How To Ride The Most Popular Ride At Disney World Without Waiting In Line
Disney World represents to those of us with kids something of a dream wrapped in a curse, swaddled in a blessing and surrounded by pitfalls that require lots of cash.
You make the decision to visit. You make hotel reservations, book the airline tickets, but you still need to be ready as much as 90 days ahead of time to grab the FastPass attractions you want or risk losing out on the most popular rides.
Alternatively, you could choose to wait as much as two hours to ride what’s widely considered the most popular ride right now, the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. And, a mere 180 days ahead of time for the most popular restaurants. I’ve been ready 90 days ahead of time for the most popular rides and still not had my preferred times available. Similarly, I’ve had to check daily for restaurant reservations for a few months to get into some high demand locations.
Disney World has introduced a new way to solve this problem, but it comes at a price. It’s probably still approachable for most folks, but you’ll definitely need to budget accordingly and buy your tickets early.
Effective immediately, Disney World is selling a special package that gives you access to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, arguably the most popular ride at Disney World right now, without having to wait in line. Additionally, you get access to Peter Pan’s Flight, another ride famous for long lines. You also get to ride Winnie the Pooh and they’ll throw in a nice breakfast. It’ll set you back $69 a person. And, that’s on top of whatever you spend to get in the park. You can find the full details on Disney’s website.
Some will lament this as Disney selling out a bit more, finding any way they can to milk a few more dollars out of eager fans. But, we see that everywhere in life. Given that the line for Seven Dwarfs routinely gets to 2 hours, and the fact that it’s likely the most sought-after FastPass right now, I don’t actually think this is a bad deal.
Don’t get me wrong, $69 is still a pretty penny to pay for access to 3 rides and some eggs. Personally, I think I’ve evolved to a place where I’m more likely to spend a week at Disney and stretch everything out as opposed to the 3-day sprints we’ve done in the past. My body is catching up with me and I can’t drive a stroller like a maniac quite like I used to.
But, options are a good thing. And, since this occurs prior to the park opening, it doesn’t really hurt the normal park-goer. If you don’t want to pay $69 for eggs and Seven Dwarfs, you can still ride it (and buy your own eggs for cheaper). But, it’ll take some work.
The announcement notes they don’t plan on selling many tickets for this, so you’ll have to jump on it just like you would a FastPass, though with a bit less certainty as to when they go on sale.
Would you pay $69 for eggs and Dwarfs?
The post How To Ride The Most Popular Ride At Disney World Without Waiting In Line was published first on Pizza in Motion
But, it’s likely not just $69 (unless you’re solo). It’s $276 for the typical family of 4. So I have to vote no.
Absolutely a per person cost. For me, I think it would depend on the length of the trip. For a short trip I might be tempted if I didn’t get a FP. But, by the time I knew I was shut out of FP, I imagine this would be sold out as well.
I’m so against these packages. Like Josh F said, this is a $276 upcharge for a family of 4. I would rather take my family to Hoop De Doo Revue or stay an extra day than pay this for a mediocre breakfast and early access to a couple of rides. Honestly, Mine Train is not that great of a ride. We’ll ride it if we can get a FP, but it is no loss to us if we don’t. If it’s a priority, get to the park 45-60 minutes before opening so you can be at the front of the rope crowd. We bring a portable breakfast with to eat while we are waiting and pass the time planning our day. Walk with purpose and stay with the front of the crowd and you won’t have much of a wait, and you’ll save $276!
AMJ, my son loves the ride, so I like having the option to buy it in an emergency. And, I do disagree a little bit with both you and Josh on the price. We do occasionally pay the absurd price to eat in Cinderella or Belle’s castle, so I’d consider the actual cost for me as the difference between $276 and what I might normally spend for a special breakfast. Anyway, it’s a nice option to have in a pinch, IMO, though I think it’s unlikely I use it.
What is the deal with the Peter Pan ride? I haven’t done 7 dwarfs but Peter Pan has to be the biggest ripoff in all of Disney for the amount of time you wait. It’s probably the shortest ride I’ve been to in all the parks, and the one with the longest line (in proportion to the ride time). We’ll see how I can explain that to my son when he’s big enough to want to make the line.
Speaking of ripoff, have you noticed one subtle change? In all the rides where they take your picture, now they put giant captions and numbers in the middle of the picture so you can’t take a picture of it with your phone, so now they force you to buy it. I used to be able to save the picture money before. Whatever, I bought Disney stock as a present for my son when he was born so good for him! lol.
As someone who grew up on Disney (remember E tickets for the good rides?), I really loved the egalitarian nature of the lines: first come, first served. I do regret the additional sellout on Disney’s part, but they somehow forgot to consult with me before changing policies, so it’s kinda a deal with it situation.
Have your ever done a review on using the private plaid guides? At least that what I call the VIP cast member guides. I do not think many people know about that option and how affordable it can be depending on the size of your group. Time is a big premium when a family is traveling in the summer. Would like a nice rundown about the program myself 🙂
Ok, so we went into the Magic Kingdom on a recent trip to Disney World and specifically went to ride this new ride. We did not think a week day would have been a problem with long lines but realized it too late. We waited nearly 90 minutes in line for a less than 5 minutes ride. Even the Fast Pass line was long! I would recommend to anyone going into the Magic Kingdom is to run 1st thing to that ride, if there’s a line then see about a Fast Pass. BTW, it’s just another roller coaster. Nothing that special about it except the cars swivel on a front and back axis. #boring