I should add...

The term "rope-drop" has become a weirdly ubiquitous phrase in our family. I didn't realize how commonplace it was until this past summer when we were at a waterpark and Teddy suggested we rope-drop the lazy river ride. 

If you've never heard the phrase before, it's essentially a Disney thing where you arrive at the park before it opens so you can march directly to your ride of your choice once the staff drops the rope. You typically target the most popular ride, and by rope-dropping, you have a 15 minute wait for the ride instead of a 2 hour wait if you get there later in the day.

Sarah was a pro at this for our first Disney visit, and has perfected the art over subsequent trips. We've rope-dropped Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Radiator Springs Racers, Rise of the Resistance, Test Track, Web Slingers, Big Thunder Mountain - I won't attempt to do the math, but I can safely say she's saved us 25 hours of waiting with this skill (not counting subsequent park-planning mastery throughout the rest of the day).

It's not just a Disney thing. We've been there for the figurative rope drop at zoos, museums, carnivals, waterparks, buffets, and just the other day, we rope-dropped an apple orchard.

What's fairly remarkable about the whole thing is that, done well, it involves very early mornings and Sarah is not a morning person. But she's a strong believer in:

• getting value of her money
• maximizing fun
• minimizing boredom
• avoiding the sweaty, flatulent masses

What's nice for her is that everyone in the family finally gets it. Back when it was just the two of us, even I was a Grumpy Gus the first time she got me on a theme park shuttle bus at 6AM. But a) I mostly internalized it and b) I came around to her way of thinking pretty quickly. With the kids, it was a longer slog and all of their complaints were very clearly articulated. But now they're largely over it and they see her genius. I can see them carrying it forward, too. Some day in the future, we'll be getting a text from Veronica about meeting her family for apple picking. "Be there by 8:30," she'll write, "We're rope-dropping the Cortlands."