Parks opening early?

[wdwluv]

So - I thought I was being real smart...scheduling breakfasts in the parks before opening, so that we could enjoy breakfast instead of standing in line and manage to be some of the first to get to the attractions. Well this plan backfired TWICE! My daughter said "Mom, it looks like a lot of people are coming in" as we were walking out of Hollywood & Vine at 8:40 - and low and behold STREAMS of people were walking in. And it happened AGAIN at Epcot! We were done there by about 8:40 as well, and we speed walked all the way over to Soarin' from Norway, and there were TONS of people walking in already?!?! I'm not going to bother anymore if people are actually going to get in even earlier!!! Is this the rule instead of the exception???

[PopPhan]

Stupid question, but were you there on a day with Morning EMH?

I had heard about them letting people in to a point prior to scheduled opening to allow more people through the entrance kiosks, but they would keep them from going past a certain point until the official opening time.

[wdwluv]

Nope - DEFINITELY not EMH.

[MOJoe]

Several times i have been let into the Studios at around 8:40 on a non EMH day. But i've always been stopped about where Sunset Blvd and Hollywood Blvd meet. I was only allowed to run to Toy Story Mania right at 9:00.

[wdwluv]

Weird - both that Epcot day and DHS day people were going right in and getting on the rides. (It didn't happen on our MK day)

[Strmchsr]

It has actually become very common for DHS to open at 8:30 instead of 9. They don't announce it in case they need to hold to the 9:00 opening, but it's a fairly common occurrence to open early. At Epcot it's not as common, but it does happen occasionally.

[MOJoe]

It has actually become very common for DHS to open at 8:30 instead of 9. They don't announce it in case they need to hold to the 9:00 opening, but it's a fairly common occurrence to open early. At Epcot it's not as common, but it does happen occasionally.

W0W! Thanks for this tip.

[MickeysBestPal]

Here's what's been happening since roughly the beginning of 2012:

Only MK still offers a Rope Drop SHOW along with an inside-the-gates holding area.
MK Gates open approx. 15 min. "early."
But, the Rope Drop show is timed so that guests will actually enter the PARK very near the actual opening time.

MK's Rope Drop Ceremony called "Magic Kingdom Welcome" (see location HERE.)

Guests are usually admitted starting about 15-20 minutes before
the posted opening time, to WAIT just inside the gates, in front of the train station (near the "flower Mickey face.")

The ceremony lasts 6-7 minutes or so and starts 6-7 minutes before the scheduled opening time.
There is also a "mini" version (far less "hoopla") that lasts about 2-3 minutes.
There is also an "AUDIO ONLY" version (no characters at all) that lasts under minute.
Which one you will see can be tough to guess.

----------------------------------

DAK no longer offers a Rope Drop SHOW,
but still has a "rope" (guest holding area) at a location past the Oasis, near the Tree of Life.
DAK Gates open approx. 15 min. "early," but guests are held behind the rope
until about "straight-up" posted opening time.

Epcot no longer offers a Rope Drop SHOW, AND no longer offers an inside-the-gates holding area.
Epcot gates (including the International Gateway) will likely open approx. 15 min. "early."

DHS no longer offers a Rope Drop SHOW.
DHS Gates likely open approx. 15 min. "early."
(DHS has opened as much as 30 min. early, but that's not been the case every day.)

AM EMH entrance times seem to not be affected (figure entering 2-10 minutes before the AM EMH time, as usual.)
On AM EMH days, MK will offer some form of their Rope Drop Show
(may or may not be the "full show")
only for AM EMH guests,
and no show at all for the regular hours open time that morning.

As always, for better positioning in the crowds, arrive well before the posted opening time at all parks.

[wdwluv]

Thanks so much for the info! I think I will stick with my early Crystal Palace reservations from now on, and just get to DHS & Epcot early!

[ANG]

That is some great info. TY!

[crltkcagle]

OHHHHH that makes perfect sense now! Same thing happened to us on our last trip. Now I know why! Thanks for the information!

[Scrappy2]

That happened to us the other day at HS. We were planing on being at the park at opening. We arrived about 20 min early and the park was already opened. We went straight to TSM got fast passes and then got inline and rode. Very small wait time. It was a nice surprise