TDL Rope Drop Plan - What is/was yours?

[EpcotNerd]

I've been researching our Japan trip for a year now and still haven't figured out the perfect rope drop plan for TDL. We're not staying at a Disney Hotel, so no happy entry for us. I'm looking for inspiration on what you plan on doing rope drop standby, and which passes you're buying/grabbing first. And if you've already been, what was your plan and was it successful?

 

[gelatoni fan]

If you are at the gates early, you can try for Baymax. Otherwise, Monsters Inc and Winnie the Pooh are good options. Peter Pan is also a decent option if regular guests aren't allowed in until official park opening time. After, you can then go do other rides in Fantasyland and Toontown. Grab whatever Priority Pass is convenient ASAP then try your luck at Entry Request for Club Mouse Beat. If you fail to get a seat from Entry Request and they happen to have free seating for the first show, then you'll want to get in line for the show by around an hour after park opening depending crowd levels..

Do not rope drop Beauty and the Beast without Happy Entry. I also don't really recommend rope dropping Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain for first time visitors. If your visit is before the end of this month, you can choose to rope drop Space Mountain or make it your first Priority Pass.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

We rope dropped Pooh with regular entry and it was a walk on. Immediately got a morning premiere access pass for Beauty and the Beast and as soon as we redeemed it, got one for Splash. Did Monsters and Space Mountain with a 40th anniversary pass. It worked well for us. We skipped Baymax but could have paid for a premiere access pass if we wanted to. It was available until late afternoon. We enjoyed watching the ride and guests more than actually riding. Good luck!

 

[EpcotNerd]

If you are at the gates early, you can try for Baymax. Otherwise, Monsters Inc and Winnie the Pooh are good options. Peter Pan is also a decent option if regular guests aren't allowed in until official park opening time. After, you can then go do other rides in Fantasyland and Toontown. Grab whatever Priority Pass is convenient ASAP then try your luck at Entry Request for Club Mouse Beat. If you fail to get a seat from Entry Request and they happen to have free seating for the first show, then you'll want to get in line for the show by around an hour after park opening depending crowd levels..

Do not rope drop Beauty and the Beast without Happy Entry. I also don't really recommend rope dropping Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain for first time visitors. If your visit is before the end of this month, you can choose to rope drop Space Mountain or make it your first Priority Pass.

This is all great to know. Out of curiosity, why not rope drop Splash Mountain and BTM for first time visitors?

 

[EpcotNerd]

We rope dropped Pooh with regular entry and it was a walk on. Immediately got a morning premiere access pass for Beauty and the Beast and as soon as we redeemed it, got one for Splash. Did Monsters and Space Mountain with a 40th anniversary pass. It worked well for us. We skipped Baymax but could have paid for a premiere access pass if we wanted to. It was available until late afternoon. We enjoyed watching the ride and guests more than actually riding. Good luck!

Great info, thank you!

 

[gelatoni fan]

This is all great to know. Out of curiosity, why not rope drop Splash Mountain and BTM for first time visitors?

They're far from the front of the park and other attractions. If you're not familiar with where you're going, the lines may get to an hour before you even get in line. When you're done with the ride, you'll have to find your way to a second ride which won't be close by.

Instead, I recommend going on the rides with Premier Access or Priority Pass later in the day. Then, you can go on the Mark Twain, rafts or canoes which are in that area but don't open until at least an hour or 2 after park opening time.

 

[EpcotNerd]

They're far from the front of the park and other attractions. If you're not familiar with where you're going, the lines may get to an hour before you even get in line. When you're done with the ride, you'll have to find your way to a second ride which won't be close by.

Instead, I recommend going on the rides with Premier Access or Priority Pass later in the day. Then, you can go on the Mark Twain, rafts or canoes which are in that area but don't open until at least an hour or 2 after park opening time.

Ahh got it, VERY helpful, thank you!

 

[DizneyLizzy]

One more thing. We didn’t have happy entry. We got on the first monorail of the day from Bayside Station at 6:31 AM. It was unnecessary. We could have arrived 20-30 min later and had a similar position in line. But we didn’t mind. It was a nice day and we loved watching the Japanese guests queuing up and setting up their leisure sheets. It was nothing like lining up in the states. Much more organized! And everyone sits.

 

[Disneyhanna]

One more thing. We didn’t have happy entry. We got on the first monorail of the day from Bayside Station at 6:31 AM. It was unnecessary. We could have arrived 20-30 min later and had a similar position in line. But we didn’t mind. It was a nice day and we loved watching the Japanese guests queuing up and setting up their leisure sheets. It was nothing like lining up in the states. Much more organized! And everyone sits.

That's how I felt even with happy entry, if you're not first, you're last at TDR I got there before 7 and hardly anyone came after me, I could have come an hour later and gotten into the park maybe a minute later.

 

[Flossbolna]

We didn’t rope drop any of our days at TDL in June (a Thursday and a Tuesday) and still did loads of stuff without any big waits (longest was 45 minutes for Splash). Got a lot of the free 40th anniversary passes and paid once for Beauty and the Beast.

Of course other times of year, it might be more busy…

 

[EpcotNerd]

We didn’t rope drop any of our days at TDL in June (a Thursday and a Tuesday) and still did loads of stuff without any big waits (longest was 45 minutes for Splash). Got a lot of the free 40th anniversary passes and paid once for Beauty and the Beast.

Of course other times of year, it might be more busy…

Do you happen to remember what time the 40th anniversary passes were gone?

 

[Flossbolna]

Do you happen to remember what time the 40th anniversary passes were gone?

Depended on the attraction. Space Mountain went first. Pooh’s Honey Hunt was gone early, too. I would say it was lunch time for both of them. But we were there during non busy times and our second day was rained out. We stuck it out and were rewarded with walking onto Beauty and the Beast in the evening without any wait, so that day was definitely not typical.