Disney World Rope Drop Strategy for Each Park

Disney World Rope Drop Strategy for Each Park

Disney World Rope Drop Strategy for Each Park

In this article, we’re going to break down the best Disney World early entry strategy for each park! As a general rule of thumb, we find it best for Disney World on-site resort guests to rope-drop Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios, Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot, and Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. For guests without early entry, which comes from staying at an official Disney World hotel, we recommend Big Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios, Test Track at Epcot, and Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom!

If you just need the mechanics — what Multi Pass is, how tiers work, what it costs — I already broke all of that down in my Lightning Lane guide and the Multi Pass tiers breakdown. Start there if you’re brand new. This post assumes you know the basics and want to know how to win the day.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you’re looking for the best time to visit Disney World check out our Disney Crowd calendar!

 Disney World Crowd Calendar

Disney World Rope Drop Strategies

Before we break down the exact rides you should rope drop at Disney World, there are some important guidelines that you need to understand. In our opinion, most families will fall under three buckets when trying to decide which rides they will rope drop at Disney World. And that is, families with Disney World 30-minute Early Entry, which is a benefit from staying at an official Disney World hotel. The second is families who are not staying at an official Disney World hotel and who plan to rope drop at regular park opening. The third is for families to plan to upgrade and purchase the Disney World multi-pass or single-day Lightning Lane.

It’s also important to understand some additional basics when rope dropping at Disney World. The first is that Magic Kingdom park only opens up specific lands such as Fantasyland and Tomorrowland for it’s on-site early entry, while Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom generally open all rides. And second is all of these recomendations are assuming that you plan to arrive an hour before early entry begins for guests in bucket number 1 or 45 minutes before regular park opening for guests in bucket number 2. Being some of the first guests in line for early entry rides will help you get on your first 2-3 rides faster compared to showing up right on time.

Which rope drop bucket do you fall into?

• Situation 1 – You have 30-minute early entry from staying at an official Disney World hotel
• Situation 2 – You are arriving at regular park opening and/or not staying at an official Disney World hotel
• Situation 3 – You are upgrading and purchasing Lightning Lanes

Rope Dropping Magic Kingdom Park

As discussed above, Magic Kingdom is a tricky park to rope drop as not every land is open for early entry. Magic Kingdom currently opens up Fantasyland and Tomorrowland 30 minutes early for guests staying at an official Disney World hotel. However, one of the most popular rides in Tomorrowland, which is Tron Lightcycle Run, is not part of Early Entry.

Best rides for Magic Kingdom Early Entry with kids above 48 inches

1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 72 minute avg wait later in the day 
2. Peter Pan’s Flight – 56 minute avg wait later in the day
3. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 29 minute avg wait later in the day 

Best rides for Magic Kingdom Early Entry with kids below 48 inches

1. Peter Pan’s Flight – 56 minute avg wait later in the day
2. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 29 minute avg wait later in the day 
3. It’s a Small World – 20 minute avg wait later in the day

Best rides for Magic Kingdom Without Early Entry

1. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- 36 minute avg wait later in the day 
2. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure – 35 minute avg wait later in the day 

Best rides for rope dropping Magic Kingdom with Lightning Lanes

We would suggest making your Lightning Lane multi-pass selections as Peter Pan, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and The Haunted Mansion. We would also make your Lightning Lane single-pass selection as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and/or TRON Lightcycle Run. For guests with early entry, I would follow the outline below, and for guests showing up at park opening, I would go with Big Thunder Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

1. Space Mountain – 50 minute avg wait later in the day 
2. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 35 minute avg wait later in the day 

Rope Dropping Hollywood Studios

Outside of Magic Kingdom park, Hollywood Studios is the second most important park to have a plan when rope dropping. The reason being is the attractions in Hollywood Studios typically have the longest average wait times compared to all other attractions.

Best rides for Hollywood Studios Early Entry for Disney Hotel Guests

1. Slinky Dog Dash – 7o minute avg wait later in the day 
2. Toy Story Mania! – 44 minute avg wait later in the day 

Best rides for Hollywood Studios Rope Dropping Without Early Entry

1. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Staring the Muppets – 54 minute avg wait later in the day 
2. The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror – 49 minute avg wait later in the day 

Best rides for rope dropping Hollywood Studios with Lightning Lanes

We would suggest making your Lightning Lane multi-pass selections as Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania, and Tower of Terror. We would also make your Lightning Lane single-pass selection as Star Wars Rise of the Resistance. 

1. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 45 minute avg wait later in the day 
2. Star Tours – The Adventures Continue-16 minute avg wait later in the day 

Rope Dropping Epcot

Epcot can be a difficult park to rope drop because it actually has two entrances. The entrance in the front of the park and then one all the way in the back at International Gateway which connects to the Disney Boardwalk area.

Best rides for Epcot Early Entry for Disney Hotel Guests

1. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – 67 minute avg wait later in the day
2. Test Track – 53 minute avg wait later in the day

Best rides for Epcot Rope Dropping Without Early Entry

1. Test Track – 53 minute avg wait later in the day
2. Frozen Ever After – 49 minute avg wait later in the day

Best rides for rope dropping Epcot with Lightning Lanes

We would suggest making your Lightning Lane multi-pass selections as Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Mission: SPACE. We would also make your Lightning Lane single-pass selection as Guardians of the Galaxy.

1. Frozen Ever After – 49 minute avg wait later in the day
2. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 56 minute avg wait later in the day

Rope Dropping Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom might be the easiest park to rope drop at this point in time, simply because of how many rides are under construction. However, because almost everyone sprints to Pandora for Avatar Flight of Passage, it’s the second most important park to show up a full hour before park opening behind Magic Kingdom. This will allow you to successfully get on and off of Flight of Passage within the first 20-30 minutes and then you can take advantage of Kilimanjaro Safaris when it opens for regular park guests, as that has the second-highest average wait time.

Best rides for Animal Kingdom Early Entry for Disney Hotel Guests

1. Avatar Flight of Passage – 87 minute avg wait later in the day
2. Kilimanjaro Safaris – 32 minute avg wait later in the day

Best rides for Animal Kingdom Rope Dropping Without Early Entry

1. Kilimanjaro Safaris – 32 minute avg wait later in the day
2. Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain – 27 minute avg wait later in the day

Best rides for rope dropping Epcot with Lightning Lanes

Animal Kingdom is actually the easiest park to hack with the Lightning Lane and rop dropping because all of the rides are tier 2. We would suggest making your Lightning Lane multi-pass selections as Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Na’vi River Journey. We would also make your Lightning Lane single-pass selection as Avatar Flight of Passage.

1. Zootopia: Better Zoogether! – NEW! – 16 minute avg wait later in the day
2. Kali River Rapids – 24 minute avg wait later in the day

When is The Best Time to Visit Disney World?

Our Disney World Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you get the most out of your time in the parks. We break down park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices, and average temperature.