EPCOT Rope Drop and Lightning Lane Tips

You’re ready to visit EPCOT, and I am indescribably jealous of you.

In my opinion, EPCOT is the best theme park on the planet, and I include Magic Kingdom and Disneyland in that.

EPCOT is always my first choice for a park day. And I know from plenty of experience how to maximize my visit.

Here are a few tips for EPCOT Rope Drop and Lightning Lane.

How to Start the Day

Rope Drop comes in two forms at EPCOT these days.

Guests staying at official Walt Disney World resorts can enter the park 30 minutes before everyone else.

Disney calls this amenity Early Theme Park Entry, and it’s worth its weight in gold.

Since most people won’t use this option, I’ll provide advice for both itineraries.

Cosmic Rewind

The Early Theme Park Entry version is easy. You’re going to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

The only reason why you shouldn’t/wouldn’t is if you’re prone to nausea.

Cosmic Rewind line

If so, this roller coaster may not be your best bet to start the day.

Otherwise, it’s a no-brainer. Depending on the week, Cosmic Rewind has averaged a wait of 60-100 minutes thus far.

Cosmic Rewind Standby Queue

When you participate in Early Theme Park Entry, that number drops to as little as 30 minutes.

You legitimately may be in and out of Cosmic Rewind before Disney allows regular guests into the park.

Cosmic Rewind Standby Line

And that brings us to the actual Rope Drop, which is a more complicated decision.

As I just explained, when the park opens, the line at Cosmic Rewind will already be quite crowded.

Disney

The wait time could start at an hour and possibly be as much as 100 minutes.

So, you’re not saving much time at Rope Drop by riding the roller coaster.

I understand that you want to get in line because it’s so shiny, though.

My advice is that you don’t. I realize that may not be what you want to hear, but Rope Drop provides a competitive advantage.

Inside Cosmic Rewind

When you wait the same amount of time for a ride that you would normally, you’ve thrown away the advantage.

Where Should You Go Instead?

Here’s the thing about Rope Drop at EPCOT right now. It’s ALL about Cosmic Rewind.

Long before the park opens, Cast Members divide guests into two lines.

The first is for those participating in Early Theme Park Entry, and the other is for the Rope Drop crowd.

You can eyeball the Early Theme Park Entry line if you arrive more than 30 minutes before the park opens.

Photo: Walt Disney Company

So, you can guess how crowded the park will be that day. You can also ask a Cast Member, as they’re inclined to help.

Even if you’re later, you can tell you many people are in front of you for Rope Drop.

Assume that 60 percent of those people are heading to Cosmic Rewind, and I’m absolutely serious about that.

That’s why I suggest you take a different approach. The obvious choice is Spaceship Earth, but there’s a downside here, too.

Many of the people who DON’T go to Cosmic Rewind just start at Spaceship Earth, which is right there.

So, the lines for this attraction are often larger first thing in the morning than later in the day.

Frozen Ever After

Your best bet is to head to the World Showcase and ride Frozen Ever After or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

At this point, I’d actually suggest Frozen, but if you prefer Ratatouille, that’s fine, too.

Photo: Disney

Neither attraction should be mobbed yet. There’s a good reason for that, as it’s quite a walk from the park entrance to the rides.

That’s why you may prefer to hedge your bets and start with Soarin’ Around the World instead.

The lines should be minimal, while you don’t have to walk one and a half miles to start your day as you would at the World Showcase.

Let’s Talk Lightning Lane

Photo: Washington Post

The only Lightning Lane Single Pass option at EPCOT now is Cosmic Rewind.

So, your decision here is as simple as whether you’d rather stand in line or just pay the money to enter the Lightning Lane.

Photo: skillastics.com

At this point, I’d suggest the standby queue on all but the most crowded dates, especially when you Rope Drop.

While you won’t ride Cosmic Rewind initially, presuming you follow my advice, there’s a thing about EPCOT you should know.

Photo: Disney

Only a handful of attractions require long waits on all but the most crowded days. And we’ve already mentioned all of them.

The list includes Ratatouille, Frozen Ever After, Cosmic Rewind, Soarin’, and Spaceship Earth (at the start of the park day).

Only Mission: SPACE should require any sort of significant wait on most dates.

For this reason, I rarely recommend Lightning Lane Multi Pass at this park, either.

Photo: Disney

Let’s presume that you purchased it, though. You can reserve up to the three Lightning Lane reservations before your trip.

This is one of the parks that uses Lightning Lane tiers, though. So, you can pick one of these three attractions:

• Frozen Ever After
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Soarin’ Around the World

Frozen is the best choice here, with Ratatouille 1A on the list. You can’t go wrong with either of them.

Soarin’ Around the World is a bad call unless you absolutely don’t want to wait in line for it.

Soarin’

The average waits for this attraction are often 40+ minutes lower than the other two.

You also have a chance at snagging a Soarin’ Lightning Lane during your park visit, presuming you’re there early.

As soon as you use Lightning Lane, you can book another, and there’s a chance Soarin’ will still be available.

You’ve won the lottery if Ratatouille or Frozen are.

The Other Lightning Lane Options

Mission: SPACE

Here are the other Lightning Lane options at EPCOT. These are in their own tier:

• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Journey into Imagination with Figment
• Living with the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Spaceship Earth
• Turtle Talk with Crush

Photo: Disney

If you know much about EPCOT, you’re realizing why I don’t recommend Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Only Mission: SPACE will have any kind of significant wait on most days, and this ride comes in two forms: Green and Orange.

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure’s Single Rider Line

So, on crowded days, you can cherry-pick the mission with the shorter wait time.

Otherwise, with Multi Pass, your choice comes down to what you want to do.

Turtle Talk with Crush

When you enter the Lightning Lane queue for almost all the attractions in this second tier, you’ll board the ride within ten minutes.

Since some of these attractions are nearly walk-on during slow days anyway, I just don’t see the value of Multi Pass, though.

Spaceship Earth

Conversely, you really want to take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry if it’s available to you.

This is probably the best overall hotel amenity in Orlando. It’s why you should always stay onsite at Disney.

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