Rope dropping is becoming a worse experience

[Silock]

There are still the same amount of people rope dropping, but before, many would head straight to a fast pass machine and go ride something that may not have a long wait.

Now, you have everyone going immediately to the rides without stopping to get a fastpass. It makes something like TSMM a nightmare.

 

[Robo]

There are still the same amount of people rope dropping, but before, many would head straight to a fast pass machine and go ride something that may not have a long wait.

Now, you have everyone going immediately to the rides without stopping to get a fastpass. It makes something like TSMM a nightmare.

 

[summermac]

Based on what I've read so far, RD is still working for most people.
Is this firsthand experience or speculation? (Not being rude, just wondering.)

 

[FirstTimeDisneyDad]

The number of people who were going to a FP machine pales in comparison to the overall number of guests going into the ride during those first 10 minutes of open.

The easy answer is to be at the front of the pack. Belly on the rope has always been the goal of our family...and will continue to be for those morning rushes.

 

[mmafan]

if its that bad you could always pack up and go home........its VACATION>>>have fun

 

[wisblue]

Going to TSMM stopped being a nightmare when they stopped using rope drop at DHS. The flow of guests through the gates creates some natural spacing that eliminates the crush that used to exist.

Maybe the standby line is building up faster than it did before, but I don't think that has been proven, especially if you compare to ACTUAL wait times instead of POSTED wait times. Based on what they have done forever, even before FP existed, I would expect Disney to be "blocking" the line at popular attractions like TSMM and posting large wait times immediately to deter some guests from entering the line. Guests who already have a FP+ reservation for TSMM may be that much more inclined to skip the line.

It would also seem that the rush to the ride should be offset by offsite guests who are rushing to a FP+ kiosk to get their FP+ reservations for later in the day.

 

[Silock]

if its that bad you could always pack up and go home........its VACATION>>>have fun

Actually, I can't. And vacations are supposed to be fun, not a logistics nightmare.

 

[nugov2]

So instead of running as fast as you can knocking people out of your way to get to the FP machine(a concept I don't understand b/c we didn't have to do this to get FP for everything) and supposedly a perk to FP+ you are now running to a ride as fast as you can.

We were in the parks before RD everyday, so I guess this will continue to be our plan when we go in the future. People are going to start making throwaway dining reservations soon and pay the no show fee just to get into the parks early and beat the RD people

 

[Silock]

The number of people who were going to a FP machine pales in comparison to the overall number of guests going into the ride during those first 10 minutes of open.

The easy answer is to be at the front of the pack. Belly on the rope has always been the goal of our family...and will continue to be for those morning rushes.

Front of the pack works if you can get through. Lots of turnstile glitches in front of us and we didn't get to TSMM until 9:10. And there are always people running or walking so fast they might as well be running. Waited 35 minutes. That's insane for a RD time. We used to get in line at 9:10 and wait maybe 5 minutes.

 

[AThrillingChase]

My only problem with RD a couple of weeks ago was my mom not getting up and ready in time! But through a combo of actually getting there early, and watching the times on MDE like a mad woman tapping my foot, I could see that waits for everything were low (10, 15, 20 min) until about 10am, 10:30 where they of course jumped significantly. That seemed pretty normal timing to me.

I will say the RD crowd outside of MK during our early CRT ADR looked pretty busy for 8:15, or at least busier than I recall seeing. The scariest line though, was for the FP machines around 10:30AM...

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm confused...how is this making it worse than before?

 

[FLchick415]

I took a trip in December, and we did RD at DHS. Went straight to TSMM and had a very short wait in line. There were people running, yes (I actually couldn't believe it. I'd heard stories, but to see it for myself....wow) but it didn't seem to affect our wait.

 

[crazymomof4]

Based on what I've read so far, RD is still working for most people.
Is this firsthand experience or speculation? (Not being rude, just wondering.)

I was wondering the same thing. I've not been to wdw since FP+, so I am reserving any personal opinion at this time. But I had two friends visiting this past week. BOTH "seasoned" WDW guests, they kept in touch via texting throughout their trips and both reported that FP+ worked fine. They got done all they wanted to do and then some. Of course, the 1st week in Feb is low crowds, but it is comparative to when we go in Sept.

 

[Silock]

I'm confused...how is this making it worse than before?

SB lines build more quickly than they did before, decreasing the number of things you can get done before mid-day.

 

[wisblue]

Front of the pack works if you can get through. Lots of turnstile glitches in front of us and we didn't get to TSMM until 9:10. And there are always people running or walking so fast they might as well be running. Waited 35 minutes. That's insane for a RD time. We used to get in line at 9:10 and wait maybe 5 minutes.

They used to open the park at 9 AM and now they usually open closer to 8:45. For TSMM to have a 35 minute (or longer) wait 25 minutes after the first guests are allowed in has pretty much been the norm since the ride debuted.

 

[Silock]

I was wondering the same thing. I've not been to wdw since FP+, so I am reserving any personal opinion at this time. But I had two friends visiting this past week. BOTH "seasoned" WDW guests, they kept in touch via texting throughout their trips and both reported that FP+ worked fine. They got done all they wanted to do and then some. Of course, the 1st week in Feb is low crowds, but it is comparative to when we go in Sept.

Crowds have been much higher this week than usual. Both TP and Easywdw underestimated by quite a bit.

 

[Silock]

They used to open the park at 9 AM and now they usually open closer to 8:45. For TSMM to have a 35 minute (or longer) wait 25 minutes after the first guests are allowed in has pretty much been the norm since the ride debuted.

Not for us. And they didn't open the turnstiles until 9 both times I was there this week.

I've never been in an actual wait that long that early. Posted time, sure, but not real wait.

 

[wisblue]

Crowds have been much higher this week than usual. Both TP and Easywdw underestimated by quite a bit.

So, if crowds are higher than usual for this time of the year, maybe THAT accounts for longer lines, not FP+.

Maybe the incompetent Disney company is doing a better job of getting more people to visit the parks at times of the year that used to be less crowded.

 

[wordwitt]

OP, when I first saw this thread I checked the MDE app wait times. It showed TSMM with a temporary closure; 5 min at RnR, and 10 min. at ToT. This was at approximately 9:45 a.m. I also checked the other parks, and except for Soarin', which was 40 min., everything else was showing minimal wait times. So the data overall doesn't seem to support your conclusion.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Crowds have been much higher this week than usual. Both TP and Easywdw underestimated by quite a bit.

Really? I have two sets of friends there right now, and they are loving the crowds. Both said that they haven't even used their FP+s because there was no reason to.