Everything Rope Drop

[scrappinginontario]

is Epcot currently the only park doing actual rope drop or are all parks doing it?

Epcot is the only one we've been advised of. They started it yesterday, Jun 8th.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Just thought I'd share our rd experiences from our trip. Not sure if I should post this in Just back or here but posting here since rd specific. We rd all 4 days we were there. We stayed at CBR and had a car.

Day 1 - HS (June 5) - we lined up for SL at 7:15ish. We were the 3rd family in line. They started boarding at 7:45ish. They were alternating groups between CBR and those coming from Pop. They were also combining groups in SL. We arrived at HS 7:50ish (we LOVED SL). There were 2 lines where they were holding people, one on left and one on right. We went to the left. Shortly after (did not note the exact time) they let us go and everyone went through security and lined up at taps. We ended up 3-4th family back at taps. They opened taps at 8:20ish and we hauled it to SDD (along with a zillion others). We walked on!

Day 2 - MK (June6) - we left our room at 6:40ish. There was a bus parked at the bus stop so ds took off running to see if it was ours. It was and thank goodness they are still seating people because it takes a while so we made the bus! They held the bus outside the bus depot until right about 7:00. It was crazy getting off the bus and being some of the first people through security. First at taps. They opened taps right around 7:10. We headed to space so not a huge rush. By 7:20-7:25 they opened space and we walked on.

Day 3 - AK - We drove to AK. Left CBR at around 6:50ish. Arrived at AK pretty quickly. Held for maybe 5 minutes in line. We were not at the front here, maybe 15-20 cars back. I didn't note as many details here!!! We hauled it to FOP. Lots of people already in line but it was pretty much walk on. Just had to walk through the extremely long queue to get to the front! So moral of the story.....don't be afraid to drive to AK!

Day 4 - MK - left hotel at 6:40 again but missed the first bus. 2nd bus came quickly, though, and by the time we got to the taps they were opening the taps on the right side so we ended up first at taps again! We were excited! Headed for space (again). This time space didn't open until 7:44. That was definitely frustrated as the taps opened around the same time, right after we got in line. Still able to ride buzz right after with no wait, though so all was good.

Normally we would not rd 4 days in a row but it was a short trip so we had to do it in order to maximize our time! Luckily my teens are swimmers to used to being up at the crack of dawn!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

How does one get from Pop to HS for rope drop - Is the skyliner early enough? Or do we need a different strategy?

If you want to be in front of 99 percent of the rope drop crowd, get a ride over to the Speedway gas station across from the Boardwalk Resort. It will be about a 10 minute walk (on sidewalks) over to DHS.

As long as the driver shows up when you need them you will be golden....you will be in front of Everybody!

 

[Chernabob]

Just sharing a data point from our first day at MK. Staying at Pop, and we arrived at the bus stop at 6:40. There was already a very large crowd, and we were on the 4th bus. The good news is they had buses coming in one after the other.

So believe the warning that you need to be at the bus stop/Skyliner 90 minutes before posted park opening!

 

[tanyaandallie]

Just sharing a data point from our first day at MK. Staying at Pop, and we arrived at the bus stop at 6:40. There was already a very large crowd, and we were on the 4th bus. The good news is they had buses coming in one after the other.

So believe the warning that you need to be at the bus stop/Skyliner 90 minutes before posted park opening!

For anyone who stresses over 90 minutes remember the parks are opening 45 minutes early so if you are catching the bus at 6:40, the park actually is opening at 7:15. It's truly only 30 minutes before opening which is awesome!!!!

 

[disneyworldsk]

What is everyone's #1 rope drop (RD) priority attraction nowadays for each parks. Has it changed since covid began to what you used to RD. For example, do we make a beeline now to jungle cruise?! And at DHS, do you go first to slinky dog dash (sdd) or do try mmr new attraction? Where do you all go first and is it different from what you used to rd?

 

[Leigh L]

What is everyone's #1 rope drop (RD) priority attraction nowadays for each parks. Has it changed since covid began to what you used to RD. For example, do we make a beeline now to jungle cruise?! And at DHS, do you go first to slinky dog dash (sdd) or do try mmr new attraction? Where do you all go first and is it different from what you used to rd?

We've pivoted to doing ToT (and RnR - if someone is with us to go with DD since I won't lol) at DHS and then letting a boarding group or wait times guide us from there.

MK we typically go against the crowd and do BTMR, Splash, and Pirates (order depends on what's open, usually BTMR - in our visits JC wasn't operating before official open, Splash also but they did allow lining up a few minutes before and we usually did the other two rides by then). After that we'll backtrack to HM usually.
7DMT is too crazy for us. DD (then 12) and I did it once pre-COVID and even she said never again. We also sometimes do Space, Buzz, Speedway, and then let wait times guide us from there.

We've been skipping Epcot lately and AK we sort of wing it.

Edited to add: ToT wait times the times we've gone since August 2020 were long all day which is why we prioritized it (and is our June plan), but the times may have evened out some since more ride capacity.

 

[disneyworldsk]

is there a 'list' of some sorts of attractions that are open during the unofficial pre rope drop time at each park? i would hate to approach an attraction and walk in a certain direction only to find it's not open

 

[scrappinginontario]

is there a 'list' of some sorts of attractions that are open during the unofficial pre rope drop time at each park? i would hate to approach an attraction and walk in a certain direction only to find it's not open

Please read post 1 as it contains this information plus a lot more great stuff!

In the ‘Everything’ posts we try to keep general information updated in post 1.

Something to note, Disney changes what is/is not open on a daily basis so there is no definite list of what is open each day. Also, some attractions will open right at rope drop while others open at various times during the 45 mins before official park opening.

It’s trial and error. What works one day may not work the day before or the day after.

 

[WDW4us2006]

Thought I’d share our Epcot international gateway rope drop experience from yesterday, June 12:
We arrived at the IG at 9:50, maybe 30-40 people just scattered about. Just before 10:00 a lot of people started arriving and we were let through security at 10:00. We were let through the tapstiles at 10:15, and lead up to the big rock in Canada where we were held. By 10:25, the line was all the way back as far as the eye could see!
We were let in the park at 10:30 to go where we pleased, no one walked us. We were heading to Frozen, and there was NO ONE in sight from the main entrance! I was pretty surprised. It was a good day to be at the IG
We were on the second boat.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thought I’d share our Epcot international gateway rope drop experience from yesterday, June 12:
We arrived at the IG at 9:50, maybe 30-40 people just scattered about. Just before 10:00 a lot of people started arriving and we were let through security at 10:00. We were let through the tapstiles at 10:15, and lead up to the big rock in Canada where we were held. By 10:25, the line was all the way back as far as the eye could see!
We were let in the park at 10:30 to go where we pleased, no one walked us. We were heading to Frozen, and there was NO ONE in sight from the main entrance! I was pretty surprised. It was a good day to be at the IG
We were on the second boat.

This is great news!!

I’m thinking ‘who’ gets to Frozen first may vary each day depending on which entrance allows guests to enter first. It’s coordinated to a degree but there will always be one group -either main entrance or IG guests that arrive a bit before others.

Not sure about TT as it appears front entrance guests may be closer to that attraction so have an advantage over IG guests.

 

[snoopy352]

I watched this

Does anyone know what he means at the 9:40ish mark about toggling back and forth between the main DIS page and the ROTR boarding group page? If I have it on the main page and i see the Join button there, can't i just tap it right at 7? Why do i need to toggle? And if I do need to toggle, does he mean to tap Join and then hit the back button? (Would hitting the back button refresh the main page?) Again I don't know why i am refreshing the main page when the Join button is already there.

 

[Sara W]

Does anyone know what he means at the 9:40ish mark about toggling back and forth between the main DIS page and the ROTR boarding group page? If I have it on the main page and i see the Join button there, can't i just tap it right at 7? Why do i need to toggle? And if I do need to toggle, does he mean to tap Join and then hit the back button? (Would hitting the back button refresh the main page?) Again I don't know why i am refreshing the main page when the Join button is already there.

From what I remember, the "join" button isn't there until 7am. He's refreshing the page so it shows up right at 7am. My husband usually sits next to me with his iphone and we watch the seconds hand on the clock app. 1-2 seconds before 7am I refresh.

 

[jcarwash]

Does anyone know what he means at the 9:40ish mark about toggling back and forth between the main DIS page and the ROTR boarding group page? If I have it on the main page and i see the Join button there, can't i just tap it right at 7? Why do i need to toggle? And if I do need to toggle, does he mean to tap Join and then hit the back button? (Would hitting the back button refresh the main page?) Again I don't know why i am refreshing the main page when the Join button is already there.

I think that part at 9:40 is to warn people that the ROTR BG page itself won't reload or refresh on its own; you have to do something to enter or reload the page right on time, and clicking Join on the MDE home page is one method.

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you go to the latest posts on the Rise of the Resistance thread, there are details about how to get a BG.

Many of us find going from the first page of the MDE app and not refreshing to be far easier and more successful but it's a personal decision.

Here's a link if you'd like look. This one and the 2 following it are very helpful.

 

[Brian1403]

Would anyone be kind enough to tell me if taking the boat from Fort Wilderness will get us to Magic Kingdom in time for rope dropping? I don't know if they start service in time to get us there.

 

[RG3]

I’ll be staying at Pop Century next week and have park tickets for Epcot. I haven’t been to Disney here in the US in 7 years (have been to Tokyo DisneySea since) so I don’t really have any strategy per se. I’m a total newb!
—The main “big ticket” and/or long wait attractions we want to ride are Soarin’ and Frozen Ever After. The others (Spaceship Earth, etc.) don’t require running at road drop.

—Our plan was to take the skyliner from Pop Century to Epcot before the park opens. However, I see that the SkyLiner drops off in the International Gateway, which is a bit far from Soarin. Would it make more sense to take a different mode of transportation (does another form of transportation drop off at the main entrance, and would this be a faster location from which to head to Soarin’?)

—If not, is entering from the Gateway, walking to Soarin, and then trying to head to Frozen feasible?

thanks!!

 

[carrie_rn]

Any tips on rope dropping at DHS when you are staying offsite and parking? Mainly going for Galaxy's Edge but I want a potatoland photo op as well.

 

[The Iron Giant]

If you go to the latest posts on the Rise of the Resistance thread, there are details about how to get a BG.

Many of us find going from the first page of the MDE app and not refreshing to be far easier and more successful but it's a personal decision.

Here's a link if you'd like look. This one and the 2 following it are very helpful.

Thank you! Very helpful info and it saved me from reading the whole thread!

 

[scrappinginontario]

I’ll be staying at Pop Century next week and have park tickets for Epcot. I haven’t been to Disney here in the US in 7 years (have been to Tokyo DisneySea since) so I don’t really have any strategy per se. I’m a total newb!
—The main “big ticket” and/or long wait attractions we want to ride are Soarin’ and Frozen Ever After. The others (Spaceship Earth, etc.) don’t require running at road drop.

—Our plan was to take the skyliner from Pop Century to Epcot before the park opens. However, I see that the SkyLiner drops off in the International Gateway, which is a bit far from Soarin. Would it make more sense to take a different mode of transportation (does another form of transportation drop off at the main entrance, and would this be a faster location from which to head to Soarin’?)

—If not, is entering from the Gateway, walking to Soarin, and then trying to head to Frozen feasible?

thanks!!

If you wish to take a bus to Epcot or DHS and are staying at Pop, you may walk across the bridge to Art of Animation and take a bus from there. Buses are not currently running from Pop to Epcot or DHS.

Thank you! Very helpful info and it saved me from reading the whole thread!

@lovethattink also started a brand new thread tonight highlighting how to get a BG. You can find that thread here: Boarding Group: Rise of the Resistance *No Spoilers* Thread.