Is Rope Drop Worth it with Little Ones?

[Susan Storm]

Last year when we went to Disney World for a short trip we did rope drop every day. We arrived early and we were stuck out in the heat in this huge cluster of people for at least 30 minutes. Everyone was cramming into each other and everyone was sweating (granted, it was June). After we got into the parks it was great to be able to walk onto a few rides without waiting - but the rope drops were always everyone's least favorite part of the day. My young kids would be getting bored and irritated. I guess I feel like maybe it's not worth waiting 30-40 minutes in a huge crowd of people to go on a few rides without lines. I'm thinking of this trip going in shortly after 9 AM, I already have FPs for the things I really want to see. I'm not trying to criticize anyone who loves rope drop. If I didn't have three kids (going on four) I probably wouldn't mind it, but as it is I feel like maybe it's not worth it.

Does anyone else have any opinions on whether or not to do rope drop? What's your daily touring strategy/schedule with little kids? Do the crowds thin down at the entrances around 9:30 or so? I know it'll mean waiting a little longer for rides - but I might prefer that to waiting in a crowd for 30-40 minutes.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Heidi K]

I think you're probably fine waiting until after 9, since you understand that you might not get that "no line at a top attraction" experience.

My way of handling rope drop when the kids were 8, 5, and 2 was to feed them breakfast while we waited (granola bars, Gogurt, fruit, etc). It definitely helped to pass the time. We actually sat on the pavement at our spot in line!

 

[Susan Storm]

I think you're probably fine waiting until after 9, since you understand that you might not get that "no line at a top attraction" experience.

My way of handling rope drop when the kids were 8, 5, and 2 was to feed them breakfast while we waited (granola bars, Gogurt, fruit, etc). It definitely helped to pass the time. We actually sat on the pavement at our spot in line!

Thank you! That's a good tip!

 

[quagmire0]

Most of the time I try to get early breakfast ADRs to get us into the park and avoid rope drop altogether. Is Rope drop worth it? Depends on two things: 1. If the rides you really want to get on are the most high demand rides and 2. If you can land Fastpasses for them. If you can snag Fastpasses for the rides you really want, no reason to kill yourself to be there early. If not, rope drop is sort of a must. But I think it also depends on the family. Our kids are very early risers, so getting breakfast at the condo and getting out the door to get to the parks early is no sweat off our backs. I think we honestly end up leaving later than we would on any normal weekday during the year.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

I was going to suggest a breakfast reservation as well as quagmire. If you make a breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest or wherever else you'd like, you can enjoy your breakfast and then get into the park before everyone waiting outside and you can kind of take your photos in front of the castle, wander around, take your time, and be first in line for the ride you'd like. Or just miss it all together, show up after it's open and just realize that you won't the rides early and you may have to wait in some lines. If that's cool with you, then don't mess with the rope drop. Doing anything with littles is hard.

 

[Susan Storm]

I was going to suggest a breakfast reservation as well as quagmire. If you make a breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest or wherever else you'd like, you can enjoy your breakfast and then get into the park before everyone waiting outside and you can kind of take your photos in front of the castle, wander around, take your time, and be first in line for the ride you'd like. Or just miss it all together, show up after it's open and just realize that you won't the rides early and you may have to wait in some lines. If that's cool with you, then don't mess with the rope drop. Doing anything with littles is hard.

Thank you! I have one early breakfast reservation at Garden Grill for Epcot - couldn't get any at any of the other parks because I checked too late for ADRs. Do you know if coming around 9:30 would be much less of a line at the entrance? Thanks for your help!

 

[Candycane83]

I think getting there at 9am should be fine? I think they let people in a little earlier than that so by that time I think the crowds would be in and you would be able to go right in? (plus you need some time for bag check/security) I'm going to bring my toddler for the first time too so I have been thinking about the same thing.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

What time of year are you going, Susan? It kind of depends on when you'll be there. If it's during the holidays, expect it to be crazy no matter what. Same for race/marathon days. But if you're going in a "down" season or when there's no special event taking place, I bet you'll be fine. If you get there at 9:30 and it's not some crazy promo day, you should be able to get right through your turnstile. Also, just a hint, for whatever reason people will always get in line behind other people, even if there's an open turnstile to the left. There always seems to be open ones to the left that people ignore. So look around and head for one with no line or a short line when you get there, and they'll get you right on through.

Another tip- If there's a restaurant you wanted in but couldn't get a reservation to, try calling again a few days before your trip. There are cancellations and you might be able to snag one. You could also download the My Disney Experience app and check it for openings

 

[DC to Disney]

I feel like RD is worth it, but I don't get there crazy early. If MK opens at 9, we try to arrive by 8:30. By the time we get through security and through the tapstiles, we usually only have about 10 minutes to wait until the opening show starts.

 

[megster1123]

Most of the time I try to get early breakfast ADRs to get us into the park and avoid rope drop altogether. Is Rope drop worth it? Depends on two things: 1. If the rides you really want to get on are the most high demand rides and 2. If you can land Fastpasses for them. If you can snag Fastpasses for the rides you really want, no reason to kill yourself to be there early. If not, rope drop is sort of a must. But I think it also depends on the family. Our kids are very early risers, so getting breakfast at the condo and getting out the door to get to the parks early is no sweat off our backs. I think we honestly end up leaving later than we would on any normal weekday during the year.

How did the early ADR strategy work out for you? Right now that's my plan for our October trip - my kids are early risers, so that part won't bother them. I've got 4 early ADRs (8, 8:10, 8:03 & 8) hoping that I can bypass the cluster of waiting in the rope drop crowd.

 

[Susan Storm]

What time of year are you going, Susan? It kind of depends on when you'll be there. If it's during the holidays, expect it to be crazy no matter what. Same for race/marathon days. But if you're going in a "down" season or when there's no special event taking place, I bet you'll be fine. If you get there at 9:30 and it's not some crazy promo day, you should be able to get right through your turnstile. Also, just a hint, for whatever reason people will always get in line behind other people, even if there's an open turnstile to the left. There always seems to be open ones to the left that people ignore. So look around and head for one with no line or a short line when you get there, and they'll get you right on through.

Another tip- If there's a restaurant you wanted in but couldn't get a reservation to, try calling again a few days before your trip. There are cancellations and you might be able to snag one. You could also download the My Disney Experience app and check it for openings

We're going May 22nd-29th. These are really helpful tips! Thank you!! I will definitely check again for ADRs closer to our trip time.

 

[Susan Storm]

I think getting there at 9am should be fine? I think they let people in a little earlier than that so by that time I think the crowds would be in and you would be able to go right in? (plus you need some time for bag check/security) I'm going to bring my toddler for the first time too so I have been thinking about the same thing.

Hope you have a great time with your toddler!!

 

[brooke789]

We used our waiting for rope drop time to eat breakfast, apply sunscreen or make a last potty stop before RD. My last trip was with 2 year olds and it definitely did t feel like a waste of time!

 

[mco65]

Sounds like a catch-22.. wait in line so you don't have to wait in line!!!

I think the happy medium is getting there RIGHT on time... or 5 minutes before rope drop.. your not the first on the rides but still early enough to reduce the wait significantly.

 

[quagmire0]

How did the early ADR strategy work out for you? Right now that's my plan for our October trip - my kids are early risers, so that part won't bother them. I've got 4 early ADRs (8, 8:10, 8:03 & 8) hoping that I can bypass the cluster of waiting in the rope drop crowd.

The 8:00 or 8:10's work better, mostly because most of the early breakfasts are character breakfast buffets - so it takes you longer to go through the characters and get everyone's food, etc. etc. We've got an ADR for Be Our Guest for our upcoming trip and that sounds like it is perfect for getting into the parks early. You can order ahead of time online, and they bring the food out to you. You're not waiting on a waitress/waiter either. Most reports I've seen, people got in well head of the rope droppers and - in some cases - were able to ride 7DMT and/or Peter Pan a few times before the real crowds hit. That's all dependent on how early they let those early entry people proceed to the queue though.


When we've done the later ADR's (i.e. 8:30), we usually got into the park as the rope droppers were getting there.

 

[DopeyDame]

My son was absolutely miserable at rope drop when he was a toddler. So after one horrid morning, we started getting to the park 5 or 10 minutes after opening (as much as we could control it, given busses and stuff) It was SO much better. You still have an hour or two in the morning before the more intense crowds, and you aren't part of an enormous mob squeezing through the gates.

 

[tami82]

Last year when we went to Disney World for a short trip we did rope drop every day. We arrived early and we were stuck out in the heat in this huge cluster of people for at least 30 minutes. Everyone was cramming into each other and everyone was sweating (granted, it was June). After we got into the parks it was great to be able to walk onto a few rides without waiting - but the rope drops were always everyone's least favorite part of the day. My young kids would be getting bored and irritated. I guess I feel like maybe it's not worth waiting 30-40 minutes in a huge crowd of people to go on a few rides without lines. I'm thinking of this trip going in shortly after 9 AM, I already have FPs for the things I really want to see. I'm not trying to criticize anyone who loves rope drop. If I didn't have three kids (going on four) I probably wouldn't mind it, but as it is I feel like maybe it's not worth it.

Does anyone else have any opinions on whether or not to do rope drop? What's your daily touring strategy/schedule with little kids? Do the crowds thin down at the entrances around 9:30 or so? I know it'll mean waiting a little longer for rides - but I might prefer that to waiting in a crowd for 30-40 minutes.

Thank you in advance!

We never did rope drop, I didn't need any added stress to my vacation. ,we always wait until aroun 9:00, the busses were pretty empty and this always worked for us

 

[isabellea]

Continue checking for a pre-park ADR. I would simply arrive at the gate 5-10 minutes before opening. At MK, unless you want to ride PP, 7DMT or meet A&E all the rides are almost a walk-on for the first 30 min.

 

[seashell724]

We used our waiting for rope drop time to eat breakfast, apply sunscreen or make a last potty stop before RD. My last trip was with 2 year olds and it definitely did t feel like a waste of time!

Where did you take the kids to the bathroom before going in?

 

[Heidi K]

Magic Kingdom and Epcot have bathrooms before you go through the turnstiles (just ask a cast member). Not sure about the other parks.