Rope Drop or sleep in?

[arielmomma]

We are not rope droppers. We prefer to close down the parks. In our numerous trips we've never had trouble accomplishing everything we wanted to do. If your natural vacation rhythm is to sleep in and stay out late go for it! If you'd rather get up early, then do that. You'll have fun either way so long as it is best for your family. For mine, my kids are far more pleasant if we sleep in. Plus, for us, we really enjoy experiencing the parks at night.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

How long are you going for? For trips of more than a week we tend to do RD for the first half and then sleep in for the second half - the best of both worlds!

11 nights / 10 park days

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

How old are the kids? We have always done both (that means listening to the h whine about "early"!) with an afternoon break for swimming to get out of the heat and a short nap.

They will be 4 (almost 5) and 7. They don't take naps anymore. They are little party animals! It's not uncommon for me to catch them up after midnight on a school night lol. This past September we closed the parks every night except the nights the park was closed and just one night my little one wanted to go back to the resort so me and my 6 yo stayed at F&W to the end.

 

[Tomh]

At home, DW, DD, and DS all sleep in. I am the only one that regularly gets out of bed early. As a matter of fact, when I started writing this response (I was delayed by a power outage) it was 9:07, I had been up for almost 2 hours, and I was the only one in the family that was awake.

At Disney, they all manage to get out of bed, and make it to the parks in time for RD. The first hour and a half to two hours in the park you can get so much done, it is well worth getting up early for.

Honestly, we usually are there from park open until park close, and always have done it that way, even when the kids were younger. However, many here on the DIS will be at RD, and spend the first few hours in the parks, then leave for a mid day break, go for a swim, lunch, maybe a nap, and return to the parks around dinner time to spend the evening. You may find this strategy works well for you, allowing the kids some quiet time in the middle of the day might allow them to enjoy the short lines and cooler temperatures of RD, and the evening entertainment as well.

 

[leahlefler]

We were there over President's Day week and we rope dropped AND did a few late nights. We actually had better luck during the EMH late night hours than rope dropping, particularly for EPCOT, though this might be due to the crowd levels during a holiday week. We found rope dropping essential for the MK.

We rope dropped EPCOT and went to Frozen first (we had fast passes for Test Track, SE, and Mission Space). We waited about 20 minutes for FEA, and by the time we were off that ride Test Track was already 70 minutes and Soarin was also 70 minutes. With our fast passes, the only ride we really waited for was Soarin (waited about 90 minutes for it). The next day, we went late and did EMH. We actually got to EMH late and only had an hour, but in that hour we rode Test Track (10 minute wait), Mission Space Orange (walk on), and Soarin (walk on). It was fantastic. We will definitely do late night EMH at EPCOT again.

HS didn't take a whole day so we got there late and just used our fast passes. Didn't do Rock N Roller Coaster, but did all of the other rides with fast passes (we had FP for TSMM, ToT, and Star Tours). Watched all the Star Wars shows and Muppet Vision. Got there about 10 am and left after the Star Wars Fireworks.

At MK, we had really bad luck this trip. Lots of major headliners down, and my kids are now too old for the kiddie rides in Fantasyland. We did do the morning EMH and rode Buzz and the tea cups (Space broken and Mine Train was up to 70 minutes during EMH). We rope dropped Frontierland at main park opening and walked on Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion. We park hopped over to AK after that.

Never did do EMH at AK, and were able to do everything we wanted to do without rope dropping or staying late. We LOVED AK this trip. We had fast passes for FoP. Rode it three times during our trip, one time stand-by. We got in line 5 minutes before park closing and the wait was 70 minutes, not the stated 180 minutes. It was fantastic. Rode Safari twice, saw FoTLK, rode Dinosaur, and rode EE a bazillion times. The ride was nearly a walk-on after the first RoL show. I think AK is my new favorite park.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

We are night owls too. Staying until closing was, and still is, our favorite thing to do. We have tried rope drop a few times and it is just not enjoyable for us because we are straining ourselves to get going and then are tired getting through the rest of the day. I think what is best for everyone is to try and keep with what fits with your family's natural schedule the most. If you are morning people, then rope drop seems like the logical answer, why not head to the park if you are already up and going? But if you like to stay up at night and sleep in during the mornings, then rope drop is not necessary. We do not personally like taking breaks in the afternoon either, when we are at the parks we want to stay there. So we miss rope drop so we have a more enjoyable time later on. You can also get a lot done towards the end of the evening too, especially late EMH, because everyone that rope dropped that morning heads home! If your little ones are consistently up after midnight, MK late hours are great and the atmosphere is one of our favorites!

 

[PPFlight75]

Looking for some advice. We are night owls and love to sleep in on vacation. Not really late, like 8:00 - 9:00 but I was talking to my better half and I threw out the idea of getting up really early most morning and doing RD. Of course if we do that, we would not stay out as late with our kids. We will be going in September which isn't really the slow time anymore but if we can do more in the morning and relax in the evenings, it may end up being a better vacation. The only drawback is I absolutely LOVE F&W. So Dissers, which to you prefer? RD or Closing the park? I know at least 2 nights we will stay out late. Once for F&W and at least once for MNSSHP. I have done the early ADR once but I have never did RD. Ever.

We are RDers. We RD most days but also have a few sleep in days where we may or may not do something those evenings(dinner,park, etc.). My kids get pretty tired, even the teenagers, so we rarely stay out too late anyway. I like to get up early and go to the parks and keep my evenings open for relaxing, enjoying our resort, dinner, swimming, etc. except for a few evenings to see fireworks.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We are night owls too. Staying until closing was, and still is, our favorite thing to do. We have tried rope drop a few times and it is just not enjoyable for us because we are straining ourselves to get going and then are tired getting through the rest of the day. I think what is best for everyone is to try and keep with what fits with your family's natural schedule the most. If you are morning people, then rope drop seems like the logical answer, why not head to the park if you are already up and going? But if you like to stay up at night and sleep in during the mornings, then rope drop is not necessary. We do not personally like taking breaks in the afternoon either, when we are at the parks we want to stay there. So we miss rope drop so we have a more enjoyable time later on. You can also get a lot done towards the end of the evening too, especially late EMH, because everyone that rope dropped that morning heads home! If your little ones are consistently up after midnight, MK late hours are great and the atmosphere is one of our favorites!

Well, I have to make a decision by the 9th. Our 180 day ADR is on the 10th. We're not booking any breakfast since we're staying CL so that will open up more time in the mornings, then there is the MNSSHP nights to consider. I know we will do one party, want to do 2 but not sure yet. Decisions decisions lol

 

[LSUmiss]

Looking for some advice. We are night owls and love to sleep in on vacation. Not really late, like 8:00 - 9:00 but I was talking to my better half and I threw out the idea of getting up really early most morning and doing RD. Of course if we do that, we would not stay out as late with our kids. We will be going in September which isn't really the slow time anymore but if we can do more in the morning and relax in the evenings, it may end up being a better vacation. The only drawback is I absolutely LOVE F&W. So Dissers, which to you prefer? RD or Closing the park? I know at least 2 nights we will stay out late. Once for F&W and at least once for MNSSHP. I have done the early ADR once but I have never did RD. Ever.

I think it depends on how much of a night owl you are. We are night owls too & I’ve done RD before & was miserable. It’s not about waking up early b/c I can do that. It’s that we are not morning ppl. So we were in MK thinking “why did we do this?”. We didn’t enjoy being there that early. Maybe you can get more done. But, the experience I enjoy is more than just crossing to stuff off a list for me.

 

[Farro]

11 nights / 10 park days

That's a nice long trip. We stay 9 nights usually.

I will say we used to do rope drop all the time. It is worth it for getting a lot of rides done early. But with the "new" fast pass, it really did allow us to do less early mornings. I mean, we were still in the parks by open on some days, taking advantage of less people. But being as we are there for so long, we really enjoyed being able to schedule rides for the early afternoon and strolling in around 11!

I think you can do rope drop once for each park, then take it easy.

Fast pass changed the way we vacation, but in a good way!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

That's a nice long trip. We stay 9 nights usually.

I will say we used to do rope drop all the time. It is worth it for getting a lot of rides done early. But with the "new" fast pass, it really did allow us to do less early mornings. I mean, we were still in the parks by open on some days, taking advantage of less people. But being as we are there for so long, we really enjoyed being able to schedule rides for the early afternoon and strolling in around 11!

I think you can do rope drop once for each park, then take it easy.

Fast pass changed the way we vacation, but in a good way!

We only did one pre park ADR Nov 2016. Slept in till 8-9 most days and still rode plenty. We not ever in a hurry to ride every ride. We make a circle around the park with our FP in order so we don't have to bak track if possible. But honestly, early park days and late resort time is very tempting. We are staying Atrium Club Level at the Contemporary so we will be able to watch the fireworks from our balcony. We did Bay Lake view in 2016 and it was really nice but this past September we did theme park view and it really was awesome to relax on the balcony with a cold adult beverage while watching the fireworks and the girls loved it!

 

[Lovetherodent]

If I had 10 days in the parks, I'd sleep in if that were my rhythm. You should have plenty of time to do as you please and multiple park days to collect and use your fastpasses. We're RD to Evening show people mainly because we're trying to cram it all in in about 4 park days. Last time I went, I had two college kids. Both were no strangers to naps. Loved the afternoon nap, in fact. This time? Night shift nurse and one college kid (almost done). Still expecting they'll be snoozing by the pool.

 

[85glht]

Sleep in!! It’s your vacation.

 

[RocketCityMama]

We usually rope drop most of our days, take midday breaks and head back in the evenings for closing. On nights there is late EMH like for MK, then we sleep in the next morning because we will stay until the closing time midnight or whatever it is when we go. Our upcoming trip we have 9.5 park days, some will be RD mornings and others not so much due to breakfast reservations, but that's OK!

 

[Davey Jones II]

Rope drop is best for riding non-headliners, because most people go to the headliners first thing in the morning. That's fine if you already have fast passes for the superstar attractions.

The best time to ride headliners, though, is just before a park's closing time. The waits are always much shorter. We tend to go to bed later and later during a trip, so, if you're like us, you could try rope drop early in a trip and park close toward the end.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Rope drop is best for riding non-headliners, because most people go to the headliners first thing in the morning. That's fine if you already have fast passes for the superstar attractions.

The best time to ride headliners, though, is just before a park's closing time. The waits are always much shorter. We tend to go to bed later and later during a trip, so, if you're like us, you could try rope drop early in a trip and park close toward the end.

We always close the park and yes the lines are really short. 2016 me and my 6 year old (5 at the time) rode 7DMT back to back 3 times once at park close. The last time was past closing and the CM motioned us to go back on. We were the very last to ride. It's a rare thing to be the only ones on 7DMT! Glad I got the pic

 

[Davey Jones II]

Well, I have to make a decision by the 9th. Our 180 day ADR is on the 10th. We're not booking any breakfast since we're staying CL so that will open up more time in the mornings, then there is the MNSSHP nights to consider. I know we will do one party, want to do 2 but not sure yet. Decisions decisions lol

When we do MSSSHP, we always save it for our last park day, the day before we are scheduled to leave. We don't have regular park tickets for that day. We use that day to sleep in, pack, maybe go swimming, and other things we didn't get around to yet. Then we head to MK for 4 p.m., and plan to stay 'til closing (it helps if your flight the next day is not an early one).

 

[BrookieM2001]

Ok, so i am going to go against the grain here and say we NEVER use RD. We have kids similar to yours, they had no problem making it to the end of MNSSHP a couple of years ago when they were 5 and 2. Everyone rolled their eyes and acted like we were crazy for thinking our kids wouldnt be like the majority and fall asleep at 9pm, but thats not our family. We close down the parks every single night at Disney. Due to that, i tend to set an alarm and get up at 8, and have to wake the kids around 8:45 to get to the parks to 10ish. We use TP to plan our entire trips, and when we went in september/october, we NEVER waited more than 20 minutes for anything. We followed our personalized plans and got the FPs we wanted and never had an issue seeing everything we wanted with large blocks of open time at the end of the evening for us to fly by the seat of our pants, so to speak. I think if your family likes nighttime and not so much mornings, i say travel the way its best for youa nd skip the RD.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

When we do MSSSHP, we always save it for our last park day, the day before we are scheduled to leave. We don't have regular park tickets for that day. We use that day to sleep in, pack, maybe go swimming, and other things we didn't get around to yet. Then we head to MK for 4 p.m., and plan to stay 'til closing (it helps if your flight the next day is not an early one).

We drive. It's only 7 hours. We leave on Sunday and we have found that the Tuesday night party is the least crowded. Locals are less likely to keep their kids up that late when they can just go on the weekend. We did Tuesday and Sunday night on our last trip. We decided to stay till Monday due to missing 2 park days when Irma came through and Sunday night was at least twice as crowded as Tuesday was.

 

[VFL]

Just got home today. We never RD. Now thT the kids are older(12) and (9) closing is much easier. Did EMH on wed (park open until midnight) and rode so many rides