August 2014 Blow by Blow Rope Drop and First Ride of the Day Tips for Each Park

[DisneyMomKB]

August 2014 WDW Trip, 5 Days of Rope Drops, 6 "First Ride of the Day" Experiences

Greetings! Decade-long lurker, first-time poster here. Many thanks for all the tips from this board, used during 18 trips over the past 11 years. We've had many wonderful Disney travels (WDW, DL, DCL Cruises, Vero Beach, and Hilton Head Island) with terrific strategies learned here. I was a bit worried about a first trip with FP+, so decided that Rope Drop would be a must for us every day.

This isn't really a trip report; it's more of a deep dive into the first 30-60 minutes of each of our park touring days. I want to share our recent rope drop experiences at all of the parks, so I finally broke down and registered as a DIS Member. We were a party of 5, myself, DH, DS 13, DNephew 13, and DD 10. I sought every hint I could find on the boards for current rope drop Best Practices, and felt I had a sound plan for each Park. Some of my Rope Drop plans worked well, others did not, but we still managed to course correct to the front of the herd and make it to the First Ride, so I thought I would share what we did, as well as what we wish we had done, in case this benefits anyone else.

Our park-touring days were 8/11 - 8/15, generally Level 7 crowds with scorching heat. As DVC Members, we stayed in the Beach Club Villas; we took taxis to the parks each day, ranging from $13 - $22 after tip, even to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, as we didn't want to risk losing time at International Gateway and/or getting tired before our day even started at HS. On our MK Days, we had the taxi drop us off at Bay Lake Tower and took the short walkway to MK. I did not want to risk losing time to inactive monorails, ferries, busses, or any other transportation issue beyond my control. Rope Drop was a main priority of our plan! Somehow, by Day 3, that morphed into "First Ride of the Day" was a secondary goal.

Apologies in advance for the long posts per Park. Sharing this much detail because I wish I had had access to this kind of information before our trip. If this should be posted elsewhere, kindly let me know. Thanks!

 

[DisneyMomKB]

After taxi and BLT walkway, we arrived at the gates at 7:30 for an 8am Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We were fresh and excited! (This AM enthusiasm will wane by Wednesday.) After our first - and easy - Magic Band / Finger Scan entrance, we went to the far left for the Character Breakfast queue and were probably 50-people deep in that line. No worries. They started letting us in at 7:45ish. We took our time, posing for our first Memory Maker pictures on a near-empty Main Street. We arrived at BBB at 8:00 and the line was outside the door, eek!, but we were quickly checked in, seated, transformed via Crown Package into a princess, and out by 8:35. The boys occupied valuable cushiony seats playing Clash of Clans while waiting for DD; I made them pause for a moment to pose with princess gowns. Upon completion, we went back to Main Street for a few more pictures, now with the hair-do, then we headed to the Inner Rope Drop at the Carrousel by 8:48. Only one other family was waiting, a party of 7 with a 5-year old clad in an Elsa gown. We could tell where they were heading! So were we. Turns out, their "No A&E Fastpass Strategy" was to book a 9:15 CRT Breakfast and wait for A&E first, a reverse of our early BBB plan, but just as effective. Except we got to do lots of rides after A&E. Note: this area majorly filled in over the next five minutes.

We had secured A&E FP+s for Thursday, but really wanted the experience while DD had BBB Hair and Makeup that had not yet been exposed to Seven Dwarfs, Big Thunder, or Splash Mountains later in the day... Plus, so we could give the FP+s back to the greater good. Our mission was to be within the first five families in Standby for A&E.

We waited on the far right hand side, so close to Princess Fairytale Hall that we could almost touch it. BIG MISTAKE. After the tired, huddled masses yearning to beat crowds made it through the castle, the inner rope drop was guided to the left, to work our way around the Carrousel. I can't believe I missed this, as I'm an avid reader of Josh's blog (easywdw). Somehow I thought we could scoot 7 inches to the right to meet the Ice Queen, but instead we were scurrying to the left to get around the Carrousel and in line. We were still slightly ahead of the masses, who were just now passing the castle. (Storming the castle?) Since a majority of the crowd was headed to 7DMT and most of the A&E crowd had strollers to park, we were still in great shape. We could have taken the lead for the first spot, but had grown fond of the nearby Elsa Family and signaled them in first. BTW, as much as the two teen boys in my party claimed they didn't want to meet any princesses, they LOVED this experience. As did my very happy DD.

Hint: When waiting at the inner rope drop at the Castle, go all the way to the left to wait there!

Mission Accomplished. We were in and out of A&E by 9:05 and off to our morning touring plan. We tackled everything on our laminated plan by 2pm (sure, I had an iPhone and lots of apps to consult, but I'm old-school and still enjoy a good, laminated plan) and left the park for a mid-day break. All FP+ worked great (7DMT, BTM, and Splash), including 4th and 5th selections for minor attractions. We relinquished the A&E FP+s that night, trading them in for a less valuable Buzz, but imagined some family's serendipitous joy at finally scoring a party of 5 for A&E.

 

[DisneyMomKB]

After what some might call a wasteful taxi ride, we were at the gates at 7:25 for an 8am EMH. Best spot we could find was second family at one of the "turnstiles." Ahead of us was a charming British Family of 4 whom we would see at Rope Drop at every EMH for the rest of the week.

At 7:55 they started letting the crowds enter the park, all Magic Bands worked great, and we began bobbing and weaving through cement barricades (aka Leave a Legacy walls) to keep left and get to Test Track asap. Despite the CM warnings not to run, there was a fair amount of running involved, prompting me to ask: Why am I the only one with a backpack??? Next time, someone else takes the backpack!!! We made it to Test Track and got in line by 8:00. We were about the 10th or 12th family in line from what we could tell.

We went through the SB line and made it to the Create Your Car room in record time. Here's where we lucked out. We were happy enough to be in the first overall group for car creation, then even more fortunate that we were sent to Row 2, Stations 1 and 2. There were maybe 8-10 stations on each side of the room. When the doors opened to release us to the ride, the higher numbered stations were out of luck. Only the Row 1, Station 1 team got ahead of us in line. They would become our Arch-Nemesis Duo for the remainder of the week: a budgey brother team from France whom we nicknamed the French Budge Brothers (FBBs). They pushed ahead of us, then tried to get their parents to push past 8 or so families to meet up with them, but the ride would not wait for their slower, more polite parents. Please note, I mean no disrespect to France or its vast and varied citizens. There are probably oodles of great people from France. These two guys just happened to be rude, budgey, and from France, and would be repeat antagonists in our next three Rope Drops, hence the nickname/acronym. We still considered this to be a First Ride, as we were within the first grouping, even if the FBBs were in Car 1 and we were in Car 2.

Mission Accomplished. We completed Test Track by 8:15, then got in and out of the Single Rider Line by 8:40, to continue our laminated plan for day. We had FP+s for Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth, and Soarin'. Our only wait of the week longer than 15 minutes was today: Maelstrom via Standby. Everyone was apparently indulging in one last ride of a lifetime... by 11:45 when we were ready for our 4th FP+, FP+s were not available for Maelstrom; the early afternoon wait was posted at 20 minutes. Our actual wait was just over 30.

 

[DisneyMomKB]

Since we were staying out until at least 11pm every night, the 6am wake-up call on Day 3 of touring was much harder to respond to. I couldn't get the gang moving, so we didn't make it to AK EMH until 7:40, arriving via taxi. Only two turnstiles were queuing, and we were about the 40th family in line. Ugh. Up near the front: (cue villainous music) the French Budge Brothers. Double Ugh.

There were many other "uncovered" turnstiles up front (no cloths over them, indicating a closure), so I walked up and pleasantly asked CM Dottie if this EMH would be using only the two current lines, or possibly more. Dottie made a big announcement for folks to spread out to all available machines, and boom!, we were first in queue at Dottie's line. Thanks, Dottie!
Hint: If something doesn't feel right, ask about it. I couldn't believe they would use only 2 lines with all these people, when all other parks had been maximizing queues. Being 1st instead of 40th really helped our plan.

I asked Dottie if the best bet to get to EE was still to head toward Dinoland, cut past the Nemo Show, round the bend, and get in line. She totally agreed. We were ready! They started scanning us around 7:50. ON NO, I got the dreaded blue light of first ride death. (Our one and only experience with this.) I told the rest of my family to go without me and I'd catch up. Whew, the 4th time was a charm, and I quickly caught up to my gang (Why am I still carrying the backpack when I have two track-star teenagers with me???) then led them to EE.

When we got to Dinoland, we saw the mother of the French Budge Brothers. The place was totally empty, so she was lost and asked a CM for directions to EE. He sent her all the way back to the standard path. Is it wrong that this made me smile?

We arrived at EE and trotted toward the first spot in line, only to be slightly outpaced by the French Budge Brothers - coming from the long way at a much higher rate of speed than we cared to aim for. (No sign of their mom yet.) (Huge grin!) Still, we were happy to be on the first ride of the day, no matter if the FBBs were in the first seat. We looked behind, and lo and behold, our British chums from yesterday's Epcot Rope Drop were on the same ride. Well done, chaps! The British Boys did a very cute "sleeping" pose for the on-ride photo. We thought it was great and copied that pose later, on our third EE ride of the day. Ho hum, Yeti!

Mission Accomplished: We rode the first ride of the day, and when we exited, EE was still a walk-on, so we walked right on. Then we were off to finish our laminated plan, FP+s worked great for the Safari, EE, and Kali River Rapids; our sole timing snafu of the day was not getting to Lion King on time and having Standing Room Only, um, "seats" for the 1pm show. I should have known better. Still, overall, we had a wild day, as the CMs say!

 

[DisneyMomKB]

Having already done A&E, 7DMT, BTM, Splash, and Space on Monday, we were back for EMH armed with mid-morning FP+s for 7DMT, Space, and Buzz, plus a plan to be on the first ride of Space at 8, then on the first ride of Big Thunder at 9.

8:00 Rope Drop, EMH for Space Mountain.

We used the taxi to BLT, walkway to MK plan again, and arrived at 7:25. We were past the turnstiles and in the courtyard all the way to the right, centered on the archway, about 15 rows back, with no hope of moving up. I laid out the "stay right and head to Tomorrowland as soon as possible" plan to the family, we paid little to no attention to the Good Morning, Good Morning song that was greeting us, and readied for our adventure. As the crowds started to move en masse, around 7:50, we realized quickly how impossible this rope drop was to navigate. I was grateful that, for this trip, we didn't have a stroller, wheelchair, ECV, or broken foot of any kind (we'd had any and all in the past, for one trip or another) and that my kids were tall and independent, as holding hands and navigating choices between ankle-twisting Main Street, or store front narrowing sidewalks, was complex. Cast Members were blocking Tomorrowland access at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, so we couldn't break off until later, in the hub. By then, it was truly like the running of the bulls. My cross-country / track trained boys were ready, and they were off. My daughter kept pace, too. I was only somewhat delayed by that stoopid backpack, and my husband was sitting out this ride. He agrees with Josh: not good for the joints. CMs had only lame warnings not to run, so we speed-walked. (Sped-walked?) Anyhow, we passed the nice British Family and shouted hellos over our shoulders. My daughter was first in line at Space, when out of nowhere, boom!, one of the French Budge Brothers hip-checked her out of place and swooped in. Now, you've got to be kidding me. They are twice her size. Should first place really come with that level of pushing and shoving? CMs said nothing, and not wanting to lose our still-awesome spot, I said nothing to the CMs, just muttered some of my best choppy age-old high school French thoughts to the Budge Brothers, and we were soon on the first ride of the day.

Mission Accomplished: Despite a very dangerous-feeling rope drop walk and a moderately annoyed daughter, (she hates to lose!) (I don't know where she gets it...), we were on the first Space Mountain ride of the day and off by 8:10. By the time we exited the ride, the Space line was so significant we didn't attempt a second ride, moved on to Buzz for several friendly rounds of competition (3 walk-ons!), indulged my DH in a coffee break, then headed toward Fantasyland to our favorite Frontierland Rope Drop stop.

 

[DisneyMomKB]

9:00 Rope Drop, Regular Opening for Big Thunder.

We arrived at the Frontierland Rope Drop near Peter Pan at 8:45. I thought about attempting another Fantasyland ride during EMH, but all wait times were posting at least 15 minutes, and we had experienced all these attractions on Monday, so we chose to wait for Big Thunder. Good thing! In all our trips, we have always had to wait, on EMH Days, for a second rope drop to Frontierland, but there were several very vocal folks in the crowd declaring they'd never, ever, not once, never had to wait for this ridiculous second rope drop in "35 trips to Disney over the past 15 years." They must have been super lucky in the past. We were well accustomed to a brief rope drop moment then a brisk walk to Big Thunder on EMH days.

The CMs announced that there would be 4 starts and stops on the way to Frontierland, to merge with the many other Rope Drops that were gathering elsewhere. Wait, what? This part WAS new to us. It was a restless, rowdy, pushy crowd, still riled up from the insanity of the 8am rope drop. We started at 8:56 and went from Peter Pan to Haunted Mansion then waited, we moved up to the stockades and stopped to merge with the Main Street crowd. We moved up closer to the bridge, and stopped again. No idea where more crowds could possibly be coming from. From our awesome original placement, we stayed in the very front spot at every stop. We - finally - were released to the bridge and took off, to get stopped again at the attractions (Splash or Big Thunder). It was nuts. However, we managed to be the first family in line at Big Thunder! Yay! After four prior attractions of (1x) letting a family go ahead and (3x) getting bumped by the French Budge Brothers, we felt victorious to be truly first!

And guess who was three families behind us, not feeling the magic? The French Budge Brothers! Super Huge Grin!!! I took a picture of them, to savor the moment. They covered their faces with their arms, a la perp walk. Quite possibly, they have an international reputation for budging and could not risk being photographed in a stateside theme park...

Mission Accomplished: This was our favorite First Ride of the week, based mainly upon the FBBs arriving well after we did so not being able to budge ahead of us. And, since it was, after all, Big Thunder Mountain, a pretty awesome ride. We next headed to a near-empty Adventureland for more fun, before using our 3 scheduled FP+s for rides then another for Be Our Guest Lunch. Another magical day!

 

[DisneyMomKB]

Knowing that the HS Rope Drop was the same painful CM-led slow walk as MK, we arrived by 8:10 for a 9:00 park opening. You guessed it, we took a taxi, even though Beach Club promises a leisurely stroll or boatride. We were about 5th family in line for the least-populated turnstile, while hoards of matching tee shirted high school students were being let in for a special early entry just for them, all the way to the right. After the students were off on their tour, they allowed guests to move over to those two turnstiles; we had stayed on our toes, speculating this might happen, so we managed to once again be first in line. As an aside, I decided not to trust anyone else with the family backpack, as I now had a proven track record of getting speedily from Point A to Point B with the extra pounds... (Plus, the boys had confessed that they would not carry anything with such a pink, girly Vera Bradley pattern. Note to self: a plain black backpack next time!)

Sidenote: we had originally scheduled an 8:00 Character Breakfast at H&V in order to have what we perceived as a rope drop advantage. I'd already made these teen boys meet A&E, so what was a few Disney Junior characters we had never heard of, right? But when I learned on the boards that I'd need to be out by 8:35/8:40 in order to get ready for the Olaf show and wouldn't be further released to the rides until the crowd met up with us, we decided there was NO advantage, cancelled our ADRs, and went with a standard non-EMH Rope Drop. My teens and wallet were all satisfied with this approach.

It was raining quite hard, and the rain lasted the full hour of our morning wait and walk time. We were glad to be first and under cover. Hundreds of other early folks were stranded in the rain this entire time. Lots of ponchos. Not a lot of smiles. And absolutely no need to go find Gene Kelly's umbrella later...

The CM told us they would start scanning at 8:50, but at 8:45 they started to scan Magic Bands, and we were on our way to the holding tank near the Olaf Show. My husband is a huge liability on our trips, always requiring unthinkable amenities such as food, coffee refills, and bathroom breaks, sheesh, and at 8:25 back in line, he had asked when could he go to the bathroom. To the amusement of others nearby, I consulted the laminated plan and let him know that at 9:15 after TSMM, he could have some personal time. Moving on, four of us in our party made it to the Olaf Rope Drop at the stage in record time, well, record time as calculated by the maximum possible speed of a slow, pushy walk. No sign of my DH. We chatted with awesome CM Karen, who told us she was loading riders on to TSMM today and we should stick with her! Just before the show started, DH smushed his way through the crowd to join us, grinning while sharing that he had violated my laminated plan and took an unapproved trip to the restroom. It was our 17th Anniversary, so I let him have this one unplanned stop... Alas, all was still well with the plan. We paid little attention to Olaf's greeting, preferring to get into the zone for our final leg of the walk to TSMM.

Then it was time. This part of the rope drop was very much like the Frontierland walk from Fantasyland. Stops and starts to merge lines. Keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside your... personal space. It's going to get intense.

As others have advised, when walking through the triple archway near Little Mermaid, use the big arch, as the small side arches get too cramped. We stayed close to awesome CM Karen, and that's the line (well, amoeba-shaped formation) she was leading - big arch. As we got closer to the ride, CMs kept falling out of line to take on their real responsibility, but Karen was seeing this line all the way through, so she was really the main line leader for this day.

We entered the queue as the first family. A non-smiling woman with a stroller rider and two other young boys, I'm guessing they were about 2-1/2 and 3-1/2, was on our heels. She pushed her toddlers under the attraction rope ahead of us and told them to keep going while she parked the stroller. The CMs told them they needed to stay with their family. They were well-coached and said "We are family" but they were told they needed to be in line with ADULTS, and went back under the rope to find their mother at stroller parking. Another tip: do not send your toddlers alone into a crowded ride to hold your place in line. Just. Don't.

We had no sightings of the Nice British Family or the French Budge Brothers today, likely because there were no AM EMHs on this day, subliminally directing Disney Guests to a particular park for optimal enjoyment. I'm sure both parties fared well in their respective adventures. We did not pine for the FBBs, but would have liked one final chance to say cheerio to the Nice British Family.

Mission Accomplished: Well, partially accomplished. We were First Family on TSMM! Though somewhat soggy, it was super fun and very rewarding, after that insane walk to the attraction. Did I mention it was our anniversary? We were wearing our Anniversary pins, and as we exited, a CM approached us and gave us 5 paper Fast Passes good for any of the headliner attractions in HS! Thank you! We were floored by the Pixie Dust. A paper FP collection! How novel, and thrilling, and retro. And not until we got to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster did we realize how valuable they were. We expected no more than a 30-minute wait at RnR, but were shocked when seeing an 85-minute wait posted. It was only 9:12AM. We bailed on our RnR plan, (my first pre-laminated fail of the week) heading instead to Tower of Terror for back-to-back walk-ons, and returned to use the Bonus Fast Passes at RnR later, after using our scheduled FP+ at ToT, Star Tours, and TSMM; RnR was our very last ride of the trip. We let the boys choose the Last Ride as their reward for participating in all aspects of our Frozen Summer Fun Premium Package...

 

[DisneyMomKB]

In summary, the most important thing you need to do for a successful First Ride at Rope Drop is to get there early. If you think you are arriving early, you are still not quite early enough. The difference from being 40th in line vs 3rd in line will make all the difference in your ride placement, and your subsequent day. Of course, if you are 400th in line at any of these attractions post rope-drop, it will still go quickly and you'll be better off than being 10,000th later in the day, without Rope Drop. Lastly, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are simply painful Rope Drop processes, so you need to be prepared. Here is a final summary, for training for your own First Ride of the Day
Challenge:

1. Get there early. Come on. Get there even earlier than that. (You can sleep at home!)

2. Consider booking pre-opening breakfasts or BBBs to enhance your Rope Drop positioning, if they work for your family and your plan. Some early offerings may inadvertently work against you, so know the difference.

3. Keep your eyes open for optimal turnstiles. If it seems like more should be open, politely ask. Or stay on the lookout and move in to a new spot when they give the inevitable all-clear to more turnstiles.

4. They start releasing the crowds just a little bit ahead of the final moments of the opening "shows" so be poised.

5. Know your destination; you'll head one way for 7DMT and another for Space Mountain. Be prepared.

6. Remember where the barricades are (Carrousel / Leave a Legacy / etc.) and where the stops/starts are, plan accordingly. Stay close to the cast member or family ahead of you, without stepping them out of their sneakers, yet don't create wide openings to allow others to scooch into your space.

7. Be friendly to all CMs, especially when asking about opening up more turnstiles or what path to take.

8. Be early, smart, and prepared, but don't be rude, pushy, or budgey yourself. You can still be first, while remembering and following the Golden Rule. (We regularly asked ourselves: would anyone else be calling US the French Budge Brothers??? Heck, no!)

9. Don't send your toddlers alone into a crowded attraction to hold your place in line. (Who would have guessed that needed to be a tip?)

10. Have fun! You're at Disney! Enjoy every moment. Smile! Heck, Josh might be there counting the smiles. Or a cast member might be handing out bonus fast passes, but not if you're a grouchy bunch. If you're like us and enjoy your moments even better in even shorter lines, then this Rope Drop strategy might be for you, too.

Cleary, I am a Rope Drop Fan. Possibly Fanatic. I'm sharing this only for any other Rope Drop Fans who would like to see a recent summary of How To Get On the First Ride of the Day at Each Park. This strategy, combined with FP+, allowed us to have at least three rides on all of our favorites over the course of 5 days with hoppers. There are many other terrific ways to tour Disney Parks, and you should do what works best for your travel team. For my slightly competitive, highly corny family, this is what works for us!

 

[ericstac]

When we got to Dinoland, we saw the mother of the French Budge Brothers. The place was totally empty, so she was lost and asked a CM for directions to EE. He sent her all the way back to the standard path. Is it wrong that this made me smile?

LMAO

 

[TennesseeGirl]

Are you a writer? Very entertaining and informative. I always try to get to rope drop but would never dare dream of being on the first ride. I'm feeling inspired!

 

[BurleyGirl]

Oh my goodness!! To say I enjoyed your TR would be a complete understatement...I loved it!!! Superbly written...captivating even! Seriously, I'm going to print this one out and read it to my group (we have a couple who are going with us as their first trip to Disney so they have no idea what to expect nor the extent to which planning is done), and in our next planning session where I roll out the itinerary, I will be reading this TR aloud. I hope I can deliver it as well as it is written, but I think they'll get the gist of what a crazy ride they're in for!!

Very disappointed to read about your long wait for RnRC after that coveted place at TSMM! Wow, we're not going to be able to get much done at all

And, what time were you hailing the taxis from BC? We're staying at YC, and I like your idea for taxis, at least for MK. I guess getting a taxi for a group of five is not an issue? And, plan on about $15 for this trek (love the tip about BLT and walking from there!).

Again, thanks for all this detailed info!!! While it brought bad news (ie, the realization of not being able to ride TSMM and RnRC), it was delivered with such enjoyment that it almost made up for it!!

I hope you get lots more readers than this, as you're truly worthy!

 

[ChgoMusicGirl]

You are a woman after my own heart! I'm a die hard rope dropper, although due to my stroller rider, we're not always first riders! The tip about tapstiles is the best. Worked multiple times in our favor, keep your eyes open and always be nice!

 

[tazadd0420]

Excellent post. Informative, extremely entertaining, and well written. Provided a smile to my day. Thank you.

 

[I M Fearless]

Thank-you. Exactly the post I was looking for!

Detailed up to date descriptions of RD across all four parks.

 

[mousekatool]

Thanks for an incredibly entertaining and informative report! We are rope droppers, and have an early ADR planned for our first MK day, but it's good to hear how the regular processional goes. And I was mentally fist pumping when you guys dusted the French Budge Bros- people like that give me park road rage.

 

[srauseo]

Our only wait of the week longer than 15 minutes was today: Maelstrom via Standby. Everyone was apparently indulging in one last ride of a lifetime... by 11:45 when we were ready for our 4th FP+, FP+s were not available for Maelstrom; the early afternoon wait was posted at 20 minutes. Our actual wait was just over 30.

Ditto. We were at EPCOT on the same day and the actual wait for Maelstrom was longer than posted - though I think we were there around 11:30/noon.

Enjoying reading your rope drop/first ride tips!

 

[srauseo]

Sidenote: we had originally scheduled an 8:00 Character Breakfast at H&V in order to have what we perceived as a rope drop advantage. I'd already made these teen boys meet A&E, so what was a few Disney Junior characters we had never heard of, right? But when I learned on the boards that I'd need to be out by 8:35/8:40 in order to get ready for the Olaf show and wouldn't be further released to the rides until the crowd met up with us, we decided there was NO advantage, cancelled our ADRs, and went with a standard non-EMH Rope Drop. My teens and wallet were all satisfied with this approach.

We did the H&V character breakfast - but we had a 6 year old and 3 year old with our group and they love those Disney Junior Characters. We were out of the restaurant by 8:45 without feeling rushed at all. We had seen all the characters, hit the buffet multiple times, everyone got a bathroom break, and darling niece got to dance and sing to her hearts content. We got back to the breakfast holding area rope just as they were just letting people into the park so we were first into the Olaf show holding area and got into position at the rope on the right side of the stage. All this is to say, I think you can do the H&V breakfast and be first in line. Buttttt...I wouldn't do it if you really don't have any interest in the characters. Many folks who had just entered the park were right next to us so I don't think there is any real advantage. And, you may have a problem checking out or get slow service so there's no guarantee.

 

[srauseo]

We were also at Magic Kingdom on Thursday for EMH and our original goal was 7DMT. We were near the front of the pack at the tunnel at the entrance. My nephew had a meltdown that morning so BIL hung back with him. Even without the stroller slowing us down it was hard to maintain position. The line was already very long for 7DMT by the time we arrived but then my sister overheard a CM say that the ride was on a delayed opening, i.e., down. We had a FP for 7DMT for the next day so we quickly shifted gears. We hit up several Fantasyland rides in progression - Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Tea Cups, Dumbo and Barnstormer - all with little to no wait and all by 9am. My sister and niece had a FP for Anna & Elsa and the rest of us went to Sleepy Hollow for waffles to get a snack and wait for them. They joined us shortly thereafter and we walked into Haunted Mansion, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Little Mermaid - again with little to no wait. It was a very productive morning for us. That said, I think I would plan to do Tomorrowland at rope drop on my next trip. We planned it for an afternoon and it was very congested - but we had FPs for Space Mountain and Buzz.

I laughed when you mentioned people getting upset about the second rope drop for Fronteirland. I thought everyone knew those weren't EMH rides but people are always claiming otherwise.

 

[srauseo]

We did CRT breakfast on Friday and again were finished by 8:45 and ahead of the crowds coming down Main Street, though not by too much. We were the first family to check in and be seated for breakfast so that may have helped with our timing. Since this is pre-paid, we just left when we were done. We walked directly over to Big Thunder Mountain and waited outside the queue area just a few families back of the entrance. We didn't notice any other ropes during this walk but it wasn't an EMH morning so I'm guessing procedure differs on non-EMH days. We were on one of the first trains of the day. When our ride finished, there was no one in line so the CM said the words you dream to hear when you are on BTMM, "If you want to ride again, just stay in your seat."

 

[srauseo]

Your tips are great.

I cannot agree more that rope dropping really maximizes the number of rides you can get. We got more done in that first hour than any other time of day. Yes, you have to get up early. We took buses from AoA and our goal was to be heading out the door at 6:30am for EMH mornings or pre-opening breakfasts and 7:30am for regular openings. But we took a nice long break every afternoon and went back to the park with FPs for headliners, dinner ADRs, etc., in the evening.

But, it's definitely not for everyone. The rope drop crowd can be pretty intense - especially at HS and MK. I found them less so at EPCOT and AK (at AK we went to the Safari first so maybe that colors my impression). It's not easy with small children. I wish I had a brilliant idea to improve the process somewhat, especially at HS.

However, if you can deal with getting up early, the 10 minutes of mild chaos, and sometimes being exposed to the uglier side of your fellow patrons (FBB!), I say go for it!