Do you make Rope Drop?

[nytimez]

In dozens of trip to WDW, I've never ever been to a rope drop. The only time I've ever done a rope drop was in Tokyo, when the hotel was actually inside the park.

 

[Iggipolka]

Ya all have convinced me to try and get to rope drop at least once on my upcoming trip.
Question: When you are waiting outside of the turnstiles an hour before park opening (damn that's early), does Disney do any entertainment or is it just having fun watching the other half-awake people in line?

Thanks!

 

[wdwislife]

If you want to hit all the E-tickets with the lease wait time possible, rope drop is really necessary!
Not as much for solos as for families, as the single rider lines relieve wait times a bit.

 

[parlay]

Ya all have convinced me to try and get to rope drop at least once on my upcoming trip.
Question: When you are waiting outside of the turnstiles an hour before park opening (damn that's early), does Disney do any entertainment or is it just having fun watching the other half-awake people in line?

Thanks!

Don't get there an hour early, just get on your transportation (bus, boat, monorail, etch) an hour before the opening. At the MK at about 10 minutes before opening the train pulls up and they do a show. The only other "celebration" is right before they open "The World Showcase" in Epcot at 11am, the bus with all the characters pulls up.

 

[Janell]

We are going in late Aug(after Aug 15) and staying at Pop. You all are convincing me to try rope drop and go back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. What is a good time to leave the parks for the afternoon nap? Im thinking of a lot of people do this, then the busses will be busy and at that point you might just want to find some ac at an attraction or a near by hotel and sit for a few hours. I see people sleeping in the lobby of the hotels often. Then whats a good time to go back to the parks?

 

[bellebookworm9]

For the three days we are taking afternoon breaks, the first day will be from 12-4, the second will be around 1 or 2 until about 5, and the third day will be from 2:30-6:30.

 

[BrerSam]

Tried to many times but never did! damn comfy beds

 

[JoShan1719]

Not only do we do rope drop for every park, we stay in that park from open until close.

 

[WiseOldUnicorn]

I'm REALLY not a morning person, so I don't think I've ever managed to be there at rope drop--and I typically go during less crowded times, so it's not as much of a necessity. However...on our most recent trip (May 10-14), it was much more crowded than I had expected, and I will say the one day we got up early and got to the Magic Kingdom about five minutes after opening was by far the best. It wasn't as hot, and we were able to take our time touring Adventureland and still walk right on both Splash Mountain and Big Thunder when we got to Frontierland. Touring the park clockwise, we literally had NO waits until we got to Fantasyland. It was amazing--if you and your family can manage to be up and out the door that early, it's definitely worth it.

 

[katybugsmom]

Absolutely!!! We always go to the park with the EMH and we are always in line for the rope drop! We find we can ride almost everything we want to in a couple of hours and then everything else we do that day is icing on top of the cake! Good luck!

 

[wishspirit]

Which Uni do you go to? Do you mean Sussex Uni itself - I went there myself!

I so want to do this, I just don't think it is realistic to get DH UP just before 7, let alone leave by 7. When you leave the room at 7, is that to make EMH or for 9am open? I am assuming it's for EMH (or rather, hoping!).

Am I right in thinking, even if a park opens at 9 they still let you in 15mins earlier then that. So if wanting to get to TSM at the front I would actually have to be there 8.45am.

Yes, I am at Sussex Uni (well I will be for three more weeks, I am in my final year). What did you study?

Yes, this is for Extra Magic Hours 8am opening. Note: If you can't wake yourself up in time to do rope drop- avoid the park with EMH's! It means that the rest of the day tends to be busier. Something I got off Touringplans.com
I leave an hour for getting to the parks to allow for a dodgy bus system. Sometimes you will have a bus just ready and waiting, and you'll be there in 10 minutes. Other times you have to wait for a bus, then an ECV has to be loaded, then the ride takes longer than you expected, so by the time you get there the rope has already dropped! Usually an hour gives you more than enough time to get there and be in a good position.

Most parks have a little skit to open the park, usually involving the characters. If you do happen to have a quick journey- then I just like people watching at the turnstiles and chatting with cast members. This is usually when I start planning my line of attack for the rest of the day!

If you did arrive at 8.45 you certainly wouldn't be at the rope. A lot of other people have a similar line of attack as we do, and are all there about 30 to 45 minutes early. Getting there for 8.45 would still give you a benefit to your day, and you will be able to get a lot done in that first hour, but you won't be right at the front.

Wow , this has really convinced me to push it with my husband. As another poster mentioned I regularly wish I could leave my bunch and meet them in the parks, but as we are always offsite in my in laws villa, there would be no way for my husband to make it to the parks as I would have the car (tempting as it is!)

I have done this when we have been onsite at Disneyland Paris though!

Disneyland Paris had fantastic EMH's! We went out of peak season and there were only 8 people waiting to get in! My boyfriend and I were the first ones into the park and got a picture on Main Street without anyone else there! Magical!

Ya all have convinced me to try and get to rope drop at least once on my upcoming trip.
Question: When you are waiting outside of the turnstiles an hour before park opening (damn that's early), does Disney do any entertainment or is it just having fun watching the other half-awake people in line?

Thanks!

The don't have any official entertainment, however the cast members are usually chatty and the people watching is fun! However we leave the hotel at 1 hour to go, we usually don't get to the park until 30 to 45 mins to go 'till park opens. With 15 mins of that being moved from turnstile to rope drop, it didn't feel that long at all! We had a lovely conversation with the people behind us and found out that they were Dis-ers too!

We are going in late Aug(after Aug 15) and staying at Pop. You all are convincing me to try rope drop and go back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. What is a good time to leave the parks for the afternoon nap? Im thinking of a lot of people do this, then the busses will be busy and at that point you might just want to find some ac at an attraction or a near by hotel and sit for a few hours. I see people sleeping in the lobby of the hotels often. Then whats a good time to go back to the parks?

It really depends how busy the day is and how tired we are feeling. Often we will leave around mid-day and get lunch to take back to our room. Yet if you don't feel tired, just go with the flow! We have never had to queue excessively for a bus around lunch time, there has always been seats. It has never been anything like after the fireworks or anything like that!

Then again we are going in June this time, so I will let you know when we get back!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

My family and I always go to the parks one hour before opening. We find it necessary to go early during the summer because it gets so hot in the afternoon. Most people won't get up early during their vacation, so the parks usually aren't crowded early in the morning. Good luck planning and have a magical trip!

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We make RD or EMH every day - except on days when we're having breakfast with the Princesses in Norway

It does help that DD (age 10) has always been an early riser. Before we had her we thought getting up at 7 was tough. She gets up between 5 - 6 am every day (since birth practically) so now we're all in that habit.

We love morning EMH!

Forgot to mention - we leave the parks usually by 6pm to go back to the resort and swim (or just hang out).

 

[luvthemouse71]

We were there for RD once, because we had an early ADR for CP..the mob was ridiculous. Just didn't look like any fun.

We go in September though and we prefer evening EMH anyway.

 

[kwdancer26]

We do rope drop all the time! However, we always avoid parks for any EMH day because it just gets too crazy after an hour.

We only get there 15 minutes before park opening and discreetly work our way near the front of the rope. Position yourself in the direction of the ride you want to go on first. I was the first on Tower of Terror for the day, which was awesome because it's my favorite ride!! Note: If you're doing MGM rope drop, and want to do TOT and RRC, do TOT first, then immediately grab fastpasses for RRC... you only should have to wait an hour if TOT goes fast.

Anyway, it's totally worth it. The first hour is always the best for rides!

 

[Kidztheater]

I ALWAYS try to go for rope drop but no one is ever as excited about going to the parks as we so we never make it-- and then OF COURSE they complain about the heat and the waits.

This year I'm in charge, but taking 14 teens and 4 adults for 2 days of performances at Downtown Disney. I'm thinking that the teens will either be super excited and get up early everyday, or be awful to get going in the morning. I'm really hoping to make it for rope drop. We shall see--

 

[luvthemouse71]

We do rope drop all the time! However, we always avoid parks for any EMH day because it just gets too crazy after an hour.

We only get there 15 minutes before park opening and discreetly work our way near the front of the rope. Position yourself in the direction of the ride you want to go on first. I was the first on Tower of Terror for the day, which was awesome because it's my favorite ride!! Note: If you're doing MGM rope drop, and want to do TOT and RRC, do TOT first, then immediately grab fastpasses for RRC... you only should have to wait an hour if TOT goes fast.

Anyway, it's totally worth it. The first hour is always the best for rides!

Wow, you're a brave soul..the day we had the ADR, I didn't know that there's a side entrance for those who have have an ADR for breakfast. So, I was trying to find a CM to ask. I also was just kind of working my way up to the front where I could see a CM and some beeyatch started screaming at me that I was cutting in line.

 

[sjs314]

We use to do rope drop when our kids were young but now that we are older, sleep in a bit,and we love to sit on the balcony have our coffee and let the rest of you run off in the early morning to rope drop

 

[Bullseye]

Do you make Rope Drop at the parks?

Not necessarily. It all depends which EMH, AM or PM, we are taking advantage of that day. But if it is the AM, then yes we make rope drop, split in the early afternooon and return in the early evening.

 

[Dervis]

I did a rope drop once on my last trip....honestly, I thought it was completely useless, and I'll probably never do it again. I'd rather get a really good nights sleep, have a slow morning, and then stay in the park until close.

My theory is that when I go on vacation, the alarm clock is one of the things I'm trying to get away from.