Convince Me I Don’t Need to Rope Drop…

[MickMick]

I am going solo in November. I’m a hard core believer in a touring plan. And that means rope drop and some sort of Survivor tactics to get to the ride of choice.

Well, I plan for everything.

I would love to take a leisurely trip to the parks. Maybe sleep in (except for HS day) or have a proper breakfast. The type-A touring plan me is afraid that’s not a good strategy.I’m afraid that the extra hour of relaxation would make me miss…something.

What do you guys do?

 

[GBRforWDW]

First question, are you staying onsite and if so, deluxe/dvc resort?

the on-site pre and post park hours resumes in October. If you’re staying deluxe/dvc, you can get an extra hour at the end of the night with a lot fewer guests that will be more advantageous than the less lucrative 30 minute early entry for all onsite and most good neighbor hotels.

if you’re not onsite at all and not a good neighbor hotel, it’ll probably be really crazy first thing in the morning, so might as well sleep in.

 

[Carol_]

1st, relax. Breathe.
2nd, accidentally wake up so early that you’ll make it to rope drop anyway.
3rd, go to rope drop. We both know that’s what you want to do. Do it.

 

[daae3]

I’m planning a “relaxing” solo trip...but I can’t give up the low wait times at the beginning of the day. So my plan is get up early rope drop...lunch in park and head out for a break at the hotel and relaxing by the pool...head back at night for a few more rides and dinner...no Rope drop...means you spend more time in lines...but hey, your trip, your choice! It’s the beauty of solo...

 

[MickMick]

I was wide awake at 3:00 am thinking about this.

Yesterday, I picked a hotel and decided against a rental car. This is a huge departure. I’m overthinking everything. I appreciate the appeals to breathe. I like the commentary surrounding shorter wait times, too.

 

[goofyernmost]

I only went to rope drop when I was up earlier then expected so I decided to get dressed and go to it. I have never been that impressed with it and now that in MK, the only place with a special rope drop, has moved it from the train station to the hub, I see no reason to care about it anymore anyway.

 

[Karin1984]

The beauty of a solo trip is doing what you want without taking other people's needs in consideration. This is the perfect moment to try something new.

What if you just PLAN to not ropedrop one day? just to try it, see what happens.

 

[StageTek]

Do you have limited days in the parks?
If you miss something will it impact the enjoyment of your trip?
When was your last trip?
Will you go again?

What do you guys do?

Well, I don't plan for everything when I do a solo trip and I'm not a hard core believer in a touring plan so what I do probably won't matter.

Some days I'm up early and rope drop. Some days I have a proper breakfast and take a walk around the resort before I head to the park. If I miss something, I miss it and don't even think twice. I'm content not seeing everything.

 

[Tinkerlund]

I never do rope drop as I find I manage to do everything I want to anyway. But I would recommend doing rope drop of you otherwise stress out and get fear of missing out. Take a midday break at the resort, maybe a nap by the pool, resort hopping, whatever relaxes you. I find that around 14-16 gets the busiest and hottest weather so that's when I try to get some down time.

 

[Timandalicia]

I am going solo in November. I’m a hard core believer in a touring plan. And that means rope drop and some sort of Survivor tactics to get to the ride of choice.

Well, I plan for everything.

I would love to take a leisurely trip to the parks. Maybe sleep in (except for HS day) or have a proper breakfast. The type-A touring plan me is afraid that’s not a good strategy.I’m afraid that the extra hour of relaxation would make me miss…something.

What do you guys do?

You do need to do the rope drop. I’ve only done a rope drop once in my many trips. It was awesome, but I don’t need to do it. You do. I think you need to come to terms with that instead of talking yourself out of it.

 

[Gabby01]

Can I just say I love this thread!

MickMick, have you looked at the breakfast menu at your restaurant of choice? Maybe you could look forward to that perfect breakfast instead of rope drop.

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

Hear me out. If you want a relaxing vacation you rope drop. It seems counter intuitive o know but I’m telling you- I walk off that first ride, look around at people run walking with their strollers, and realize your biggest problem is deciding which 5,000 calorie breakfast pastry you should savor.

its like making your bed- get it done to feel accomplished and then no more chores necessary as you have met your quota haha

I’m partly kidding but for the most part, not.

 

[daae3]

Hear me out. If you want a relaxing vacation you rope drop. It seems counter intuitive o know but I’m telling you- I walk off that first ride, look around at people run walking with their strollers, and realize your biggest problem is deciding which 5,000 calorie breakfast pastry you should savor.

its like making your bed- get it done to feel accomplished and then no more chores necessary as you have met your quota haha

I’m partly kidding but for the most part, not.

This is very true...Also I personally recommend comparing the Cinnamon roll at Gaston’s Tavern to the Cinnamon Roll at Kusafiri bakery...

 

[butterscotchcollins]

I am similarly bad at relaxing and tend to be a park commando. For our Sept trip I told my husband I wanted to try and take it easier but I was concerned about “maximizing the value” of our trip. Then he pointed out to me that the most expensive part of our trip is not actually the park tickets but the resort “so wouldn’t maximizing the value actually be spending more time at the hotel?” And I was like

I also think I enjoyed my trips a lot more when I was younger, before FastPass and festivals, when I took pool breaks and only went to MK at night to see the fireworks and ride 2 rides.

So my point is: it IS possible to have an amazing trip at a different pace. We get so caught up in the tricks and “hacks”, the competition of doing what everyone wants to do, that sometimes we lose sight of whether that’s even enjoyable to us. I’m going to join you in this challenge to relax, sleep in, and not worry about “missing out.”

 

[DaisyGeorgeLily]

One thing to keep in mind - you have much more flexibility as a solo. You will move faster through the park (unless you're traditionally the slow spouse, I suppose!).

You will also have access to solo rider lines (maybe choose your non-rope drop park based on how many single rider lines that park has). And certain other rides will still call up the next available single to fill in a spot.

The amount of time spent negotiating what to do (even with a touring plan in hand) is surprising. Your detours for snacks/bathroom breaks/shade seeking will all be your own. And you won't be waiting for the other person to finish eating or wanting to order coffee/dessert when you're raring to get back out there.

 

[Nick6300]

We're probably like you, OP, and almost always rope drop (and last ride), to squeeze out every last drop. I can recall closing my eyes after my alarm, and waking up at about 9am, getting to the parks to those 60+ min headliners that we normally get a handful in early am. Every other year, we also do planned later starts with a water park (as a "sleep in day") until about 2-3pm first. That is because in recent years the water parks aren't opening until 10am or later, closing at 5pm or so, and it's too much of a hassle for us to insert water parks in the middle of 2 parks. We've also inserted a Disney Springs or misc. day as a break from getting up early at times.

 

[Moliphino]

We never rope drop and have great trips. The only time in recent memory that we've gotten to the parks before official opening time was back in October when you had to be IN DHS at opening to get a boarding group for ROTR. Now that's no longer necessary.

 

[Blondie58]

I am going solo in November. I’m a hard core believer in a touring plan. And that means rope drop and some sort of Survivor tactics to get to the ride of choice.

Well, I plan for everything.

I would love to take a leisurely trip to the parks. Maybe sleep in (except for HS day) or have a proper breakfast. The type-A touring plan me is afraid that’s not a good strategy.I’m afraid that the extra hour of relaxation would make me miss…something.

What do you guys do?

Both DH and I are Type A. We have a spreadsheet we take to WDW with all info noted: resort reservation numbers, dining reservation numbers, all phone numbers and contact info etc. (No FP info now though but park reservations noted). We do not rope drop as we are on vacation. We get up and walk 4 to 8 miles, yes, I know crazy with all the park walking but we love it. Then he has coffee/breakfast and I get ready for the day. We enjoy the leisure of our mornings. In May of 2019 I spend nine days on property solo. I stayed at Pop and walked Hour Glass Lake each morning a couple if times and then got ready to head to the parks - no rope drops. We do not think we are missing a thing but the rush and the crowds. However, if to rope drop would release FOMO responses for us, we would do rope drop. (All the latter being said - to get RotR is CRAZY!!! Out of three attemps we have gotten it once.) Also we like a printed menu. If you do too, then print before you go. Finding a printed menu is next to impossible. QR codes are the big thing. For sure you have to carry glasses to read your phone if you are like us! All the scrolling - what a pain. When we go in October, I will have printed out menus.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

I usually rope drop when I go solo as it allows me to get some rides done without too long of a wait - and THEN I do a leisurely lunch or late breakfast... in part because when I travel with DH or friends, they don't like to get up and going super early. So, it's like a treat to myself - to rope drop and it IS relaxing to me. Especially since as one person, I can more easily navigate those crowds.

It helps that I am a morning person of course....and make coffee in my room.

So, maybe just a little reframing is needed?

And it probably helps that I love the breakfast at Woody's when I RD Hollywood Studios, Nomad Lounge at AK opens at 11 AM so I am always there waiting for it to open on an AK Day, and a snack at MK at Friar's Nook followed by a sit down lunch at Tony's or Skipper's Canteen - or hop over to the Grand Floridan Cafe.

I rarely Rope drop Epcot, but when I have, that's when I booked a longer, leisurely breakfast at Trattoria al Forno or Ale & Compass so that then I can just leisurely stroll to the IG.

 

[jimmymc]

In the past, I would rope drop and end up resort hopping by 11 or 12. The short lines and cooler temps are just too appealing for me to sleep in.