Disney World, Disneyland, Go Informed Podcast, Theme Park Touring, Universal Orlando

How to Rope Drop – Go Informed Podcast Episode 044

July 7, 2019
Comments are closed

Rope drop at Magic Kingdom means you get to enter an empty theme park

343 Shares

Everything you need to know about rope drop

If you’re planning a visit to the Disney or Universal theme parks, rope drop is excellent tool to keep in your toolbox. On this episode you’ll find out what rope drop is, why you should do it, and what to expect when you give rope dropping a try.

These are the show notes for Go Informed Podcast episode 44. Click the Play button to listen to the episode for lots more detail about this topic.

Table of contents for this post

[show]

Rope drop is a great way to get ahead of the crowd for the day

Rope drop takes place at the beginning of the day when a theme park opens. If you are there in time for rope drop, you’ll be one of the very first guests in the park.

This is your opportunity to get on a popular ride without Lightning Lane or a long line, and see the park without big crowds. Especially for high-traffic lands like Diagon Alley and Galaxy’s Edge, rope drop is a fantastic opportunity to have the place almost all to yourself.

Yes, there usually is a rope

Theme parks use ropes to corral guests after they pass through the main park gate. This allows the park to let guests in even before official opening time.

Sometimes the rope is just inside the park, like in front of the Magic Kingdom train station. Or sometimes the rope is somewhere deeper, like at the entrance to Tomorrowland.

There can also be more than one rope at rope drop. In many parks, guests line up behind the rope that’s closest to whatever attraction they want to ride first. At Animal Kingdom for instance, there’s a rope holding guests before Flight of Passage and also a rope holding guests before Dinosaur and Expedition Everest. So make sure you know where you want to go before you get to the park gate.

Sometimes the rope drops, often guests walk behind the rope

Walking behind the rope at Magic Kingdom rope drop

Especially at the Disney parks, the rope will be used to corral the crowd towards a land or an attraction. So if you get there early enough you will probably wait behind the rope until a few minutes before park opening. Then the cast members up front will begin walking the entire group toward the attraction, only releasing the crowd near the attraction entrance.

Walking behind the rope in the big mob can be very intense. The pace will be high, there are obstacles to avoid, and everybody really wants to get to the final destination. Stay calm and know that you’ll only be walking like this for a few minutes, and the crowd is probably much smaller than you think it is.

Sometimes there is no rope, just park staff holding back the crowd at rope drop

Basic rope drop tips

Arrive at the park at least 30 minutes before official opening time.

When there’s a rope, guests will be admitted through the gates sometimes up to 45 minutes before official opening time. You’ll do most of your waiting in front of the rope instead of in front of the gate.

Don’t miss episode 19: Master Your Theme Park Morning to get my tips for how to actually get up and get your group to the park in time for rope drop.

Pay attention

If you aren’t right up front, you will miss the announcement when it’s time to move. The rope can move pretty much at any time. Sometimes the rope line will make multiple stops.

Watch for obstacles

In the crowd, watch out for strollers, wheelchairs, scooters and slow-movers. On the edges, look out for garbage cans, light poles, and curbs. Staying towards the middle of the crowd keeps you the most nimble as you move forward.

If you get there early enough you’ll be at the very front and won’t have to worry about other guests blocking your way.

Have a plan in case you get separated

It’s really easy to get separated from your buddies when walking behind the rope. I think it’s OK to catch up with your party once the rope is dropped and the line is formed for an attraction, as long as you do so outside the ride entrance.

If you get to the entrance before the rest of your group, wait at the door until they catch up with you. Or just ride the attraction and meet up afterwards. Make this plan before the rope drops.

Don’t run

Number One Rule of Rope Drop: No running. Walking very fast is totally fine.

Have a plan before you enter the park

When you get through the gate you may have to choose which rope to line up behind. Know what you want to see first so you line up in the right place.

A good way to figure out what you want to see is to listen to my park tour episodes:

Want to know what NOT to do at rope drop? Here are the top two most common rope drop FAILS.

Advice if rope drop doesn’t work for you

If you can’t deal with rope drop for mobility or other physical/emotional reasons, Disney and Universal have ways to make accommodations to help you skip lines in other ways.

Here’s the link to Disney’s accessibility accommodation info.

Here’s the link to Universal’s accessibility accommodation info.

Want to hear about a very extreme rope drop experience?

On episode 47 I tell the story about opening day at the Rise of the Resistance attraction. That morning I got up at 3am to be one of the first guests in the park. Listen now right here.

Did you know you can use early admission to get TWO rope drops on the same day at Disney and Universal? Find out how to use this advanced hack here.

Bonus tips delivered straight to your inbox

Join the mailing list to get my twice-monthly bonus theme park travel tips! Sign up, and read the archives, at GoInformed.net/Newsletter

More theme park tips for your best vacation ever

This post contains affiliate links

Pin343