Rope drop for FOP is a mob be warned

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I do not do Black Friday by choice. No thanks. I have done movie premieres for big movies many times and they always set up queues so was not a problem and very orderly. I always got there super early and waited. Which is what I did today but somehow getting their first did me no good.

Just providing answers that it happens in real life. Your quote seemed to infer Disney creates mobs intentionally for the purpose of profit due to hype. My point is it's not a "Disney" thing in regards to mob mentality.

As for movie premieres..yeah they all had queues..it was what happened once you were free to go the theater that I was referring to.

 

[Linkura]

This is why I'm praying I get a FOP FP+ and can just leisurely walk to NRJ at rope drop instead... I HATE mobs. I've done plenty of RDs before but they usually aren't bad at all. Sounds like this is a total mess, though.

 

[Anabelletoronto]

I think Black Friday is a good example. And haven't people been trampled and died at some Black Friday sales?
I think once that happened, the stores set up different systems to let a few people in at a time or had groups.
If I told happens every day and then One day somebody gets trampled, I think Disney might be liable.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think Black Friday is a good example. And haven't people been trampled and died at some Black Friday sales?
I think once that happened, the stores set up different systems to let a few people in at a time or had groups.
If I told happens every day and then One day somebody gets trampled, I think Disney might be liable.

I do think it is a good example. But were those stores ever actually liable for people who have actually been trampled or injured as a result of Black Friday? I'm not meaning do you think they should be liable I'm meaning were they ever found liable.

 

[Anabelletoronto]

There was a lawsuit against Walmart for not having enough security and causing excitement with their ads but I don't know if they were found guilty. Probably they settled.

 

[RyMickey]

I'm not trying to be the contrarian here (and I know I may get some flak for this), but I do think that your mindset of something like this plays heavily into your experience. We did this same thing last week -- we arrived at 8am, waiting in line by 8:20 (about eighth person in line with about 10-12 lines open), and were on FOP before 8:45-8:50am. We knew full well that everyone would be going to the same place...and we weren't wrong. However, I went into it with the mindset of "I'm going to be on this ride a whole lot sooner than if I had showed up at 9am." With that mindset, I didn't care that people walked ahead of me or ran. I just let it run off my back...not sweating the small stuff. We didn't notice anything "unsafe," but there certainly is a "crowd mentality" as you are stopped at various locations waiting for the line to open -- but I didn't think it was any different than the crowd mentality of people rushing out of the Rock n Roller Coaster or Dinosaur preshows.

Maybe had I gotten there at 7, I would've been a little more irritated, but you also can't simply expect that NO ONE will pass you if you're not keeping up a relatively quick pace. I'm not saying that the OP was incorrect in feeling the way s/he felt and I understand the frustration...but like most things in life, it's really how you look at things. I understand the concern here is one of safety. From my experience last week, I didn't witness anything unsafe, so it shouldn't be assumed that this situation occurs every day.

 

[FreeTime]

OP, I agree that the running crowds are crazy and sometimes unsafe. What I don't understand is your emphasis on being at the tapstiles FIRST. Being one of the first people to arrive has no relevance on whether you are the first in the park or the first in line for the attraction. Showing up before opening doesn't give you a priority ride you are just putting some of your wait time in before the park opening. Having only 100-200 people in front of you is really not that many especially when you indicated you have slower walkers in your group. There have been plenty of times that we have arrived an hour before rope drop to enjoy pictures, time together, breakfast from our bag while waiting, etc. the goal was not to be FIRST but to be there earlier and have a little head start. There was no doubt thousands behind you.

 

[Wubar]

.... but you also can't simply expect that NO ONE will pass you if you're not keeping up a relatively quick pace. I'm not saying that the OP was incorrect in feeling the way s/he felt and I understand the frustration...but like most things in life, it's really how you look at things. I understand the concern here is one of safety. From my experience last week, I didn't witness anything unsafe, so it shouldn't be assumed that this situation occurs every day.

I agree with you, if they aren't assigning numbers based on your arrival at the gates, we can't expect people to march to the ride queue both in an calm mannered fashion and also in the order they arrived at RD. On the other hand, physical contact such as shoving, pushing, and being run over by a stroller is never okay in any situation. If I'm walking at a decent pace and I get smacked in the shins by an over-eager stroller pusher or witness my son getting run over by some person hell-bent on getting on the ride 5 minutes before everyone else? Those people are going to hear about it, and I'm more than happy to make a scene about it and give them a piece of my mind.

 

[JFox]

I did all my research on here about FOP and rope drop...

You knew that RD with the intention to ride FOP was going to be a tense situation but it doesn't appear that your expectations were in line.

 

[quandrea]

We were there for twelve nights in October. Spent a lot of time in Pandora. The FOP morning madness was unlike anything I've ever seen. We had fastpasses so didn't need to join that queue. However, even accessing the Fastpass line was difficult. There were so many people around that navigating was nearly impossible. From what I saw, rope dropping FOP is a tactical error. By 9:05 the line wound its way all through Pandora and over the entrance bridge. Stated wait time was 190 min. Evening waits (7:30 or so) were about 60. Seems to me a person is better off seeing AK in its entirety and jumping in the FOP line late in the day.

 

[turtlechick6]

You knew that RD with the intention to ride FOP was going to be a tense situation but it doesn't appear that your expectations were in line.

No I read several threads about it on here and while they all said there were crowds I did not read anything about pushing, people vaulting over benches on the side to pass the crowd, etc.

That was the unexpected part. I thought it was going to be way more orderly

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There was a lawsuit against Walmart for not having enough security and causing excitement with their ads but I don't know if they were found guilty. Probably they settled.

No I said was found liable.

You can file a lawsuit over just about anything and it doesn't mean the other party is guilty (hello how many lawsuits has Disney been involved in the last few years over stuff--I remember hearing a one in regards to a girl falling up the stairs if I remember correctly on a Disney Cruise Ship or there was one in regards to Disney Springs I think too and another one for Disney Cruise Line; I'm sure there has been one for the Parks too).

A settlement is not an admission of guilt; corporations use settlement all the time in order to not drag on the process. It's very common. The only two companies that I've seen duke it out in court more is Apple and Samsung. Most settle without the public ever knowing the details.

Your comment of "I think Disney might be liable." would not hold up if "One day somebody gets trampled" unless that is what happens everytime situations such as these occur. So in other words if everytime there was a Black Friday event (as you said it was a good example) someone was trampled, then they sued whoever the company was or didn't even sue it was just determined by police, that the company was legally liable for injury due to "hype" then your statement of "I think Disney might be liable." would make more sense. As is your thoughtprocess is not realistic in the exact situation.

 

[Junebugwv]

I was looking forward to trying RD on an early morning (9/30) since it was an adult son and I. Got there super early. Waited eagerly for the 8 AM opening and were walked in to wait about 7:40. About 7:50 a CM walked through the crowd informing us that FOP and NR were closed with no predicted opening time. At least we had a nice stroll to Safari.

 

[KimBean]

I guess I was just caught unawares. I had no idea it was going to be that aggressive. I expected the large amount of people. I did not expect pushing, cutting, running, leaping benches to cut around people etc.

I feel bad I put my family into that situation. The ride was good and glad we got on quick but its not worth someone getting hurt.

The only ride I rope drop that compares is TSMM. We RD and then have a FP for right after. There was certainly a mad dash with everyone walking quickly and the CMs telling everyone not to run but I've never been touched by anyone that is for sure. I wonder if it is because AK has smaller pathways?

I have a FP for FOP and will rope drop Navi. Going to move with crowd but not worry about how fast I get there as most will be going different direction. Maybe try that next time? I appreciate the heads up.

 

[Carolyn Louise]

I'm sorry that happened to you. I rope dropped to FOP on Saturday and it seemed like the CMs did a good job of keeping things orderly but I was walking at the front of the crowd right behind them. Some people were trying to inch around me and push me back but I spread my elbows out to prevent that. Once we got to where the queue begins and the path narrows, 5 or 6 girls with backpacks all got ahead of me holding onto each other in a train. But I had gone in expecting people to rush past me so it wasn't really an issue. Having long legs definitely helps in this situation, I can take pretty big strides while still walking and get places quickly.

I agree that a number system or letting people into the queue as they arrive would be a good idea. On the other hand this was my first rope drop experience and I'm kind of glad, it was exciting.

 

[KimBean]

I'm honestly curious, at what point is it Disney's responsibility and at what point is it the guest?
How can Disney control the actions of every guest in their parks at all times?
Seriously asking how they can do this.
I know they have to put certain actions in to place but once they do that, isn't it up to the guest to be responsible too? Does the guest loose all responsibility here?

Didn't they at some point do a walking rope at a slow pace to 7DMT? I believe that was the case sometime from 2012-2014. That would help.

 

[KimBean]

OP, I agree that the running crowds are crazy and sometimes unsafe. What I don't understand is your emphasis on being at the tapstiles FIRST. Being one of the first people to arrive has no relevance on whether you are the first in the park or the first in line for the attraction. Showing up before opening doesn't give you a priority ride you are just putting some of your wait time in before the park opening. Having only 100-200 people in front of you is really not that many especially when you indicated you have slower walkers in your group. There have been plenty of times that we have arrived an hour before rope drop to enjoy pictures, time together, breakfast from our bag while waiting, etc. the goal was not to be FIRST but to be there earlier and have a little head start. There was no doubt thousands behind you.

Reminds me of the time I was there in 2014 and our magic bands wouldn't work. Had been there for days no issue. Took 10 minutes at the tap stile while we watched everyone run to soarin. Lol. We still rode without that much wait. But boy did I have my panties in a twist about it. I hope I've learned more, grown up more, and in 18 days take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the small moments.

Chant to myself - when momma looks happy whole family stays happy!!

 

[AngiTN]

Didn't they at some point do a walking rope at a slow pace to 7DMT? I believe that was the case sometime from 2012-2014. That would help.

Yes, and based on this, sounds like this is still what's happening here.

That is really disappointing and honestly surprising. I've done FOP rope drop twice (both were EMH mornings, so maybe the crowds were a little lower?) and it was a relatively easy experience. The CMs walked in a line at the front of the "herd" so no one could pass by, and we experienced a pretty orderly crowd. You are definitely herded like cattle so we were packed in tight, but I think that actually helped with keeping the crowd under control - there wasn't anywhere to go! Sorry again that you had such a bad experience!

They did the herd thing but it was a free for all. No one passed the CMs up front but anywhere behind her was every man for himself. Like I said second family to arrive at AK and yet somehow 200 people seemed to somehow push past us with us walking as fast as we could.

So sounds like the pushing/shoving is happening at the back, as I understand it. Which is why I put the behavior squarely on the shoulders of the people behaving badly. There are no excuses for their behavior. None whatsoever. Disney shouldn't be the one to do something to stop it. I venture to guess every last one of us learned not to do that in Kindergarten for goodness sakes. It's never ok.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, and based on this, sounds like this is still what's happening here.



So sounds like the pushing/shoving is happening at the back, as I understand it. Which is why I put the behavior squarely on the shoulders of the people behaving badly. There are no excuses for their behavior. None whatsoever. Disney shouldn't be the one to do something to stop it. I venture to guess every last one of us learned not to do that in Kindergarten for goodness sakes. It's never ok.

Of course Disney has to be the ones to stop it. They apparently need to add more CMs to monitor the crowds farther back. If they have too many people in too small an area to control, that's on them. Because if we're waiting for people to self-police, we're going to be waiting forever.

 

[BK2014]

Rides like this should be FP-only. Throw all the slots into MDE. If they want to keep some for same day, fine, release them at 9 am as well. Let people do this mad dash from their phones.

I would tweak this suggestion a little. Rope drop should reward people who took the time/initiative to get to the park earliest, not those who are most willing to push their way through the people who arrived before them.

I think they should release no fastpasses for FOP for the first hour or so. When people arrive for rope drop, if they are there for FOP, they should be taken into a roped off area inside the park entrance. They should do this for enough people to fill both the FP and standby lines. First come, first served. Escort these people to the ride lines just before the park opens. In theory, this should reduce the size of the mob when the park actually opens, and maybe reduce the mob's aggressiveness knowing that they will have to wait an hour or so even if they get there first.