One last rant, rope drop runners grow up

[Beer Me]

I’ve found if I arrive 30-40 minutes before early entry and walk semi-briskly with the crowd the wait for any headliner wont be more than 15 minutes or so. I just stay out of the runner’s way. They’re only gaining a few minutes at best.
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Edit to add an anecdote - We rope dropped Hagrids at universal when it opened and in Suess landing the pavement had been hosed down and there were multiple team members shouting “No running! The ground is slippery! You will fall down!”

And…. one of a group of teen age girls slipped and fell and a couple of her friends got tangled up and they fell. Total pile up and looked like the first one may have been injured.

So karmas a ***** but then a middle age guy walks by pointing and laughing at them saying “see? They told you not to run! Hahaha!”

Honestly they should not have been running but that guy’s behavior was way worse. Just the ugliness.

 

[jknc]

Is the kid ok???

I don’t know, I kept running

 

[jknc]

I don’t know, I kept running

this was a joke. the kid was fine. he lost his shoe and for a split second, it seemed like he was gonna leave it behind because of the chaos.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

As an extreme, they could have policy to ban people who repeatedly run at rope drop or to someway lock them out of rides to discourage the behavior.

If they wanted to take really extreme measures, maybe they could program Magic Bands to administer an electric shock to runners.

 

[lowlight]

Next time I go for rope drop...
I'm going to invest in one of these.

And get the older members of my party one of these.

 

[shrinkydinky]

This is a little concerning. We have several mobility impaired, fragile oldsters in our group but really wanted to rope drop Ratatouille. We’re staying at Boardwalk so will do early entry at the IG. None of us can run or sprint, and I don’t want any of us getting run over. My eldest sister, who is in the DVC, feels this may be her last trip, what with all the negative changes. I’m hoping we will be able to go at our own pace and have an enjoyable vacation.

 

[teachmedis]

This is a little concerning. We have several mobility impaired, fragile oldsters in our group but really wanted to rope drop Ratatouille. We’re staying at Boardwalk so will do early entry at the IG. None of us can run or sprint, and I don’t want any of us getting run over. My eldest sister, who is in the DVC, feels this may be her last trip, what with all the negative changes. I’m hoping we will be able to go at our own pace and have an enjoyable vacation.

Ratatouille should be an easy rope drop from there, while you may have people blowing past you, you likely will be ok and still shouldn't have too terrible a wait. But hang on to the elders just as you would children. I've rope dropped with my mom and mil and they get nervous--getting separated was their worst fear.

 

[dd316]

Until Disney cares, best bet is to avoid the maniacs. Maybe karma will get em as they trip on their sprint to save a few minutes.

 

[lynch34]

My kids are older now and rope dropping on occasion is fine but I'd rather sleep in and relax. The stress of positioning and then trying to hurry takes all of the fun out of it for me. I am lucky that I have been to WDW quite a bit but it gets to be ridiculous. I blame Disney.

 

[Nagle]

Until Disney cares, best bet is to avoid the maniacs. Maybe karma will get em as they trip on their sprint to save a few minutes.

hope karma happens one of these days. A very popular poster on the Disneyland board is a known runner to get to his favourite ride. Anyone that calls him out gets chastised by his ‘fans’ or gets comments removed and points awarded.

 

[Bullseye]

My wife and I laugh at these big children. Especially the ralkers with their half run half walk like they were about to poop their pants. It’s not exclusive to Disney, but it’s really really bad there now. Still doesn’t hold a candle to the aggressive behavior on main st at fireworks time. I’m surprised nobody has been seriously hurt there.

No doubt, nothing funnier than a group of people, all shapes and sizes, trying to speed walk. There have been times on the way to FOP at rope drop where we have bust out laughing at how ridiculous some people look. They are going out of their minds to get to the end of line and then eventually when we get there a few minutes later we're still only 10-15 people behind them.

 

[ZellyB]

This is a little concerning. We have several mobility impaired, fragile oldsters in our group but really wanted to rope drop Ratatouille. We’re staying at Boardwalk so will do early entry at the IG. None of us can run or sprint, and I don’t want any of us getting run over. My eldest sister, who is in the DVC, feels this may be her last trip, what with all the negative changes. I’m hoping we will be able to go at our own pace and have an enjoyable vacation.

You'll be fine. I use an ECV and we don't run at any rope drops and we rope drop every park. As the poster above said, just go at your own pace and let people pass you. People tend to get into trouble with getting bumped into or run over because they are also fighting for position. I get it. That crowd is there and your adrenaline is pumping and you see what looks like hordes of people passing you by, but that's ok. Yes, several dozens of people will be ahead of you when you get to the ride, but it won't appreciably lengthen the line. I'd also encourage you that if you rope drop you show up at least 45 minutes before actual park open. That puts you further up in the crowd and you aren't dealing with quite as many people.

 

[GingerMermaid]

So how crazy is rope drop now? Are we talking black Friday trampling here?

 

[soniam]

We once saw a grown man running at Epcot rope drop to Frozen. He tripped and fell on the pavement, face first. I think he lost a tooth. His face, mouth, and forward were all bloody. It was very surreal. Anytime I see anyone running, I think of that and remind our family it's not worth it. Plus, I am a klutz, and it would totally be me doing that if I ran. We do walk briskly though.

 

[DisneyOma]

I put A LOT of blame on Disney for this. Stop with multiple rope drops, just let ppl. scan in at the tapstyles and walk to their destination and let them wait in line there. Scanning produces a natural spreading out of crowds and then allowing ppl to wait in an actual line avoids ppls anxiety or the feel of a need to keep edging for position. We were at MK Fri. and had 3 freaking rope drops....it's ridiculous.

They've at least gone to doing the more positive opening procedures at DHS and allowing guests to go get in line at whatever their respective ride is and wait there. Soooo much calmer.

This just moves the pressure to outside the parks - where there are fewer CMs to handle the situation. DHS was a hot mess when we were there. The queue to get into Galaxy's Edge was brutal, and ruined the atmosphere in that section of the park. We went to the ToT area to get away from the pushing, angry crowd.

 

[jodiey]

I put A LOT of blame on Disney for this. Stop with multiple rope drops, just let ppl. scan in at the tapstyles and walk to their destination and let them wait in line there. Scanning produces a natural spreading out of crowds and then allowing ppl to wait in an actual line avoids ppls anxiety or the feel of a need to keep edging for position. We were at MK Fri. and had 3 freaking rope drops....it's ridiculous.

They've at least gone to doing the more positive opening procedures at DHS and allowing guests to go get in line at whatever their respective ride is and wait there. Soooo much calmer.

I agree with this. MK on Friday was one big mob, with people working their way in front of others but on Saturday we waited in a line for RNR (not in the actual queue but on Sunset Blvd. Next to us was a line for TOT and they even had 2 bellhops walking the line, interacting with the people. It was nice.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

There's always going to be someone who runs, but you can probably take your time from IG to Rat so long as you don't mind not being first in line. Watch out for the runners pushing strollers though (yes, many of the runners have children and families and are just trying to beat other children and families)

 

[JFox]

In my family we refer to rope drop as "The Running of the Fools"

 

[KCMA]

If posting this is what makes you feel better, then you must have an even sadder life. Especially since your language reeks of disdain for childless adults.

seems like I’ve ruffled the feathers of rope drop runner!!

 

[jimmymc]

It's one of those things where if Disney doesn't stop it, people will keep doing it. If there was a ride I absolutely had to get on and running 2 minutes would save an hour of wait, I would probably do it.