Early morning Rope Drop rush!

[cousininmiami]

So my question is, at the 4 parks, what do you rush to at "Rope Drop"?

Now that the "new" Star Tours is up and running, where do I rush to, Star Tours or Toy Story Mania? Previously, we went directly to Toy Story but now we might need to go to Star Tours first! At MK, we would go directly to Pooh fastpasses and ride Dumbo because it always has the longest line! At EPCOT, we would go to Soarin' and Animal Kingdom to Everest.

[Amy]

Good question! I found this past trip I didn't rush much of anywhere. When you are traveling with someone that needs extra assistance, you have to go with the flow. I'll have to give this a think and decide what I would do if I could zoom anywhere I wanted...

[theBIGyowski]

MK: FP for Space Mountain...then ride Dumbo and every other Fantasyland attraction because you will not have a wait longer than 10-15 minutes. We did not wait more than 5-10 minutes for anything in Fantasyland...which by lunch had 30-45 minute waits on everything.

EP: FP for Soarin'...then ride it and make your way back over to Test Track.

HS: Head to TSMM and ride it...don't waste your time standing in line for FP. I rode ST2 a few times and even when the line was packed I never waited more than 25 minutes. Go get a FP for RnR after riding TSMM because it's much more pleasant waiting in line for ToT than RnR. It is definitely the one attraction you want to avoid standby if at all possible.

AK: Get FP for Everest...then walk over to the Safari and do that...then head to Dinosaur to ride that...then circle back to Everest and you should be able to use your FP by then.


Go to rope drop for 2 things:

1. Experience the fanfare put on by the CMs and characters.
2. Get shorter lines and earlier FPs.

[cousininmiami]

MK: FP for Space Mountain...then ride Dumbo and every other Fantasyland attraction because you will not have a wait longer than 10-15 minutes. We did not wait more than 5-10 minutes for anything in Fantasyland...which by lunch had 30-45 minute waits on everything.

EP: FP for Soarin'...then ride it and make your way back over to Test Track.

HS: Head to TSMM and ride it...don't waste your time standing in line for FP. I rode ST2 a few times and even when the line was packed I never waited more than 25 minutes. Go get a FP for RnR after riding TSMM because it's much more pleasant waiting in line for ToT than RnR. It is definitely the one attraction you want to avoid standby if at all possible.

AK: Get FP for Everest...then walk over to the Safari and do that...then head to Dinosaur to ride that...then circle back to Everest and you should be able to use your FP by then.


Go to rope drop for 2 things:

1. Experience the fanfare put on by the CMs and characters.
2. Get shorter lines and earlier FPs.

I am going to use your touring suggestions! I especially like the MK and HS ideas, awesome!

[theBIGyowski]

Yeah...we pretty much walked on Dumbo, Snow White, and Small World. We waited 5 minutes for Peter Pan and Pooh. We also timed it just right to walk right in Philharmagic with almost no wait.

It was a lesson for us that when we have kids we need to make sure we are at MK for rope drop because once you get to the afternoon it is almost not even worth being there because it's hotter, kids are cranky, and the lines are much longer.

I honestly think that had we avoided TSMM altogether at rope drop we could have ridden RnR and ToT over and over again with minimal waits that morning.

[Jacca5660]

My FAVORITE rope drop is the first day of Star Wars weekend. First thing to do is head for Tatooine Traders and be one of the first to go through and get all the new Star Wars stuff!!

[Amy]

Yeah...we pretty much walked on Dumbo, Snow White, and Small World. We waited 5 minutes for Peter Pan and Pooh. We also timed it just right to walk right in Philharmagic with almost no wait.

It was a lesson for us that when we have kids we need to make sure we are at MK for rope drop because once you get to the afternoon it is almost not even worth being there because it's hotter, kids are cranky, and the lines are much longer.

I honestly think that had we avoided TSMM altogether at rope drop we could have ridden RnR and ToT over and over again with minimal waits that morning.

We used to get to Fantasyland early as well. It is well worth having to wait in a little longer queues in other lands later in the day in order to get through Fantasyland when it is less crowded!

[Sleepy90]

Ok I probably should not admit to this but I have never done a rope drop, are they really that good?

[Amy]

Ok I probably should not admit to this but I have never done a rope drop, are they really that good?

We went this past December as the rope drop was the first official part of the Mayhem Marauder's meet-n-Greet. It was cute, several characters came out on the balcony of the railroad and waved. It was very crowded though F1gment and I were the last people allowed through our turnstyle so that helped us not to get too squished as we had no one directly behind us. I'll put up the few photos I have from rope drop when I am on my other computer in a bit.
EDIT: Here you go Sleepy ~ I only took a few since it was so crowded and I was trying to find a familiar face in the throngs of people ~ which was difficult because I only had a description of the Mousekecouple to go on

[lonepalm]

I never really rush anywhere. I like to be there for rope drop if possible, but I never run to one place or the other. I try to enjoy the walk and take in the ambiance and the scenery, while other people rush around to get to where they want to go. I tried that a few times a few trips back, and I realized that I'm on vacation. Rushing from one ride to another just isn't my idea of a vacation. I will be content to wait a few more minutes and take a nice leisurely walk and appreciate and take every thing in rather than rush by and not get into "that mood" that Disney tries to put you in. When you go to WDW, you are supposed to leave the real world behind, along with your cares, worries, and such. I try to do that as much as possible!

[theBIGyowski]

Rope Drop at DHS felt like a mad rush to get to TSMM...and I did not like that at all.

Rope Drop at MK was very relaxing and we strolled down Main Street and through the castle to Fantasyland...where we almost walked on everything. It was awesome and we didn't rush around at all.

[cousininmiami]

Does anyone know a family or person that ever got chosen for the "First Family" at Magic Kingdom? (or any other park for that matter). And if so, how do you get chosen?

[Jhuff8181]

MK: Space Mountain

EP: Test Track

HS: Tower of Terror

AK: Everest or Safari

Okay, the kids rush around. I like to take it all in from open to close, no rushing for me.

[NaCler]

Does anyone know a family or person that ever got chosen for the "First Family" at Magic Kingdom? (or any other park for that matter). And if so, how do you get chosen?

I've heard that there isn't a certain formula for being the "First Family" but that they do prefer families of 4 or 5 with children that are not too young or too old and that you need to be there around 30 minutes before the rope drop show.

[Amy]

Does anyone know a family or person that ever got chosen for the "First Family" at Magic Kingdom? (or any other park for that matter). And if so, how do you get chosen?

I've heard that there isn't a certain formula for being the "First Family" but that they do prefer families of 4 or 5 with children that are not too young or too old and that you need to be there around 30 minutes before the rope drop show.

You've got to get down there pretty soon then, you have the perfect family size, your kids are adorable, but they aren't getting any younger Although I suppose you do have a few years before they are considered too "old"