Rope drop double-up
How to beat the crowd TWICE in one morning
How to get two rope drops in the same morning
Hello everybody!
Today we’re diving into a rather advanced hack, but I think you all are ready for it. This tactic creates the opportunity to really leverage your morning in a busy theme park, by rope-dropping two major attractions in the same day.
The inspiration for this topic comes from my November Disneyland trip. It’s a maneuver we used successfully a couple of times that week, and I remember promising on that trip report podcast episode that I would tell you how to do it someday.
Well it’s been a minute since I recorded that last episode, and this hack has been rattling around all that time. So let’s get to it.
Hey also, this is a new podcast episode too! You can listen now at GoInformed.net/podcasts or on your favorite podcast app, including
Beat the crowd twice at Disney and Universal
What is rope drop?
Rope drop is the moment when the park really opens, when guests are allowed to actually step into the attraction queues. It’s called ‘rope drop’ because, especially at Disney, guests are often allowed through the park gates early, then held behind a rope to wait for access to the various lands and rides.
Rope drop is an absolutely essential theme park touring experience you need to try at least once. Getting there before the rides are even running is the ultimate skip-the-line tactic.
If this is the first time you’ve ever heard about rope drop, I recommend heading over to my website for this detailed post about how it works. You can also listen to me explain it on Go Informed Podcast episode 44.
You’ll need early admission to get a double rope drop
In order to accomplish a double rope drop, you will need early theme park admission for the day. This is usually a 30- or 60-minute head-start for select guests.
If you stay in an on-site hotel at Disney World, Disneyland, or Universal Orlando, you’ll automatically get this early-entry access. At Universal Studios Hollywood, you can pay extra to get early admission to the new Super Nintendo World.
Want to know more about staying on-site at Universal Orlando or Disney World? My in-depth hotel guides cover everything from theming, location, budget, dining options, and guest benefits. Find them on the GoInformed.net website:
… because parks with early admission have two rope drops
Makes sense, right? Not everyone gets early entry, so the other guests have to wait their turn for the regular park opening time.
For example, today at Disneyland the park opens at 8:00, but early-entry is at 7:30. By 7:00, there will be two ropes on Main Street - one holding the 7:30 guests and one for the 8:00 guests.
Not everything opens for early admission
An important thing to know about early admission is that not everything will be open during that time. Most parks operate a few top attractions for the head-start guests, but not everything.
For instance, at Universal Islands of Adventure, only the Harry Potter attractions and the Velocicoaster are open for early guests. (OK, maybe the word “only” is a little silly here, but you get the idea). So, even if you have early admission, you can’t ride the Hulk coaster.
At Disneyland park, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland open early, but not Galaxy’s Edge or Rise of the Resistance.
… so there is a second rope drop even for early guests
During early admission, ropes keep guests out of areas not yet open for the day. Sadly, you don’t get free-run of the entire place.
But here’s the thing - when the rest of the park opens, early entry guests get a head start on that too! Visitors waiting for the official park opening time are held near the park entrance. But if you have early entry, you can almost always wait much closer to the attraction/land itself.
Just a couple of minutes advantage is huge when we’re talking about empty queues. When that second rope drops, if your distance is just a little closer than those standard guests, you will beat them for a second time.
Here’s how to do it
Let me give you a example of how this can work.
Disney’s California Adventure has several very popular attractions. Top two are Web-Slingers in Avengers Campus, and Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land. Mid-day wait times at each of these rides can easily be 90 minutes or longer.
If you can rope-drop these attractions, you can literally save hours of waiting time. But only Web-Slingers is open during early admission. All of Cars Land is roped off.
Seems crazy, but the fact that Radiator Springs Racers is NOT open at early admission is actually a good thing. Because guess what? It’s practically next door to Web-Slingers.
You’ve got to walk quick, but you can absolutely bee-line it to Web-Slingers at early entry rope drop, ride it, then walk down the street to the Cars Land rope - before official park opening.
The rope between Avengers Campus and Cars Land is nearly at the entrance to Radiator Springs Racers. When your rope drops, at the same time as everyone waiting much farther up the street, you can casually walk straight into the RSR queue. Ahead of everyone else.
We did this, and we also had success in Disneyland rope-dropping Rise of the Resistance this way. It’s not open during early entry, but you can get to Fantasyland to line up and beat the crowd from there. Listen to the podcast episode to get that story.
A few things to keep in mind
Full disclosure: there are a few downsides to trying this tactic.
First of all, it may not work. Any ride breakdowns or delays will wreck the timing and you may not be able to get everything done as quickly as you’d hoped.
You also really need to be on your game for the first rope drop. Be sure to follow my advice about getting there on time so you can get on and off your early admission rides quickly.
Also, some parks work better than others for this. Big parks with lots of distance between attractions can make timing difficult.
Lastly, rope drop can be a great time to explore a land and really enjoy it without crowds. You may not want to rush off to the next thing right away.
That said, on the day we used this to rope drop Rise of the Resistance, we spent the early entry time just wandering around the castle taking pictures with no one around. Then we went to the Galaxy’s Edge holding area in the back of Fantasyland about 10 minutes before the second rope drop.
Want a plan for your specific morning? Ask in the comments
Where would you like to try this double rope drop tactic? If you’d like some specific suggestions for how to do it, let me know in the comments & I will reply back with a plan.
Hear me talk about double rope drop tactics on Go Informed Podcast episode 79
This topic is also a podcast episode! Listen now on your favorite podcast app, including:
Great tips!