Rope Drop vs. Sleeping In

[Sleeping Becca]

Depending on where you are from (time zone), getting teens up early can be difficult. If you are on the east coast you shouldn't have a problem, the parks open at 9, so even if they wake up at 7:30 that has got to be later than what they are used to. Now if you are on the west coast forget about it!

I would make every possible effort to get to the parks at opening or within the first hour. It really is amazing what you can get done in that first hour.

If that is not possible, then just make wise use of FP and go with the flow.

Many folks don't get there at opening and still manage to have a great time, getting there early just gets you ahead of most folks.

Good luck and have a wonderful trip!

 

[Rainkiss]

Quite simply, let 'em sleep. Go to the park, do your thing. If they want to use Fastpasses, let them get their own, they've got no claim on the ones you picked up during the day (unless you decide you want to share, that is.) Take a cell phone, catch up with each other when they roll out of bed... and if you've got Fastpasses or have already dome something you don't to wait in line to do again, they can wait in line while you go do something else. If that works for them, great... and if not, they'll start getting up early.

 

[PAcpl]

It is just DW and myself and we tend to enjoy the adult side of Disney. We usually go to JellyRolls at night and its rare that we get back before 2am. That said, rope drops are non existent to us. Whenever anyone hears this they hit the floor and go into a whole discussion as to why im not visiting Disney the right way.

What is the right way?!?!? Everyone has a different expectation of Disney. Just make sure everyone is on the same page before you leave for vacation and you should be fine. There is no right way or wrong way to tour Disney, its just the way you prefer.

I would at least plan what parks to do each day though, that goes without saying.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

We are early birds so are usually at rope drop at MK. That said we always hop to a second park at 11:00am. Are we at a disadvantage at 11:00?
Not necessarly. We always have a good time at the 2nd park so I don't see how it would be different than sleeping in and starting at 11:00.

Do what works for you and when you get there things may change. Excitement may get them to rope drop.

 

[HaleyB]

I don't envy you. Here are a few ideas:

Try and try again to explain that you must get there early.

Join Ridemax and have your wife enter arrival times and rides they wish to go on for herself, then do yours and show her the difference.

Put the condition of the person who collects the FP is the only one who will use it on the table before you go. They obviously don't understand what sleeping in will cause, so I bet thy will agree that this is a reasonable thing to agree to.

See if you can create a plan with a sleep in day or two. If you go to a MNSSHP one night, everyone should sleep in the next day. Maybe plan a DTD Trip for that day.

If they refuse to get up early split up and make sure to remind everyone the night before of the FP use rule above. Do you have two rooms? I only ask because this does become a problem if half want to be in bed by 10 and the other half of the group stay up until 12 or later. We had this same issue with my oldest son for awhile, except he knew better than to expect anyone to give up a FP, lol.

And if all else fails, let go and remember Disney is not only about rides. Take in the sights and sounds and smells and stop to smell the roses. Enjoy each other's company in those long lines. Don't let it ruin things for you.

 

[KimK2006]

We will be at WDW 10/10 - 10/17. My daughter and I have been several times before, but my wife and step-children have never been. I am a planner and try to determine the least crowded park for the day, usually arrive at Rope Drop, tour until about 1 or 2, take a break, then return about 5 for the evening (may or may not be same park). My wife and step-children have said we will be on vacation and will be sleeping in and deciding on what we feel like doing when we get up and do not want any type of plan. Is this going to be a problem with crowds if we don't arrive at the parks until 11 or 12 and have no plan?

This is exactly what I would do. Tell your family you are leaving at X:XX if they want to go with you. If they are sleeping in, tell them to call you when they get there. (This is the great thing about cell phones in WDW!!!) Explain (don't preach) that they can do more in the first couple of hours the park opens (because everyone else is sleeping in) than they could do all afternoon. Tell them some FP's might be gone by the time they get there. If they are OK with that, so be it. (Don't reward them by giving them your FP's you obtained by getting them early or you will never get your point across.)

I LOVE my sleep. So does my DD, but we have been enough to know rope drop is the way to go! We usually go around the same time of the year you are going. It gets crowded! Because we are in the central time zone, we area really getting up an hour earlier in WDW. Because of this, we normally choose not to pick the park with morning EMH. It seems all non-EMH parks open at 9:00 am that time of the year. So, it isn't as if they will be rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn. We also eat breakfast in the room so we can get a few extra Z's in.

When we go for a week, we do schedule every 3rd day as a sleep in day. I believe that is important. But, every day does not need to be a sleep in day. (We, too, come back to the room each day for a break...swim, TV in room, etc.)

I would let the kids and you wife read about the crowds in Unofficial Guide or some other book. They might believe it more from an "outside" source.

 

[JT1962]

Thanks for all the replies. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being rude by going ahead and leaving when I planned and letting those sleep in that wanted to. There will probably be 3 that go early and 2 that sleep in.

We do have 2 waterpark days planned, so there will never be more than 3 early mornings in a row. We are on Central Time and the kids get up at 5:30 now for school, so there really should not be an issue getting up at 7:00 at Disney to get to the parks by a 9:00 AM opening.

 

[Pakey]

In over 20 vacations to WDW, we've never made a rope drop. It is possible to "vacation" at Disney. I realize we are in the minority but riding Soarin' or any other attraction doesn't make or break a vacation. Getting to the parks at 10 or 11 has always worked just fine for us. I'm sure I've waited in lines longer than the rope droppers do but we've had a great time, enough so that I'd never consider setting the alarm and getting up earlier to commando the parks.

I agree with PP, just have the late sleepers call you when they are ready to meet you somewhere. After one day of longer lines, they can decide for themselves whether or not they want to relax like that every day.

 

[Darcy03231]

My sister and BIL are the sleep in type and I'm the rope drop type. My kids and I just got up and got going. We let them know the night before which park we were going to be in. They'd call us when they got there. By that time we'd already ridden/seen quite a bit.

By the third day their kids were on them to get up and get going (I had my two to deal with and wasn't taking on her two).

I would just get up and get going and let whoever wants to sleep in join you later.

 

[DancingBear]

Put the condition of the person who collects the FP is the only one who will use it on the table before you go.

This is a good idea. Also, get the late shift to focus ahead of time on what couple of rides they definitely want to see at a given park, and as soon as they arrive go get Fastpasses for one of those.

 

[mossy1]

You need to impress upon your wife, especially since it's her first time there that WDW is not an (I'm on vacation) type of place to go. Disney is just not the place you go for relaxation. It’s exactly the opposite.

I agree with this statement but this is exactly why we as a family have decided to extent our stays to 2 weeks or longer. It gives you the opportunity to do both and make everyone happy. With some sleep in days(With a water park visit) usually following a late night. Now we do stay off site and have a car so it really opens up some other experiences for us. I used to be a total commando planner but have let up a bit with this new plan and it works well. My 2 cents YMMV. Have a great trip.

 

[henrylovespooh]

If there ever was a soap box issue for me, this would be it, so please excuse my rant. You need to impress upon your wife, especially since it's her first time there that WDW is not an (I'm on vacation) type of place to go. Disney is just not the place you go for relaxation. It’s exactly the opposite.

I couldn't agree more!

We go to WDW every year - for the past 7. Two years ago, my best friend, her husband and their two kids met us there. We are rope drop people and they are late sleepers. We just met up with them when they got to a park, and told our kids not to tell their kids how many rides they rode. I had to stay away from her husband, who complained about the long lines and crowds.

Before Soarin' and TSM, Epcot and MGM would be our sleep-in days, but now we try to get to each park around opening to maximize the mornings. We're morning people anyway, but I really like going to lunch knowing we've ridden all the "must-do" rides and can relax the rest of the day. I will say that we're not late night people, so we're usually out of the parks around 8 or 9. (kids are 6 and 7).

I like the idea of having a plan for the week, but letting the first day go so your wife and stepkids can see what it's like if you get there late. I also think that you should do what you want to get the most out of your trip, and if that means going early and enjoying the low crowds, you should do it.

 

[KellyNY]

Whatever you decide to do you should do together as a family. I do not think splitting in early and late groups is a good idea. Yes you want to enjoy Disney but you want enjoy each other in Disney as well, isn't it a point to go together in a first place. Do first day late, let them sleep, see what happens but if they still want to sleep in, go to parks later together, do not split your family in groups. And both of you can compromise, do half of the vacation early and half late.

 

[serene56]

I dont think going on a family vacation and splitting up is a good idea.

But curious to know-- when you say your family wants to sleep in-- what does that mean?

to me--sleeping in means getting up by 8am. How late do they want to sleep?

I agree with the poster that said Disney is not a relaxing vacation and I am wondering if she will be dissapointed to learn that.

 

[KimK2006]

I don't see it as they would be "splitting up" for the whole day. I see it as those who wanted to get an early start would go on to the park and those who wanted to sleep in would meet up with the early birds when they arrived. It's not as if they will be spending "quality time" together if the early birds sit in the room waiting for the sleepy heads to wake up.

 

[Rainkiss]

Heck, my husband wants to hit the water parks this trip. Me, I swim like a rock. I'll go... but if he wants to go more than once to each park, he may very well go without me while I go spend the day at Animal Kingdom instead.

 

[KellyNY]

I don't see it as they would be "splitting up" for the whole day. I see it as those who wanted to get an early start would go on to the park and those who wanted to sleep in would meet up with the early birds when they arrived. It's not as if they will be spending "quality time" together if the early birds sit in the room waiting for the sleepy heads to wake up.

It is their first Disney vacation as a family, they should experience everything together from ME to every single ride. Early birds can spend a perfect time at a pool or arcade while the rest of the family still catching ZZZZs. It's about family time IMO.

 

[wmharley]

I dont think going on a family vacation and splitting up is a good idea.

But curious to know-- when you say your family wants to sleep in-- what does that mean?

to me--sleeping in means getting up by 8am. How late do they want to sleep?

I agree with the poster that said Disney is not a relaxing vacation and I am wondering if she will be dissapointed to learn that.

what is the difference between this and splitting up in the park to see other rides...

there isn't any, other than the risers get to see more in the AM...

 

[PrincessBetsy]

You should definitely try and convince your family to go to rope drop. Tell them how many rides they could get done in the time that they would still be sleeping. You should also mention that WDW is usually not a place for rest and relaxation - you can always sleep at home. If they still don't want to get up early for rope drop, you and your daughter could go to the parks early and have the rest of your family meet you in the parks later. If you don't want to split up for a little while, you and your daughter could go explore the resort, go swimming, shopping, or play in the arcade until they wake up. When I'm at WDW, I usually don't want to spend time sleeping or sitting in the room, when I could be out experiencing the magic. Sending pixie dust your way and I hope everything works out. Have a magical trip!!

 

[Conan the Librarian]

We hardly ever do rope drop any more. We go 3 to 5 times a year, so, why rush.

We did have an 8:05 at the Crystal Palace on Wednesday past. After breakfast, we were at the rope for getting into Adventureland and were first on the Jungle Cruise that day. We were all but trampled by folks trying to get to Splash Mountain.

Everything else we did that week was later in the day.

The last real rope drop we did was last March at DHS. We wanted a FP for TStory, but, we won't ever do that again.