When it comes to making the most of your Walt Disney World day, strategy is key. Disney guests trying to do it all will need a game plan to ensure their success! With new attractions and experiences opening regularly in the Disney Parks, it can feel challenging to fit everything in the day. On a Disney vacation there are some serious benefits that come with being an early riser, one of which is Rope Drop!

What’s Rope Drop?
Rope Drop is another name for the moment that a Disney Park opens for the day. This is the absolute earliest guests can enter the parks, which means the smallest crowds! Those who take advantage of this Disney day hack will enjoy shorter wait times and less park congestion during the first few hours after park opening.

How Does Rope Drop Work?
Unable to snag a FastPass+ reservation for one of your must-do Disney attractions? No worries, Rope Drop has got you covered! Guests that arrive before park opening will be some of the first to enter that Disney park for the day, therefore putting them in front of all the chaos that is to come with a normal Disney day.

Whichever FastPass+ reservation you weren’t able to grab should be where you’re headed first after walking through those park gates! Arriving early for Rope Drop will keep your wait time to a minimum, freeing you up to experience more attractions and spend less time waiting in line. While most guests will be experiencing wait times of 1-2 hours for the same popular attraction later in the day, you’ll have time to conquer the popular attraction (and maybe a few more) all in that first hour depending on park traffic!

It really pays off to wake up early on a Disney day! Looking to give Rope Drop a try on your next Disney vacation? Here are a three pro tips that will make setting an earlier alarm worth it.

Arrive at the gate at least 45 minutes early.
The key to succeeding at Rope Drop is an early arrival. Although the attractions may not open until a certain time, guests are usually granted access into the parks a few minutes before to cut back on chaos and traffic at the front gate. Arriving almost an hour early will ensure that you’ve made it through bag check and are ready to hustle to your first attraction of the day with plenty of time to spare!

Book early Fastpass+ reservations.
Walt Disney World allows you to book Fastpass+ reservations up to 30-60 days in advance! If you know you’ll be having a Rope Drop day on your trip, try to book your Fastpass+ reservations earlier in the day as well. Once you knock out your first few Rope Drop attractions of the day, you’ll have those Fastpass+ attractions waiting for you! Once you’ve experienced your first three Fastpasses of the day, Disney allows you to access more Fastpass+ reservations if available. These extra reservations don’t last all day, so early morning Fastpass+ reservations will give you a better chance to being able to grabbing more before they’re gone!

Take advantage of an emptier park.
Experiencing extra attractions isn’t the only way to enjoy Rope Drop! These early park hours are probably the emptiest the park will be all day. Take in the beauty of the park with an early breakfast on Main Street! And what Disney vacation is complete without a few park photos? Rope Drop is the perfect time to snap that perfect castle shot or check out some of the other PhotoPass spots throughout the park with little to no wait. A way to make photo time as painless as possible? Yes, please!

As you can see, Rope Drop is the best way to make the most of your time at the Most Magical Place on Earth! With so many exciting new attractions to experience, it’s great to know there’s a way to do it all without spending all day waiting in line. So next time you’re headed to Walt Disney World, be sure to get their early and enjoy as much magic as you can!