Help me understand rope drop advantage

[over50visits]

What a great thread...I'm thinking that if I get to the entrance 30-60 minutes early, I'll have a short or zero wait for one ride, then mix in with the other on time (or a few minutes early) arrivers. If instead I am one of the few minute early arrivers, I'll have still have short lines for a while, but I'll miss out on one ride. A reasonable tradeoff. A bonus appears to materialize when they let you in earlier than posted opening time.

 

[k5xs]

“Rope Drop is no longer necessary now that Genie+ has thoroughly enhanced the guest experience.”

Bob Chapek

/s

 

[xipotec]

Wait an hour before park opening to walk on 2 or more rides that have an hour each wait later in the day ??

Its a net win.

As far as the energy thing, I always go from
open to close, ADR in the middle to refuel and rest….

 

[orakle44]

Here’s a final thought to ponder:

10 people tell you it’s better to arrive early and 2 tell you it’s better to stay late.

Does that mean that early is the better option, or does it mean that early is 5 times more crowded than late.

Think about it.

You also have to put it into perspective that this is a forum for essentially the Disney "pros", rope dropping is definitely not the norm with "normal" people. Rope dropping will always make more sense to do if you want to maximize your experience.

 

[picktails]

In over 20 visits in my lifetime, I only witnessed a rope drop once, at Epcot. My teenaged son had an early Segway tour, and we entered through the International Gateway at about 7:30am. I sat by the fountain as he checked in and then left on the tour, and witnessed the rope drop happening from the front entrance. I actually thought those people were crazy.

But then again we always stayed onsite, and LOVED the later hours at the parks. I remember riding Buzz 3 times in a row at about 2am when my kids were between 10 & 13 - we were giddy tired and it was a blast. We never rushed out in the mornings and never had any issues riding everything using fast pass.

The situation might be very different for my upcoming trip at the end of September with my daughter (26) and her friend. But we have Genie+ every day and park hopping, so with a firm understanding of the new system I'm pretty confident there is no need to rush out in the mornings. Different strokes!

 

[over50visits]

You also have to put it into perspective that this is a forum for essentially the Disney "pros", rope dropping is definitely not the norm with "normal" people. Rope dropping will always make more sense to do if you want to maximize your experience.

I'm not sure "maximize your experience" means "ride as many rides as you can." I agree that may be what it means to many people, but perhaps to others riding 1 or 2 fewer rides without getting up at 6 or 7 a.m. (or pick a time) contributes to a fuller experience.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I'm not sure "maximize your experience" means "ride as many rides as you can." I agree that may be what it means to many people, but perhaps to others riding 1 or 2 fewer rides without getting up at 6 or 7 a.m. (or pick a time) contributes to a fuller experience.

For us, “maximizing our experience” includes multiple rerides on the headliners with short waits.

This might mean 3 rides on Rise, or maybe a 5 or 6 round tournament on Toy Story Mania.

I just don’t see a morning plan that allows for things like this.

 

[orakle44]

I'm not sure "maximize your experience" means "ride as many rides as you can." I agree that may be what it means to many people, but perhaps to others riding 1 or 2 fewer rides without getting up at 6 or 7 a.m. (or pick a time) contributes to a fuller experience.

But by default it would be a fuller experience as you are in the parks doing the things that you want to do as opposed to spending a couple extra hours sleeping. Then in the afternoon if you need a recharge had back to the resort, rest/swim and recharge your batteries while the parks are full with people and its the hottest part of the day.

 

[orakle44]

For us, “maximizing our experience” includes multiple rerides on the headliners with short waits.

This might mean 3 rides on Rise, or maybe a 5 or 6 round tournament on Toy Story Mania.

I just don’t see a morning plan that allows for things like this.

But again if you got there first thing in the AM you would be able to hit a couple of those attractions quickly. Then you can also do your thing in the evening as well.

 

[DisneyFive]

For us, “maximizing our experience” includes multiple rerides on the headliners with short waits.

This might mean 3 rides on Rise, or maybe a 5 or 6 round tournament on Toy Story Mania.

I just don’t see a morning plan that allows for things like this.

The only way to get three rides with short waits for something like ROTR is to purchase the ILL and jump in line at rope drop AND right before Park close.

 

[Upatnoon]

The only way to get three rides with short waits for something like ROTR is to purchase the ILL and jump in line at rope drop AND right before Park close.

 

[Upatnoon]

Or buy a VIP Tour

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

The only way to get three rides with short waits for something like ROTR is to purchase the ILL and jump in line at rope drop AND right before Park close.

That’s not correct. We were at DHS in May. We hit Rise at 7:40 pm. The posted wait was 85 minutes but the actual wait was 15.

We were back in line at 8:20 for a 2nd ride. The posted wait was still 85, but the actual wait was only 5 minutes.

We were off by 8:45. We could have done a 3rd trip but opted instead for Tower of Terror. Posted wait was 80 minutes with an actual wait of 10. All done just after the 9 pm closing time.

So yes, you can ride Rise 3 times in about an hour if you wait for the right time. No rope drop or ILL purchase required.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

But again if you got there first thing in the AM you would be able to hit a couple of those attractions quickly. Then you can also do your thing in the evening as well.

That would be a good plan, but we’re no longer open to close types. We don’t take afternoon breaks as there are too many afternoon type attractions to enjoy (CoP, Laugh Floor, Beauty & Beast, etc) that we wouldn’t use prime time for. We do hop every day just for a quick cool down and freshen up time.

My kids like to hit the headliners multiple times, and I just don’t see how that would work in the morning like it does in the evening.

 

[DisneyFive]

That’s not correct. We were at DHS in May. We hit Rise at 7:40 pm. The posted wait was 85 minutes but the actual wait was 15.

We were back in line at 8:20 for a 2nd ride. The posted wait was still 85, but the actual wait was only 5 minutes.

We were off by 8:45. We could have done a 3rd trip but opted instead for Tower of Terror. Posted wait was 80 minutes with an actual wait of 10. All done just after the 9 pm closing time.

So yes, you can ride Rise 3 times in about an hour if you wait for the right time. No rope drop or ILL purchase required.

I believe you, but I also think it’s unusual to have a 15 minute wait for ROTR more than an hour before the park closes. We will be there next week and find out for ourselves. I hope we have the same luck as you because that is how we plan to ride ROTR ( and FOP at AK FWIW), right before park close

 

[parasail_of_congress]

That’s not correct. We were at DHS in May. We hit Rise at 7:40 pm. The posted wait was 85 minutes but the actual wait was 15.

We were back in line at 8:20 for a 2nd ride. The posted wait was still 85, but the actual wait was only 5 minutes.

We were off by 8:45. We could have done a 3rd trip but opted instead for Tower of Terror. Posted wait was 80 minutes with an actual wait of 10. All done just after the 9 pm closing time.

So yes, you can ride Rise 3 times in about an hour if you wait for the right time. No rope drop or ILL purchase required.

What you are describing is akin to hitting the lottery. It worked out in your case, but no one should expect this to be normal.

The original question in this thread was about the advantage of rope drop, but you seem to be focused on only evening experiences. I don't think anyone is suggesting it's bad to ride at night - it's just that if you rope drop, you have more opportunities to ride.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I believe you, but I also think it’s unusual to have a 15 minute wait for ROTR more than an hour before the park closes. We will be there next week and find out for ourselves. I hope we have the same luck as you because that is how we plan to ride ROTR ( and FOP at AK FWIW), right before park close

I hope it works out for you. Just keep in mind that the posted wait times are intentionally exaggerated at night to discourage late riders.

We often find the posted times to be about 4x the actual wait. We leaned about these techniques in the 1998 Unofficial Guide and have been doing this successfully for several years.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

What you are describing is akin to hitting the lottery. It worked out in your case, but no one should expect this to be normal.

I wish I could hit the lottery every time I played. We’ve been doing this for several years and have always found it to be successful, no matter what time of year we visit. You just have to understand the crowd patterns and flow of the parks.

The Rise example above is just one from our most recent trip, I could give you several more samples from whatever the hottest attraction at the time was over the years.

 

[lovethesun12]

I'm not sure "maximize your experience" means "ride as many rides as you can." I agree that may be what it means to many people, but perhaps to others riding 1 or 2 fewer rides without getting up at 6 or 7 a.m. (or pick a time) contributes to a fuller experience.

True. I love rope drop but we are morning people and up at 6am every day anyway. It really depends on the person. We actually do the morning and evening thing because we like avoiding the afternoon heat since we often go in summer.

 

[SealedSeven]

Here’s a final thought to ponder:

10 people tell you it’s better to arrive early and 2 tell you it’s better to stay late.

Does that mean that early is the better option, or does it mean that early is 5 times more crowded than late.

Think about it.

And possibly most of that 12 does both