Disney World is a wonderful, magical place that can also be immensely confusing.
Especially if you’ve got family and friends who have been recently and are telling you all their tips and tricks because they likely clash with each other. If you don’t listen to anything else we say, here’s why we think this Disney tip NEEDS to be taken seriously.
You may have heard the term rope dropping a million times during your planning. It stems from the early park days when Cast Members would literally drop a rope to allow people into the park each day.
People will often tell you to rope drop a park (basically be there waiting before it opens) because it allows you to head straight to your ride destination first before lots of the crowds come in. You’ll also hear them say to arrive at least half an hour before opening time because the park often opens a little earlier than posted. This means you may be able to knock out a few rides before the rest of the crowds arrive.
Here’s the thing though: We DO NOT think you should rope drop. Yes, you heard us right, NO rope dropping! Why, you may ask? Because that’s an EARLY wake up time for a very long day, and there’s a better strategy for most parks.
Instead, we recommend arriving at the park a little later in the morning and staying late. In parks that have shows in the evening, such as Magic Kingdom fireworks, many people will leave ride lines to get their spots for the show, causing wait times to drop.
Not to mention that if it’s a night when the park is open later than the fireworks show ends, many families choose to leave the park rather than stay for that last hour, so ride times will drop even more! And if you get in line for a ride a minute before closing time for the park, they will allow you to stay in line and ride, no matter what the wait times say.
Ultimately, choosing between arriving for rope drop and going later and staying until park close is up to you and your group, but it is something to consider while you plan your next trip. Stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney tips and tricks!
Here are 5 things you should NEVER do in Disney World!
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Do you agree with this tip, or do you prefer rope dropping? Tell us in the comments!
Thank you all ears crew.? Love your videos! You all make me smile.
Or, and hear me out, do BOTH, then take a day off the parks the next day! My daughter did that last year on a mid-July day to Hollywood Studios, and bookended the day with first and last rides of the day on Rise of the Resistance!
one note – Avatar does close their standby line between 25-45 minutes before park close, they won’t let you join the line after that. Nut 30 minutes of park time vs 2 hours, worth it!
I am a big fan of “close dropping”, because it guarantees you a ride on that big ticket ride without the wait. We once walked on Seven Dwarfs, literally right to an open cart!