Explain Rope Drop Please

[redsbe]

"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.

Not always but it can be pretty effective to beat day crowds, we were in HS earlier this week and 20 minutes after RD line for TSM was posted as 90 minutes. Very late evening is another strategy that can work as well.

 

[fbb]

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.

Depends on what you accomplished with your time 8:15a-9:15a

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Depends on what you accomplished with your time 8:15a-9:15a

Sleeping.

I find it to be a more efficient use of my time to hit the big attractions late in the evening. My kids like multiple re-rides when possible and this can be most easily accomplished later at night, after the day crowds got tired and left.

I guess I think riding 4x in an hour beats 1x in an hour.

 

[nkereina]

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.

They're trying to ride 7DMT this Sunday. That's the Sunday before Christmas, of Christmas Week. They'll likely need to be at rope drop 60 minutes prior to opening in order to avoid a 30-40+ minute wait at 7DMT. The key is to be at the front of the crowd at rope drop since 75% of that crowd is headed towards 7DMT. Any other time of year, 30 minutes may be ok.

 

[redsbe]

Sleeping.

I find it to be a more efficient use of my time to hit the big attractions late in the evening. My kids like multiple re-rides when possible and this can be most easily accomplished later at night, after the day crowds got tired and left.

I guess I think riding 4x in an hour beats 1x in an hour.

Still depends on time of year, crowd size, and park hours as I have seen late evening (11p+) lines still in the order of one hour for the most popular attractions.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Still depends on time of year, crowd size, and park hours as I have seen late evening (11p+) lines still in the order of one hour for the most popular attractions.

That's what makes late night touring most effective. The posted wait time may be over an hour, but the actual wait is often much shorter.

For example, on our most recent visit TSMM had a posted wait of 75 mins with an actual wait of 15. 7D said 80 mins but the real wait was 20. A&E said 90 with an actual wait of 10.

I can give several more examples. This was during the summer on crowd level 8-9 days. I've been during Christmas/New Years week and found the same to be true.

 

[disneyAndi14]

We stood in the line for park entrance way to the right, got there about 30 minutes before EMH, follow the CM once inside staying to the right with them and we rode 7DMT in less than 15 minutes!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

One more illustration. In early June, we arrived at MK at about 8 pm. This was a crowd level 8 day according to Easy.

We did the following in the 4 hour period between 8 and midnight with no FP+:

Big Thunder 3x
Splash Mtn 2x
Space Mtn 2x
Mine Train (10 min wait right a closing time)
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Pooh
Peter Pan
Speedway
Barnstormer 2x

We also watched the parade and fireworks and had a couple of Dole Whips.

I don't think there is any way we could have accomplished this much before 1 pm no matter what time we arrived.

 

[IWannaBuildASnowman]

Also, stalk MDE for FPs to 7Dmt like it's your job all day tomorrow. Stranger things have happened.

 

[Flight]

We plan for rope drop entries as much as possible. Here is an example of our rope drop success (this is prior to the implementation of the evil FastPass+) which gave us a morning of multiple rides with minimal wait times.

Arrive at Magic Kingdom turnsytles 45 minutes prior to rope drop entry time. This puts us within the first 10 people waiting at the turnstyle.

At rope drop, walked purposefully to Fantasyland. No running! Rode:

Dumbo
Peter Pan x 2
Winnie the Pooh
Tommorowland Speedway
Buzz Lightyear x 2

Walked to the holding area near Liberty Square awaiting the opening of Frontierland. At that opening time, walked with the crowd being paced by Castmembers to Splash Mountain.

Spalsh Mountain
Waited for and purchased photos from Spalsh Mountain drop.
Big Thunder Railroad x 2
Early sitdown lunch at Pecos Bills as soon as they opened.
Visit to Candy Store
Haunted Mansion
Mickey's PhilarMagic
Goofy's Barnstormer
Carousel of Progress
Tomorrowland Transportation Authority
Get Ice Cream cones
Eat ice cream while watching Sonny Eclipse
Character autographs
Castle Stage Show
Shopping on Main Street
Walt Disney World Railroad

Exit park and bus ride back to hotel for naps or swimming. Time leaving the park around 2:00. We walk out as the mobs are still streaming in.

So,
16 rides.
Lunch
Refreshments
Shows
Shopping
Character autographs
Minimal waits at rides (the longest being 15 minutes)

As you can see, this allowed us to enjoy a variety of events offered at the parks. Also, there was flexibility to veer off at any time and participate in a ride, event, or anything else as our whims desired. Not a slave to any pre selected constraint obtained months prior.

We also do the rope drops at the other parks.

 

[Lauren's_Dad]

Semi-related question regarding rope drop - we have an 8:05am ADR at CP and will likely be done before the park opens at 9am. If we wanted to hit 7DMT first thing, would we simply go to the spoke to the right of the castle? And would that put us "ahead" of the people that are at rope drop? So they would basically fall into line behind us?

Thanks,
Jason

 

[Robo]

Semi-related question regarding rope drop - we have an 8:05am ADR at CP and will likely be done before the park opens at 9am.

1. If we wanted to hit 7DMT first thing, would we simply go to the spoke to the right of the castle?

2. And would that put us "ahead" of the people that are at rope drop? So they would basically fall into line behind us?

1. Yes. (They might hold you at the restaurant exit until "opening time.")

2. Yes. Sort of. Maybe. (Nothing "always happens" the same way in these kind of things.)

 

[Robo]

we have an 8:05am ADR at CP and will likely be done before the park opens at 9am.

Also, ask for your breakfast bill as soon as you are seated.

Then, settle-up well before you are finished eating.

That way you won't be left waiting for a check at 9AM.

(You didn't supply the date in question, but I assume it is not on a day
when MK opens at 7:00 or 8:00AM for AM EMH, etc.)

 

[Lauren's_Dad]

Good tip on getting the bill right away. No EMH so we will see if they will "release" us from the restaurant in time to be in front of the rope drop folks. Thanks Robo!

 

[Lauren's_Dad]

Good tip on getting the bill right away. No EMH so we will see if they will "release" us from the restaurant in time to be in front of the rope drop folks. Thanks Robo!

 

[nkereina]

Good tip on getting the bill right away. No EMH so we will see if they will "release" us from the restaurant in time to be in front of the rope drop folks. Thanks Robo!

In our experience, we are permitted to leave CP before 9am but you can only wander around Main St and the hub. All the lands are roped off and manned by CMs, so I'd imagine they'd hold you somewhere near the castle if you're trying to get to Fantasyland. Regardless, they'll let you through as the crowd starts approaching when they enter so you should still be ahead of them assuming you finish your meal and get out early.

 

[MrInfinity]

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.

I agree. RD is just pre-waiting in a line. Rather than look at it as getting on your first 5 rides faster, look at missing RD as skipping the first ride, then riding the next 4 in the same amount of time.

So net result:
RD: Get there 60 min early. Ride 1st ride, done by 20 after. Go to Ride #2.
Non-RD: Get there at 20 after. Go to Ride #1, which is equal in time to Ride #2 above.

From here on, both strategies are equal. Just the RD crowd got on one more thing than the non-RD crowd, by waiting a good 30-90 minutes. If that is of value to you, then do it! It is to me. But remember it does not lead to lower lines all day, just having done one more thing by the same time otherwise... and you had to get out of bed early, and stand in a very competitive push-and-shove RD crowd which is trying to nudge up past you. It's like the parade-viewing crowd... RD'ers are competitive, and they are there because they're trying to beat you, the crowd. Just be ready for a hectic rush, not crowd-avoidance. If you so much as back up a step to catch a glimpse of the Mickey show, someone will squeeze in front of you.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

you had to get out of bed early, and stand in a very competitive push-and-shove RD crowd which is trying to nudge up past you. It's like the parade-viewing crowd... RD'ers are competitive, and they are there because they're trying to beat you, the crowd.

No thanks. That sounds exhausting. I think we'll stick to rolling in about 10 or 11 am then staying until the last park closes. We have a system in place that works very, very well.

 

[SuperTink]

Haven't been in a while but when we did rope drop we did way more than "one more thing" than non-droppers. Those wait lines increased dramatically after rope drop so I would estimate we got in at least 3-4 more rides (especially immediate repeats) then people who were still trying to get in.

 

[Marla1106]

We do rope drop. But, we don't get there an hour early. Usually just 10 or 15 min before they open. We like the morning show at MK. Then we usually go the opposite way of the masses. We usually head to Adventure land first b/c those are all my favorite rides. I assume this year we will head to Thunder Mountain first b/c my boys love that ride. If we don't get on the new ride, I'm fine with that.

How are the lines during the parade?