Rope drop advantage up in smoke?

[georgina]

We've been off-site guests and went to MK on a Friday that had morning EMH and also MNSSHP. Got on Jungle Cruise and Pirates with little wait, then started using our FP. I wouldn't want to go to HS this fall at 9 AM though.

 

[yorkieteacher]

If you can't rope drop HS at 6 am, I would try to make fast passes for my three favorite rides as early as possible after 9 am. I keep reading HS will reach capacity crowds very early, and although I hope this won't be true, we are looking at worst case scenarios with our fall trip and planning on leaving at noon after our ADR and hoping to get back in for Fantasmic. I also keep reading on these boards that Disney is opening early/adding EMH every morning anticipating overflow crowds form Galaxy's Edge. I also hope this won't be true, but I would use the same strategy and have early fast pass times and get out of Dodge about noon, coming back later in the afternoon. We plan on attempting the pre dawn rope drop and take looooong afternoon naps!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We will be staying on property, so we will have access to EMH, but 6 a.m. is just too early for us -- my God, you have to be up at 4:30 a.m., at the latest!

I am thinking a couple of times, we might do the last hour of EMH, then zig when the rope drop crowd zags.

I'm thinking with EMH so very early, and having it every day, that it won't be packed every day. As another poster said, the top 3 headliners will already have long waits on most days, but 2nd tier FP attractions will still be light.

Otherwise it depends a little on what you mean by, 'little point" in making rope drop.

If you mean, there's little point in getting all crazy stressed to be first-at-rope-drop-crazy, then yes. I'm someone who recalls when the 2 frozen princesses were initially in Epcot, and every RD= a running of the bulls kind of Frozen Frenzy.

Ah, I like how you used my zig zag expression! (I'm honored that it has become part of the lexicon!)

If, on the other hand, you will be using the near-rope drop to take advantage of generally low crowds, then it may well still hold a good deal of value, but I think as always- crowds will vary from week to week and day to day. Some RD will be of more value than others.

Gosh, I think it was 2 years ago, we went to a MK EMH RD that was useless. Too few rides were open for the crowd level. This year's RD on an EMH day was much better.

I think I'll add though...I don't know that leaving As soon as EMH ends in the best practice. Generally, I'd say it is better to hop around noon. You see, hopping itself = lost park time. Hopping HS - Epcot is no big deal, but more or less all other hops, cost a fair chunk of time. the park crowds peak around 11:30-about4pm. In my humble opinion, if one is hopping during low-ish crowd hours then they are are missing out on the low-ish crowds. I think hopping around 12:30/after using one's 3rd FP (or thereabouts) is a better bet in most cases, especially given how FP+ works.

Though HS to Epcot is an exception, especially given the extreme early EMH of HS. Not only do you have to be up that early- what do you do for breakfast? You'd kinda have to do the granola bar on-the-go thing, then have a 2nd breakfast or very early lunch.

Another option I like in the very warm months, is to take advantage of the extreme EMH, then take a mid-day siesta. Though there's often those pesky late afternoon storms to consider.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I first posted the following back in 2009. We've found rope drop to be "pointless" for several years now.


Here's my favorite Rope Drop story:

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 rode the same ride 4 times in about an hour late at night and didn't have to deal with the crowds.

 

[SarahD112]

I'm thinking with EMH so very early, and having it every day, that it won't be packed every day. As another poster said, the top 3 headliners will already have long waits on most days, but 2nd tier FP attractions will still be light.

Otherwise it depends a little on what you mean by, 'little point" in making rope drop.

If you mean, there's little point in getting all crazy stressed to be first-at-rope-drop-crazy, then yes. I'm someone who recalls when the 2 frozen princesses were initially in Epcot, and every RD= a running of the bulls kind of Frozen Frenzy.

Ah, I like how you used my zig zag expression! (I'm honored that it has become part of the lexicon!)

If, on the other hand, you will be using the near-rope drop to take advantage of generally low crowds, then it may well still hold a good deal of value, but I think as always- crowds will vary from week to week and day to day. Some RD will be of more value than others.

Gosh, I think it was 2 years ago, we went to a MK EMH RD that was useless. Too few rides were open for the crowd level. This year's RD on an EMH day was much better.

I think I'll add though...I don't know that leaving As soon as EMH ends in the best practice. Generally, I'd say it is better to hop around noon. You see, hopping itself = lost park time. Hopping HS - Epcot is no big deal, but more or less all other hops, cost a fair chunk of time. the park crowds peak around 11:30-about4pm. In my humble opinion, if one is hopping during low-ish crowd hours then they are are missing out on the low-ish crowds. I think hopping around 12:30/after using one's 3rd FP (or thereabouts) is a better bet in most cases, especially given how FP+ works.

Though HS to Epcot is an exception, especially given the extreme early EMH of HS. Not only do you have to be up that early- what do you do for breakfast? You'd kinda have to do the granola bar on-the-go thing, then have a 2nd breakfast or very early lunch.

Another option I like in the very warm months, is to take advantage of the extreme EMH, then take a mid-day siesta. Though there's often those pesky late afternoon storms to consider.

I’d like your opinion...my original plan was to take advantage of EMH, schedule FP at same park for mid morning, allowing flexibility to hop wherever we wanted to for afternoon/evening. With the new schedule, would you stick with that plan - or do EMH and stay til crowds start to rise (noonish?) and schedule FP at a different park for late afternoon/early evening times? We will definitely have a resort break built in with these early hours. What I’m trying to decide is if it will be necessary to use FP in the morning, or if we’re better off saving them until later when all the parks are busier? It takes away the flexibility, if we’re locked into FP that I schedule 60 days out. And yes, they could be changed but I am hoping to get the rides new to us - FoP, FEA, SDD - so if I’m successful, I wouldn’t mess with changing them.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I’d like your opinion...my original plan was to take advantage of EMH, schedule FP at same park for mid morning, allowing flexibility to hop wherever we wanted to for afternoon/evening. With the new schedule, would you stick with that plan - or do EMH and stay til crowds start to rise (noonish?)

It takes away the flexibility, if we’re locked into FP that I schedule 60 days out. And yes, they could be changed but I am hoping to get the rides new to us - FoP, FEA, SDD - so if I’m successful, I wouldn’t mess with changing them.

I'd probably book your 60day FP at the EMH park for now, BUT it depends a little what your priorities are. If your 2nd park is AK -and FoP is a high priority, I'd aim NOW for a FP in AK for FoP whenever you plan to hop to AK.

Even on a busy MK day, I was able to modify some of our FP to earlier times, and to later book more FP- though I wasn't able to get everything all at once.

In MK, our 3 pre-booked FP were Splash, BTMRR, and Space - with the 1st FP at park opening. Right before the park opened, Splash went down- so the Splash FP became an anytime FP. I was able to move the BTMRR FP to RD. Initially I wasn't able to move the Space FP any earlier.
At RD, we rode BTMRR standby, then used the BTMRR FP. Splash just happened to open right then: 10min standby! Meanwhile, I checked again and was able to move our Space FP a few minutes earlier! After you use your 3rd FP, you're able to book your 4th.

Now I didn't see unlimited availability for the 4th FP, but over the course of the day, I got: HM, Pooh, JCruise, PotC. All - more or less - in rapid succession. I was also able to get later FP for: IaSW, Buzz, 2nd FP for Space, and even one for 7D! Between FP, we went on short-wait attractions like the teacups, and some non-FP attractions like the Peoplemover.

The only FP I never got was Peter Pan, so we rode it standby very late at night EMH, and the wait was only about 20minutes.

I'm not sure why you say you wouldn't be willing to later modify your FP. If a better FP option becomes available; you are free to modify your FP.

In my experience, on day 60 (before your trip), rides like FoP go quickly, but you get some ability to change times. From about day 59 to 1 day before your trip- people don't change their FP very much. On the actual day of your FP though, availability is again fluid.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I first posted the following back in 2009. We've found rope drop to be "pointless" for several years now.

I think everything you posted is accurate, but why not use both ends of the peripheral park hours?

We usually enter the parks about 15min after RD. Occasionally, ideal transportation timing=us unexpectedly arriving just before RD, but that's rare.

We also always try to use the PM park hours as much as possible. We find both ends of the peripheral park hours to be useful - most of the time, but not always. Often the parks are busy right up until midnight! While I generally agree that the PM peripheral hours are more relaxing, neither is foolproof.

Over many trips, many unexpected things have happened to us that kept us from being in the parks as many hours as we'd planned:

1. In the AM: ticket malfunctions, transportation woes, slow security, human error (like forgetting something important), very foul weather.
2. In the PM:ADR's that took WAY too long (seated 1hour+ after ADR time, problem with the bill, slow service, etc), transportation delays, very foul weather, someone gets too tired.*
3. On both ends: illness, injury, sore feet, we stop by the concierge desk/GS for something simple that takes forever, etc.

*We always say, "Those who can't keep up WILL be left behind!" but still, you know, at some point in the trip, alas, someone usually whines about having blisters or sore feet or says 5hours/night just wasn't enough sleep. Ugh!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I think everything you posted is accurate, but why not use both ends of the peripheral park hours?

Open to Close is just too long of a day for us and I'm not going to give up the pleasant evening hours for the chaos of the morning. Our current plan is to set up our first FP for around 9:30, giving us until 10:45 to arrive at the first attraction. I think we're late for those more often than not but haven't been denied entrance to anything yet.

We park hop almost every day and use the travel time as our mid-day breaks. We've always rented a vehicle so that we can move around at our own pace. Even in a Florida summer, a well packed cooler will keep snacks and drinks nice and cold throughout the day.

The latest strategy we've been using, which I learned about here, is to hop into a park in the evening that had morning EMH. The theory is that the earlier guests arrived, the earlier they will leave. We've hit MK using this method and found bumper to bumper traffic leaving the park at 8 pm. You can get a lot done after 8 pm.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Open to Close is just too long of a day for us and I'm not going to give up the pleasant evening hours for the chaos of the morning.

The latest strategy we've been using, which I learned about here, is to hop into a park in the evening that had morning EMH. The theory is that the earlier guests arrived, the earlier they will leave. We've hit MK using this method and found bumper to bumper traffic leaving the park at 8 pm. You can get a lot done after 8 pm.

It was a bit if a rhetorical question, but mid-day naps are another option, especially for folks staying onsite, to use both ends of the park hours.

Oh, we LOVE entering a park when others are leaving. My favorite is walking up Main St just after the parade on an EMH night with extra late hours! Especially when we have a good FP in hand!

The 'catch' in your plan is that a WDW park has to be open past 8pm!

You specifically mention summer, when afternoon breaks from the heat/downpours can be especially nice. We're not above toughing out a downpour in plastic ponchos, but sometimes it is also nice to avoid getting drenched. I also like getting in a few rides while the heat and humidity are low.

Mind, I also get what you're saying about RD feeling a bit frenzied and anxious. Whenever we have arrived before the official RD, the folks around us were just a bit crazed. Like rush hour traffic in the morning! Many of them hopped up on too much caffeine.

Whereas after dinner, well, maybe they had a nice meal, a little wine, and they've already walked a few miles. The lighting after dark is also very pretty.

Alas, I wish Universal had more PM hours! And better night shows.

 

[DisneyFive]

In MK, our 3 pre-booked FP were Splash, BTMRR, and Space - with the 1st FP at park opening. Right before the park opened, Splash went down- so the Splash FP became an anytime FP. I was able to move the BTMRR FP to RD. Initially I wasn't able to move the Space FP any earlier.
At RD, we rode BTMRR standby, then used the BTMRR FP. Splash just happened to open right then: 10min standby! Meanwhile, I checked again and was able to move our Space FP a few minutes earlier! After you use your 3rd FP, you're able to book your 4th.

Not being difficult, but doesn't this defeat the purpose of rope drop? (scheduling your FP's right at park opening?) We tend to start our FP's about an hour and a half after park opening so that we can go on headliners with low standby times before the crowds build.

Granted, on an EMH morning the crowds will be heavier in the morning than an non EMH day but it will still be far lower at rope drop than, say 11am. So go standby until crowds are at the typical heavy level, then start using FP's for those same or other headliners. We typically use our third FP right after lunch and start scheduling our 4th...

Dan

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

The 'catch' in your plan is that a WDW park has to be open past 8pm!

We prefer early June when summer hours are in place but the crowds and heat haven't taken over yet. We've not encountered any pre 8 pm closings since AK used to close at 6 or 7. Even then, the place would clear out around 3 and be virtually empty after that.

My kids like to ride the headliners over and over and over in the evenings, sometimes even making a competition out of it. The latest was 13 trips on Tower of Terror in just over 2 hours which may be a record that will never be broken. I did it a few times, but spent most of my time watching from a bench as they passed by every 9 - 11 minutes.

 

[bumbershoot]

I live 15 minutes away from Disneyland and already have my reservation for SW:GE there. So when I’m at WDW in September I have no reason to try and get into GE there

Are they exactly the same? If I were going to be at the parks when GE opened I’d either avoid both or go to both, personally. I say “go”.

 

[JETSDAD]

Not being difficult, but doesn't this defeat the purpose of rope drop? (scheduling your FP's right at park opening?) We tend to start our FP's about an hour and a half after park opening so that we can go on headliners with low standby times before the crowds build.

Granted, on an EMH morning the crowds will be heavier in the morning than an non EMH day but it will still be far lower at rope drop than, say 11am. So go standby until crowds are at the typical heavy level, then start using FP's for those same or other headliners. We typically use our third FP right after lunch and start scheduling our 4th...

Dan

We schedule our FP's starting at opening and normally move up our 2nd and 3rd FP's to use them within the first 1-1.5 hours of park open. We tend to show up right around RD rather than well in advance and can usually get a couple of rides done before lines build to where I'd rather not wait (why wait 20 minutes if you can use a FP and keep moving). Especially in tiered parks this helps to get through our first 3 FP's so we can keep adding more tier 1 FP's.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Not being difficult, but doesn't this defeat the purpose of rope drop? (scheduling your FP's right at park opening?) We tend to start our FP's about an hour and a half after park opening so that we can go on headliners with low standby times before the crowds build.

Dan

Not at all. Good question. At first, I thought so too, and back when we could only get 3 FP+ total - all day - then we NEVER booked them too early, always more mid-day.

This was specifically a spring break strategy. With high crowds, I was afraid early was our only shot at getting a decent 4th FP. On prior spring trips, I didn't have much luck getting a 4th FP. I mean we got a few, but only for low-tier options like Dumbo. Oh, yippee.

If you arrive early, you get almost an hour of RD standby before using the 1st FP. (Yes, I was still a little nervous using our 1st FP within an hour of RD, but BTMRR was already at 45+ when we used it.)

I didn't go crazy with refresh, but with some refresh effort, willingness to walk, and flexibility, after our pre-booked FP our extra FP included: Pooh, JC, Pirates, Space Mtn, 7D!, and later Buzz. Buzz FP was for like 2:45pm; little else was popping up. (Shh, before 3pm, we used 10+ FP.)

NO, it isn't a good strategy to book FP early in the day! DO NOT pick early FP times!

 

[Meglen]

If you are an offside guest are are unable to do the EMH just pretend they dont happen and make plans as normal. With all the parks having the same EMH it really is a moot point. Cant jump around and avoid the crowds like people normally would with EMH parks. Dont waste your time rushing to official park open imo. Just make plans for 9am and on if you can grab FPs.

I feel like disney wanted to have a easy way to limit people per park (only so many people can stay on property). get them in the parks super early and hope they will be out by lunch. So maybe best bet would be to head to the parks later in the day when all the early people are super tired from being up at 4am.

 

[Meglen]

NO, it isn't a good strategy to book FP early in the day! DO NOT pick early FP times!

um.. why not? with so many people in the parks all fall due to the EMH the only way to get on rides will be early morning FPs.. sorry but I dont agree with you at all. even with the lack of EMH i always book earlyer fps so I can see what other parks have or just refresh the day away.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

My kids like to ride the headliners over and over and over in the evenings, sometimes even making a competition out of it. The latest was 13 trips on Tower of Terror in just over 2 hours which may be a record that will never be broken. I did it a few times, but spent most of my time watching from a bench as they passed by every 9 - 11 minutes.

Oh, I don't think most folks could do ToT that many times! Wow!
We re-ride too, but most often BTMRR if we are doing more than 2 re-rides.

Oh, and MIB (at US), but I can only do that one so many times in a row. All that spinning.

Oh, when was it? Last year, or the year before....the summer hours were terrible. Now they keep having Halloween parties earlier and earlier. Ugh! Halloween in August? soon, they'll add Christmas parties that early. Ugh!


Still, I'm impressed.

 

[DisneyFive]

um.. why not?

My guess is they were joking but forgot the

Dan

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

If you are an offside guest are are unable to do the EMH just pretend they dont happen and make plans as normal. With all the parks having the same EMH it really is a moot point. Cant jump around and avoid the crowds like people normally would with EMH parks. Dont waste your time rushing to official park open imo. Just make plans for 9am and on if you can grab FPs.

I feel like disney wanted to have a easy way to limit people per park (only so many people can stay on property). get them in the parks super early and hope they will be out by lunch. So maybe best bet would be to head to the parks later in the day when all the early people are super tired from being up at 4am.

That's a 5 yard penalty. Replay the down.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

um.. why not? with so many people in the parks all fall due to the EMH the only way to get on rides will be early morning FPs.. sorry but I dont agree with you at all. even with the lack of EMH i always book earlyer fps so I can see what other parks have or just refresh the day away.

You didn't read the fine print, did you.