Rope Dropping Strategy

[SweetPeasMom2]

What is your rope dropping plan when you are at each park? I went to MK last Saturday and we followed my friend's plan. It worked for the most part. The only thing we didn't get to is Tron. That line never really died down.

We went left and did Jungle Cruise first then went to Pirates but it wasn't open yet. I think we went to Haunted Mansion then bc there was no wait (13 mins ). Then we did Small World, got something to eat and then Peter Pan. From there is was a little looser of a plan. We did end up doing pretty much everything we wanted other than Tron. There were a few things I would have liked to do but wasn't heartbroken that we didn't. Overall it was a fun filled trip. We got there at 7:30am and left 11pm. 20,000 + steps walked.

So curious, what is your rope dropping list? Doesn't have to be MK. If you have a list for another park, what is that?

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

I still follow the RD I've done for years.
Peter Pan's Flights, It's a Small World, Rapunzel bathroom break, Haunted Mansion, Mickey's Philharmagic, Gaston's Tavern for a snack, then head towards Tomorrowland with Space Mountain being my first LL.

 

[pens4821]

Our biggest rope drop park is HS. We usually do ToT, RnR, MMRR, TSM, SDD. SDD is usually a pretty long wait by the time we get there (and TSM can start to be too), but we feel like it works the best. We’ve tried the opposite order, but it seems like the last few times we’ve gone ToT has been down to one side so it is extremely long. And RnR seems to build fast too.

Sometimes we may split it. Rope drop one day tot, RnR, mmrr then do smaller stuff. Then the next do SDD, TSM, then one of tot/rnr. Really just depends on the waits as we keep moving along.

We also hop so we do one park for a few hours, take a break, then go to another.

 

[sagosto]

I still don't understand Tron. 30 min wait after you wait 30 min for the ride to open is a waste unless you are a huge fan.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

When we rope drop Epcot, we usually hit Remy since we are coming from Boardwalk. For DHS, we will either do MMRR or TSM depending on the what we want to do. My girls are little and can’t ride everything so we don’t go for the thrill rides.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

What is your rope dropping plan when you are at each park? I went to MK last Saturday and we followed my friend's plan. It worked for the most part. The only thing we didn't get to is Tron. That line never really died down.

We went left and did Jungle Cruise first then went to Pirates but it wasn't open yet. I think we went to Haunted Mansion then bc there was no wait (13 mins ). Then we did Small World, got something to eat and then Peter Pan. From there is was a little looser of a plan. We did end up doing pretty much everything we wanted other than Tron. There were a few things I would have liked to do but wasn't heartbroken that we didn't. Overall it was a fun filled trip. We got there at 7:30am and left 11pm. 20,000 + steps walked.

So curious, what is your rope dropping list? Doesn't have to be MK. If you have a list for another park, what is that?

Why didn’t you just hop in the Tron line later in the evening when the wait times drop significantly? Last night for example, the posted wait for Tron hit 105 minutes shortly before closing time but the actual reported wait was only 30 minutes.

 

[kylenne]

I generally prefer to zig instead of zagging, because I find I get more done that way with a lot less stress.

MK used to be Tomorrowland to avoid the running of the strollers for Mine Train but now that Tron is off VQ we'll be switching to Fantasyland and running Mine Train -> Pan -> maybe Pooh, not sure yet. I'm leaning towards heading to Adventureland for "second rope drop" and Jungle Cruise. We used to do that after hitting Space and Buzz.

HS has been the same for years, ever since free FP: Rope drop Sunset and work our way back. Tower -> RNRC -> MMRR. We always have Slinky Dog and Rise booked specifically to make the morning a lot more chill. We usually stop for breakfast at Woody's or Ronto Roasters after MMRR.

AK has also been the same for years now, ever since the free FP era: prebook Flight of Passage and rope drop Na'vi instead. Then head to Dinosaur, then check to see if Safaris is open. If not, we are willing to hang around depending on what the CMs say.

Epcot is the exception. We usually have a split stay between Crescent Lake and a monorail resort, so we handle rope drops a bit differently. When coming in from the IG, Remy -> Frozen -> Test Track (when it's up). When coming in the front, Test Track -> Frozen. Last time we actually did Soarin' though, and got LLs for everything else, just because we had a late night at MK EEH the previous evening. Next month will be our first trip since Guardians came off the VQ so I will treat it like FoP and just straight up buy.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We always avoid the rush of crowds. We also go for about 9 days and RD each park once then the other days have late starts. We will have LLMP for MK, DHS x 2 and Epcot.

MK - Space Mountain usually then to Adventureland. We have EEH for Tron and Mine Train.

Epcot - Les Halles for breakfast Yup that’s our plan for this trip. Last trip we did Frozen first and then hit Les Halles. We may do the same. We will see. We will hopefully have a LLMP for Remy at 9 am. We have other days, including EEH, at Epcot so we aren’t in a rush at RD. We are also purchasing Guardians at least once.

DHS - RnRc, ToT, MMRR and going to try something new after watching Mammoth Club video and go see Mickey and Minnie after MMRR. We will have LLMP for SDD, TSM. And may purchase LLSP for Rise but with multiple half days at DHS I think we can ride it without LLSP.

AK - EE on repeat about 3-5 times then over to Safari and Navi. We have other days at AK with one staying until close so plan on doing FOP in the evening when lines are shorter.

 

[SweetPeasMom2]

Why didn’t you just hop in the Tron line later in the evening when the wait times drop significantly? Last night for example, the posted wait for Tron hit 105 minutes shortly before closing time but the actual reported wait was only 30 minutes.

It never dropped below 85 mins when we looked. We thought it would drop after the fireworks and it never did. In fact, it got longer.

 

[becks59]

It never dropped below 85 mins when we looked. We thought it would drop after the fireworks and it never did. In fact, it got longer.

They were inflate the wait time at the end of the night to deter people from entering the line.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

It never dropped below 85 mins when we looked. We thought it would drop after the fireworks and it never did. In fact, it got longer.

Based on the statistics since Tron went to a standby line, a posted wait of 85 minutes most likely meant that the actual wait was 25-35 minutes.

Disney has a very effective process in place known as Line Stacking that is designed to discourage late riders and redirect them toward the gift shops and eventually the exits.

We first learned about this in the 1997 Unofficial Guide and have been using it to our advantage ever since.

 

[NYGoofy1889]

I find the best MK strategy, if you don't mind spending a few bucks on LLMP and LLSP and have early entry, is to early entry rope drop Space Mtn and Buzz. You can almost always bang both out before official park open. Then head over to Adventureland and 2nd rope drop JC, Tiana, and Pirates. You should have 5 big rides done before 10:30. Then slow down and enjoy the rest of the day. Have LLMP for Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Pooh for late morning / early afternoon. Get SP for Tron and/or Snow White if those are on your must-do list.

 

[kylenne]

I find the best MK strategy, if you don't mind spending a few bucks on LLMP and LLSP and have early entry, is to early entry rope drop Space Mtn and Buzz. You can almost always bang both out before official park open. Then head over to Adventureland and 2nd rope drop JC, Tiana, and Pirates. You should have 5 big rides done before 10:30. Then slow down and enjoy the rest of the day. Have LLMP for Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, and Pooh for late morning / early afternoon. Get SP for Tron and/or Snow White if those are on your must-do list.

This really hasn’t been the case since Tron came off VQ. The balance of EE crowds have shifted considerably towards Tomorrowland and away from Fantasyland. Space isn’t a bad choice but it’s an inefficient use of your time if you’re buying LLMP.

Nowadays you will generally see a more substantial time savings rope dropping Mine Train and Pan for EE. Space and Buzz are both trivial pickups on LLMP (and Mine Train is a waste of a SP tbqh). By comparison, Pan is one of the harder Tier 1s to land day of.

The other issue with this strategy is relying on second RD for Tiana is dicey given it’s frequently on a delayed opening. IMO you’re much better off walking in with that as your prebooked Tier 1 as opposed to Pan, which is easily done as a walk on after Mine Train as long as you’re front of pack for EE. That way you’re not stressed out over whether or not it’s running, because if it’s not by the time of your LL you’re still covered. Just head to Pirates instead.