3. The Fantasyland dash at the Magic Kingdom

Each park has its own distinctive rope drop behavior. The most interesting one is at the most popular park. Anyone who has tried rope drop at Magic Kingdom lately understands that there are two directions people go when the park opens. The overwhelming majority of people head to Fantasyland. That’s where two of the most in-demand attractions at all of Walt Disney World reside. The first is the newest Magic Kingdom attraction, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which oftentimes has wait-times in excess of 75 minutes. The other is Princess Fairytale Hall, where a slew of determined parents take their children to meet Anna and Elsa, the royal sisters of Frozen. If you fall down heading that way at rope drop, you’ll feel like you collapsed during the running of the bulls at Pamplona, only the bulls would show more compassion.

A determined rope drop trek to Fantasyland increases your odds of enjoying one or both attractions within an hour of the park opening. My family chose the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train side of this strategy one day, and the results were stunning. We had a FastPass+ selection, so we rode it twice within minutes of Magic Kingdom’s rope drop. By 9:20, the wait-time for the newest roller coaster was already 50 minutes and growing exponentially. Part of this was because the slower park arrivals were arriving. The larger component was that the people exiting the Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet headed over to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train afterward. Only 20 minutes of difference determined whether we rode it twice or had to wait the body of an hour in line. That’s what rope drop can do for you.

4. Other pro tips

Sometimes, a bit of knowledge is dangerous. For example, if you’ve visited Animal Kingdom much, you know that one of the longest lines is for Kali River Rapids. That may not be a ride for which you select a FastPass+. Based on the above, you may consider rushing to it at rope drop. That would be a mistake. There’s a common sense aspect to the situation. If you ride Kali River Rapids first, you’ll get wet. Then, you’ll have soggy clothing for the rest of your morning, and that’s not ideal. The same is true of Splash Mountain. Wet rides and rope drop don’t mix.

Another important tip is that if you’re all about rides rather than meet and greets, there’s one rope drop run to prioritize above all others. Until Disney opens a third track for Toy Story Midway Mania!, it’s the optimal choice. The wait-time for it is so out of proportion relative to the rest of Hollywood Studios that I recently rode Star Tours, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and it within 75 minutes of park opening. Three of the four had wait-times of less than 10 minutes a full hour after I entered Hollywood Studios. Conversely, I entered Toy Story Midway Mania! within eight minutes of park opening. By the time I exited, the wait-time was already over an hour. Like an Anchorman fight, it escalated quickly.

Oddly, the same isn’t true of the crown jewel of Animal Kingdom, Expedition Everest. For whatever reason, that park’s traffic doesn’t veer toward a single attraction. If you arrive when it opens, you can ride Expedition Everest several times consecutively on many days, assuming your heart can take the intensity of the Yeti. So, three of the four parks have specific rope drop destinations, while Animal Kingdom depends entirely on how you want to spend your time there. That’ll change when Pandora: The World of Avatar debuts. Its rides will immediately become your strongest priority at rope drop.

Finally, this may seem obvious, but I’m going to remind you just in case. If you want to employ the rope drop tips above, showing up within a couple of minutes of park opening won’t work. Remember that you have to be there quite a bit earlier than the stated opening. If you’re carrying a purse, backpack, or the like, you’ll have to pass a security check. Then, you’ll need to validate your ticket to enter the park. And all that occurs after you secure transportation, which can be its own adventure. We always plan to leave 45 minutes early. It’s better to have a few minutes of wait-time at the entry gate than to wind up in the park 15 minutes after it opens. That’s the equivalent of a full ride you’ll miss if you’re not ready enter the instant the rope drops.