What is the rope drop hack at Disney?
As usual, we're getting ahead of ourselves. If you're a Walt Disney World first-timer, you might be wondering what rope drop is. It's simply park opening–when the lands and attractions officially open. If it's easier, just think of “rope drop” as “first thing in the morning” at Magic Kingdom.
Rope drop simply means you're arriving at the park right when it opens to avoid crowds. Early entry is gaining access to the park before the official opening – a perk of staying at one of the Disney resorts. Guests at Disney hotels can be admitted to the park 30 minutes before the posted opening time.
Best attractions to ride during Early Entry at Magic Kingdom
When it comes to what are your best options for attractions to ride at Magic Kingdom if you plan to rope drop during Early Entry, we recommend you start with either Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, or Space Mountain.
So, guests are allowed in prior to official park opening – typically 30 minutes prior – to walk down Main Street and set up at Rope Drop. Early Entry guests are allowed to bypass Rope Drop and start riding attractions as soon as they enter the park.
Each of these rides will have standby wait times of 60 minutes or more later in the day, whereas the wait times will be much shorter during the first 90 minutes of park opening. This makes being at Disneyland at rope drop so worth it!
Rope Drop for Offsite Guests
Even if you can't participate in Early Theme Park Entry, we still recommend you get to the park around 60 minutes before Early Theme Park Entry (or around 90 minutes before the park opens to all guests).
Magic Kingdom Early Entry Rope Drops
Early Theme Park Entry at Magic Kingdom starts 30 minutes before the scheduled opening of the park. Unlike the other three parks, guests without Early Entry still get to enjoy some of the park, as Main Street and the hub are open to all guests once the gates open.
If you are going to Animal Kingdom or Epcot
While we really, really think Genie+ is worth it at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, we feel just as strongly as to it not being as necessary at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. But, while it isn't necessary, it can definitely make touring those 2 parks a lot, lot easier.
The best rope drop option from the main entrance is Test Track. You'll easily beat the guests coming from the other entrance. The second best option is Frozen Ever After. Guests coming from the World Showcase entrance will beat you there, but if you walk at a brisk pace you'll still only have a 5-10 minute wait.
Expedition Everest is both the tallest roller coaster and the roller coaster with the highest drop at Walt Disney World. The attraction tops out at 199.5 ft tall (not the track but the structure). The biggest drop on the ride is 80 ft tall.
What time should you be at Magic Kingdom for rope drop?
The following tips will help you make the most of Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom. Arriving at the Magic Kingdom 30–60 minutes before official opening ensures the shortest possible waits for rides.
Rise of the Resistance!
This ride is notorious for constantly breaking down so it's no surprise that the ride tops the list this year. This Hollywood Studios ride closed a grand total of 580 times over 302 days. Yes, this attraction broke down 580 times!

A Lightning Lane entrance is a queue available at select attractions and experiences through options Guests can purchase to save time in line. To use a Lightning Lane entrance, a Guest must select an arrival window through the My Disney Experience mobile app before embarking on the attraction or experience.
Magic Kingdom Fireworks are at 9pm on most nights. If there is a special event like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party the fireworks may be earlier, or may not be scheduled for regular guests visiting that day.
No need to remove it: Just sling your fanny pack to the side or your backside when taking a photo or entering an attraction. Disney allows guests to wear fanny packs during rides.
It is important to "Know Before You Go"! Guests are welcome to carry a bag or backpack with them into the theme parks. The maximum allowable bag size is 24" by 18" by 15". All Guests and their bags will undergo a security screening process prior to entering the theme parks and Disney Springs.
Similar to buses, if you arrive at the Skyliner really early, say, 30 minutes before its posted starting time, you'll probably wind up in a pretty good position for rope drop, at the cost of sleep.
The cheapest time to go to Disney World is from early January until President's weekend in February. This is when you will find the lowest prices on tickets and hotels throughout the year. The second least expensive time is in late August through September when there is always a lower demand from guests.
The cheapest days to visit the parks or stay at Walt Disney World are Sunday-Thursday. Plan your visit when children are in school, no festivals or events are taking place, and there are no national holidays to save the most money.
The winter and the fall are some of the best times to visit Disney World throughout the entire year. Not only do they have the slowest weeks at Disney World, but also the weather tends to keep crowds down too.
What day of the week is slowest at Disney World?
Sometimes, Fridays are even busier than Saturdays! But if you want that lower-crowd experience, just swap your Magic Kingdom park day to a Tuesday. Since it's toward the middle of the week, it tends to be less busy and you might be able to hop on your favorite rides with shorter wait times.
Disney Genie+ is a paid service that allows you to skip the standby line and use the Lightning Lane entrance at select attractions. Guests can book their first Genie+ ride selections starting at 7 AM on the day of their visit. This applies to both those who stay at a Disney Resort Hotel or stay off-property.
The parks open at between 7:30 AM and 7:45 AM, depending on the park. This makes it a better opportunity to ride attractions continuously. About those attractions, the park is not completely open. Only select rides are available during Early morning magic.
Doing Avatar Flight of Passage first thing in the morning can save you hours in an unpleasant line later in the day, and puts you on a great path to accomplishing all of Animal Kingdom's headliners by around 11 a.m.
On average, Guests can enter 2 to 3 attractions or experiences per day using Lightning Lane entrances, if the first selection is made early in the day. You can enjoy a Disney Genie+ service Lightning Lane entrance once per day.
How many rides are included with Disney Genie+? Guests have access to 18 rides to choose from at Disneyland and 46 at Walt Disney World.
Genie+: a paid service that allows you to skip [most of] the line at several rides throughout the parks by making Lightning Lane reservations. Individual Lightning Lane: individual upcharge purchases to skip the lines at one attraction per purchase.
That means, if you want to bypass the Standby Line and use the Lightning Lane entrance for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, you'll have to pay for Genie+ in order to do so.
The parks tend to reach their highest capacity in mid-afternoon. The crowds will start going down around dinnertime. That means the best time to get through the lines is early in the morning, so come on, get out of bed and let's have some Fun.
Soarin' lets you experience some of the greatest natural and man-made wonders in the world, all presented in a stunning and thrilling way. We choose Soarin' as one of Epcot's best attractions because this may very well be Epcot's most unique and exhilarating ride (sorry, Test Track).
What is one of Disney's best rides shutting down?
Disneyland's latest announcement that three beloved rides will temporarily close this June may put a damper on Disney lovers' summer plans. Peter Pan's Flight, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Alice in Wonderland will shut down for refurbishments starting June 5, according to Travel + Leisure.
Disney's Mission Space ride, which gives riders the sensation of blasting off to Mars, produced the most surprising G-force readings.
There are two locations where you can be dropped off when visiting Disneyland, the Downtown Disney District and Harbor Boulevard. What is this? We recommend getting dropped off at Harbor Boulevard, just outside the transportation/shuttle area entrance.
We have learned that the least busy days in Magic Kingdom tend to be Tuesdays. The main reason is many families find that they need an entire week for a Disney vacation, and they will usually arrive on a Saturday or Sunday.
Go Early
If you want to avoid long lines there's no simpler way than to wake up early and get to the park before it opens. Whether you have access to early entry or not, being at the park entrance before it opens will save you lots of time. Usually, you can get in 2-3 rides during the first hour of park operation.
The first two to three hours of every day are the time of the lowest crowds of the day. It's almost Magical. The wait time for Space Mountain at 10:00 am is usually around 20-30 minutes. At noon, it's 60-90 minutes.
Enter Soarin' at EPCOT—and get ready for an edge-of-your-seat hang-gliding ride across the globe. Prepare for an adventure like never before as you fly high above breathtaking sights the world abroad! Take in an all-new view of some of the planet's most majestic landscapes and manmade landmarks.
Believe it or not, Magic Kingdom is the Disney World park with the most roller coasters, boasting five of the resort's soon-to-be nine coasters. They include Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, The Barnstormer and the upcoming TRON Lightcycle / Run.
The safety systems of the Indiana Jones Adventure are very sensitive and can lead to a ride stop several times in a day, leaving guests to believe that the attraction "broke down".
The Lightning Lane will generally be a much shorter wait than the regular line, but it merges with the regular line usually a few minutes before you board the ride. This means a wait of around 5 to 10 minutes is very common, even with Lightning Lanes.
Should I pay for lightning lane?
If you are the type of traveler who uses a Touring Plan and routinely gets to the park before official opening, you do not need to purchase Individual Lightning Lane. You can only purchase two Individual Lightning Lane passes per day, which is important to remember if you plan to park hop.
If you happen to miss your return time window for your Lightning Lane, you will NOT be allowed to book another one for that attraction. What is this? If you're going to miss your Lightning Lane window for whatever reason, go into the app and cancel it before it expires.
A: Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption, provided they are not in glass containers and do not require heating, reheating, processing, refrigeration or temperature control and do not have pungent odors.
Disney Enchantment Hours
Firework shows at Disney's Magic Kingdom run nightly but can vary based on the park's operating hours or special events happening on a given day.
If you are visiting the Walt Disney World Resort outside the busy holiday season (or the 4th of July), 30-45 minutes early can get you a “good” fireworks viewing spot for a family of 4.
Suitcases, bags, coolers or backpacks, with or without wheels, larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (61 cm x 38 cm x 46 cm) are not allowed in any theme park or water park. Loose or dry ice is not permitted in these containers. Re-usable ice packs are recommended.
Payments can always be made with cash and traveler's checks. Both cash and traveler's checks must be in US $s. Use of any traveler's checks will require a photo ID. ATMs are located throughout the parks, if you need to get cash.
Keep your bag in a dedicated pouch located inside your ride vehicle. Many attractions with jostling or rapid movements incorporate a mesh pouch inside the vehicle into which you may place your bags. Some pouches may be smaller than your bag.
Early Entry
All guests are allowed to tap into the Magic Kingdom when it opens. Guests planning to rope drop Early Entry will want to hustle down the right side of Main Street to be closer to EE tap in. Tap in begins 45 minutes before EE on 8:30am days and 30 before EE on 7:30am days.
Early Park Entry basically means that day guests to Disney World, AKA people not staying in a Disney World Resort, cannot rope drop anymore.
Can you rope drop if not staying in a Disney resort?
The best way is by Disney bus, resort boat, resort monorail, or walking path when available. These options all drop you off at the front gates of the park. Of course, if you aren't staying at a Disney resort you won't have access to these options.
Space Mountain | ||
---|---|---|
Drop | 26 ft (7.9 m) | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
Length | 3,196 ft (974.1 m) | 3,186 ft (971.1 m) |
Speed | 27 mph (43.5 km/h) | 27 mph (43.5 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 | 0 |
Expedition Everest is both the tallest roller coaster and the roller coaster with the highest drop at Walt Disney World. The attraction tops out at 199.5 ft tall (not the track but the structure). The biggest drop on the ride is 80 ft tall.
On most days, you can expect Magic Kingdom to officially open up between 8 and 9 am. On the busiest days of the year (like over the holidays) that opening may even be pushed to 7 am. Early Theme Park Entry for onsite guests typically will begin 30 minutes before the official park opening time.
How Much Does Genie+ Cost? Genie+ costs $15 or more per person, per day, plus tax. In October 2022 Disney embraced date-specific pricing for Genie+, so the price will be higher on busier dates. On the day you want to use it, you can purchase the Genie+ option using Disney's app.
It's important to note that the Disney Lightning Lane and Genie Plus service are not one in the same. The Lightning Lane is the skip the line queue which replaced the old FastPass queue, while the Disney Genie Plus is the actual paid service which will allow you to choose a return time to enter the Lightning Lane.
Selling Out & Hardest to Get
Most Individual Lightning Lane attractions will sell out at some point during a given day. This depends on the date you are visiting and how crowded the theme parks are that day. The most popular attractions will sell out first, sometimes within minutes of reservations opening up.
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