I’ve got to be honest, I find the magic bands most convenient. They hold the ticket info, fast passes, photo pass, etc...all on your wrist.
I’ve never done a character meal because they are expensive (and because meeting characters just isn’t that important to my group). I believe some of the morning character meals are slightly less expensive (but don’t quote me on that). I’d check out the dining / restaurant threads because I’m sure there’s some great advice for eating on a budget. You can start a thread over there too. We like Blaze pizza at Disney Springs. It’s fast food but you still get to sit down inside and have a nice pizza (where you pick all the toppings from the sauce up).
You can share entrees at sit down restaurants (unless your on the dining plan I believe). I plan on sharing meals with my niece because she eats like a bird and I don’t want to pay for an extra meal for that.
Rope drop just means showing up to the park for opening. Usually, you want to be there 30+ minutes before opening, depending on the park and what you’re trying to get done. A lot can be accomplished in the first hour or two each day, before the parks fill up closer to 11-12. If you’re staying on site, you can enjoy the extra magic hours. They are 1hr before park opening and 1-2hr after Park closing. Different parks have a different EMH days...so you have to check the park hours to find out which parks have EMh on which days.
