FOP waits at rope drop

[beaprn]

Just like to point out that the people who are showing up for rope drop at 0700-0730 for a 9am opening are really still waiting 60-120 min for this ride even tho it is not actually in the FOP line. Yes it is a walk on but you still waited 1.5 hr for that perk not mentioning getting up at the crack of dawn. Just a thought! I haven't seen this mentioned any where else.

 

[mousehockey37]

It's mentioned other places.

The debate has been ongoing as to if it truly is a "wait" or not.

 

[Cinderella94]

I have realized that before and I am one of the ones very vocal about how it's essential (IMO) to get there so early. I would rather do my "waiting" when there's nothing better I could be doing (riding) with my time. Sacrificing sleep is way worth it to me to not be sacrificing park operating hours time.

 

[gap2368]

if you get there before the park opens you can eat your breakfast while sitting on the ground instead of standing and moving a little every few minutes

 

[Legendteri]

Rather wait while the park is closed than while it's open.

Not all waits are equal.

 

[FCDub]

I would think a large section of people would rather spend the time they PAID FOR inside the park doing other things than standing in that line.

 

[CAS239]

It's recommended to get to AK about 60 min prior. Then get to the ride and say you have a 10 min wait because you're near the front. You have a total of a 70 minute wait, only 10 min being time spent on your ticket

Vs someone getting there at say 9 or 9:30, walking into a 120 min wait. All of which are used up on your ticket.

You're waiting no matter what, but I'd always rather wait while the park isn't open vs wasting valuable park time in line.

So say theoretically it's a 50 min wait difference between the two scenarios above. But with person A they could've done FoP, NRJ, Dinosaur, Safari, and maybe even EE while the second person has just gotten off their first ride

 

[Blue32]

It's been mentioned in other threads quite a bit. But agree with the others that have said there IS a difference in waiting outside the gates to acomplish more when the park does open.

 

[slford00]

It's not only the fact that with rope drop, your wait time isn't using up valuable park time. With rope drop, the big benefit is how long you end up waiting for your 2nd, 3rd, 4th rides, etc.

If you are smart at navigating a park, RD saves you a lot more time than just that first ride.

Example: Magic Kingdom. If you rope drop 7DMT and are among the first to ride, you might wait 5-10 mins, finishing up before official park opening time even begins. Then you could move to Space Mountain and ride with a minimal 5-10 minute wait, because all the people arriving at official opening time are headed to Fantasyland. Then you could Ride Buzz around 9:30 or so, again probably 5-15 min wait. Then squeeze in a couple more rides (Tomorrowland Speedway, Dumbo, Barnstormer, etc.) before the crowds start to get long everywhere around 10am or so, at which point you can start having your fastpasses lined up for things like Peter Pan, Big Thunder, etc. (all of which would have >45-60 min waits).

Versus: Arriving at official park open. Stuck in security/entrance for 15+ minutes. By the time you make it back to 7DMT, the line is over an hour. By the time you've waited through that and completed one ride, the waits at all the other big rides (Space Mountain, Splash, etc) are an hour long.

So that 45-60 minutes you've arrived early for rope drop saves you several hours of waiting in line during park hours to accomplish the same itinerary.

The above example could be extrapolated to Animal Kingdom, though if you have to arrive 60-90 mins early, the returns might be a little diminished.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

My plan unless I get the package is to rd with dh the question is can I fit in fop and the pandora river ride before my 12 adr at the rainforest or is that cutting it to close

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

I'm so glad I found this thread. Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!