Explain Rope Drop Please

[KJF0528]

So we are going to try make rope drop at MK on Sunday. We didn't get 7DMT fp, sad face. I dont know how rope drop works-where to stand, how to make sure we get to the ride in a reasonable amount of time. Can someone dummy it down for me?

If EMH is 7am, we need to be there 45 min early? An hour?

 

[Robo]

So we are going to try make rope drop at MK on Sunday. We didn't get 7DMT fp, sad face.

1. I dont know how rope drop works-where to stand, how to make sure we get to the ride in a reasonable amount of time. Can someone dummy it down for me?

2. If EMH is 7am, we need to be there 45 min early? An hour?

1. The Rope Drop show ("Magic Kingdom Welcome") runs about 5 minutes and will begin 5-15 minutes before the
top of the hour. If you care to actually see the show, stand somewhere in the center of the waiting area.

If you want to be "first" (or "sort of first") to get to Main Street after the show, stand near the edges of the crowd near the entrance
tunnels under the railroad tracks.

The majority of the crowd exiting following the rope drop show will be headed to 7DMT.
Disney Cast Members will walk this group (with you in it, likely) directly to the 7DMT.

2. 30-45 minutes early is not a bad plan.
Most guests don't know how to TIME their arrival very accurately, anyway
(lots of things can slow you down) so, it's better to err on the side of
"too early'" rather than "too late."

 

[SmithSmith]

Can someone dummy it down for me?

I found this particular post helpful, and you may too. It's from Easy WDW back in May when Mine Train first opened. It's a walkthrough of rope drop to mine train, complete with pictures and even a video. It should help with some of your questions.

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...er-bell-moves-the-4th-fp-magic-kingdom-52814/

 

[KJF0528]

Thanks! I have a cranky man who hates waiting in lines (makes him nervous, darn PTSD!) so trying to avoid the 120 minute back ups there!

We will stay to the right, take the "spoke" that heads towards the tea cups and pray the masses are slower than us....

 

[JimmyV]

Thanks! I have a cranky man who hates waiting in lines (makes him nervous, darn PTSD!) so trying to avoid the 120 minute back ups there!

But don't overlook the "irony" of Rope Drop. In order to avoid a 120 minute wait in line, you will have to endure upwards of a 60 minute wait at the turnstile, followed by a 10-20 minute wait to get on the ride (depending on how close to the front you are and how many FP returnees there are). So "beating the system" and avoiding a 120 minute wait can entail a 60-90 minute wait. Just in a different locale. And not in a "line" per se, but in a crowded mass. Factor that in to the PTSD issues.

 

[jeanico2000]

We will stay to the right, take the "spoke" that heads towards the tea cups and pray the masses are slower than us....

This is exactly what we did on November 11th (which turned out to be a very busy day) since we couldn't get any FP+ for this ride, and we had a very short wait. We power walked, for sure, but the CMs (at that time) formed a 'human chain' to keep things under control, forcing the folks to follow behind them in an orderly fashion. Aside from a bit of jostling, it was all good! We really enjoyed 7DMT and the smoothness of the ride!

 

[redsbe]

But don't overlook the "irony" of Rope Drop. In order to avoid a 120 minute wait in line, you will have to endure upwards of a 60 minute wait at the turnstile, followed by a 10-20 minute wait to get on the ride (depending on how close to the front you are and how many FP returnees there are). So "beating the system" and avoiding a 120 minute wait can entail a 60-90 minute wait. Just in a different locale. And not in a "line" per se, but in a crowded mass. Factor that in to the PTSD issues.

There is no need for a 60 minute wait before RD, 30 minutes will do. And RD is not just about avoiding waiting in line to save 60 minutes or longer at one ride, but in fact the getting there 1/2 hr before RD can actually save you waits on 4-5 rides during the first few hours in the park, especially compared to a late morning or later arrival.

 

[Mikie]

But don't overlook the "irony" of Rope Drop. In order to avoid a 120 minute wait in line, you will have to endure upwards of a 60 minute wait at the turnstile, followed by a 10-20 minute wait to get on the ride (depending on how close to the front you are and how many FP returnees there are). So "beating the system" and avoiding a 120 minute wait can entail a 60-90 minute wait. Just in a different locale. And not in a "line" per se, but in a crowded mass. Factor that in to the PTSD issues.

I dont "officially" have any issues like PTSD or phobias and most places in life, I notice no troubles, but tradtional rope drop makes me really twitchy! I don't like just standing around in that mass of people, sometimes crowding or jostling (and I'm not an early-bird!). I like to arrive right around rope drop (not 45 min early) and walk right in after the initial crush has passed. Lines will have formed, but they,re still not bad and I find that short-ish wait preferable to rope drop crush+no wait. Just something to consider. . .

 

[elaine amj]

But don't overlook the "irony" of Rope Drop. In order to avoid a 120 minute wait in line, you will have to endure upwards of a 60 minute wait at the turnstile, followed by a 10-20 minute wait to get on the ride (depending on how close to the front you are and how many FP returnees there are). So "beating the system" and avoiding a 120 minute wait can entail a 60-90 minute wait. Just in a different locale. And not in a "line" per se, but in a crowded mass. Factor that in to the PTSD issues.

it's a good point. We are a RD family but every once in a while I laugh at us because of exactly this.

I want to do Test track on 12/28 with no FPs. Debating waking everyone up early to do RD for 8am or else sleeping in more and wandering in for around 9am and just standing in a longer line. I think I'll decide the morning of depending on how tired everyone is from a 1am close at MK the night before.

 

[JimmyV]

There is no need for a 60 minute wait before RD, 30 minutes will do. And RD is not just about avoiding waiting in line to save 60 minutes or longer at one ride, but in fact the getting there 1/2 hr before RD can actually save you waits on 4-5 rides during the first few hours in the park, especially compared to a late morning or later arrival.

I understand the purpose of RD. I'm not suggesting that it not be done. I'm just pointing out that RD comes with its own set of crowd issues. From the posts that followed yours, that does seem to be a concern to some, so it is worth discussing.

 

[redsbe]

I understand the purpose of RD. I'm not suggesting that it not be done. I'm just pointing out that RD comes with its own set of crowd issues. From the posts that followed yours, that does seem to be a concern to some, so it is worth discussing.

My point was that your math was not completely accurate since you can easily save more then the 30 to 60 minute wait at RD by being able to knock off several rides with low waits in the first few hours. Plus on a busy park day 7DM or A&E at MK or TSM at DS will be 90 minutes wait or longer within 1/2 hr of park opening, so why not get there 1/2 before opens and with one and first ride you are already ahead 60 minutes?

 

[JimmyV]

My point was that your math was not completely accurate since you can easily save more then the 30 to 60 minute wait at RD by being able to knock off several rides with low waits in the first few hours. Plus on a busy park day 7DM or A&E at MK or TSM at DS will be 90 minutes wait or longer within 1/2 hr of park opening, so why not get there 1/2 before opens and with one and first ride you are already ahead 60 minutes?

I get your point and I'm not disagreeing that hitting RD puts you ahead of the curve on at least your first 3 or 4 rides so there is a savings there. But on the Sunday before Christmas, I would not arrive at RD 30 minutes before the park opens. I would arrive 60 minutes ahead. So my math works. Would that math apply on January 19? No. But for anyone with crowd issues, they should know that they will be in a tight mass of people for a period of time. To many folks, it doesn't matter if that is 5 or 55 minutes. The point is, RD is not the panacea for crowd avoidance even if it is still the suggested strategy.

 

[Robo]

Waiting for the park to open for 40 minutes is not the same situation as waiting for an attraction for 40 minutes when the park is already open.

 

[redsbe]

I get your point and I'm not disagreeing that hitting RD puts you ahead of the curve on at least your first 3 or 4 rides so there is a savings there. But on the Sunday before Christmas, I would not arrive at RD 30 minutes before the park opens. I would arrive 60 minutes ahead. So my math works. Would that math apply on January 19? No. But for anyone with crowd issues, they should know that they will be in a tight mass of people for a period of time. To many folks, it doesn't matter if that is 5 or 55 minutes. The point is, RD is not the panacea for crowd avoidance even if it is still the suggested strategy.

Your math also needs to account for why you would need to be at RD 60 minutes before RD - the wait for the most popular rides even within the first hour of park opening are also going to be longer, hence the need for earlier RD arrival. On a typical day 7DM would be one hour await soon after opening, thus RD is important but no need to be at RD that far before. During the holidays within first hour 7DM is going to be 90 minutes or longer, thus get to RD even earlier. Either way RD will at least save you time on the first most popular ride and additional time on next few rides before park becomes swamped.

And no I would not get to RD at 6am for a 7am opening after closing a park the night before at 1p. You need to plan days accordingly for hours especially if and when you take advantage of EMH or extended holiday hours.

 

[MickeyOCD]

Thanks! I have a cranky man who hates waiting in lines (makes him nervous, darn PTSD!) so trying to avoid the 120 minute back ups there! We will stay to the right, take the "spoke" that heads towards the tea cups and pray the masses are slower than us....

THIS is exactly what you should do!! The standby line builds this way, so you will not be trying to get into the line, while others are entering before you. Doing Stdby on an EMH day, during EMH hrs is the best thing you can do if you can't get FP for 7 DMT. It goes fast (MUCH faster than posted wait times) due to there is no depleting of the seats due to the influx of FP; it's ALL standby during EMH!!!! We arrived late to 7DMT (by 1/2 hr!) on EMH morning, posted STBY varied between 45 & 75 min while we were waiting in line, outside thequeue, we were on & off the ride in 30 min!!!! It moved fast!

 

[MickeyOCD]

AND, we got off 7DMT at reg park opening time, so while others were rushing to 7DMT, we walked on Space Mtn, then crossed the park & walked on (2x) BTMRR. ALL before 10am!

 

[JimmyV]

Either way RD will at least save you time on the first most popular ride and additional time on next few rides before park becomes swamped.

I really don't know who you are arguing against here. YES! RD saves you time. Yes! Yes! Yes! It does. Every single time. There is no situation by which RD is a losing strategy when it comes to time savings. OK I said it. Happy? Now let's get back to the point of all of this..............

If you have a spouse who does not like lines or does not like crowds, please be aware that the RD strategy does, in fact, entail waiting around while doing nothing for upwards of an hour, and will involve very close contact with strangers. The total amount of time that you spend waiting in lines over the course of a full day will be less if you employ the RD strategy. But the RD strategy does not result in the avoidance of all lines, and your very first wait of the day (at the turnstile) could be upwards of an hour. The length of your wait is entirely up to you, as you get to dictate how early you arrive.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I really don't know who you are arguing against here. YES! RD saves you time. Yes! Yes! Yes! It does. Every single time. There is no situation by which RD is a losing strategy when it comes to time savings. OK I said it. Happy? Now let's get back to the point of all of this..............

"I had a co-worker recently telling me about her trip to Disney World. They seemed to be pretty good planners and tried to maximize their time the best they could.

She was very excited to tell me about her experience riding Midway Mania without a Fast Pass. The got up really early, got to the gates about 45 minutes before they opened and waited in a pretty large crowd. Then they hurried as fast as they could to the ride and the wait was *only* 15 minutes. By the time they got off the line was almost an hour long. There were people all over the place.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that her true wait time was over an hour. 45 mins at the gate plus whatever time it took to hurry to the attraction plus 15 mins in line.

I rode the same ride 4 times in about the same time period late at night and didn't have to deal with the crowds. "


I don't think Rope Drop always wins.

 

[HappySnowmanInSummer]

"I had a co-worker recently telling me about her trip to Disney World. They seemed to be pretty good planners and tried to maximize their time the best they could. She was very excited to tell me about her experience riding Midway Mania without a Fast Pass. The got up really early, got to the gates about 45 minutes before they opened and waited in a pretty large crowd. Then they hurried as fast as they could to the ride and the wait was *only* 15 minutes. By the time they got off the line was almost an hour long. There were people all over the place. I didn't have the heart to tell her that her true wait time was over an hour. 45 mins at the gate plus whatever time it took to hurry to the attraction plus 15 mins in line. I rode the same ride 4 times in about the same time period late at night and didn't have to deal with the crowds. " I don't think Rope Drop always wins.

I see what you're saying, but the time you wait outside the park before RD is time you can't be riding other rides, etc. waiting the same amount of time in line at the ride is time you could be doing other things

 

[redsbe]

I really don't know who you are arguing against here. YES! RD saves you time. Yes! Yes! Yes! It does. Every single time. There is no situation by which RD is a losing strategy when it comes to time savings. OK I said it. Happy? Now let's get back to the point of all of this..............

If you have a spouse who does not like lines or does not like crowds, please be aware that the RD strategy does, in fact, entail waiting around while doing nothing for upwards of an hour, and will involve very close contact with strangers. The total amount of time that you spend waiting in lines over the course of a full day will be less if you employ the RD strategy. But the RD strategy does not result in the avoidance of all lines, and your very first wait of the day (at the turnstile) could be upwards of an hour. The length of your wait is entirely up to you, as you get to dictate how early you arrive.

Yes there is a "line" or crowd at RD, but easy to manage for 15 to 30 minutes most days, especially compared with spending even more time in line with hundreds of people for hours the same day. Hey I hate crowds and lines, but never found 15 to 30 minutes in crowd at RD to compare with longer lines at attractions or in a park on a busy day when just moving through the park is crowded plus more so during waits for parades and events.

If you travel with someone who really has a problem with crowds and lines here is even better advice - avoid WDW during holidays and when kids are out of school!!!