By Dr. Jenna Liphart Rhoads
Going to a Walt Disney World Resort theme park has no shortage of fun, or of unique lingo. For first-time guests, some of the phrases used around the parks can be a little confusing! Entry and rope dropping are two strategies that some guests use to get on a couple of rides before the parks officially open for everyone. Read on to learn all about these two terms and learn some tips and tricks for rope dropping.
“Early Entry”: As a resort guest you have early entry access to the parks 30 minutes prior to official park opening to enjoy rides. We recommend that you arrive at the park at least 45 minutes to an hour before the opening time posted to get in line for early entry hours. (If early park hours start at 8:30am, I would plan on being at the park by 7:30-7:45 am)
“Rope Drop”: The term rope drop(ping) means to enter the parks right as the cast members “drop the rope” and let early entry guests in. Some parks do not have actual ropes that drop to let guests in, but some do! How rope dropping works in each park is a little different. Keep reading to learn about different strategies and procedures for each park. *Note: times given in the article are approximate and subject to change at the discretion of the park.
Magic Kingdom: Once you get to the main entrance, guests will line up outside of security to wait to be let through. Guests entering via the Contemporary walk-way or the Monorail will have a different security line to go through. Security opens about an hour prior to early entry. After security, guests line up at the various scan-in stations where you will scan your ticket and your fingerprint to enter the park. The process of scanning a ticket and fingerprint begins about 30 minutes prior to early entry. Once you have scanned into the park, guests are funneled to the right, front side of the castle (don’t forget to stop and take a picture of the castle!), and then cast members must verify that you are an early entry guest (scan your ticket one more time). After that, guests can choose to line up to enter either Tomorrowland or Fantasyland. These are the only two areas in Magic Kingdom that open for early entry. From here, the cast members will drop the rope and let everyone in to ride the rides! The most popular rides to rope drop are Peter Pan’s Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Space Mountain.
EPCOT: Epcot has a front/main entrance and a back gate entrance in the World Showcase. Depending on where your resort transportation drops you off is which gate you will enter the park through. Guests who arrive at EPCOT on the skyliner or walking from the Boardwalk area will enter through the World Showcase, and everyone else will enter through the front. At each gate, guests will go through security an hour or so before the park opens for early entry and then guests will almost immediately be able to scan into the park. From there, guests line up at various points inside the park where cast members will have a rope up. If you are entering through the World Showcase, Remy’s will be the closest ride to you. If you are entering through the front gate, Frozen will be the closest ride. Frozen, Remy’s, and Test Track are the most popular rides for guests to rope drop because they have the longest wait times as the day continues on, and the Genie+ Lightning Lanes tend to sell out the quickest.
Hollywood Studios: To enter this park, guests will go through security about an hour before the park opens for early entry and then line up to scan into the park. Guests can generally scan into the park about 30 minutes (sometimes 45 minutes) prior to the early entry time. Once inside, guests can go anywhere in the park to line up for the ride they would like to rope drop (Toy Story Land, Galaxy’s Edge, Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, etc.). Guests will be let on the rides once the park officially opens for early entry.
Animal Kingdom: Animal Kingdom opens the earliest of any of the parks at WDW. This park has a similar entrance flow as the previous parks. Guests will initially line up to go through security about an hour before early entry and then wait in line to enter the park about 30 minutes before early entry starts. Once inside the park, guests can walk around and wait in line for the ride they’d like to rope drop once the park opens. Not every ride and experience opens at early entry, like the Kilimanjaro Safari. The most popular rides that guests rope drop here are the Na’vi River, Expedition Everest, and Avatar Flight of Passage.
I hope you have learned some valuable tips for rope dropping to make the most of your experience. Enjoy!
For more on-site tips to make your Disney vacation the most magical it can be, please contact us at Royal Carriage Vacations about planning your magical Disney vacation!
