Is Rope Drop Necessary on a "5" Crowd Day at MK?

[Stinky_Pete]

You don't ever "need" to do rope drop. It's all up to you. But here's why I do rope drop.

My first visit to WDW was many years ago. As we were going to bed, my partner said "What time should I set the alarm for?" I said "Alarm?!? I'm on vacation, I don't want an alarm at all." My (former CM) partner said "Disney World isn't a 'sleep in' kind of vacation."

We got to MK for rope drop. We experienced five Fantasyland attractions in that first hour. We walked through Fantasyland around 11 a.m. and everything we walked onto with no wait now had a 45 minute wait. So we saved all that time we could have spent waiting in line by waking up an hour or so earlier than we would have anyway.

So it's up to you. Get up a little earlier or wait in lines.

If the MK is open late while you're there you can always do rope drop, take an afternoon break and go back in the evening. I love the MK in the evening.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Thanks everyone. I don't have great FP selections for Monday, our first day. ADR for breakfast at CRT at 8:10. 9:40 Peter Pan's Flight; 10:50 FP for Cinderella and Raphunzel (got this before the CRT ADR opened up. Kept it because of Raphunzel though... maybe shouldn't do that...); ; 1:15 for 7DMT. The 3pm afternoon parade is a pain. Wish that was earlier. Planned on doing that on Monday and leave the park and not return that day. Perhaps we head straight to 7DMT not using our FP after the breakfast and before hitting PP?

FPs on Thursday; 10:25 Buzz Lightyear; 11:25 Splash Mountain; 2:20 BOG lunch (been trying to move that); 6:50 A&E.

Can't stay till 11pm on Thursday because DD25 is arriving at hotel around 9 or 9:30 to join us on our cruise which begins on Friday. Haven't seen her in a few months so don't want to get to hotel and find her asleep!!

Why is Thursday not a recommended MK day? It's a lower crowd level than Monday. I need to get the two MK days figured out so I can get passed this. My brain is fried:-(

I think those are good FP selections and will save you considerable time. There is no way I would drop the 7DMT. While you may be able to get ahead of the pack after your breakfast, you also may not and could find yourself in a 45 min. line right at rope drop. I would probably do whatever attractions are most important to you first thing that morning and hit Peter Pan at the end of the FP window.
Personally, I am a fan of rope drop, especially in the summer when it's hot as blazes. In the summer we like to hit the park early, leave around 2 and then head back in the evening. The parade does mess that up, though. We often don't bother with the parade in the summer unless it's something we REALLY want to see and opt for the night time parade instead. Festival of Fantasy is much more interesting (IMHO) than the last couple parades though. So, I can see wanting to stay for it.
If you are concerned about whether on not to go early on your second day, I say wait and see how much you actually accomplish on your first day and how much you still have left that you want to accomplish.

 

[freshstart19]

Thanks everyone! DH is now committed to rope drop. Will come back in the evening on Monday to MK and leave after our A&E FP on Thursday to meet up with my DD25 arriving to go on a cruise with us. I don't understand why the touring plans software is giving me a different order for Epcot than what's been recommended on another thread I posted here.

 

[Micca]

Nothing beats ropedrop for getting numerous attractions done in the most efficient fashion. I don't really track the numeric ratings for crowd size given by various sources, but I'm thinking that the ratings are relative to the season and the differential between parks. I'm glad your DH came around to the idea of rope drop. Have a blast!

 

[PirateD]

Here's an example from earlier this summer of what we were able to accomplish between 8 pm and midnight without FP+ on a crowd level 8 day that happened to be a morning EMH. It sounds like you'll be returning for A&E at 7:30 so you may be able to see comparable results. We found bumper to bumper traffic leaving the park that evening as we were arriving:

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.

Wow! That's great! Which attractions would you recommend starting with in the 8:00-10:00 time frame?

Thanks everyone! DH is now committed to rope drop. Will come back in the evening on Monday to MK and leave after our A&E FP on Thursday to meet up with my DD25 arriving to go on a cruise with us. I don't understand why the touring plans software is giving me a different order for Epcot than what's been recommended on another thread I posted here.

I have had the same thing happen when I was working with a plan for AK. It gave me an order that I would not expect and different than what most seem to recommend. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong.

Your updated plan sounds great! Have fun!

 

[MataHari22]

I have had the same thing happen when I was working with a plan for AK. It gave me an order that I would not expect and different than what most seem to recommend. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong.

You aren't doing anything wrong, just do not hit "optimize". When you optimize, it will put the steps in the order that touring plan recommends. You can always put the steps of the plan in the order you want to, and just hit "evaluate".

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Wow! That's great! Which attractions would you recommend starting with in the 8:00-10:00 time frame?

In and to the left. Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Splash/Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion. Then Fantasyland (excluding 7D) then Tomorrowland and finally back to 7D. Don't forget the Dole Whip.

 

[PirateD]

You aren't doing anything wrong, just do not hit "optimize". When you optimize, it will put the steps in the order that touring plan recommends. You can always put the steps of the plan in the order you want to, and just hit "evaluate".

Thanks, I definitely appreciate the input. I was just surprised that TP didn't recommend the headliners first, but maybe it was because I was on a day where the crowds were predicted to be low.

 

[PirateD]

In and to the left. Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Splash/Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion. Then Fantasyland (excluding 7D) then Tomorrowland and finally back to 7D. Don't forget the Dole Whip.

Great! Thanks for the tip! We will definitely remember the Dole Whip! Can't wait! (This needs to look like a dole whip float!)

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Great! Thanks for the tip! We will definitely remember the Dole Whip! Can't wait! (This needs to look like a dole whip float!)

You're welcome. Also keep in mind that the posted wait times late at night are often greatly exaggerated. This helps to keep the lines shorter.

 

[Xennia]

Still waiting for someone to explain numbers and days. Where are you getting this info? How is it true for every month? Anyone? Hello?

 

[Lucius Best]

Still waiting for someone to explain numbers and days. Where are you getting this info? How is it true for every month? Anyone? Hello?

Hello! Apologies for the delay in handling your request. I'm assuming by "explain numbers and days" you are referring to crowd levels, crowd calendars, and recommended park days. There are plenty of crowd calendar resources on the Internets. My personal favorite is easywdw.com. Let me Google that for you:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=disney+crowd+calendars+recommended+days

 

[ErinInCT]

How about this - just to really put you over the edge - why not switch your EPCOT with your MK? I bet a Tues at MK will be slower than the EMH Thurs.
Kidding! You'll be fine whether you do and see everything you planned or not. The last 2 times we went to Disney - 6 yrs apart - iasw was being refurbished. My kids are now in their teens and will probably not appreciate it as much but it is finally open for our trip. Last trip I couldn't get a FP for TSMM and the line was already over 2 hrs when we got to DHS so we didn't do it. And I completely forgot about it instead of being bummed. So enjoy what you can do and put the rest out of your mind!

 

[freshstart19]

HA!! We're starting with MK because well, it's MK. We have a CRT at 8 am tomorrow morning to start off our trip. Off to the airport!! Thanks for all of the advice, everyone!

 

[Xennia]

Hello! Apologies for the delay in handling your request. I'm assuming by "explain numbers and days" you are referring to crowd levels, crowd calendars, and recommended park days. There are plenty of crowd calendar resources on the Internets. My personal favorite is easywdw.com. Let me Google that for you:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=disney+crowd+calendars+recommended+days

Thank you.

I have always wondered what this was. I'm new to all your lingo and I'm trying to absorb.


Thanks again.