Which Parks Should You Rope Drop at Disney World?

Should you Rope Drop at Walt Disney World?

That’s a debate many tourists have. We all would prefer to sleep in a bit on vacation. However, we also want to maximize our visit.

Disney fans know that when we Rope Drop, we’ll do more and in an incredibly efficient manner.

Unfortunately, we must wake up at the crack of dawn on what’s ostensibly a vacation day to Rope Drop. It’s a tough choice.

So, let’s discuss how important the early morning approach is. Where does Rope Drop help the most at Walt Disney World?

What Is Rope Drop?

Disney fans use the term Rope Drop to describe a popular park strategy.

Each morning, hours before the parks open, some guests stand in line to be among the first to enter.

Generally speaking, as long as you arrive at your park 45 minutes before its opening, you can Rope Drop effectively.

As you explore the nearly empty park, you’ll discover that most of your favorite attractions have shorter lines.

Why wouldn’t they? The park just opened and hasn’t had time to accumulate crowds yet!

So, you’ll have your run of the place as you head to your preferred destination.

The attraction that you target will likely have its shortest line of the entire day.

Thus, you start your park visit by doing your preferred ride. Even better, you spend less time in line than you would later in the day.

Rope Dropping has become a popular, albeit imperfect, way of maximizing a park visit.

The only drawback to the strategy is Early Theme Park Entry.

Guests staying at official Disney resorts gain an even better amenity: they can enter the parks 30 minutes before everyone else.

As such, even when you Rope Drop, you might discover some lines are already longer than anticipated.

The length of the line typically depends on the date of your visit and what’s happening at the park that day.

Still, Rope Drop positions you ahead of everyone who did NOT use Early Theme Park Entry or Rope Drop. So, it’s still plenty good enough.

About Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom

You’ll quickly recognize the simplicity of Rope Drop at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

While the other parks all have some nuance to the decision-making, you’re only doing it at Animal Kingdom for one reason.

Specifically, you want to visit Pandora – The World of Avatar before the mob arrives.

This themed land is among the most popular destinations on the Disney campus.

Notably, Pandora is also the crown jewel of Animal Kingdom, AND it’s home to two of the most crowded attractions.

When you don’t Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom, you could wait two and a half hours to experience Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.

Conversely, should you Rope Drop, you might do both with an hour of the park’s official opening.

That’s up to 90 minutes of park time you regain in exchange for waking up early and being among the first to enter the park.

You also won’t get lost navigating to Pandora, as almost everyone around you will take the same path.

Pandora’s Rope Drop popularity dwarfs anything else at Disney World.

Ergo, you could take a counter approach by going somewhere else, like Kilimanjaro Safaris or Expedition Everest.

You won’t save anywhere near as much time skipping those lines as opposed to the ones at Pandora, though.

I’d only recommend this approach if you don’t intend to visit Pandora that day.

About Rope Drop at EPCOT

Disney recently introduced a new version of its digital queuing system called Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Looking at the EPCOT tiers for Lightning Lane, you’ll quickly identify the only Rope Drop strategies here.

Disney segments the upper tier of EPCOT as Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and Soarin’ Around the World.

I’ll let you in on a secret based on my many years of researching theme park crowds: Soarin’ shouldn’t be on that list.

The average wait for that ride is often 30+ minutes less than for Frozen and Ratatouille.

In truth, Disney wouldn’t even list it if not for the fact Test Track recently closed for refurbishment.

So, Rope Drop at EPCOT is straightforward. You pick the one you want from Frozen and Ratatouille.

Afterward, you walk through a few pavilions to get to the other attraction, which isn’t always easy.

Technically, the World Showcase doesn’t open until a couple of hours after EPCOT does.

Sometimes, you may run into issues trying to explore the area at Rope Drop, depending on the current mood of the Cast Members.

Still, those two rides often require hourlong waits, making them ideal candidates for Rope Drop.

Since each one is also available via Multi Pass, you can also take your chances that way.

About Rope Drop at Hollywood Studios

Yeah, you’re gonna need to Rope Drop at Hollywood Studios.

At various times, as many as seven attractions will require waits of 60+ minutes.

That phenomenon starts early and lasts pretty much the entire day.

So, you’ll struggle to avoid it unless you’re fortunate enough to experience a couple of rides at Rope Drop.

Notably, that’s possible if you choose to go right instead of left.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror don’t generally require long waits early in the day.

The drawback is that you’re doing thrill rides right before or right after your morning coffee, which isn’t ideal.

You can take a different approach by heading to Toy Story Land, but a LOT of people do that.

You might be disappointed with the lines at Slinky Dog Dash, even early in the morning.

This attraction always stays crowded, which means you might be better served choosing Toy Story Mania! instead.

Some consider that a subpar Rope Drop option, though.

Finally, we have the obvious choice, which is to rush to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

The conundrum here resembles Pandora in that many other guests do the same thing, somewhat negating the value.

Still, you must pick something at the park because Rope Drop increases your odds of experiencing all the E-ticket attractions.

Something at Galaxy’s Edge probably helps you the most in terms of time savings.

About Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom

When most guests Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom, they have a single destination in mind.

The instant the park opens, people flock to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the attraction that notoriously requires the longest waits.

Here’s the thing, though. Generally, the average wait time for this roller coaster is 60-80 minutes.

Unless you’re at the front of the Rope Drop crowd, the line will already require a 30-minute wait by the time you get there.

As such, you’re not necessarily saving yourself lots of time.

For this reason, I typically advise people to choose different attractions instead.

You can often ride two or three other beloved attractions in the same timeframe.

Virtually nobody listens to me on this point, though, and that’s especially true since Tron Lightcycle / Run opened.

Everyone wants to be on that side of the park in case their virtual queue or Lightning Lane triggers.

As you can tell, I’m not emphatic about the standard Rope Drop practices at Magic Kingdom…but I still do it anyway.

Where Does Rope Drop Help the Most at Walt Disney World?

Let’s skip to the last page. You really don’t need to Rope Drop much at EPCOT. Even when you do, it doesn’t always go great.

I vividly recall a feisty Cast Member refusing to let me walk from the International Gateway’s bridge to my Frozen Ever After booking.

That person’s stubbornness forced me to walk an extra mile around the World Showcase.

Since the other attractions at EPCOT don’t require long waits, you won’t gain much from an early arrival.

Conversely, you will have tons of fun staying late while drinking and dining to your heart’s content. It’s not a park for early birds.

With Animal Kingdom, the park already opens earlier than the rest.

Since most tourists aren’t early birds, I’ve noticed some debate about the value of Rope Drop here.

Let’s just say I disagree. It’s imperative that you head to Pandora at first opportunity. You’ll gain a massive competitive advantage.

Similarly, the chaos of Hollywood Studios has become semi-permanent.

Rope Drop here can check a couple of attractions off the list quite early.

When you combine that strategy with Multi Pass, Hollywood Studios becomes much more manageable.

Frankly, under the July 2024 updated system, you’ll have a better time at Hollywood Studios than at any point since early 2020.

Finally, at Magic Kingdom, the primary benefit is saving some time at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or riding a lot early.

While I still Rope Drop here, the strategy won’t be for everyone.

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Feature Photo: Disney