Mornings are the most valuable time of day at Disneyland when you can enjoy popular attractions with shorter wait times. During the mornings when the parks are less crowded, you can easily get onto more attractions than any other time of day! In order to fully maximize your time at the parks, we recommend arriving bright and early at “rope drop,” which is when guests line up before the time of park opening at the various ropes that block off access to each land.
We will take you through our top 5 tips for making the most of the morning rope drop time at Disneyland! These tips are especially helpful during some of the more crowded seasons at Disneyland. You can see the best dates to visit Disneyland here.
1. Make sure you’re lined up at the front gates about 30-45 minutes before opening. Getting your group up early on vacation can be difficult, but getting to the parks in time for rope drop is worth it given the incredible amount you can accomplish in the mornings. You’ll want to account for the time it takes to get through security before this so that you can be at the gates at least 30 minutes before opening.
This means you will also need to account for the travel time it will take you to get to the parks as well if you are staying at a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland or taking a shuttle to Disneyland. Many will find themselves unexpectedly running behind the morning of while trying to get out the door and prepping for any expected Anaheim weather, so make sure to allot more time than you think you’ll need just to be safe.
2. Grab breakfast to-go or eat before you get to the parks. When enjoying the parks during the less crowded morning hours at Disneyland, you’ll want to be taking advantage of the shorter wait times rather than sitting down to eat a meal. We recommend either planning out time to eat a quick breakfast at your hotel beforehand or grabbing breakfast to-go to eat as you are waiting to be let into the turnstiles. This way, you’ll be making the most of your time. If you’re planning on a Disneyland character dining experience, we recommend booking it during a brunch/early lunch period so that you can enjoy that as a way to escape the big crowds when they start to come in.
3. Do the opposite of the crowds. There are several options that you can take advantage of if you arrive for rope drop, and one of them is to do the opposite of what most guests will be doing. Many rush to extremely popular rides like Space Mountain, Peter Pan, and Rise of the Resistance (we recommend saving this one for later in the day), but there are shorter waits in other parts of the park that you can take advantage of instead. One option we would recommend is heading towards the Adventureland and New Orleans Square areas of the park to ride attractions like Indiana Jones Adventure, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion before the lines start building up.
4. If you are visiting with younger kids, prioritize Fantasyland for rope drop. Many of the rides in Fantasyland do not offer Genie+ Lightning Lane access, making it an appealing option to visit in the morning when waits are shorter. We recommend riding attractions like Peter Pan’s Flight, Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, and Alice in Wonderland in the mornings before the area gets more crowded. If you’re planning on experiencing Peter Pan’s Flight during your trip, you’ll want to prioritize this as you rope drop Fantasyland, as this is an extremely popular ride and the line builds up quickly. See our guides to the best Disneyland rides for toddlers for details about the top rides we would recommend in Fantasyland!
5. If you would like to ride a certain attraction twice during the day, prioritize it at rope drop. Because you can only use Genie+ Lightning Lanes once per day per attraction, you’ll need to be strategic if you want to ride a certain attraction twice. Prioritize it at rope drop so that you can ideally wait in a short standby line in the morning and then secure a Lightning Lane reservation in the afternoon when crowds build up. Depending on how crowded the parks are and where your top attractions are located, you may even be able to get onto several of them during this morning period so you can return via Genie+ Lightning Lane for them later on.
Make sure to read our full Disneyland rope drop morning strategy guide and Disney California Adventure rope drop strategy for more details on the options you have for rope drop, the ride order we would recommend depending on certain factors, and more helpful tips!
At Mickey Visit, we share the most important tips for planning your trips to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Universal, and beyond. Each week, we’ll share some of our top tips here on Laughing Place.
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