Going back to ropes vs masking tape, DLR uses almost exclusively ropes for crowd control. You have to go under them to enter parade and fireworks viewing areas. Along with an army of CMs with lights enforcing them, that army also disassembles them during the finales so they are gone for the post show chaos.
The reason WDW doesn’t use them is not implementation costs, it’s very easy to drill holes in the cement for the polls, but their fixed nature. DL’s viewing areas are absolute and unchanging. MK’s firework area is dynamic, some nights they can keep the traffic flowing through the hub, other times they don’t because of attendance. It is unsafe for those ropes to remain after a show, they need to be removed and if the CMs can’t get to them to remove them will become a hazard. They can’t if the viewing areas gets extended past them, and that usually happens.