What does the return to Rope Drop mean for early risers?

[RG3]

I know there is a rope drop thread, but as a relative Disney Newb, I thought maybe this would be a bit more appropriate here (feel free to move it though!).
I am headed to Disney this weekend and had planned to be at Disney for those the early morning unofficial openings before the park opens (if MK opens at 9, for example, they would let guests in about 45 minutes early to start going on rides.)

with rope drop, does that means that rides won’t be open earlier because they will be holding everyone in the entrance to the parks?

 

[skshain1020]

We were at BLT this week earlier in the week we rope dropped and were able to get seven dwarves, peter pan and space done before official park open. Yesterday we went and were a bit later and decided to forego 7 dwarves walked right in at 7:15am and went on peter pan, space and buzz before park opening. Today, we went over early and they let us in security at 7am, the tapstiles at 7:15am and then were held at the entrance until 7:30am. They then let us go into the hub where we stood until 8am in a mass herd of people. No rides were ridden before the official open. It was a bummer but we still were able to do several rides before we gave in with the crowds. We were only able to do 7 dwarves by the time we got to peter pan it was a 30 ish minute wait and space was 20 so we just went onto big thunder and splash...

 

[RG3]

We were at BLT this week earlier in the week we rope dropped and were able to get seven dwarves, peter pan and space done before official park open. Yesterday we went and were a bit later and decided to forego 7 dwarves walked right in at 7:15am and went on peter pan, space and buzz before park opening. Today, we went over early and they let us in security at 7am, the tapstiles at 7:15am and then were held at the entrance until 7:30am. They then let us go into the hub where we stood until 8am in a mass herd of people. No rides were ridden before the official open. It was a bummer but we still were able to do several rides before we gave in with the crowds. We were only able to do 7 dwarves by the time we got to peter pan it was a 30 ish minute wait and space was 20 so we just went onto big thunder and splash...

Ugh, such a bummer!!

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Just out of curiosity: WHY return to the old rope drop? They way they have been doing it in the last few months seems much easier on the cast members, a way to disperse the crowd a bit, and safer for folks (especially little ones) to not be all crowded waiting for a physical rope to drop to a land/area.

 

[skshain1020]

My husband did just remind me that we did get back to slinky the other day a little earlier than the 9am opening as we were on slinky at 8:53am and we weren't really at the front but a little ways back. He's guessing they let us back around 8:45am. So may just depend on the rides and whether they are ready to go...The really sad thing was there wasn't even an opening fairy godmother opening after making us wait in the herd.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Just out of curiosity: WHY return to the old rope drop? They way they have been doing it in the last few months seems much easier on the cast members, a way to disperse the crowd a bit, and safer for folks (especially little ones) to not be all crowded waiting for a physical rope to drop to a land/area.

With the return(or start of the new) early park entry for on site guests, plus the assumed return of other things like Early Morning Magic you pretty much have to return to the old rope drop. Otherwise the benefits the aforementioned things provide don't exist.

 

[skshain1020]

Just out of curiosity: WHY return to the old rope drop? They way they have been doing it in the last few months seems much easier on the cast members, a way to disperse the crowd a bit, and safer for folks (especially little ones) to not be all crowded waiting for a physical rope to drop to a land/area.

I have never understood it. I mean the number of people who pass out from heat exhaustion and overheating in the large crowd in and of itself seems a danger. Just this morning a girl fainted in the mass. There's just no air movement.

 

[MrsInsG]

I know there is a rope drop thread, but as a relative Disney Newb, I thought maybe this would be a bit more appropriate here (feel free to move it though!).
I am headed to Disney this weekend and had planned to be at Disney for those the early morning unofficial openings before the park opens (if MK opens at 9, for example, they would let guests in about 45 minutes early to start going on rides.)

with rope drop, does that means that rides won’t be open earlier because they will be holding everyone in the entrance to the parks?

The only place I saw "regular" rope drop (or whatever semblance of it there is now) was at HS. Even so, we were off Mickey and Minnie before 8am. MK was good in that they let us in around 7:15 on Sunday, 6/20, Saturday, 6/19, and Tuesday, 6/15. Some rides were ready to go and some weren't. We didn't even bother with SDMT as it had l-o-n-g line regardless and we just really didn't care to do it this trip. That said, we enjoyed a relatively empty park until about 10 each day.

 

[BrotherCraig]

Rope Drop would never work for us. My wife stops and takes pictures just about every 6-10 steps. lol

 

[scrappinginontario]

Just out of curiosity: WHY return to the old rope drop? They way they have been doing it in the last few months seems much easier on the cast members, a way to disperse the crowd a bit, and safer for folks (especially little ones) to not be all crowded waiting for a physical rope to drop to a land/area.

Part of the 50th Anniversary announcements earlier this year was that Disney resort guests will be allowed to enter 30 mins prior to official park opening. My guess is first they had to stop the unofficial 45 min early access to start that process.

An official start date to the 30 min early entry has not yet been announced.

 

[Lisse24]

They could just ask to see room keys at the entrance to get in the ride lines.

 

[Brett Wyman]

They could just ask to see room keys at the entrance to get in the ride lines.

Sure that infos there, but it would still take away from the benefit of others who earned entry via other methods. Its not always about the rides. Some may want to quietly shop on Main street. Some may want a clear photo of the castle. Some may just be happy to stroll without a throng of people crushing them.

 

[MomOTwins]

They could just ask to see room keys at the entrance to get in the ride lines.

That would slow down the lines a ton to the point you wouldn’t even get one ride in before the park officially opened. Plus, confused people who aren’t eligible would try to get in lines and slow things down further. Like how at ROTR there are always a bunch of people who don’t know you need a BG and wait in the queue only to be turned away at the tapstiles, but wayyyy worse.

 

[Heather07438]

Just out of curiosity: WHY return to the old rope drop? They way they have been doing it in the last few months seems much easier on the cast members, a way to disperse the crowd a bit, and safer for folks (especially little ones) to not be all crowded waiting for a physical rope to drop to a land/area.

I’m wondering if it’s a step in transiting over to the onsite early entry that’s to come at some point, definitely by the 50th. It had been working so much better the past year, why change it?

 

[DPgrlz]

Rope Drop when I was there at Spring Break this year meant that no rides started until official park opening. We were in the parks and lines formed, but there was an hour and half wait for Pandora within minutes of official park opening. We walked around MK and took gorgeous pics at the castle with no one in the background because they all ran to 7DMT. Pirates literally started running exactly at park opening. I have been many times ad rope drop was never like this before.

 

[DisneyFive]

They could just ask to see room keys at the entrance to get in the ride lines.

Room keys? No such thing anymore. Do you mean that when you scan your MagicBand, phone, or physical card that they would know that you are a resort guest? I see a lot of confusion and frustration in that situation.

Dan

 

[heathere3]

They could just ask to see room keys at the entrance to get in the ride lines.

Most of us don't have room keys anymore...

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

Rope Drop when I was there at Spring Break this year meant that no rides started until official park opening. We were in the parks and lines formed, but there was an hour and half wait for Pandora within minutes of official park opening. We walked around MK and took gorgeous pics at the castle with no one in the background because they all ran to 7DMT. Pirates literally started running exactly at park opening. I have been many times ad rope drop was never like this before.

I LOVED how they were dong early mornings up until recently - as an early riser who is often solo, I can get SO much done in the mornings. I'm not looking forward to the physical rope being back on my next trip!

 

[wfjny]

Long time DVC/AP. We have been to WDW 6 times since the reopening. Mostly long weekend trips.

Pretty much seen it all. That included:

Being turned away from AK parking at 7:30 for an 8:00 AM opening
Having us make a U turn at Epcot parking for being there about a half hour before opening. Four lanes were waiting, but two they kept moving by making people leave.

Then again, multiple times, multiple parks being admitted 30-45 minutes early. MK parking was open at least 1 hour before opening.

Sometimes, everything was open (that would be open), other times some of the major rides were open. Several times, the rides were not letting people into the queue before “opening time”.

I think Disney was experimenting. What seems to work best? Perhaps it was due to staffing concerns. Perhaps it was based on how many reservations they had for the day.

But, my number one rules still seems to apply. You will do more in the first 90 minutes of opening than you will do in the next five hours.

 

[WNYDisneyDad]

How did Extra Magic Hours work? Did they scan your key/magicband/under skin implant (joking on that one) at the entry and only those with resort stays could enter? Or did they allow everyone in and only those with resort stays could progress past a certain point? (Such as the MK hub) Also, did you still enter the parks early and they held you at the hub or did you have to wait till the official start to enter the park? (For clarification, if the EMH was 8 to 9, could you enter at, say 7:30 and then be able to wait at a designated spot or did you have to wait till the actual start time at 8 to enter the park?)

While I think the move to a more traditional rope drop is in preparation for the Resort's early entry, will this cause a confusion like what earlier commenters have suggested where people that aren't aware of this and will still try to tap into the parks early?