Rope Drop vs Close the Park Down

[ChloesDaddy]

For our next trip in May we're thinking about doing rope drop the first half of our stay and then, for the second half, sleeping in and staying until park close, taking in the night shows and fireworks.

My question is for those who have done both. What did you like or not like about each? Also, has anyone become a "convert" to one approach after having been dedicated to the other?

 

[Disneylover99]

We've done both. But mostly stick to rope drop.

I know lots of people rave about riding rides with little to no wait late at night, but that hasn't always been our experience. That part has been inconsistent for us.

The night time vibe is cool though and the weather is much more comfortable when you go during warmer months. I think as the kids get older we will try later nights, but right now, everyone just naturally wakes up at 6am, so we might as well hit the parks early.

 

[Delirium]

We usually do both, but our preferences are as follows: Close the park down at MK. Nothing comes close to the 'magic' of MK at midnight. Rope drop at HS and AK. Epcot depends. The park is more enjoyable at close, but rope drop is a necessity if you want/expect to do both Soarin and Test Track since only one can be FP in advance.

 

[JimmyV]

The only downside to Rope Drop is getting the whole family up and ready in time. It can result in some cranky people towards the beginning of the day. Otherwise, it is far superior to closing time in terms of crowd levels unless the park stays open until 1:00 or 2:00.

The advantage of closing time is that you do get to see things from a different perspective and the adrenaline rush makes staying up late fairly easy to do. The disadvantages are that crowds can remain heavy during the busier times of the year, transportation issues can result in long trips back to your resort with exhausted family members, and hitting the pillow at 2:00 or 3:00 can wipe you out for the next day. While sleeping in can fix the latter, I simply value my time at WDW too much to walk into a park at 11:00 the next morning when crowds have already built up. So if we close down a park at 1:00 or 2:00, we limit ourselves to World Showcase the next day so that we aren't behind the curve. If we close down a park at 10:00 or 11:00 or 12:00, we just treat that as "normal" and can still make a RD the next day.

 

[scoobygrl79]

I have done both and I strongly wish I was more committed to Rope Drop. Closing the park means less visibility on outside attractions, tired/cranky companions, and us not getting as much done because feet are sore, limbs ache, etc, therefore we are slower than the chippier, motivated versions of ourselves if it were Rope Drop. Unfortunately, we are such non-morning people that it practically sounds like Velcro tearing when we finally get out of bed so closers it is/we are!

 

[huntwoof]

Depends on ages of your group. My older teen boys LOVE closing down MK. We stayed till 3am last summer. Does make for a later day the next day but it's such a rush being in the park late at night. I definitely concur that rope drop is MUCH better at HS. There just isn't enough rides to clear things out late at night.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

i used to be an early morning touring person. (I'm not generally a morning person, but at Disney I always was) and I still prefer to do AK and HS early in the day.
But over the years, our touring style has become more relaxed, and we like to hang out at the resort more, have a more vacation-y feel.
So now, particularly in hot weather, I plan our trips around late evening EMH's, and on those days we sleep in, get some pool time, have the child take a good nap, and head to MK or Epcot late and close it down. FP+ for all its faults, has really helped facilitate this, because we can arrive late ands till have FP's.

 

[caroline1851]

Rope Drop for sure.

 

[MN96]

I like rope drop because it feels like you get a lot done quickly and you are full of energy at the beginning of the day. It's nice to get a couple quick rides in when the park still feels empty. The downside is waking up early.

I like closing because again you can get a lot done, but it has a different feel than rope drop. The rides have short waits, but you feel like there's a time crunch since it ends in a certain amount of time. Rope drop i feel less rushed, but that may just be me. The night shows are awesome and some rides like jungle cruise have a different feel at night and that can be great. The downside is if you aren't night people you might be dragging a bit in late close nights and the buses are very crowded to leave the park.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

We've never been to rope drop because we're just late night people and forcing ourselves to get up would be more work than it's worth. We do like the late night environment and enjoy that because it is more natural to how we live our lives at home.

 

[Rosebud123]

We've always loved RD and done that pretty much exclusively. However, this trip we're going at end of Aug/early Sept so we're going to do a combo of RD - break - evening stuff, RD - 3 - chill at resort, and late start - late night/MK EMH. Looking forward to trying out a really late night at the MK, along with a late start day at Epcot.

 

[jhaig]

If you stay at EP after Illuminations, can you take you time and stroll out, maybe shop at Mouse Gears? We usually RD with lots of success but may try staying til close at EP.

 

[Iowamomof4]

I'm struggling over this issue right now as I plan our first trip this September 4-13. We're NOT morning people at all. It's common for the kids to not get to bed until after 11, sometimes close to midnight. Yet everyone seems to say Rope Drop! Rope Drop! Rope Drop! Ugh!

My current plan is to try to do some of each, making sure to take an easy day the day after we close down MK at 2 AM (hopefully!).

 

[Gilrond]

Rope drop - love the smaller crowds early esp. important at MK. Can close down EPCOT once in a stay but late MK is too late for me, have to recharge for next day's RD. Usually RD at Studio and spend partial day, returning to resort for nap - another recharge opportunity. Sometimes go after nap to EPCOT since I stay at YC. Have seen Fantasmic several times (FL and CA) and can give it a miss now except upcoming trip with family who haven't seen. This is my personal choice

BTW, do not expect any family at RD in upcoming family trip. DB is up in time but DSIL not. DN has 2 small children and wants them to keep on their schedule. I have made ADRs for early dinners as the daily gathering. DGN, who will be almost 5, might join me for MK RD as she wants to do character meet and greets. Early is best and I am definitely the most patient with M&G queues as I enjoy the characters myself.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We did rope drop a couple of times and while it was productive, I'm not a fan of setting an alarm clock to wake me up while I'm on vacation. We go in the evenings and try to catch evening EMH. The lines lighten up during the fireworks and parade and continues to get shorter as the night goes on.

 

[kmoore7]

We are all over the map with that. We go during summer, so hours are longer anyway. RD MK the day after EMH at night and stay till closing. We account for down days, usually stay ten nights, so when we go to a park we go all day. We are not morning people, and it is a vacation, so we try not to do commando style. 1/2 days at AK and HS, even with older kids, we spend most of our time in MK. Always get hoppers too, that works best for us, so RD isn't a must for us.

Like I said, all over the map

 

[PirateD]

We have been talking about this very thing as we plan our December trip. We have a combo of early risers and night owls in the group. We are leaning towards 7 AM EMH as that seems like it would be easier for for the kids and grandparents than staying until 2 AM but 7 AM is awfully early. The majority is all for rope drop but we also want to try to keep everyone as happy as possible and late nights have their advantages.

 

[asta]

Just back and late night EMH at the MK was a complete joke. It was extremely crowded until at least 1:30. We still waited almost an hour for the 7DMT. Everyone in my family stays up late anyway and we have always liked the late night EMH. All agreed this trip that it was a waste of our time and we would rather have been sitting in our hotel room than dealing with big crowds.

So I say go with the early mornings if you can get everyone up.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Rope drop is ok if you want to ride the headliners once. Late night is the place to be if you want to ride them multiple times.

 

[asta]

Rope drop is ok if you want to ride the headliners once. Late night is the place to be if you want to ride them multiple times.

Not last week, it was much too crowded for that.