Compare ropedrop at different parks

[Joe Arkansas]

I am curious to know the different experiences folks have had at ropedrop in each park. As I understand it, for AK, the rush is to FoP; for MK, it’s to 7DMT; for DHS, it’s to SDD; and for Epcot, it’s to FEA/TT/Soarin(?).

Which park is the craziest? Which is the easiest to navigate? Which requires the earliest arrival? What strategies to you recommend to successfully navigate each experience?

 

[Robo]

Which park is the craziest?
Which is the easiest to navigate?
Which requires the earliest arrival?

Flight of Passage at DAK wins all of those categories.

Slinky Dog Dash at DHS is at least a close second.

What strategies to you recommend to successfully navigate each experience?

Arrive very early (45-120 minutes, or more, before the posted open time) and head directly to the attraction.

 

[SaintsManiac]

MK is the most controlled and easy RD, even for 7D. It's the only park I will RD anymore.

 

[ForMyBoys]

End of March/early April trip.

We arrived at Epcot 25.min prior to opening from the Boardwalk side. They opened 9 min prior to actual park open. The vast majority of people made their way to Test Track.

At AK we arrived 45 min early. (We were dropped off by a Disney bus at 7:15am for an 8am opening). We had a good crowd in front of us but not horrible amd it was spread out amongst the turnstiles. They let us scan into the park well before official park opening (about 5 min after we arrived) and they did the rope drop for Pandora 27 min before official park open. We very quickly made our way over to FOP and our wait was approx 25 min and then almost walk on for Navi.

 

[FigmentSpark]

We arrived for a 9am opening at AK on a CL8 day at 7:38am. We were already in the next parking lot with plenty of people pulling in behind us. By 8 (I think) we were through the tapstiles and by 8:30, well positioned at the entrance of Pandora for the opening. Around 8:35, we were walked through the length of the expected line up (per the videos) and were done by around 9:15ish. But I had no idea we were late by arriving at 7:38.

 

[mickeymom22]

This past December we did rope drop at HS because we were unable to get fastpasses for Slinky Dog. We got there about 45 minutes before opening. They let us in about 30 minutes early but of course just had us spread out on Hollywood Blvd. I had read on Disboards to stay right to get in the best place to access the Slinky Dog queue. After they let the masses go, we continue to stay right, even though it seemed like the left side of the crowd would be faster we stayed right and it paid off. We made it to Toy Story Land and had no problems getting in the queue. We only had about a 25 minute wait. The board said the wait was an hour, but it really wasn't.

 

[Elephantay]

Great thread! Can’t believe at RD over an hour early and still waiting for a half hour. That’s discouraging.

 

[gharter]

Agree RD at AK for FoP is the craziest. Arrive at the turnstile at least 60 minutes before opening.
RD at HS for SDD is a very close second. Arrive at least 45 minutes at the turnstile before opening.
MK is very controlled, busy for 7DMT or PP, but not bad.
EPCOT - hard to tell as we go in IG and its never crowded (yet). have not had any problem RD TT or Soarin.