Yep, we've never rope dropped....

[Babe the Blue Ox]

This makes me think of a video that Touring Plans did to demonstrate the effect a few minutes have on wait times at rope drop for 7DMT. On his way back to 7DMT, Len saw that there were people on the teacups at park open, and then, after a bit of a disapproving sigh, said, "You go, Mad Tea Partiers. Live your best life."

I've seen some of the videos from Touring Plans and EasyWDW from back when 7D was new. It just seemed like complete chaos.

We visited MK during opening week for that attraction in 2014. We wandered up about a half hour before closing time and were able to ride twice. The first wait was about 20 minutes then 10 for the 2nd ride. I think the posted wait was something crazy like 170.

That 20 minute wait is still the longest we've encountered for the ride. It's generally 10 minutes or so if your timing is right.

 

[chris benton]

That's great if there are FP+ available. What if there are no FP+ available for a nearby ride, though?

You keep refreshing for a few minutes. The inventory changes every second.

 

[Delirium]

You keep refreshing for a few minutes. The inventory changes every second.

Everyone has a style that works for them, and I'll never question someone's preferences. For us, standing around refreshing just isn't magical. There is so much more about Disney to enjoy than the rides. We rarely duplicate a ride on a 7-8 day trip, with the exception of the PeopleMover as a way to rest our feet. There are times at the very end of the night where we might ride Everest 3-4 times in a row if the lines are at 5 minutes, but that's the exception to the one ride a trip rule. So, if my original plan allows us to ride Big Thunder and Splash back to back with little or no wait shortly after rope drop, I don't need to ride one and hope I get lucky and nab a FP for the other while I'm in that part of the park.

 

[escriven75]

One time we got to MK at rope drop and I let my (then) six-year-old choose our first attraction and she picked Philharmagic and I've never felt like more of a parenting failure.

We were the only ones in the entire theatre. Even the CM was like "are you sure this is what you wanna do NOW?".

I can picture this happening with my kids when they were younger too. Did you instantly think 'this should have a multiple choice question' (one that didn't include Philharmagic?

 

[disneygirlsng]

Everyone has a style that works for them, and I'll never question someone's preferences. For us, standing around refreshing just isn't magical. There is so much more about Disney to enjoy than the rides. We rarely duplicate a ride on a 7-8 day trip, with the exception of the PeopleMover as a way to rest our feet. There are times at the very end of the night where we might ride Everest 3-4 times in a row if the lines are at 5 minutes, but that's the exception to the one ride a trip rule. So, if my original plan allows us to ride Big Thunder and Splash back to back with little or no wait shortly after rope drop, I don't need to ride one and hope I get lucky and nab a FP for the other while I'm in that part of the park.

With a few rare exceptions, I almost always have our next FP lined up as we are walking through the previous ride's FP queue. I never feel like I'm missing the magic or glued to my phone since there generally isn't too much to look at in the FP queues. I may refresh a few times here or there during a meal to try and find the hot tickets like FOP or SDD, but I'm never just standing around refreshing my phone instead of just enjoying my trip.

 

[glamdring269]

That's great if there are FP+ available. What if there are no FP+ available for a nearby ride, though?

We were at Epcot on Christmas Eve 2017 (PM). Entered the park with a 4th FP of the day (Soarin'). Scanned Soarin' and ended up with an FP for Frozen while in line for Soarin'. Scanned at Frozen and and ended up with an FP for Test Track while still in line for Frozen. Scanned at Test Track and got an FP for Soarin' while in line for Test Track. At that point it just became a game to see what we could get.

Unfortunately that was 2017 and I think people have shared the "refresh" method to the point now where I'm not sure how possible this is anymore. We're heading back next week for the first time since that Christmas 2017 trip so will be interested in seeing just how well it works.

 

[glamdring269]

With a few rare exceptions, I almost always have our next FP lined up as we are walking through the previous ride's FP queue. I never feel like I'm missing the magic or glued to my phone since there generally isn't too much to look at in the FP queues. I may refresh a few times here or there during a meal to try and find the hot tickets like FOP or SDD, but I'm never just standing around refreshing my phone instead of just enjoying my trip.

Plus I don't really find waiting in long lines to be magical. I know Disney is always going to be different for different people but to me Disney is not a relaxing vacation and it never will be. If I want a turn the phone off vacation you're going to find me on the beach or on some mountain trail.

 

[FRANKTSJR]

Yup, Rope Drop ain't for me either. Been there and done that long ago. Vacation should include relax time and I do enough work at home! Love the evenings though.

 

[Jennasis]

We rope drop some days (even after 45+ trips) and other days we sleep in.

On rope drop days, we wrap up at lunchtime and go back to our resort to nosh, swim or nap. On sleep in days we get to the park at 10ish and see where the day takes us.

 

[_19disnA]

Getting up REALLY early to charge with some mass of people when the park first opens isn't our idea of a vacation either. Everyone enjoys Disney in different ways. We get up really early for work during the week. Vacations are a time to relax and sleep in.

 

[shocker]

This makes me think of a video that Touring Plans did to demonstrate the effect a few minutes have on wait times at rope drop for 7DMT. On his way back to 7DMT, Len saw that there were people on the teacups at park open, and then, after a bit of a disapproving sigh, said, "You go, Mad Tea Partiers. Live your best life."

Funny you should mention this...as the Lines app had me going to tea cups first at an AM EMH I had gotten up at zero dark thirty to attend...as a Disney vet who knows better, I don't think so Lenny boy

 

[mom-2greatkids]

Rope drop has consistently been the most productive use of our time. However, our strategy is a bit different than others. We rope drop park #1 and ride everything we can for 2-3 hours. Then we hop to park #2 where we have late morning/early afternoon fast passes. We tend to stay in park #2 until early evening. Then we hop to park #3 and stay until close. Rinse and repeat every day.

I love this method because I get to go to my favorite parks just about every day. I know we waste time during travel, however our time spent in the parks is very efficient--we have it down to a science. In addition, this model allows for a ton of flexibility because we're only tied to park #2 because of our rebooked fast passes. Park 1 and 3 can be spontaneous.

 

[shocker]

I also remember past trips where there were extra evening hours at MK that went untill 1am, it was a LONG day, but awesome. Its been a while since they've had that, since they have separate ticket events in the evenings now. All the more reason for us to squeeze more out of our morning hours right!!

I can remember being in MK for a 3am closing with my 2 small kids (I'm thinking 14ish years ago). We slept all afternoon in the heat before going. No need for sunscreen, hats, or glasses. Never seen so many kids sleeping in strollers. My kids went strong all night & we pounded out all of fantasyland in under an hour. When we got on the resort bus at close to 4am my son looked at the other passengers like 'what are you doing up at this hour?'. We slept in the next morning too. It was a great strategy to either enjoy the late EMH or RD MK the next morning as those from the previous night would likely not RD the same park the next morning.

Those were the days...

 

[KingLlama]

I can picture this happening with my kids when they were younger too. Did you instantly think 'this should have a multiple choice question' (one that didn't include Philharmagic?

I instantly thought a LOT of things.

 

[Junior8]

This will be my first trip using the refresh method. Since it will be just my wife and I with an eight day trip, I don’t know how much I’ll need to use it. I won’t be using my phone for lots of pics, just a few. Should I get a portable charger?

 

[chris benton]

This will be my first trip using the refresh method. Since it will be just my wife and I with an eight day trip, I don’t know how much I’ll need to use it. I won’t be using my phone for lots of pics, just a few. Should I get a portable charger?

Yes.

 

[chris benton]

Florida sunshine makes me need to turn brightness up full blast. That's the biggest battery burner. WAY better safe than sorry.
External chargers are cheaper and smaller than they used to be. If you'll have a bag, might as well grab one. You can use it in the future, too.

 

[Junior8]

Florida sunshine makes me need to turn brightness up full blast. That's the biggest battery burner. WAY better safe than sorry.
External chargers are cheaper and smaller than they used to be. If you'll have a bag, might as well grab one. You can use it in the future, too.

Yeah, last trip was 2016 and the app wasn’t needed (by me anyway). With wait times, Mobil Order and FP all on the phone, I think I’ll get one. Thanks for the reply! My countdown is 359 days lol.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I can remember being in MK for a 3am closing with my 2 small kids (I'm thinking 14ish years ago). We slept all afternoon in the heat before going. No need for sunscreen, hats, or glasses. Never seen so many kids sleeping in strollers. My kids went strong all night & we pounded out all of fantasyland in under an hour. When we got on the resort bus at close to 4am my son looked at the other passengers like 'what are you doing up at this hour?'. We slept in the next morning too. It was a great strategy to either enjoy the late EMH or RD MK the next morning as those from the previous night would likely not RD the same park the next morning.

Those were the days...

The last 3 am EMH we’ve attended was in June 2014. We even did a little shopping in the Emporium after the park closed, finally rolling back into Fort Wilderness just shy of 5 am.

It was nice to be able to push the 10 am Soarin FP for the next morning back to around 1 pm and sleep in.

 

[Juventus]

I'll have to disagree with you here. We find the early mornings to be way too crowded and stressful. Fortunately, the rope droppers will eventually tire and head out, leaving the parks wide open in the evenings.

Here's an example from a recent visit to MK from 8 pm to midnight. 16 rides in 4 hours without any FPs. I can give you several more examples from the other parks if you're interested.

Big Thunder 3x
Splash Mtn 2x
Space Mtn 2x
Mine Train
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Pooh
Peter Pan
Speedway
Barnstormer 2x

We also watched the fireworks and had a couple of Dole Whips.

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Depends when you goMarch break this is not happening. Been the last 5 years.