What time to arrive to parks?

[eeyore81]

Is there a way to avoid the huge crowds of people waiting to get in the parks? I was thinking if we showed up maybe a little later than opening we could avoid waiting in line with a huge crowd. We are staying on site. Would arriving maybe 15 minutes after early entry starts let us get in the park without much wait and avoid the crowd or should we wait even later? I do not plan on racing to any of the top rides so being first is not a priority.

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you truly wish to avoid the crowds you may need to wait for a while after park opening to arrive snd even then I would anticipate large number of people entering the park.

the time you are suggesting arriving at is prime time for offsite guests to arrive so I don’t believe your mentioned strategy would work.

 

[revdon64]

If you know it's going to be crowded the day you go, the best way to avoid crowds is to be ahead of them. Either get there early enough to be at or near the front of the line, or get PPO ADR (is this still a thing?) for breakfast. Otherwise, you're going to be in the middle of the crowds I think.

 

[_19disnA]

Not sure how anyone would know ahead of time that a particular day is going to be crowded. If you arrive very early before a park opens, you will be milling around with lots of other people. I would go maybe 1 hour after the park opens and likely the entry lines will be smaller. Disney tends to always be somewhat crowded so not sure any amount of advance planning will make the crowds any smaller. From what I have seen others say on similar threads, later in the day tends to be less crowded since those arriving early might already be done for the day or back at their hotel to relax.

We never found getting up early, rushing to get ready/eat breakfast and racing off to the park to be a way to enjoy our vacation.

 

[WIll C]

I've done MK/HS solo as early as I can and be part of the entry crowd. Get to do a few rides before the masses come in and get out by lunch time.

With my wife, who has a wheelchair when in the parks, we come in about 30-45 minutes after opening, avoid the entry crowds and go do a few rides. By lunchtime, when the crowds seem to get heavy, we'll head to the resort and rest for a while. Maybe go back out in the evening or head to Disney Springs.

 

[elvispursley]

We aren't "rope droppers" by any means. I'd try and have us up by 7am to get ready so we could be out the door for 8-8:30 breakfast ADRs. Usually by the time we were done eating we'd be at the park by 9:30ish (we always tried to have ADRs next to the park we were going to in the AM). The entry crowds were what I'd consider "low" at MK and nothing at the other parks. I get that our "arrival" times at the parks might be considered "late" by some, but we were able to ride some rides before the lines got too long and we'd break for a late lunch. We'd generally head back to the pool or hop to another park in the afternoon.