Just Back! RD, RD, RD.....

[Goofy'sFriend]

Hi everyone. We are back from our fantastic trip......6 nights at AKL and 4 RD mornings in the 4 parks and 2 evening EMHs.

Rope Drop is KEY!! We got soooooo much done. We got to the bus stops at 7:30 for a non-EMH 9:00 park opening. We were 1st at turnstiles and RD. FP major attractions first and then rode. We got everything done that we wanted to see and rode major attractions twice......and were out of parks by about 1:00 or 2:00, when the crowds were pouring in.

To compare, we have been the first week of August five years ago and Dec. 19 through Dec. 27 three years ago. and by far I thought the early afternoon crowds and evening EMH nights were FAR worse this trip.....

We did EMH evenings at MK on Sun. (1st night of Free Dining) and AK last night. They were the worst EMH we have ever done. MK closed at 1:00 a.m. and at 12:30, SM and BTM were 40 min. (BTM was offering FP so that helped) We wanted to ride PP last and at 12:45 a.m. it was also still 40 min.

I thought the AK EMH would be great from what I had been reading on the boards but during the last hour, Everest (No FPs offered) was 40 min. and Kali and PW were still at 50 min. The streets were PACKED (as much as an afternoon). Not sure if Free Dining added to these crowds but I suspect it has. Our mornings were wonderful, but again they were all before Free Dining started.

Cast members were great, buses pretty good....only 2 waits longer than 20 minutes. AKL beautiful. Food, okay.....nothing 4 or 5 stars but nothing bad. I will post more of that on the Dining Forum.

RNR, POC, Backlot Tour and AMC all broke down while we were in line....weird, that's never happened before.

Noticed a HUGE difference in the counter service and table service restaurants once Aug. 16 and Free Dining came around. Talked to several very frustrated people that had just arrived and had just about no where to eat except some of the "unpopular" restaurants at very early or very late times.......some very unhappy people.....especially those staying in the lodge and couldn't secure a reservation at one of the lodge's restaurants. On a side note, if you are leaving for Free Dining, we noticed yesterday that at Wolfgang Puck's and Planet Hollywood there were plenty of seats around 2 p.m. In fact, my best meal was at Wolfgang Puck's.

TSM.......CRAZY, CRAZY I am glad we were at the RD (literally). If you have small children, I would pick them up. The people pushing is just insane. We went the 2nd morning with the crowd to RNR and TOT and it was not stressful in any way. We got to ride TSM, RNR, TOT twice each day....once in standby and once with FPs. So, either way you go, as long as you are at RD you should be fine.

Overall, a great trip. LOVED TSM....fun, fun, fun. American Idol was also really fun for the last show.....except for the insane pushing. Don't know why people have to push through the doors when there is a seat for everyone. Not sure we will try EMH in the evening anymore or go when there is Free Dining......but we will do RD, can't go wrong there! Really felt sorry for those who were arriving late in the heat and crowds. I know it's hard to get up on vacation but it's so worth it.....we just went back to the lodge for a power nap.

Until the next trip............................

[tweedlemom]

Glad you had a great time! Totally agree with you on rope drops! They're the way to go!

[PIRATEGIRL007]

We have never done a Rope Drop before and plan on it this trip,just once though. We aren't morning people and don't feel like we have to do 'everything' anymore so we take a more relaxed pace. But w/ all the crowd reports lately we may try the first RD early in our trip and add on more if neccessary. Thanks for the great report.

[disneygirlinnj]

we're trying to get to every rope drop on our trip too...crossing my fingers!

[Cutekatcar1]

What an excellent summary of your trip. It definitely pays to have a plan so you get your money's worth by fitting in all the major attractions more than once and with minimal wait time.

Time to start planning your next trip!!

Anna

[AllieKat]

Love me some RD! Seriously, I do...it's amazing how much you can get done. The pushing drives me nuts, especially when someone steps on my heels.

[JMB123]

Did you only do Non-EMH rope drops? I'm still debating if I should try the AM EMH or not...my kids are awake at 6:00 am anyway, but I want to stay as far away from the crowds as possible!

[catne]

very nice report...thanks for all the info.

We're rope-drop folks too. Love all the non-morning people, thank you for sleeping in...sure makes our park time a lot more fun

[WiscMomof2]

I couldn't agree more. Although we didn't get out quite as early as you did! We made it to all the parks within about 10-15 minutes of RD on all non EMH days and got done in the parks early enough to get plenty of afternoon pool time. It's hard getting my teen and pre-teen up early but in the end even they agree it's worth it to deal with lighter crowds.

[geenerbell]

I totally agree with the RD summary. It makes the day so stress free. Thanks for the info. I assume the people complaining about no resturant choices didn't have ADRs. Right? Poor *****ers!!!

[KSDisneyDad]

We just returned from 8 nights. We only did rope drop one morning (DHS for TSM). However, we did arrive within an hour of park opening on most mornings. We were still able to do everything we wanted and never waited more than 20 minutes for anything except at the water park (Summit Plummit). We could have done Summit Plummit with minimal wait as we arrived just as the park opened, but it took a few hours for the kids to work up the courage to ride it.

I don't think you have to be there at rope drop, but it does help arriving somewhat early to the parks. If you're there to be first in line at the turnstiles, you're essentially waiting for attractions just not at the attraction itself. If you show up after the first sea of humanity passes, you can still use FP's wisely and ride some of the major attractions without FP's with minimal waits at most parks. I think DHS is the exception which is why we chose to do rope drop there. Also, we showed up at Epcot about an hour after park opening and grabbed a FP for Soarin and was able to get another set for TT about an hour later. In the meantime, we did Spaceship Earth, JIYI and Mission Space green side. The longest wait for any of those was 15 minutes for Mission Space.

I completely agree that the evening EMH were crowded. We did them at DHS and MK and both were quite busier than what we had experienced on our trip in August 2007.

I did miss the Pirates and Princess party! They were selling a CD in the stores with music from Disney events including the P&P party. Why sell the CD with that music if you're not going to have it anymore!

[Goofy'sFriend]

Yep.....I could almost tell all the DISers out there at RD with me....lol.

Originally Posted by JMB123

Did you only do Non-EMH rope drops? I'm still debating if I should try the AM EMH or not...my kids are awake at 6:00 am anyway, but I want to stay as far away from the crowds as possible!

We did not do any EMH rope drops but i would catch that bus at an early time if you do....if you get behind the crowds I think EMH fills up early in the morning. The mornings we went to the bus stop for a 9 a.m. opening, we were there at 7:30 with little wait except one day when we went to AK. The bus that morning must have been really running behind as there were many people waiting for the bus and most had reservations for breakfast. Because the bus was so late the attendant gave everyone a FP that could be used during the day. They did seem to run the EMH buses a lot more frequently in the morning so as long as you are at the stop early enough to get to your park at opening you will probably be fine.

Originally Posted by geenerbell

I totally agree with the RD summary. It makes the day so stress free. Thanks for the info. I assume the people complaining about no resturant choices didn't have ADRs. Right? Poor *****ers!!!

Yes, the poor lady I talked to in the concierge line had NO idea that you needed to make reservations beforehand. I really felt bad for her......she had a family of five and at that point was just trying to get into Boma before breakfast was finished just so they would have somewhere to eat.

I'm curious to read more reports of people getting back to see how they make out with the dining. Mara was never crowded the first half of our trip but on the 16th and after it was a zoo.

[itchin2go]

Originally Posted by catne

Love all the non-morning people, thank you for sleeping in...sure makes our park time a lot more fun

Love your attitude. I always want to argue with the "non-morning people" to show them the error of their ways. Your approach is much better!

I think being there at rope drop not only enables you to get more accomplished in a shorter amount of time; it also does wonders for your state of mind. You feel accomplished and energized after you get those first couple of attractions done. When things DO start grinding to a halt later on, you're not so frustrated because you have so much under your belt by that point.

[LisaInNc]

I am not a morning person but we always make the RD. By noon we have usually ridden what we wanted to ride and then have a nice lunch and head back to the hotel for a swim and a nap.

Getting up for the RD is usually about the same schedule as getting up for work and school so we are used to it.

We also have at least one non park day where we sleep in, on long trips we have more than one.

[dd50]

We were there 8/8 - 8/15. We made RD every day arriving at the park between 8:10 to 8:20. We ate at Tusker House for breakfast at 8:25 and didn't get out of there until 9:40 because we had to wait to be seated. After we got out it was wall to wall people and that was before FD. We also stayed for the evening EMH and you couldn't tell that the park was closed to others. The waits were long at MK and DHS.