Skipping rope drop

[Disneygrl71]

Just curious how many people skip rope drop and just head to the parks later in the evening?

We've always done rope drop with our FALL trips, but coming in July has me rethinking this (even with going back to the room in the afternoon). I think we will just sleep in, do the pool, etc. Then head over around 3 for early dinner.

I think now that they've extended the hours that would give us plenty of time to hit most the things we want to do (myself and 18 year old son).

Any pro/cons to this approach?

 

[Marionnette]

Just curious how many people skip rope drop and just head to the parks later in the evening?

We've always done rope drop with our FALL trips, but coming in July has me rethinking this (even with going back to the room in the afternoon). I think we will just sleep in, do the pool, etc. Then head over around 3 for early dinner.

I think now that they've extended the hours that would give us plenty of time to hit most the things we want to do (myself and 18 year old son).

Any pro/cons to this approach?

Cons:

• You won't get RotR boarding passes with this approach
• It typically rains in the late afternoon/early evening during the summer
• Park hopping crowds will funnel in to the parks that had no reservation availability after 2 PM, especially MK and Epcot now that fireworks are restarting

Pros:

• You get to sleep in
• You get to enjoy the resort pool during the hottest part of the day
• Breakfast can be eaten at leisure
• It's a more relaxed approach to touring the parks

 

[LSUfan4444]

We've always done rope drop with our FALL trips, but coming in July has me rethinking this (even with going back to the room in the afternoon). I think we will just sleep in, do the pool, etc. Then head over around 3 for early dinner.

Whats the reason ?

Any pro/cons to this approach?

Sure...everything has pros and cons but I don't think anything is hidden. You'll have more time to do things not in the park and have a much slower paced morning and mid day. I won't say you will get more sleep because a later arrival may mean staying later which may mean a later bedtime you you may just be shifting the hours you sleep rather than getting more sleep but at least the mornings and mid day will be slower paced as opposed to mid day and early afternoon if you rope dropped and took a mid day break/nap, etc

 

[_19disnA]

We have never roped dropped and have no plans to do so. We get up when we fell like it since we are on vacation and not following some rigid schedule, part of what makes being on vacation fun to us. After we eat breakfast and get ready, we go to whatever park we have decided to visit. Honestly, parks are so crowded that it is going to be busy regardless of when you arrive. Popular rides tend to be less crowded later in the day as the early crowd tends to be thinning out.

 

[Disneygrl71]

Whats the reason ?

I think for us, the hassle of getting up early, rushing over to a park to stand in line for one headliner (two if lucky) isn't worth it especially if we will be closing the parks down.

We are not 'do everything' people. Mainly the bigger type rides, etc since my kiddo is 18.

Only day I was thinking of rope drop is AK, since it closes earlier.

 

[footballmouse]

I would think that since the fireworks are coming back, MK will start getting crowded again at night. I wouldn't want to take the chance of not getting on a lot of the rides due to long lines at night. My family has always done rope drop, I liked getting a little head start over the mass of people. You can always do rope drop, take a break at lunch to go back to resort to swim and nap, then hit the parks again around 4.

 

[LovesTimone]

We haven't done rope drop since my DD was in elementary school... which was years and years ago... Don't tell her I said so... LOL

It makes for a long long day for sure... and in the Florida heat and humidity can be well grueling, plus the folks that go all in on commando style of park touring, we like to stay out of their way for sure...

Change it up for sure, and check out other options... For us a more relaxed pace is what vacationing is all about...

 

[rotlex]

We used to always do rope drop when the kids were younger. After 20+ trips, we just don't feel the need anymore, lol. We have a very different approach to Disney now. It actually feels like a vacation, and a longer one at that, as we do more resort time with maybe 6-8 hours in the parks rather than 12-16. Just really depends what you want out of your days and your vacation.

 

[dmband]

We Never do rope drop generally except for RoTR
By the time you factor in getting to the bud and park early and standing there you are not saving lots of time vs just standing in line when you arrive normally.
plus the lines are shorter at night so if you plan to stay later anyway you can make up for it

 

[MomOTwins]

Cons:

• You won't get RotR boarding passes with this approach
• It typically rains in the late afternoon/early evening during the summer
• Park hopping crowds will funnel in to the parks that had no reservation availability after 2 PM, especially MK and Epcot now that fireworks are restarting

Pros:

• You get to sleep in
• You get to enjoy the resort pool during the hottest part of the day
• Breakfast can be eaten at leisure
• It's a more relaxed approach to touring the parks

This said most of what I was going to say.
One additional con is ride outages. We decided to do an afternoon half day at AK on our last trip since it seemed there were lower wait times in the afternoon. Found out EE broke down early afternoon and it is my kids favorite ride.

In the summer, there is an added risk of this due to some rides closing when there is lightning in the area, which is usually in the afternoon/evening rather than morning.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I think for us, the hassle of getting up early, rushing over to a park to stand in line for one headliner (two if lucky) isn't worth it especially if we will be closing the parks down.

Anyone who doesnt want to get up for rope drop should definitely not. Find success in what fits your ideal agenda and schedule.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Popular rides tend to be less crowded later in the day as the early crowd tends to be thinning out.

Rope drop standby times are normally the lightest of the day. Im not trying to convince anyone to rope drop but if the shortest standby times are the main objective, you can't beat rope drop.

 

[summerlyangel]

We've been very successful with skipping rope drop on our last 2 trips. Granted, we haven't been during pandemic times, so not sure how that will affect our plans when we go in August. Our youngest is almost 13 and everyone but me prefers to sleep in. I don't want to start the morning fighting to get everyone up and dealing with the grumpies, especially from DD12 that is autistic. In the past, we'd let everyone sleep until 10/11 and get to the parks around 12/1 depending on how late the park was open and what our fastpasses were. We were really good at the fastpass system, so we were able to ride most anything we wanted, though I'll concede that we got on more rides back when we did do rope drops. Since we've been 5 times now, it's not as important that we do every single thing anymore. We usually have lunch in the parks and do our fastpasses, shows, and things without a wait in the afternoon. We definitely hit headliners at the end of the night. While we're dragging at that point, it's not nearly as bad as it was when we rope-dropped every morning. The other issue in the summer is the daily storms. We just tried to find an indoor attraction to do while the storms passed. I found it cooled down a little afterwards and was more comfortable.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

We always try to do one day parks one day off. On our park day we open and close the park but at a very leisurely pace. Since we are there for around 12 hours there is no need to rush to anything. The next day we enjoy sleeping in, breakfast, pool time, Disney Springs, touring other resorts etc. with no stress of getting to a park for rides. Coming from Canada and with our added exchange rate park tickets are too expensive for us not to enjoy them for the full day. We usually do 4 park days and 3 or 4 off days so we still find it a very relaxing vacation.

 

[FastPasser.]

I always skip rope, it's just not worth the hassle to me. If I miss something, oh well, I'll do it next time.

 

[tobikaye]

The only reason I mostly do rope drop is because I am a natural early bird and rarely sleep past 5 am, even when my alarm is not set. So, off to the parks I tend to go. Granted, normally I go the opposite directions as the crowds so it is not really crazy for me.

 

[MomOTwins]

We always try to do one day parks one day off. On our park day we open and close the park but at a very leisurely pace. Since we are there for around 12 hours there is no need to rush to anything. The next day we enjoy sleeping in, breakfast, pool time, Disney Springs, touring other resorts etc. with no stress of getting to a park for rides. Coming from Canada and with our added exchange rate park tickets are too expensive for us not to enjoy them for the full day. We usually do 4 park days and 3 or 4 off days so we still find it a very relaxing vacation.

That’s a good point! Even for us in the US, it is a lot of money to spend if you only go in the afternoons. If you have an AP I can see how rope drop would be more skippable.

 

[oktxregulators2020]

We are on vacation so it's not a do or die for us to try and be one of the first people there. With FP not being used right now you pretty much are going to be waiting where ever you go. We have been here since Sunday evening and it has rained everyday starting around 1:30-2:00. Several people try to ride as much as they can early then go back and rest during the afternoon and come back in the evening if they feel like getting back out if the weather allows it.

 

[gharter]

Currently, without FP, we found RD was very useful. About an hour after RD, many lines got much longer

 

[Disneygrl71]

Thank you everyone! It is interesting to see others perspective on this