What the Heck is Rope Drop Anyway? Your Guide To Making the Most of Your Disney Morning
So you’ve started researching for your Disney Vacation and you keep hearing everyone say that you have to Rope Drop, but no one is really explaining what that means or why you supposedly ‘have’ to do it. By the time you are done reading this post, you are going to know not just what Rope Drop is, but how to actually get the most of it, and how to know if it’s something that’s going to be right for you. Let’s dive in.
What is ‘Rope Drop’
The basic answer to this is actually really simple. Rope Drop means you are arriving to a Disney park BEFORE it opens so that you can be one of the first ones in line for a popular attraction before the crowds get thick and lines get long later in the day.
They call it Rope Drop because in some of the parks, Cast Members will actually have a physical rope at the entrance to a land to keep the guests back. Then once the parks open, the Cast Members will ‘drop the rope’ to allow guests to head to the attractions. Thus the term ‘Rope Drop’.
There’s Actually…. Two Rope Drops
Some of this may get a bit confusing, but hang with me! I promise you’ll get it by the end! Each morning, there are actually two Rope Drops that happen: one for Disney Resort Guests and one for everyone else.
Guests who are staying at Disney owned and operated resorts (along with a few select others - you can find the full list of eligible hotels here) can enter any of the four theme parks up to 30 minutes early each day. I know this may not sound like a ton of time, but you can definitely hit up a ride or two or even three in that thirty minutes!
But here’s the trick - they actually will let you into the parks even earlier than that thirty minutes! I’ll break this down park by park and how the logistics work later in this post, but the moral of the story is, if you are showing up at the start of early entry… you’re already late. Not to mention, most people will be arriving at that time, so it may take you 30 minutes just to scan into the park. (yes, that really is how it goes sometimes!)
If you are not eligible for early entry, you CAN still take advantage of Rope Drop. The only difference is that you will be basing your timing off of that regular park open time instead of early entry time.
My rule of thumb, regardless of which Rope Drop you do is to make sure you are at the park at least 30 minutes BEFORE your Rope Drop time is set to start.
Here’s an example. If the park opens at 9:00am:
Early Entry guests should arrive by 8:00am (since early entry starts at 8:30am)
Everyone else should arrive by 8:30am (since your rope drop starts at 9:00am)
Tracking with me? Good!
Aren’t You Still Just Waiting in a Line?
I feel like there is a bit of a misconception around what Rope Drop is. Many people will say its so that you can get on rides with ‘short waits’ and that can be the case for some rides, but really that isn’t what this is about.
Rope Drop is a tool to help you maximize your time. I like to call this ‘bonus time’. Let’s throw out another example.
7 Dwarfs Mine Train is a very popular attraction in Magic Kingdom to Rope Drop as this ride can see 60+ minutes waits most of the day. If you are arriving as early as I suggest and heading straight to that ride, you may still be waiting a good 45 minutes by the time you get on the ride.
BUT here’s why I call it bonus time. You COULD wait that 60 minutes later in the day, but that’s 60 minutes of park time that you can’t use to see a show or grab a snack, or even enjoy another attraction. When you use Rope Drop to wait that time before the park even opens, you’ve now gained an hour that you can use later to enjoy all those things instead of waiting in line.
Again, if you like the idea of maximizing your park time, this is a strategy that may work really well for you.
Do you really ‘have’ to Rope Drop?
Absolutely not! The thing that I love about Disney is that everyone experiences it totally different and you are free to do it in a way that sounds like fun to YOU. if waiting up at the crack of dawn to rush to a ride sounds like a nightmare of a vacation, DON’T DO IT! There are plenty of ways to still enjoy the parks and prioritize the things you actually want to do.
Rope Drop is for people who want to make the most of every minute. If you are a night owl, then taking advantage of the evening time when crowds die down may be a better option. Or better yet, if you want things to feel a little more easy, take advantage of things like Lightning Lane or special events like After Hours.
Below I’m going to break down my favorite strategies park by park, but if you’d rather have a little more hands on help planning your trip and you’ve made it this far, we’d probably plan a great trip together! Click the link below to learn more.
Magic Kingdom
This park opens up in two sections, so this one is a great one to take advantage of regardless of if you have early entry or not! For Early Entry, most of the attractions in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland will be open. It’s important to mention that TRON does not open for early entry, so I wouldn’t aim for that one.
But this does mean that attractions like 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, or even Peter Pan’s Flight are going to be great options for those Rope Dropping Early Entry.
Adventureland & Liberty Square open up during regular park open. Rides that are great to Rope Drop in these lands are Jungle Cruise, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and even the newly reopened Big Thunder Mountain!
Epcot
This park is BIG and depending on where you are staying and what kind of walking you want to do first thing in the morning is going to determine where you go.
There are TWO entrance to Epcot - one at the front of the park (this is where most guests are coming from) and one at the back between the France and UK pavilion. This back entrance is for guests who are coming from the Skyliner resorts: The Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club, The Riviera, Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and the Swan & Dolphin resorts.
If you are coming in from the back entrance, Remy’s Ratatouille is going to be the closest option for you to hit up!
If you are coming from the front of the park, Guardians of the Galaxy and Frozen Ever After are very popular options for early entry guests. If you don’t have early entry, you can definitely still go for these, but you may actually have a better time heading to Test Track or knocking out a bunch of attractions over near the Land like Soarin, Nemo, and Figment.
Animal Kingdom
Early Entry guests have a really great advantage visiting Pandora! It’s a great time to hit up Flight of Passage or for those less adventurous, maybe Na’vi River Journey.
If you are looking for a less crowded morning - Expedition Everest is an excellent ride to do first thing for BOTH early entry and regular guests. You could honestly hit this one up several times!
Kilimanjaro Safari doesn’t open until park open, so this is a good one for regular rope drop or a good one to head to after you’ve finished up in Pandora.
Hollywood Studios
This park can be tricky because you have SO many good options! Because of that, I would say that any of these are great to go to regardless of if you are doing early entry or not. Galaxy’s Edge is a good choice if Rise of the Resistance is high on your list. Just be aware that that one can be a little unreliable, so make sure you have a backup plan!
Slinky Dog Dash can be very tricky to get a Lightning Lane for and that queue is HOT later in the day, so this could also be a really good one to do in the morning.
For those with littles, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is right at the front of the park and a really fun way to start your day.
And for those that like the classics, you can hit up Rockin Roller Coaster (reopening very soon with a Muppet re-theme) and Tower of Terror are the best for thrill lovers.
Is your head swimming with options? Remember! Helping you build out your itinerary is exactly what I do when you book your trip with me! You can get started by clicking the link below.
