Disneyland Rope Drop Strategy: What to Ride First, When to Arrive & When to Ignore the “Rules” (Ep 122)

So if you've ever heard someone say, "We're going to rope drop Disneyland," and thought, "Okay, what does that mean?" This episode is going to be for you.

We like to rope drop here at Wanderlust and Wishes.

We just think, and it's actually a proven fact, you can get so much more done in the first two hours of the day than you can the rest of the day.

So we're taking full advantage of that.

This one's also going to be interesting because when it comes to Disneyland, there's not as much out there as far as strategies and podcasts and all the things.

But what you will find is very polarizing, and they'll say, "Get there 30 minutes early.

Get there an hour early.

Start with Peter Pan.

Do not start with Peter Pan." We're not necessarily gonna give you like a list.

We're gonna give you different options and who they work best for.

Okay, so let's talk about really quickly just the baseline, what does rope drop actually mean? Technically, it refers to the moment Disneyland officially opens the lands and attractions, but guests are generally allowed through the turnstiles before the official opening time and can walk up Main Street toward the hub.

Then there are literal ropes keeping you from entering the individual lands or areas, and when the park officially opens, those ropes come down, hence rope drop.

So it's very typical for guests to be allowed through the turnstiles before the official opening time, and then they're just held at the various locations where the lands are by having the rope up until the park opens, officially opens.

At Disneyland, they have a special sign, and we'll take people's pictures that I made it to rope drop if they're at the front of the rope.

I think that is awesome.

One of the first things that I want people to understand is if you want to rope drop does not mean you need to stand at the front gate exactly when the park opens.

You need to be through security, through the turnstiles, and positioned at the rope for the land you're targeting.

That is two different things.

If you show up at the turnstiles, if the park opens at 8:00, right at 8:00, you are already late.

Yeah.

Disneyland is very much a locals park.

You can get so much [laughs] done in that first couple of hours before all the locals start showing up at, like, what, like 10 o'clock-ish maybe.

Or 4:00 if they're going to work.

[laughs] Well, I just remember-

On Saturdays.