Rope Drop Help!

[mrsmomo]

Great advice! I've even printed Robo's post to have the times and advice at my fingertips when we go this winter.

Now I just need to convince the rest of my party that the Main Street Bakery is not the first ride at rope drop.

Who's Robo and no way were not stopping for food b4 we get on a ride!

 

[BlueFairy]

Who's Robo and no way were not stopping for food b4 we get on a ride!

Even if you ride at least one ride and then eat, you will only eat about 15 minutes later than eating first. That might save you 30 minutes in line at a mountain.

Robo is the one who posted detailed opening procedures for each park earlier in this thread.

 

[Stefecatzz]

Here's what's been happening with Theme Park Openings:

Only MK still offers an actual Rope Drop SHOW along with an inside-the-gates holding area.
MK Gates open approx. 15-20 min. "early."
But, the Rope Drop show is timed so that guests will actually enter the PARK very near the actual opening time.

MK's Rope Drop Ceremony called "Magic Kingdom Welcome" (see location HERE.)

Guests are usually admitted starting about 15-20 minutes before
the posted opening time, to WAIT just inside the gates, in front of the train station (near the "flower Mickey face.")

The ceremony lasts 6-7 minutes or so and starts 6-7 minutes before the scheduled opening time.
There is also a "mini" version (far less "hoopla") that lasts about 2-3 minutes.
There is also an "AUDIO ONLY" version (no characters at all) that lasts under minute.
Which one you will see can be tough to guess.

----------------------------------

DAK no longer offers a Rope Drop SHOW,
AND recently, no longer has an inside-the-park guest holding area.
DAK Gates open approx. 15 min. "early," and guests can enter the park and head
for their attractions of choice at that time.

Epcot does not offer an internal Rope Drop SHOW,
AND no longer offers an inside-the-gates holding area.
There might be a "Welcome to Epcot" audio recording played as a chosen family waves "hello"
to other guests, maybe some confetti involved. (But, it is far below what could be called a "Show.")
Epcot gates (including the International Gateway) will likely open approx. 15 min. "early."
(Sometimes, on rare occasions when the park is very busy... as much as 30 minutes early.)

DHS no longer offers a Rope Drop SHOW.
DHS Gates likely open approx. 15 min. "early."
(DHS has opened as much as 30 min. early, but that's not been the case every day.)

AM EMH entrance times seem to not be affected (figure entering 2-10 minutes before the AM EMH time, as usual.)
On AM EMH days, MK will offer some form of their Rope Drop Show
(may or may not be the "full show")
only for AM EMH guests,
and no show at all for the regular hours open time that morning.

As always, for better positioning in the crowds, arrive well before the posted opening time at all parks.

If staying at a WDW resort, plan to be at the bus stop about 45 min. before you want to ARRIVE at a given park.
(Arriving far too early beats arriving just a minute or two late.)

If driving:
Be at the parks' parking lot at least an hour before scheduled opening time.

Thanks for taking the time to post this!

Great information for someone like me who's planning on doing RD but never has before! (especially at MK)

 

[mrsmomo]

Oh Robo yes thank you. I guess I should pay more attention to the poster and not just the content of the post

 

[NavyDad]

So if were running late say we dont leave csr until like 8:45 is it then better to wait for initial crowds to enter and go @ 9:30?

No

 

[mawatcha]

What time do buses start running from resorts to get you to the parks before rope drop? Never done it before but thinking it could be wise for MK to try and get an early ride on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

 

[nighttowll]

What time do buses start running from resorts to get you to the parks before rope drop? Never done it before but thinking it could be wise for MK to try and get an early ride on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

Officially Disney states that buses start running 1 hour before opening time and end 1 hr after closing. DTD Disney buses stop at 2 am.

However, unofficially, they usually run a little earlier and a little later than that. For instance, I've never had an issue getting a 7:00 bus when the MK opens at 9:00 because it's actually open for breakfast reservations at 8:00 if that makes sense, so 7:00 is one hour before the 8:00 breakfast opening time, even though 9:00 is the official park opening time.

So in practice, I've found they really run more like 2 hrs before and after, not one.

But I wouldn't push the closing window too much as you don't want to get stuck with a cab if Disney decides to only go 1 hr after since that is the official written policy.

 

[shocker]

So if were running late say we dont leave csr until like 8:45 is it then better to wait for initial crowds to enter and go @ 9:30?

I was trying to rationalize sleeping til @ least 8, I mean its vacation right?! But its a short one and we wont have a second day of MK so rope drop is the best plan of attack!

These comments are why I LOVE rope drop discussions AND why there are so few people at actual rope drop. Many will talk, few will do.

Lots of people like to enter the park 10-30 minutes after opening and say they were there at rope drop, they were close, but no cigar.

People will suggest arriving at a certain time, but where exactly, parking the car, ticket turnstile, or end of MK hub waiting for a land to open. MK eats the most transportation time in and out with car, tram, ferry/monorail and is the one park where bus from csr would be HIGHLY recommended. If I were driving from csr and really wanted to make RD, I would be turning on my car ignition 1.25-1.5 hours before stated opening time. Once there you also have to allow bag check time.

If you get there before they start letting people in it will seem like there are lots of people, but once inside the crowds will head different directions and yes, some will stop to eat, shop, use restroom, etc.

If you get there before they let people in your DH will have a wait, I always remind the fam that this is the shortest wait of the day. You can plan to while away time by applying sunscreen, eating breakfast (muffin, banana, juice), reviewing map and times guide, etc. while waiting for them to let you enter.

Don't sleep til 8. Sleep from 3-5.

 

[mrsmomo]

Lol this is the plan lets see how they do!

 

[Dean1953]

Assuming that I get to the MK line 45 minutes before RD, is there a specific, tried and true, touring plan to go to specific rides, in a specific order, to get the maximum value of riding as many top tier rides as many times as possible before wait times get to 30 minutes plus? Or, do some people go by which ride has the least amount of people in line? I'll be there from December 21-January 3 and don't expect to ride anything after 11, except for FP plus choices.

 

[BlueFairy]

Assuming that I get to the MK line 45 minutes before RD, is there a specific, tried and true, touring plan to go to specific rides, in a specific order, to get the maximum value of riding as many top tier rides as many times as possible before wait times get to 30 minutes plus? Or, do some people go by which ride has the least amount of people in line? I'll be there from December 21-January 3 and don't expect to ride anything after 11, except for FP plus choices.

I used to use a touring plan from touringplans.com or Ride Max. Since FP+ I don't have experience, but TP always got us a lot done.

 

[nighttowll]

Assuming that I get to the MK line 45 minutes before RD, is there a specific, tried and true, touring plan to go to specific rides, in a specific order, to get the maximum value of riding as many top tier rides as many times as possible before wait times get to 30 minutes plus? Or, do some people go by which ride has the least amount of people in line? I'll be there from December 21-January 3 and don't expect to ride anything after 11, except for FP plus choices.

Yes, try one of the plans from the Touring Plans site.

You can't tell which lines have the least amount of people just from looking.

You're best bet is to choose a plan that fits your family. Then study the maps beforehand and become familiar with your way around. You won't have time to wander around lost. Plan out your route ahead of time, know any shortcuts, and try to stay on track as much as possible. Try to resist snacks, shopping, bathroom breaks, play areas, etc. until 11. Focus on moving as quickly and efficiently as possible from one attraction to the next. Try to do shorter attractions first, so you can fit the most in. Don't do a 30 minute show first for instance.

Good luck, I can't imagine how crowded it will be at Christmas.

 

[gcrb28]

We plan on doing AM EMH at MK on Thursday, July 10th and we have reservations to eat at Kona in POLY at 11:00. Since we are staying at SSR who's buses tend to take awhile, and since we will have our own car is it possible, and if so would it be better for me to drive to POLY and park say 30 mins before EMH begins and ride the monorail to MK? Didn't know how flexible they are on parking at POLY for a reservation that doesn't start for 4 hours. I am trying to avoid driving to POLY just to be turned around and having to get back in line for the parking lot.

 

[cheermouse]

If it is early magic hours at MK, is the rope drop at 8:00 or earlier.

 

[Mickeygolf]

Assuming that I get to the MK line 45 minutes before RD, is there a specific, tried and true, touring plan to go to specific rides, in a specific order, to get the maximum value of riding as many top tier rides as many times as possible before wait times get to 30 minutes plus? Or, do some people go by which ride has the least amount of people in line? I'll be there from December 21-January 3 and don't expect to ride anything after 11, except for FP plus choices.

You need to familiarize yourself with the Easy WDW website. Josh will give you wonderful cheat sheets of how to tour and why you're doing it that way. His best and least park recommendations are really good and have provided us a wonderful touring experience everytime we've used his advice. Touring plans is also a highly recommended site but I've never used it so can't give any advice there.

 

[nighttowll]

If it is early magic hours at MK, is the rope drop at 8:00 or earlier.

It depends. EMH will always be 1 hr before official park opening. So when the park opens at 9:00, EMH is at 8:00. When the park opens at 8:00, EMH is at 7:00.

Park opening time varies by season and by park, so you have to look for the park hours for the specific day you plan to go. Disney is also known for changing these times, shortening them or extending them, based on current crowds when it gets closer to the actual date, so you should always check a few few weeks out, and then again, the week of or night before to make sure the hours haven't changed.

Rope Drop is the first time the park opens, so it's the start of the EMH time whenever that is. Arriving with all the non resort guests even early for official opening won't give you much of a benefit as the resort guests will all have been in the parks for an hour already. Also, EMHs attract larger crowds since they group all the resort guests in one park together, so once the benefit of the EMH hour is up, you end up in a worse crowd situation than normal and are better off to hop to a non EMH park for the afternoon.

 

[epsmith921]

Just wanted to say that after our last trip in September 2013 we are full rope drop converts! Take a nap later or go to bed earlier, but it's just plain luxurious to be in the parks with much lower crowds and shorter waits. I know it was September, but we got so much done only spending a couple hours a day at rope drop with our 2.5 year old. I think the latest we left the park was noon. So between opening and noon over only 3 days we did Peter Pan, pooh, dumbo more times than I can count, magic carpets, haunted mansion, pirates, buzz, philharmagic, carousel more times than I can count, little mermaid, monsters inc, and had castle breakfast, crystal palace breakfast, and rode the train around the park at night. Kiddo didn't have to wait much and husband liked the breathing room! It was amazing and worth the early alarms!

 

[nighttowll]

Came across this link.

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...seven-dwarfs-mine-train-media-event-closures/

For those of you who have been asking how early to arrive, and why some of us say 45-to an hour before official opening, Josh has some crowd picks of people waiting at RD at MK that he time stamped. You can get a good idea of how crowded it can get fast during the busier times of the year, and these pics aren't even of summer crowds.

 

[mrsmomo]

Thanks that was an awesome article. It actually helps a lot. We hadn't made definitive touring plans yet but seems like my path is becoming clearer.

While we have never seen the opening ceremony due to A&E and hopefully 7DMT will open before we go maybe a few mins after 9 will be the best time to enter so that we dont get trampled by the NFL stampede