Starting to question the point of rope dropping....

[NickC]

RD worked for us in the past because we could get FP+ for the most popular attractions, and do some other ones during the morning. If everyone was rushing towards FoP, we would go the opposite way and do EE then Dinosaur. If we were to go back, Genie would certainly change the way we tour. But, we are early risers, so I don't think we would skip RD.

 

[_19disnA]

We are on vacation when at Disney and it isn't a race to see how early we can get to the parks. We have no interest in elbowing our way with the early riser crowds or be part of a throng of people racing to be the first in some ride line, but to each their own.

With any 3rd party site publishing ride wait times, would be helpful to know where they are getting the data. I doubt Disney provides their internal data to any 3rd party. One of those sites depends on members to provide them input when actually at the park. Not a bad thing, but I would imagine rides wait times vary all throughout the day and the current wait time may be useless 1 hr from now when you happen to be in that area of the park. Zig-zagging all over the park chasing lower rides times can waste a lot of time. Rides can also randomly be down for maintenance or certain outdoor rides close when there are rain/storms in the area for safety reasons. Wait times from an earlier timeframe mean nothing once a ride is closed for whatever reason.

Not even sure how Disney determines ride wait times since we found during our last trip that the posted ride times at ride entrances were all over the map (some too high, some too low), so we would decided for ourselves by looking at the number of people in line and how fast the line was moving.

FastPass was OK since we could pre-reserve 3 rides ahead of time. Typically you use that on the most popular rides vs some where there is hardly ever a long line. Still needed to use common sense to avoid consecutive FastPasses on rides at opposite ends of the park. Not sure if Genie will be any better or exactly how the timing will work. Neither of those solves the problem of letting too many people into the park for the available ride capacity. That is still a key issue Disney needs to figure out how to resolve.

 

[graymendes]

Back in July 2017 I had a half day at Epcot to myself - it was a few days before Ellen's Energy Adventure closed and that was a big one for me (it opened when I was 10 and I loved Bill Nye) so I wanted to say goodbye.

My old strategy back then was to rope drop at the International Gateway entrance after a quick breakfast on the Boardwalk. We got let in at 8:53 and there were maybe about 20 of us. I got on the second or third boat for FEA, which at that point was still relatively new and extremely popular, and I was already off of it at 9:04. Unbelievable way to start the day.

I'm honestly curious how the rope drop is at the IG entrance now with the Skyliner up and running. Anyone have any insight?

 

[graymendes]

We are on vacation when at Disney and it isn't a race to see how early we can get to the parks. We have no interest in elbowing our way with the early riser crowds or be part of a throng of people racing to be the first in some ride line, but to each their own.

With any 3rd party site publishing ride wait times, would be helpful to know where they are getting the data. I doubt Disney provides their internal data to any 3rd party. One of those sites depends on members to provide them input when actually at the park. Not a bad thing, but I would imagine rides wait times vary all throughout the day and the current wait time may be useless 1 hr from now when you happen to be in that area of the park. Zig-zagging all over the park chasing lower rides times can waste a lot of time. Rides can also randomly be down for maintenance or certain outdoor rides close when there are rain/storms in the area for safety reasons. Wait times from an earlier timeframe mean nothing once a ride is closed for whatever reason.

Not even sure how Disney determines ride wait times since we found during our last trip that the posted ride times at ride entrances were all over the map (some too high, some too low), so we would decided for ourselves by looking at the number of people in line and how fast the line was moving.

FastPass was OK since we could pre-reserve 3 rides ahead of time. Typically you use that on the most popular ride vs some where there is hardly ever a long line. Still needed to use common sense to avoid consecutive FastPasses on rides at opposite ends of the park. Not sure if Genie will be any better or exactly how the timing will work. Neither of those solves the problem of letting too many people into the park for the available ride capacity. That is still a key issue Disney needs to figure out how to resolve.

The reservation system should help with that. The priority now for Disney is not to pack as many people into the parks as possible but to maximize the spend per guest. No one is happy when people are standing in a standby queue for 75 minutes - you're not spending money when you're doing that. As Pete is fond of saying, the only way to reduce crowding without reducing profit margins is to raise prices.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

One of the things I find funny, is how people do not count the time waiting to get into the park, as waiting in line. When I get to the park 1 or 1-1/2 hours early, our family is waiting to get on our 1st ride, just because I am not using "park time" it does not mean it doesn't exist. Over the years the RD crowds just have also gotten worse as far as size and people trying to push towards the front. I know a lot of people did not like when WDW started controlling the entrance into the park, by walking with the rope etc., but I thought this was a very good move on their part.

 

[GatorChris]

When at WDW, we try to get there as early as possible. BUT....we rarely make rope drop. In fact, in over 50 total days at WDW parks, we've made rope drop twice. It's just that being from CA, rope drop at 9am is like 6am, which means getting up at 4am our time to make it. Maybe by the end of a week we can pull it off. But it's never been a must. And we just used FP to work around everything all day. That is, until they replaced FP with EvilGenie+

 

[_19disnA]

My impression was the Disney park reservation system was temporarily put in place due to covid so they could manage attendance at the desired level, less then 100% and also consider staffing levels. Without it, anyone with an AP could just show up someday causing attendance to be higher then desired. I thought the need for park reservations would eventually go away once covid is behind us.

 

[graymendes]

One of the things I find funny, is how people do not count the time waiting to get into the park, as waiting in line. When I get to the park 1 or 1-1/2 hours early, our family is waiting to get on our 1st ride, just because I am not using "park time" it does not mean it doesn't exist. Over the years the RD crowds just have also gotten worse as far as size and people trying to push towards the front. I know a lot of people did not like when WDW started controlling the entrance into the park, by walking with the rope etc., but I thought this was a very good move on their part.

I think you have a point, but strictly from a money perspective what I'm paying for with my park admission is my 9am - 9pm time period (or whatever the hours are that day). Time that I spend waiting in rope drop doesn't count against that time and it helps me save that time for doing what I came to the park to do, which is attractions, ambiance and dining. I love a good queue but I don't want to spend more than 20 minutes in one if I can avoid it, and I usually do.

 

[graymendes]

My impression was the Disney park reservation system was temporarily put in place due to covid so they could manage attendance at the desired level, less then 100% and also consider staffing levels. Without it, anyone with an AP could just show up someday causing attendance to be higher then desired. I thought the need for park reservations would eventually go away once covid is behind us.

The common belief among the DIS contributors is that Disney always wanted to have a park reservation system that they could use to control crowds and staffing needs, creating scarcity - and that COVID gave them the excuse to do it. I don't think it's going anywhere. They can always increase the reservation numbers as high as they want to, but the reservation system "forces" you to go when you say you're going to go or be charged for not showing up. Eliminates guests changing their mind and going somewhere else at the last minute if say, the weather is poor.

 

[_19disnA]

The priority now for Disney is not to pack as many people into the parks as possible but to maximize the spend per guest. No one is happy when people are standing in a standby queue for 75 minutes - you're not spending money when you're doing that.

Lots of people have all sorts of opinions about Disney and how they operate. So apparently some think people will spend more on shopping or eating if they aren't standing in a ride line? It isn't like a casino where they aren't making money if slot every machine is occupied and others are standing around (not able to gamble) and waiting for their chance to play. At Disney you pay to buy your daily ticket and how much/little you spend after that depends on the person. Many people on here talk about bringing they own food so they don't pay the high prices Disney charges.

 

[E.Jane]

One of the things I find funny, is how people do not count the time waiting to get into the park, as waiting in line. When I get to the park 1 or 1-1/2 hours early, our family is waiting to get on our 1st ride, just because I am not using "park time" it does not mean it doesn't exist. Over the years the RD crowds just have also gotten worse as far as size and people trying to push towards the front. I know a lot of people did not like when WDW started controlling the entrance into the park, by walking with the rope etc., but I thought this was a very good move on their part.

totally agree with this. We did rope drop once on our last trip and that's it - never again. We even did breakfast at BOG so we could be "first" in line for Peter Pan. Nope, not even close. And after doing PP, 7D was already a one hour stand by line. For our second day at MK, we arrived after lunch. We strolled up main street with no shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. Walked into Starbucks and no line. Caught a parade. Walked onto the lesser attractions and used 2 FP for headliners. We had dinner at CP and another FP to use. Didn't feel rushed, or frantic trying to beat everyone else.

Having said that, my "best" time at MK was splurging for an after-hours party for myself and my 7 year old granddaughter. We did high tea at the GF, arrived early at MK, and were let in anyway, so we shopped along main street. In 3 hours, we got 18 rides done, including at least 5 or 6 rides on Big Thunder. If you were to figure out the cost per ride, the after hours party is a much better investment compared to a full day at the park but accomplishing far fewer ridges. We are seriously considering this as our option for MK days for future trips. We're not big into parades and fireworks, or character greetings, so we wouldn't feel like we missed anything.

 

[E.Jane]

One of the things I find funny, is how people do not count the time waiting to get into the park, as waiting in line. When I get to the park 1 or 1-1/2 hours early, our family is waiting to get on our 1st ride, just because I am not using "park time" it does not mean it doesn't exist. Over the years the RD crowds just have also gotten worse as far as size and people trying to push towards the front. I know a lot of people did not like when WDW started controlling the entrance into the park, by walking with the rope etc., but I thought this was a very good move on their part.

totally agree with this. We did rope drop once on our last trip and that's it - never again. We even did breakfast at BOG so we could be "first" in line for Peter Pan. Nope, not even close. And after doing PP, 7D was already a one hour stand by line. For our second day at MK, we arrived after lunch. We strolled up main street with no shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. Walked into Starbucks and no line. Caught a parade. Walked onto the lesser attractions and used 2 FP for headliners. We had dinner at CP and another FP to use. Didn't feel rushed, or frantic trying to beat everyone else.

Having said that, my "best" time at MK was splurging for an after-hours party for myself and my 7 year old granddaughter. We did high tea at the GF, arrived early at MK, and were let in anyway, so we shopped along main street. In 3 hours, we got 18 rides done, including at least 5 or 6 rides on Big Thunder. If you were to figure out the cost per ride, the after hours party is a much better investment compared to a full day at the park but accomplishing far fewer ridges. We are seriously considering this as our option for MK days for future trips. We're not big into parades and fireworks, or character greetings, so we wouldn't feel like we missed anything.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

Rope dropping is always touted as *the* way to minimize your waits. Get in early, hit a headliner or two, and you're ahead of the game all day.

But really?

I was looking at wait time trends on thrill-data.com (pretty cool FWIW), and with very few exceptions, everything is busy in the morning, lightening up in the evening. So sure, if you're right at the front of the rope drop line and charge to your attraction, you'll be ahead.

But wouldn't it be almost as good to just flip the script? That is, saunter in around 10:00 a.m. and do the less congested rides (hello Tiki Room) during the heaviest time and then move on to the headliners mid to late afternoon. This is particularly pertinent for me because I'm trying to decide between a room with early entry privileges (Doubletree) and an offsite without it. I'm sure the early entry will help, but still.

Rope drop enthusiasts - what am I missing?

What you are describing as option B is exactly what seasoned rope-drop guests do. So basically they are arriving early to hit at least one, perhaps more, headliners, then visiting mid-tier attractions until later in the day when the crowds are more managable.

I always find it strange that these posts come up because ultimately if you rope drop, you have more time in the park to do stuff. If you don't rope drop, there's a period of time you cannot get back, regardless of how crowded it is in the park or the weather or rides potentially being down later in the day. So while each visit and each day could present different scenarios, it's still a matter of being in the park when it opens or forfeiting that amount of time with the hope that you do everything you had planned.

 

[graymendes]

Lots of people have all sorts of opinions about Disney and how they operate. So apparently some think people will spend more on shopping or eating if they aren't standing in a ride line? It isn't like a casino where they aren't making money if slot every machine is occupied and others are standing around (not able to gamble) and waiting for their chance to play. At Disney you pay to buy your daily ticket and how much/little you spend after that depends on the person. Many people on here talk about bringing they own food so they don't pay the high prices Disney charges.

This is what Disney thinks, yes, according to the folks who run this site and several others. One imagines that the folks who run analytics for Disney are smarter than we are when it comes to mass group behavior - I'm sure they're not targeting folks like us who frequent boards like this.

 

[Moms]

We always do rope drop but more to get ahead of the crowds. Nothing nicer than riding your faves and heading out as the hoards begin to descend!

 

[stinkpickle]

Being in the first wave of rope droppers has always worked for us. In fact, we're usually exiting the our first attraction before other "rope droppers" make it to theirs.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

What you are describing as option B is exactly what seasoned rope-drop guests do. So basically they are arriving early to hit at least one, perhaps more, headliners, then visiting mid-tier attractions until later in the day when the crowds are more managable.

I always find it strange that these posts come up because ultimately if you rope drop, you have more time in the park to do stuff. If you don't rope drop, there's a period of time you cannot get back, regardless of how crowded it is in the park or the weather or rides potentially being down later in the day. So while each visit and each day could present different scenarios, it's still a matter of being in the park when it opens or forfeiting that amount of time with the hope that you do everything you had planned.

But a lot of families, like ours, do not want to get up every day at dawn so we can "have more time in the parks" and, in the past, when we use to do this, our trips were not even close to be as relaxing. Of course, the more time you are in the park the more you can get done, that's so obvious. But, there is nothing better than strolling the parks at night and at MK hearing "The Kiss Goodnight" announcement while walking down main street. No need to rush back to the resort because we didn't have to worry about getting up early the next morning.
For our family we do not want to feel like we have to get up for RD to get what we want to get done and I can say 99% of the time with FP+ we never had to do RD to accomplish this and it was great. I will see how Genie+ plays out and how it will effect us and how we like doing the parks, but it really sounds like we will have to get up earlier than we would like. Time will tell
Of course all of this was when WDW hours were open later and we were leaving the park at midnight or later.

 

[VandVsmama]

Rope dropping is always touted as *the* way to minimize your waits. Get in early, hit a headliner or two, and you're ahead of the game all day.

But really?

I was looking at wait time trends on thrill-data.com (pretty cool FWIW), and with very few exceptions, everything is busy in the morning, lightening up in the evening. So sure, if you're right at the front of the rope drop line and charge to your attraction, you'll be ahead.

But wouldn't it be almost as good to just flip the script? That is, saunter in around 10:00 a.m. and do the less congested rides (hello Tiki Room) during the heaviest time and then move on to the headliners mid to late afternoon. This is particularly pertinent for me because I'm trying to decide between a room with early entry privileges (Doubletree) and an offsite without it. I'm sure the early entry will help, but still.

Rope drop enthusiasts - what am I missing?

We do both. We rope drop and then leave the park around noon. Nap & rest at the hotel, then head back around 5 pm and stay until closing. We do the same at Disneyland, too. Works out great and helps minimize DH's Theme Park Fatigue, which is a serious condition full of a multitude of symptoms.

 

[eMoneyBug]

It’s just fun and a challenge and it’s not blazing hot!

 

[mamaofsix]

What you are describing as option B is exactly what seasoned rope-drop guests do. So basically they are arriving early to hit at least one, perhaps more, headliners, then visiting mid-tier attractions until later in the day when the crowds are more managable.

I always find it strange that these posts come up because ultimately if you rope drop, you have more time in the park to do stuff. If you don't rope drop, there's a period of time you cannot get back, regardless of how crowded it is in the park or the weather or rides potentially being down later in the day. So while each visit and each day could present different scenarios, it's still a matter of being in the park when it opens or forfeiting that amount of time with the hope that you do everything you had planned.

Exactly. We rope drop to park close every time. Why? Because the cost of a ticket is so darn much that we see it as a waste to spend that much money to arrive mid-day, saunter around and then ride a few rides at night. We save for years for each trip to afford the tickets for 4 or 5 days and we stay offsite. We usually have 1 day to get everything we want done in a park. If we had a lot more $$$ and were staying onsite for 10-14 days, I'm sure that would change things.

My guess is that those who are content to only go for half the day have more expendable money (and days in the park) to burn.