What Rope Drop is REALLY LIKE in Magic Kingdom in 2025

If you are planning your next Disney World vacation, you might consider “rope dropping” at the parks.

Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle

Rope dropping refers to the actual rope that Cast Members use to hold crowds from entering certain areas of the parks until it officially opens. Each park has its own set of procedures around rope dropping, and what it looks like at each park can vary. At Magic Kingdom, it is now even more important to consider setting those alarms early and being there for rope drop.

In the past, guests were allowed to scan in and visit Main Street, U.S.A. at least 30 minutes (sometimes more!) before the park opened, but they did not have access to the rest of the park until official opening. Guests had to wait for the rope to “drop” at 9 AM — unless you were part of a select group of visitors who got an extra advantage.

2025 Rope Drop Crowds

We are, of course, talking about Early Theme Park Entry. If you are staying at a Disney World hotel, you qualify for this perk! Early Theme Park Entry means that you can go through a checkpoint where a Cast Member will scan your tickets. If you had early entry, you used to be allowed to wait at a rope at either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland, as those were the only two lands that were available for guests to ride 30 minutes before everyone else.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

That changed in 2025, and now, we are saying that you absolutely should rope drop as an Early Entry guest. While all guests to Magic Kingdom will still scan into the park and have access to Main Street before its official opening time, resort guests will be able to head straight to almost any ride of their choosing to wait in line for that specific ride. You can even go get in line for TRON Lightcycle/Run, which does not open with Early Entry, to be one of the first to ride when the park officially opens.

TRON Lightcycle / Run line at rope drop

This means that Early Entry guests will be able to hop on rides even earlier now, without having to be held in a large crowd at those checkpoints and then walking to the rides when Early Entry begins. You might be able to complete multiple rides before the official Magic Kingdom opening.

Magic Kingdom crowds

If you are a non-resort guest, you will still be held to wait for the rope to drop at park open. And you’ll want to keep an eye on wait times because some of the popular rides in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland will likely already be high because of the early entry guests’ advantage. A good strategy for non-resort guests has been to head to rides in Adventureland and Frontierland FIRST, since those rides are not open for the early entry guests.

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The post What Rope Drop is REALLY LIKE in Magic Kingdom in 2025 first appeared on the disney food blog.

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