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Rope Drop -or- Relax and Enjoy??


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Came across this on the Walt Disney World for Grownups.  What's your preference and why?

Sleeping in vs. getting up early at Disney World

POSTED: Wed, 04/27/2011 - 12:00 | POSTED BY: Kristen Heptinstall

Getting up early vs. sleeping in late at Disney World: it's a long-debated topic, and there's no easy answer.

Oftentimes it depends on family schedules, or whether or not you are a night owl or early bird. Whatever your natural schedule is, don't fight against it too much, otherwise you WILL end up cranky!

So, to help you decide which way to go, we've put together a list of pros and cons for each tactic below.

Getting up early

Pros:

-You can get ready, have breakfast, and still arrive at your park of choice for rope drop. See Magic Kingdom's rope drop below:

-You can complete a full day's touring plan and will be able to get the Fastpasses of your choice.

-During summer months, you can ride attractions before the hottest time of day while avoiding crowds.

Cons:

-Because you're up earlier, you will tire earlier. You will probably need a break or nap before heading out again later in the day.

-You'll need to get to sleep early each night. Trying to get a full 8 hours of sleep can be tough if you are getting up at 6 a.m.

-You may need to head home before nighttime shows, and probably won't get to experience evening Extra Magic Hours.

Sleeping In

Pros:

-You'll be well-rested and ready to go. More than likely, you'll be able to stay out until nighttime Extra Magic Hours.

-You can still complete a late arrival touring plan.

-You can still enjoy a late breakfast and a leisurely morning without the rush.

Cons:

-You'll inevitably battle crowds, especially during peak times of year.

-You may face a lot of heat in the late afternoon.

-Fastpasses may run out for certain attractions, like Toy Story Mania, before you arrive.

So, with all that said, which do you prefer to do-- wake up early or sleep in?

Leave a comment below, night owls and early birds!

http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/sleeping-vs-getting-early-disney-world

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I used to be an "insane kamikaze" (worse than full commando mode) type.  Now I've relaxed a lot ... but I still like to be there early on the really hot days.  Visit early; go back to the resort & relax; back to the park in the evening ...

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We are the masters of rope drop.  I don't really care for the shows they put on right before - like everything else, they haven't changed in the last decade or two.  I also hate fighting all the other jerks to get to that first attraction.  However, you can't beat how much you can get done in that first hour or two before all the late risers start flooding into the park.  We do more before 11 am than most people do all day!  Then we are ready for lunch when the restaurants open, again no lines as everyone else is still full from their 9am breakfast and trying to get on their 2nd ride of the day.  After lunch we can use our fastpasses we got earlier and then enjoy the rest of the time doing those things that don't have a line, i.e. face painting, barbershop, carousel of progress.  Then when it is getting hot we can head back to the TT for a little nap in the AC or go fight all the locals at the pool!  Sometimes we go back to MK or EPCOT in the evenings, but only for the parade/fireworks or dinner as the lines are all longer than I will wait at that time. 

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We mostly do the relax-and-enjoy routine. At least once, my oldest daughter and I will do a rope drop to hit a coaster or two and see how many times we can ride it before the line starts to form.

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I used to be an "insane kamikaze" (worse than full commando mode) type.  Now I've relaxed a lot ... but I still like to be there early on the really hot days.  Visit early; go back to the resort & relax; back to the park in the evening ...

Same here. I used to carry my pages from the "Unofficial Guide" around like they were the Dead Sea Scrolls....  LOL!

I especially loved the "Space Mountain Mini-Marathon"  :rofl2:

When we started to get AP's we eased up. Now we can come and go as we please. It is a very nice feeling to be so flexible.

Besides, if the choice is to get up to be crushed in the crowd, or stay up late at "Epcot after Dark", there really isn't a choice.....

:) :) :) :) :)

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When we started to get AP's we eased up. Now we can come and go as we please. It is a very nice feeling to be so flexible.

Same here!  We love being able to have a leisurely morning, play with the pups and make sure they're good and tired, then just wander in and out of whatever parks we're in the mood for.

Gotta say staying at the Fort makes it very easy to say, "hey, wanna pop in the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks?"  ... which is my excuse for snagging a Dole Whip float.  :)

The ONE AND ONLY rope drop we have ever done was last year on our very last day.  We hadn't ridden Toy Story Mania once in all 3 weeks we were there (we generally won't wait in lines longer than 20 min) so we figured, what the heck, let's give it a whirl.

What a madhouse!  It was fun, and an experience to be sure, but holey moley those people are nuts!

We did manage to pull of the "grab a fastpass, jump in line, then ride again" strategy, and I do love that ride.

We've already talked about doing it again this time.

Besides, if the choice is to get up to be crushed in the crowd, or stay up late at "Epcot after Dark", there really isn't a choice.....

Agreed!  We're definitely PM EMH people and LOVE the parks at night!

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We've never done a rope drop in the past, as we prefer to take our time getting to the park and then staying late, but on our upcoming trip we've decided (like BradybizLyn12) to try it one time so that we can get the passes for Toy Story Mania. Our last time down we waited longer than an hour to ride it and I would rather not do that again, so as my DH says, we will be joining in with the rope-a-dope festivities! :)

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Here's a pic of what it looks like if you get there 30 mins before park open on a random Thursday in November...

5225858311_238d1a2a64_z.jpg

We were about 8 back from the front of the masses.  The swarm behind us went all the way back to the turnstiles (and beyond?) by the time they "dropped the rope".

I did the speed walk ahead with our passes - they will not let you run and the CMs are very on top of making sure everyone takes the same route i.e., no bolting out of line trying to cut off the group by Brown Derby.  Actually saw someone get nabbed for trying to do this.

CMs were at the FP machines making sure things were running smoothly.  Good thing too!  I was the 2nd in line for a machine and had a kid in front of me with about 15 tix he was getting FPs for.  Still only took about a minute.

I met DH at the line entrance.  CMs were doing a pretty good job of not letting people cut in line to "catch up with my family" at the door into the building. The line looked pretty long as it was snaking way out past the building, but it only ended up being about a 15 minute wait.

By the time we got off the ride, it was almost exactly time for our FPs and we jumped back on.  :banana:

Or you could do what we did 2 years ago - go the week before Thanksgiving week.  We waltzed into the park at 10am, and still rode TSM 4 times - only once with a FP and never with more than a 25 minute wait!

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Well I figure Im on vacation so to hell with getting up early your gonna face the crowds one time or another anyway.  :wiz:

Ditto

x2~ Plus, the hubs isn't an early riser......he's a night owl....

I am not a morning person, I used to be a night owl. Now i guess I am a sloth :rofl2:

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I have only "seen" 1 rope drop and that is because I was on the Steam Train Tour with my Dad, my 2 sons and a friend on theirs. :rofl2: That tours starts at 7:30am and I am having a hard time getting my husband to agree to go on the tour. If it is before 10am on the weekend, he is still in bed! :rofl2:

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