome Show!
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I'll have to try to figure it out next trip.
