Rope dropping is becoming a worse experience

[kaytieeldr]

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

I didn't say it wasn't effective. Not what I said at all. What I said is that it's a worse experience than before. It's still the way to go, which is why we continue to do it. But we haven't been able to get as much done in the same amount of time as we previously did.

Mid-day in most of the parks would be 2 PM or later. How much less - how many fewer attractions/shows - are you finding yourself able to experience on this visit by that time each day? What about all day?

 

[lugnut33]

Too bad Disney didn't use a hundred million or so of that FP+ money to add another track to TSMM.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Who said anyone was lying?? ALL I am saying is if you want to really get the full benefit of RD you need to get there 45 minutes before opening.

Last week, my husband and I did RD at all of the parks every day of our trip. We are early risers normally and actually never even had to set our alarm to accomplish this. Anyway, we got there 45 minutes early once. All of the other days, we were about 30 minutes early. One day, we were actually only 15 minutes early. What we do, though, is get in the line right next to the line for the breakfasts. So, at Hollywood Studios, we get in the line right next to the Hollywood and Vine line, at Epcot right next to the Akershus line, etc. They open those lines up right before park open so we just quietly step over and find ourselves at the front of a newly opened line. That's our little trick for getting in fast. It seems so obvious, but I never even thought of doing that until Josh over at easywdw mentioned it.

 

[Kristine316]

Doesn't there come a time when you're getting to rope drop so early that you're essentially just shifting in the day when exactly you are waiting in line (i.e., waiting before park opening as opposed to at a particular attraction)?[/QUOTE





This reply really struck me.

If you have to get to RD more than an hour early in the mornings, what exactly is the difference between waiting outside of the turnstiles in a line and waiting in a 60 minute line at TSMM??

I understand all about being there first thing in the morning to maximize the day but, I am starting to wonder if you truly need to be there an hour early. We always arrived right after the park opened and had great luck. Of course we go to WDW during slow periods like September and January. I am sure during busy times it is different.

I am willing to be influenced to get up at 6am to be one of the first people in line for RD, and wait an hour out front but, I need to see that it is truly a better experience than just walking in 10 minutes after open. You see chances are in less crowded times of the year I am not waiting much out front to get in if I arrive at 9:10, and then if I wait an hour at TSMM first thing.. it seems to me it ends up being about the same anyway.. and when I arrive a little later I get to sleep in an hour longer.

Someone tell me where I am going wrong. I haven't been since FP+ so maybe things are different now?

 

[summermac]

If you have to get to RD more than an hour early in the mornings, what exactly is the difference between waiting outside of the turnstiles in a line and waiting in a 60 minute line at TSMM??

Right?

 

[mom2rtk]

If you have to get to RD more than an hour early in the mornings, what exactly is the difference between waiting outside of the turnstiles in a line and waiting in a 60 minute line at TSMM??

I'm not saying you do indeed need to be at the gate 60 minutes prior to opening. But time spent to be at the front of the RD crowd is time well spent, especially with TSMM. The difference would be that if it takes 60 minutes to get through the TSMM line, that's 60 less minutes of low crowd time you have available to you. If you can get through that ride quickly, it might make the difference between getting to ride it a second time or not. (Or scooting over to RnR while that line is still short).

 

[Silock]

OP:
Did you wait in the SB line for TSMM?

My DHS plan for next week is RNR and RD with TSMM, ToT and Star Tours FP+ for later. I hope a lot of ppl are trying for two rides on TSMM and as such try SB at RD with the FP+ later. Personally I don't like TSMM enough to ride it twice, especially now. I chose it for our FP+ choice over RNR because two people in our party can't/won't ride RNR.

No. I don't do lines over 30 minutes.

Most people rd'd TSMM and went straight to RnrC, no second ride. We decided to just FP TSMM for later in the day and do rnrc at RD and then ToT. Only got to do TSMM once this trip because of that, and that's not at all normal for us. But we like RNRC better, so that's the choice we made.
We were going to do TSMM today at RD, but because it was down, and then the line was nuts after we did rnrc and tot instead, we had to skip it. All because our FPs are for tonight at Epcot.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

If you have to get to RD more than an hour early in the mornings, what exactly is the difference between waiting outside of the turnstiles in a line and waiting in a 60 minute line at TSMM??

Because if you're there in front of the crowd, your total wait time for the day is going to be less. 45 at the beginning, yes (or really, 30 if you're at DHS by 8:15 and they open at 8:45). With being at the front of the crowd at RD, you're (theoretically) going to be in the front of the crowd for everything. Instead of short, almost non-existent waits at rides, you'll have no waits, and over the course of a day/morning, short waits add up to longer time waiting. For us, though we try, it's pretty typical we don't get to MK until the opening show starts, so we're at the back of the RD crowd. Consequently, our Peter Pan wait is around 5-10 minutes. Not big in the scheme of things, but in the meantime, Josh, who got there at 8:15 and was at the front of the crowd, has ridden Peter Pan, Pooh, and Barnstormer by the time we're off Peter Pan. So, we're two rides behind him at that point, and the waits only build from there. We can still complete Fantasyland in 90 minutes-2 hours and be outta there by the time the big crowds arrive, but he's already on his way to Adventureland after hitting Haunted Mansion and Frontierland. By the end of the morning, he may have waited 45 minutes total at the beginning of the day, with no in-park waits, whereas I have waited longer than that in total, but with 0 minutes at the beginning of the day and instead all of my waits coming in smaller increments inside the park. At the end of the day, Josh is going to have done more rides than me with a shorter total amount of waiting.

 

[redrosesix]

Doesn't there come a time when you're getting to rope drop so early that you're essentially just shifting in the day when exactly you are waiting in line (i.e., waiting before park opening as opposed to at a particular attraction)?[/QUOTE





This reply really struck me.

If you have to get to RD more than an hour early in the mornings, what exactly is the difference between waiting outside of the turnstiles in a line and waiting in a 60 minute line at TSMM??

the differece is...waiting an hour early is much more boring than waiting in the queue. Especially if you're waiting for the monorail.

I'm not saying you do indeed need to be at the gate 60 minutes prior to opening. But time spent to be at the front of the RD crowd is time well spent, especially with TSMM. The difference would be that if it takes 60 minutes to get through the TSMM line, that's 60 less minutes of low crowd time you have available to you. If you can get through that ride quickly, it might make the difference between getting to ride it a second time or not. (Or scooting over to RnR while that line is still short).

essentially this is a great argument against park hopping...

No. I don't do lines over 30 minutes.

Most people rd'd TSMM and went straight to RnrC, no second ride. We decided to just FP TSMM for later in the day and do rnrc at RD and then ToT. Only got to do TSMM once this trip because of that, and that's not at all normal for us. But we like RNRC better, so that's the choice we made.
We were going to do TSMM today at RD, but because it was down, and then the line was nuts after we did rnrc and tot instead, we had to skip it. All because our FPs are for tonight at Epcot.

... and so is this.

Which is what makes me think they will fix this eventually, because it goes against everything they're saying in their own marketing campaigns. And that is what would make them look like a failure. (but that was another thread)

 

[dsw13]

Because if you're there in front of the crowd, your total wait time for the day is going to be less. 45 at the beginning, yes (or really, 30 if you're at DHS by 8:15 and they open at 8:45). With being at the front of the crowd at RD, you're (theoretically) going to be in the front of the crowd for everything. Instead of short, almost non-existent waits at rides, you'll have no waits, and over the course of a day/morning, short waits add up to longer time waiting. For us, though we try, it's pretty typical we don't get to MK until the opening show starts, so we're at the back of the RD crowd. Consequently, our Peter Pan wait is around 5-10 minutes. Not big in the scheme of things, but in the meantime, Josh, who got there at 8:15 and was at the front of the crowd, has ridden Peter Pan, Pooh, and Barnstormer by the time we're off Peter Pan. So, we're two rides behind him at that point, and the waits only build from there. We can still complete Fantasyland in 90 minutes-2 hours and be outta there by the time the big crowds arrive, but he's already on his way to Adventureland after hitting Haunted Mansion and Frontierland. By the end of the morning, he may have waited 45 minutes total at the beginning of the day, with no in-park waits, whereas I have waited longer than that in total, but with 0 minutes at the beginning of the day and instead all of my waits coming in smaller increments inside the park. At the end of the day, Josh is going to have done more rides than me with a shorter total amount of waiting.

Fair enough. Thanks for the thoughtful response. However, as my two small children would make any efforts at getting to the gates 45 minutes before rope drop an exercise in futility, I will continue to convince myself that arriving a few minutes before park opening will only cost me the same 30 minute wait at a different time of the day.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Fair enough. Thanks for the thoughtful response. However, as my two small children would make any efforts at getting to the gates 45 minutes before rope drop an exercise in futility, I will continue to convince myself that arriving a few minutes before park opening will only cost me the same 30 minute wait at a different time of the day.

Oh, absolutely! I have two young kids, too, and we've never been "first at the gates" people, and still have done everything with almost no waits. Almost. But almost is good enough for me. Or at least it was when I still had legacy FP to use. But that's not what this thread is about so...

 

[RalphinSC]

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.

I'd get in line at 8:10 and not wait at all. It's up to you to weigh what to do with your time. There's a reason why they advise showing up to the parks PRIOR to rope drop.

 

[Kristine316]

Because if you're there in front of the crowd, your total wait time for the day is going to be less. 45 at the beginning, yes (or really, 30 if you're at DHS by 8:15 and they open at 8:45). With being at the front of the crowd at RD, you're (theoretically) going to be in the front of the crowd for everything. Instead of short, almost non-existent waits at rides, you'll have no waits, and over the course of a day/morning, short waits add up to longer time waiting. For us, though we try, it's pretty typical we don't get to MK until the opening show starts, so we're at the back of the RD crowd. Consequently, our Peter Pan wait is around 5-10 minutes. Not big in the scheme of things, but in the meantime, Josh, who got there at 8:15 and was at the front of the crowd, has ridden Peter Pan, Pooh, and Barnstormer by the time we're off Peter Pan. So, we're two rides behind him at that point, and the waits only build from there. We can still complete Fantasyland in 90 minutes-2 hours and be outta there by the time the big crowds arrive, but he's already on his way to Adventureland after hitting Haunted Mansion and Frontierland. By the end of the morning, he may have waited 45 minutes total at the beginning of the day, with no in-park waits, whereas I have waited longer than that in total, but with 0 minutes at the beginning of the day and instead all of my waits coming in smaller increments inside the park. At the end of the day, Josh is going to have done more rides than me with a shorter total amount of waiting.

Ok this makes sense to me now. I am not against RD, I just wanted to understand how it is benefitting me. I like to sleep in but, now I see it is in my best interest to be there early. Convinced.

 

[RalphinSC]

Because if you're there in front of the crowd, your total wait time for the day is going to be less. 45 at the beginning, yes (or really, 30 if you're at DHS by 8:15 and they open at 8:45). With being at the front of the crowd at RD, you're (theoretically) going to be in the front of the crowd for everything. Instead of short, almost non-existent waits at rides, you'll have no waits, and over the course of a day/morning, short waits add up to longer time waiting. For us, though we try, it's pretty typical we don't get to MK until the opening show starts, so we're at the back of the RD crowd. Consequently, our Peter Pan wait is around 5-10 minutes. Not big in the scheme of things, but in the meantime, Josh, who got there at 8:15 and was at the front of the crowd, has ridden Peter Pan, Pooh, and Barnstormer by the time we're off Peter Pan. So, we're two rides behind him at that point, and the waits only build from there. We can still complete Fantasyland in 90 minutes-2 hours and be outta there by the time the big crowds arrive, but he's already on his way to Adventureland after hitting Haunted Mansion and Frontierland. By the end of the morning, he may have waited 45 minutes total at the beginning of the day, with no in-park waits, whereas I have waited longer than that in total, but with 0 minutes at the beginning of the day and instead all of my waits coming in smaller increments inside the park. At the end of the day, Josh is going to have done more rides than me with a shorter total amount of waiting.

This is basically the whole rationality behind myself being a "super early" rope-dropper. Nothing against those that don't prescribe to it.

 

[KrazeeK120]

If you have to get to RD more than an hour early in the mornings, what exactly is the difference between waiting outside of the turnstiles in a line and waiting in a 60 minute line at TSMM??

A couple of things. You aren't spending time in line at a ride that you could be spending elsewhere in the park. Also, you're standing outside with open space around you, rather than in a crowded, loud room.

I was at DHS on Tuesday, January 21. I got to the tapstile at 7:45 AM. I was first in line at my tapstile. They opened the park at 8:45. DH and I were the 7th and 8th person to get on TSMM (there were 2 groups of 3 ahead of us). We rode it and got on with our day.

We did RD at the other 3 parks that week, too. We were able to accomplish A LOT on MLK morning at MK just by being there at RD. We rode Pooh, Little Mermaid, People Mover, Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, small world, and Big Thunder all before 11:30! Later that day, we also rode HM, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, and Prince Charming carousel. We never waited more than 5 minutes for anything the whole day.

We used RD at Epcot to do something we'd never done before, Sum of all Thrills. Thanks to FP+, we weren't running to grab FPs, and thus, could go straight to Sum. We did 2 days at Epcot - used FP+ at TT one day and at Soarin' the other.

I firmly believe that being at the parks at RD is the best way to maximize what you can accomplish in a day.

 

[Silock]

I'd get in line at 8:10 and not wait at all. It's up to you to weigh what to do with your time. There's a reason why they advise showing up to the parks PRIOR to rope drop.

No, I miscommunicated that/you misread it. That's in line at TSMM at 9:10, not the line to the park. That's a fairly normal arrival time by the time you get through the turnstiles and walk all the way back there and stand in line for a FP (again, this is referencing what we USED to do).

 

[Networth]

Lol running to a ride. Makes me envision Vacation with Chevy Chase when they arrive at Wally World. I'll never get how people see that as a enjoyable experience no matter what ride is at the end.

 

[RalphinSC]

No, I miscommunicated that/you misread it. That's in line at TSMM at 9:10, not the line to the park. That's a fairly normal arrival time by the time you get through the turnstiles and walk all the way back there and stand in line for a FP (again, this is referencing what we USED to do).

Understood. Must of mis-read it on my part.

 

[CanadianPaco]

I've come to the conclusion that rope drop is very important!

 

[mom2rtk]

I'd get in line at 8:10 and not wait at all. It's up to you to weigh what to do with your time. There's a reason why they advise showing up to the parks PRIOR to rope drop.

.......... and just hope that your OWN ticket isn't the problem. We were the VERY first ones at the turnstiles on our trip a few years ago. That's the year they had just installed new software at all the resorts. When they finally started letting people in....... our tickets wouldn't work and we got shuffled to Guest Relations, where we proceeded to wait in line. For our trouble they gave us a set of fastpasses.......... good at every ride but the one we were there early to ride (TSMM).