Who sleeps in instead of doing Rope Drop?

[CounselorX]

We still have not made it to a single rope drop. With the low September crowds, it is not a problem. We may try to do 1 or 2 rope drops during our next trip since we'll be there for 14 nights which is double the length we are used to.

 

[Disney93]

We made one RD on our last trip and that's all for us. We would rather sleep in and use FP+ for the rides we want. 10 to 11am is early enough for us. Our trips are 10 to 14 days and we know there is no rush to see everything everyday. Our first trip in 1992 was total pain as we tried to do too much, slow and easy is good enough for us.

 

[minniemous]

We have only been to rope drop twice and they were both on the last vacation in November. Rope drop was fairly awesome for rides..I am hooked now...but life was good taking it easy and sleeping in all those other trips. We never got there super late just about 1/2 to one hour after rope drop.

 

[midnightlouise]

I don't think we've ever made rope drop. We make an effort to get to DHS early during Star Wars weekends, but other than that... eh. That's what FP+ is for. I'd rather not get up at the crack of dawn on my vacation. We don't exactly sleep in, but I like not having to set my alarm for a change.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

If you go during less busy seasons, rope drop is less important. I wouldn't go at Christmas, but if I did, I would hit rope drop every morning. It is your only hope of riding anything without a FP.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We always do EMH in the morning if it's available to maximize time. Then we come back for a break and head back in or to another park. Nope usually rope drop but very close. If we have a breakfast adr at Tusker House or CP we'll go early.

 

[Planogirl]

We do a combination. I love to get to the parks early before the mobs descend but I have to mix it up with more relaxing days to avoid exhaustion.

 

[Jfsag123]

I am normally not an early riser, but I am at Disney. Last trip we did RD 5 days in a row and saw night time shows on two of the nights. Made for a fabulous trip. However, I would say you are likely not alone and in fact, I think most people are not RD people. I'm grateful for that fact, as that's why RD is as fabulous as it is. I think you'll have a great time no matter what, provided you have the right attitude, which it appears you do.

 

[Aurora0427]

We never did RD until we had our daughter and started bring her to Disney. She can't close down the parks and although she has proven to be pretty patient in line, it's just easier for us to RD most days. She is 4 and has been at 2,2.5, and 3.5. Although definitely not wishing her life away, it will be awesome when we can sleep in at Disney again! You will be totally fine, especially given your attitude and time of year you are going!

 

[Xennia]

This past weekend that is exactly what we did. Usually we do rope drop. Since we stayed at the Polynesian, hubby and I agreed to wake up when we wanted. Lounge by the pool. Day drink. Relax. Sun. Shower. Nap. Head to the parks in the late afternoon. It was perfect. When the parks stay open late it's hard not to take advantage of every single of your wants.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I am so over rope drops. The jostling and running are no fun, and not what i want to be doing on vacation. Once per trip we like to catch the opening show at MK, but that's it. We would much rather show up mid-morning and stay until late at night. That seems to be a very relaxing pattern

 

[mickey1968]

The only rope drop I can remember doing was an early morning SWW a couple of years ago when they still did the Stormtroopers on top of the entry gates. I am so glad I saw them. I usually try to do the 10:30 am FP+ schedule like someone else said, but my last trip I didn't leave the room until noon on most days. I think there was even a day I didn't get to Universal until almost 2pm! I travel solo so it makes it much easier to blow off getting up early and knowing I will be back again in 6 months to a year also relaxes the schedule a lot too. I also like to close out the parks and love the fireworks and the lighting throughout MK especially. The most magical time for me!

 

[mitchwebb]

Did not make a single RD. Showed up to MK 8pm our last day, of course Mk was open until 3am. Being from the west coast and having teen girls we decided this trip to make all our FP's in the afternoon after our lunch. Worked out great no grumpy girls.
We would do a park in the afternoon ealry evening and then the girls would end up going back to MK around 9pm and stay until 1am.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

The magic kingdom welcome show is still on my Disney Bucket list....so I guess me!

We usually arrive around 10 and stay until close. You get just as much done on Saturday night as you do on Saturday morning and the magic is magnified at night!

 

[PeasandCarrots]

We try to do rope drop but we usually go for 8 days at a time and I personally just can't sustain that pace for 8 days. So I've started scheduling our FP+ to start late morning and if we do make rope drop, great, we can get in some shorter lines before our FP+ rezzes start. If not and we get there later, no worries. I don't like feeling stressed and on a tight schedule on vacation.

The main reason I like to do rope drop is simply to avoid the crowds at bag check. I've noticed if I get there even 15 minutes before park opening the bag check lines aren't bad. But if I get there 15 minutes after park opening the bag lines are horrid. So I'd rather be early or really late.

 

[IslandAdventure4]

We are sooooooooo not a RD family. While we don't sleep in til 11am every morning, we casually take our time. We always have breakfast the jump on the bus and head to what ever park is on the agenda. We do stay at the parks til the very last minute. We have never found an issue with not seeing what we wanted at each park. We look at it as its a vacation for us too.

 

[richmo]

I/We do not set an alarm when on vacation, so I can't recall ever planning to arrive by rope drop. It's happened a couple times unintentionally...

 

[loves to dive]

The only time we've ever done rope drop was on accident. My son is not a morning person, even as an adult he likes to sleep in. I don't like the pushing and shoving and running so even though I'm usually up around 5:30 or 6, I just take it easy at the resort. I get up, go for a jog (now a walk since I'm no spring chicken any more) make my coffee and sit on the balcony and just enjoy the morning. If I get bored and my son is not up or I'm solo, I'll wander over to a park but never do I go to rope drop on purpose. We go often so if we miss a ride it's not big deal for us but even before we started going often we just didn't stress over it.

 

[mombrontrent]

Let me just say I am typing this from my Bonnet Creek hotel room at 9:10am while my DS and DH are still sleeping. My DD's are still in their PJ'S and I am drinking coffee. We will make it to the MK around 11:00 or so. Monday we made it to Animal Kingdom around 10:30 and yesterday Blizzard Beach at 11:30. We have never made it to a rope drop.

 

[Fantabulously Cherry]

It honestly depends on the day. If I have early ADRs, yes. If not, it depends on how exhausted we are.