Magical Quests Blog

Tag: theme parks

The BEST Early Morning at Magic Kingdom
Everyone dreams of the perfect morning at Magic Kingdom. You casually stroll up Main Street USA with majestic Cinderella’s Castle growing larger as you approach. You’ve just picked up a Starbucks iced latte at the Main Street Bakery, and you haven’t got a care in the world. There are no lines for PhotoPass photographers in the Hub, and you capture the ideal Instagram-worthy family photo that will be the centerpiece of your Christmas cards as well. Everyone in your group is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and you will now meander through the park leisurely, before heading to Fantasyland to ride all the rides without any wait.

Like I said, everyone dreams of the perfect morning at Magic Kingdom.

In reality this Rope Drop is both the most worthwhile and the most complex of the four theme parks at Walt Disney World. Between the multiple transportation steps needed for guests arriving by car or non-Disney resort bus and the tiered opening of lands in this park, there are a lot of logistics to consider when planning out your morning. But with 24 rides plus shows and parades, arriving early will help ensure you can have the most fun possible at Magic Kingdom.

For non-resort guests, official park opening is typically at 9am, meaning Early Entry Rope Drop begins at 8:30am for guests staying at a Disney Resort and other participating Good Neighbor Hotels. Magic Kingdom will open earlier during peak seasons, often with an 8am opening time during Spring Break weeks, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and some peak summer weeks. It is always good to double check the MyDisneyExperience app about a week before your trip. Disney will post basic operating hours 60 days in advance, with the actual/confirmed hours showing withing 1-2 weeks of the actual dates. (For reference, Saturday March 1 was the early end of spring break week and the park opened at 8am.)

In this addition to my Rope Drop Series, I will cover the logistics of traveling to and entering Magic Kingdom for Early Entry Rope Drop, along with strategies to help you make the most of these early morning hours, how to navigate the “waves of opening” in the Magic Kingdom lands, and how to spend all that glorious free time you’ll have left. (Unsure what Early Entry Rope Drop is? Check out my post, “Why You Should Rope Drop at Disney World” for background information.)

Getting to the Park – By Land or By Sea

There are multiple options for traveling to Magic Kingdom depending on where you are staying. Guests staying in the Magic Kingdom resort area on one of the monorail resorts – Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Contemporary Resort & Bay Lake Tower, and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort can (obviously) take the Monorail to the park.

If you are staying at the Contemporary Resort (including Bay Lake Tower,) it is quickest to walk to the park. You’ll follow a sidewalk path to the gates and pass through a small security checkpoint on the pathway. Taking the Monorail from Contemporary might take you 20 minutes or more with the resort stops along the way.

You can also walk from Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. This is about a 15-minute walk, depending on what end of the resort you are leaving from. Since Grand Floridian is the last stop before the park, it’s going to be quicker to take the Monorail unless you really want to burn some unnecessary steps before you even get into the park.

You can also take the launch boats from Grand Floridian and Polynesian Resort, and will need to take the launch boat from Wilderness Lodge or Wilderness Campground. The boat from the monorail resorts can be fairly efficient if timed correctly, but the boats from Wilderness can take a bit longer since there are more people to service. If you are trying to rope drop (any park) from the Wilderness complex, you want to be waiting for that first boat in the morning or the first bus of the day for other parks.

All other resorts will utilize the Disney Bus service. During very busy times of the year, transportation will often begin running earlier than the 60-minute mark, and it’s important to factor travel time into your morning. If you are driving, parking also opens 60 minutes before early entry begins (occasionally earlier during peak seasons).

It’s important to know that if you drive and park at Magic Kingdom, or take a ride share that is not a Minnie Van (offered through Lyft for a premium rate), or are using the bus service from a Good Neighbor Resort, you’ll be parking at/dropped off at the Transportation and Ticker Center, and will need to take either the Monorail or Magic Kingdom Ferry across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the gates. This will add a significant amount of travel time to your morning, so if you are in this boat (get it?!), set your alarm extra early.

So, what time are you waking up? For those of you lucky enough to be staying in the Magic Kingdom resort area on the Monorail, (especially those lucky guests at Contemporary Resort) you will have a comparatively relaxing start to your Rope Drop morning. If you are driving or not staying on-property at a Disney Resorts Collection Hotel, you’ll want to be up before the sun for the peak-week early 8am openings. It’s okay, you’ll be running on Joffrey’s and Pixie Dust in no time!

Security and Park Entry

Security typically opens 45 minutes or more before early entry begins. This allows any lines forming outside the park to be let into the space between security and the turnstiles/MagicBand readers. This is where you will gather with everyone else who got up and out early to hit the parks. Yes, while the main point of rope drop is to avoid long lines in the park, you are still waiting a good 30 minutes outside of the gates if you want to be at the front of the crowd. The theme park logic in this is that you are not waiting during the park’s operating hours, at least for the first few rides of the day.

The entry procedure recently changed at Magic Kingdom (Fall 2025). Cast members will usually start allowing all guests into the park around 7:45am, well before early entry starts, to alleviate the crowds gathering from the later busses. Guests can leisurely stroll up Main Street U.S.A. and take all the Castle pictures your heart desires. Once inside, if you are a non-resort guest and arrive early for official park opening, cast members will direct to you to a separate queue/corral area to wait.

After you tap your band, phone, or keycard and fingerprint for park entry, you’ll be directed towards cast members who have handheld readers to scan your ticket again. This is to ensure that you are indeed a Disney resort guest. If you are traveling with others, be sure that everyone included on your resort reservation is together for this step, so one person can be scanned, let the cast member know how many people are on the reservation, and they will simply count heads and let your group in. Cast Members now allow resort guests all the way into Tomorrowland and Fantasyland to queue up outside of attractions, rather than on the bridges into the lands. I am a big fan of this new system because you have less dense crowds of people waiting to move into a larger area, and it just feels more comfortable and safer all around.

I’m walking right down the middle of Main Street USA

Only Main Street USA, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland are open for Early Entry. This means that Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square are not open until official park opening. They will be fully roped off, and you will not be able to walk through these areas. Unless you have a breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace, you’ll be heading straight back to Fantasyland behind Cinderella’s Castle, or banging a right and heading to Tomorrowland. Depending on your group’s goals (and if you are really leveling up by also using MultiPass and/or Individual Lightning Lanes today), the most popular “first rides” for Early Entry are Peter Pan’s Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Space Mountain.

There’s a great big, beautiful Tomorrow…

My favorite ride to head to first is Space Mountain. Opening on January 15, 1975, Space Mountain was the first fully indoor roller coaster, and the first roller coaster to be fully computer-controlled, making it a cornerstone attraction in the evolution of theme park technology and safety. Space Mountain often has a 40+ minute wait during the day, though the fully indoor queue can be a nice respite from the Florida sun if you do find yourself in a longer standby queue later. One of the logistical bonuses to ticking off Space Mountain first is its proximity to TRON Lightcycle / Run, if you are trying to race for Team Blue.

Though located in Tomorrowland, TRON Lightcycle / Run does not open with Early Entry. If you are not purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane for TRON and want to avoid the long wait later in the day, this is the most efficient way to fit it into your morning. You can also go straight to the ride and queue for the entire 30 minutes of early entry, but that’s not a great use of your time.

Don’t be afraid to ask a Cast Member for a ballpark wait time if you opt to hit Space Mountain first. They will have someone manning the back of the line, and that person might be able to tell you what the approximate wait will be once the ride opens. You can then decide if the wait is worth it for your group, or if you want to keep your morning moving.

“Fantasyland is dedicated to the young, and the young-at-heart…” – Walt Disney (Fantasyland dedication in Disneyland, July 1955)

The vast majority of people are headed to Fantasyland, and specifically Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which frequently has a posted wait time of 75 minutes or more. This is a great use of Early Entry if you are at the front of the Rope Drop pack. With literally hundreds of people headed to the same family-friendly coaster, this can get a little intense in all honesty. There will be a mad dash of people rushing this way (with so many strollers it almost feels like a go-kart race), and the walkways can get a little tight in certain areas. In the MyDisneyExperience app, you will see that they typically just throw a 35 minute wait up as soon as the ride opens because of the anticipated crowds headed this way.

Hopefully you will be zipping through the queue, but there are a few fun interactive elements to play with as you make your way to the load area which can keep kids (and adults!) occupied for a bit. The attraction is an adorable blend of Disney dark ride with advanced audio animatronics and light thrills, and while most of the ride moves slowly, the coaster portion does top out at 34mph. Believe it or not, that’s faster than both Space Mountain (28mph) and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (30mph)!

Other guests headed to Fantasyland are likely on their way to Peter Pan’s Flight, which can also have a 60+ minute wait through much of the day. A classic Disney dark ride, Peter Pan’s Flight opened on October 3, 1971 — 2 days after Magic Kingdom’s grand opening — and has undergone a couple of facelifts over the years, most recently in 2024 with an update to the Never Land Tribe scene. If you find yourself in the middle of the pack heading into the park, this is a great attraction to start your day with (or book via MultiPass).

Make the Most of Early Entry

If you were lucky enough to hop on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Peter Pan’s Flight, you can now hit other attractions in Fantasyland that will continue to have lower waits in the morning – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, It’s a Small World, Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, and Dumbo are all solid picks. While Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is still a great early ride, it’s a comparatively long walk from the other fun attractions that are just steps away from each other in Fantasyland. These rides will have moderate waits later in the day and can sometimes run out of Lightning Lanes when the park is very busy. There are a handful of other rides that tend to have low waits throughout the day and can be saved to ride later: Barnstormer, Mad Tea Party, Tomorrowland Speedway, and Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.

Be prepared to PIVOT

Magic Kingdom has more attractions than any other park, and there can always be some technical difficulties at park opening at any major theme park. Because so many guests are headed to these three big attractions (and in particular, the two in Fantasyland), if one of them does not open with Early Entry, you can see a very high influx in the other queues. In that case, just throw your plans out the window and hop on the next closest ride that you want to ride. Really, I mean it! Don’t overthink things and don’t panic. Disregard your Early Entry plans and just have fun! Beyond having the most rides of any theme park, Fantasyland has the highest concentration of rides of any land in any park, and most people will find that their day becomes really “magical” when they are just going with the flow.

A great first ride in Fantasyland in this scenario is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which can have a 30+ minute later in the day and can also run out of Lightning Lanes sooner than other attractions. (It’s also right across from Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.) In Tomorrowland, you can head to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin if Space Mountain is closed – I would not hop in line for TRON because that’s what most everyone else will be doing in that scenario, and you could be looking at a 60+ minute wait.

Fuel up for Fun

There are a couple of quick service locations open in these two lands in the early part of the day if you need some breakfast (or second breakfast). At the Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland, there is a sticky bubble bread that is available all day long, as well as a breakfast bowl that is available until 10:30am. I tried this breakfast bowl during my last morning visit to Magic Kingdom and I was happily surprised by how tasty this was, and how massive the portion is. With tater tots, a cheese omelet, chili con carne, pico de gallo, and sour cream, this is definitely shareable or a good choice if you need to really fuel up for a longer park day (which was my case).

In Fantasyland, Gaston’s Tavern and Friar’s Nook both open at 9am and serve a giant cinnamon roll, crème brulee croissant, or ham and gruyere tart (Gaston’s) and a breakfast bagel sandwich or bacon cheddar tot bowl (Friar’s). Both Friar’s Nook and the Lunching Pad have Mobile Order available, and I highly recommend using this feature to speed things along. There are also a couple of sit down character dining options available for breakfast in the park, like The Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends, or Cinderella’s Royal Table with a few Princesses.

We’ve done one Rope Drop yes, but what about “Second Rope Drop?”

Once regular park operating hours begin, non-resort guests will be able to queue for rides and the waits for attractions like TRON and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train could be lengthy. You could opt to hop in line for one of these big attractions right before 9am, though be prepared for a 45+ minute wait at this point. (This is not what I would do with my remaining morning time.)

Liberty Square, Frontierland, and Adventureland open at 9am (or regular park hours, whatever that is for your visit date) which means you can essentially Rope Drop the other half of the park at this point. Major attractions like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Jungle Cruise are all great options to hit right when they open up. Fantastic! Let’s do it again!

Since I am typically in Fantasyland during Early Entry, my next move is to head to Haunted Mansion, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (which is currently closed for refurbishment). The queues for each of these can easily hit 30-45 minutes later in the day (much longer for Tiana’s), and any of them would be a great choice to knock out early. If you are staying off-property, it would be worth your while to go directly to the waiting corrals for these lands when you enter the park and skipping Fantasyland and Tomorrowland entirely in the morning.

Many guests alternatively will opt to position themselves for Jungle Cruise in Adventureland. An opening day attraction at both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, Jungle Cruise features a skipper guide who tells cheesy puns about the animatronic animals you encounter on your river journey. With the recent live-action Jungle Cruise movie renewing the fervor for this attraction, you will often encounter long waits to see the backside of water (in a queue that can get quite hot) so ticking this one off early is a good move.

Whether you head back to Frontierland or over to Adventureland, the most logistically convenient attraction to hit next is Pirates of the Caribbean (pronounced Caribbean). Often thought to be an opening day attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean didn’t open at Magic Kingdom until 1973 – this is because the Imagineers thought that Floridians wouldn’t be interested in riding an attraction focused on pirates, because they already had actual pirates in the area throughout history. However, guests who had been to Disneyland were perplexed when there was no fan-favorite Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom, so the Imagineering team recreated the classic musty-water-smelling boat ride we all know and love today (with a few minor tweaks).

In Every Job that Must be Done, there is an Element of Fun.

By this point in the day, Rope Drop is sadly over. However, you’ve probably accomplished 4-5 popular “E-Ticket” attractions by this point, and maybe even caught the “Let the Magic Begin” show in front of the Castle. Now is the time to nosh on a breakfast bite if you haven’t yet, enjoy in a show, or take in a scenic ride on the Magic Kingdom Railroad or the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover. Maybe you planned your Rope Drop morning around some MultiPass Lightning Lanes, and ideally those return windows are starting around 10am – great job, you are a park professional! Maybe you are looking for a more elevated dining experience and/or a respite from the park pace – head over to one of the Magic Kingdom resorts for brunch, and a little rejuvenation.

A Real World Experience

My last Magic Kingdom Rope Drop was pretty low-key. I had gone to the Orlando Informer event at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure the night before, and was attempting to hit all four Disney parks in one day. (Aggressive, I know! And spoiler alert, I accomplished what I set out to do!) I did have an Individual Lightning Lane for TRON Lightcycle / Run booked and intended to be on the first park-to-park bus to Hollywood Studios at 10am. The park also opened early this day at 8am instead of 9am because of anticipated crowds at the start of Spring Break week. For these reasons, I wasn’t necessarily trying to position myself to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Peter Pan’s Flight. I wanted to accomplish as much as I could, with the least amount of hustle. (I mean isn’t that always the real goal?)

My casual Magic Kingdom Early Entry Rope Drop looked like this (time stamps are approximations based on pictures taken throughout the morning):
- Official Park Opening at 8am, Early Entry Rope Drop began at 7:30am
- 7:07am Bus to Magic Kingdom from Animal Kingdom Lodge (~20 min ride)
- 7:33am Through security and approaching turnstiles
- 7:36am Leisurely walk down Main Street USA
- Walked to Space Mountain but it was closed , should have checked the app – time to PIVOT!
- 7:50am Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- 7:58am Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
- Park officially opened while I was under the sea with Ariel
- 8:12am Haunted Mansion
- 8:37am Breakfast in Tomorrowland at Lunching Pad
- 8:55am TRON Lightcycle / Run (Individual Lightning Lane)
- 9:12am Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
- 9:35am Pictures in front of Cinderella’s Castle
- 9:45am Leisurely stroll down Main Street USA, hopped on first bus to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which pulled away right at 10am.
Had I been up and out a bit earlier, I probably could have accomplished one more ride before leaving the park. Considering I arrived “late” to Rope Drop and had to pivot when Space Mountain was closed, I think it’s pretty fantastic that I was still able to accomplish 5 rides and breakfast in about 2 hours. That just goes to show you that there’s really no wrong way to enjoy your morning at Magic Kingdom, no matter what time you arrive.

Willing to set your alarm while on vacation? Interested in staying at a Monorail resort to make your morning a bit easier? As an Authorized Disney Travel Agent, I can be your expert guide to the magic. Let’s map out your next Magical Quest today!

References/Resources

“Pirates of the Caribbean” Behind The Attraction, created by Brian Volk-Weiss, Season 2, Episode 1, Disney, 2023.

“Space Mountain” Behind The Attraction, created by Brian Volk-Weiss, Season 1, Episode 5, Disney, 2021.

“What Would Walt Do?” The Imagineering Story, created by Leslie Iwerks, Season 1, Episode 2. Disney, 2019.
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May 11, 2025
Maximize Your Rope Drop Morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
With four new attractions within the last 10 years and more on the horizon, Disney’s Hollywood Studios boasts some of the most high-tech rides at Walt Disney World and navigating it all can be a bit of a beast. The earlier you get to the park, the better shape you’ll be in to soak in all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

For non-resort guests, official park opening is typically at 9am, meaning Early Entry Rope Drop begins at 8:30am for guests staying at a Disney Resort and other participating Good Neighbor Hotels. During peak times of year, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will occasionally open at 8:30am for regular operating hours, so be sure to check the MyDisneyExperience app for the most up-to-date information.

In this addition to my Rope Drop Series, I will cover the logistics of traveling to and entering Disney’s Hollywood Studios for Early Entry Rope Drop, along with strategies to help you make the most of these early morning hours, and how to spend all that glorious free time you’ll have left. (Unsure what Early Entry Rope Drop is? Check out my post, “Why You Should Rope Drop at Disney World” for background information.)

Getting to the Park

There are multiple options for traveling to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, depending on what resort you are staying at. For guests at Disney’s POP Century Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, or Disney’s Riviera Resort, you will take Disney’s Skyliner to Hollywood Studios. The travel time can vary, with a transfer required at the Caribbean Beach Hub for guests staying at POP Century, Art of Animation, and Riveria. Fly time averages about 15 minutes from POP/AOA/Riveria (including the transfer stop), and about 5 minutes from Caribbean Beach. Early in the morning, you may see a long line of people headed to the Skyliner – don’t fret. It does move quickly, and you’ll be on your way soon.

For guests staying in the EPCOT Resort Area at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, or the Swan & Dolphin Resorts have the option to ride Disney’s Friendship Boats to Hollywood Studios, or walk on the path that follows the same waterway. Both options will take about 15 minutes, with a slightly shorter walk from the Boardwalk Inn.

Boardwalk, Swan, Dolphin

Disney’s Skyliner

Friendship Boats to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios

All other resorts will utilize the Disney Bus service. During very busy times of the year, transportation will often begin running earlier than the 60-minute mark, and it’s important to factor travel time into your morning. If you are driving, parking also opens 60 minutes before early entry begins (occasionally earlier during peak seasons).

So, what time are you waking up? For those of you lucky enough to be staying in the EPCOT resort area by Crescent Lake, you can practically sleep in for this Rope Drop morning. If you are hopping on a Disney Bus or flying on Disney’s Skyliner, you’ll want to be up and out around 7:15am to catch that early bus. It’s okay. It’s not nearly as early as your Animal Kingdom rope drop morning, and it’s nothing a Joffrey’s can’t fix!

Security and Park Entry

Security typically opens 45 minutes or more before early entry begins. This allows any lines forming outside the park to be let into the space between security and the turnstiles/MagicBand readers. This is where you will gather with everyone else who got up and out early to hit the parks. Yes, while the main point of Rope Drop is to avoid long lines in the park, you are still waiting a good 30 minutes outside of the gates if you want to be at the front of the crowd. The theme park logic in this is that you are not waiting during the park’s operating hours, at least for the first few rides of the day.

Rope Drop Crowd, March 2022

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Cast members will usually start allowing guests into the park about 10-15 minutes before early entry starts, to alleviate the crowds gathering from the later busses, and to allow guests to walk up to the lands that are participating in early entry to wait. If you are a non-resort guest and arrive early for official park opening, cast members will direct to you to a separate queue/corral area to wait.

After you tap your band, phone, or keycard and fingerprint for park entry, you’ll be directed towards cast members who have handheld readers to scan your ticket again. This is to ensure that you are indeed a Disney resort guest. If you are traveling with others, be sure that everyone included on your resort reservation is together for this step, so one person can be scanned, let the cast member know how many people are on the reservation, and they will simply count heads and let your group in. You’ll be corralled again to wait near attractions that will open with Early Entry, generally outside of the queue area or slightly outside of the land. Cast members and signage will direct you where to go.

Old Hollywood, Andy’s Backyard, or A Galaxy Far, Far Away…?

Okay, you’re in! Which way are you going?! Disney’s Hollywood Studios has nine ride attractions, and they are all extremely popular with frequent high wait times throughout the day. For this reason, you really can’t go wrong with choosing any major attraction to hit first thing in the morning, but I would recommend four top contenders: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Tower or Terror, or Rock’N’Roller Coaster. Why not Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (MMRR) you ask? I adore this ride and think the storyline and technology is a perfect example of Disney Imagineering, but that wonderful tech means that sometimes it takes a little bit to get up and running first thing in the morning. I have frequently found that MMRR is not always open during Early Entry, sometimes not opening until 15-30 minutes into regular park opening. While this is certainly not a major flaw, it is definitely something you should consider when planning out your Early Entry Rope Drop morning.

Strategy One: Join the Resistance

Many guests are going to use this early time to head to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. With wait times as high as 120+ minutes during the day, this is a great use of your Early Entry time. The queue itself is filled with Star Wars props and is highly immersive, as you meander through the cave hallways of the Resistance main base. The attraction itself lasts about 17 minutes, inclusive of the “pre-show” with Rey and BB-8, which means that you are using most, if not all, of your 30 minutes of Early Entry on this attraction. It is still absolutely worth it, especially if you are a Star Wars fan like me!

After doing your part to aid the Resistance, zip over to Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. Take a few minutes to slow down in this queue, as you get to explore the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. While I do enjoy this ride when traveling with a group, I have always sat in the Engineer seat, which currently does not have an interactive “job” on this attraction like the Pilots and Gunners. That will all change next year, when the ride is reimagined to include new locations in the Star Wars Universe, as well as appearances by the Mandalorian and Grogu. Just yesterday (April 19, 2025) Disney Imagineering announced at 2025 Star Wars Celebration in Japan that those now lucky enough to sit in the Engineer seats will choose the location of your adventure, and – best of all – interact with Grogu! I am so excited for this refurbishment, set to open in May 2026 at the same time The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters.

Galaxy’s Edge is home to a couple of delightful breakfast snacks, so treat yourself after you successfully ride two of the most popular attractions in all of Walt Disney World! Ronto Roasters, home to the wildly popular Ronto Wrap, serves breakfast from 9am – 11am, and Kat Saka’s Kettle starts selling the Cold Brew Black Caf (spiked and non!) at 9am as well.

Strategy Two: Play Time in Andy’s Backyard

Maybe you have an Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance, or couldn’t snag a Lightning Lane on MultiPass for Slinky Dog Dash before 8pm. Heading to Toy Story Land at the back of the park is a great use of this early entry time. Consistently one of the highest wait times of all the attractions on property, Slinky Dog Dash is a family-friendly roller coaster that is sure to make you squeal, “wee!” This really is a delightful ride, but with a long, hot, fully outdoor queue, it is a bit of a logistical hurdle in any successful Hollywood Studios day. Heading here early in the morning will save you a ton of wait time later in your day, and with two other attractions in this land you can accomplish a lot with minimal dashing around.

After you ride Andy’s new and improved Slinky Dog Dash track, head right across the walkway to Toy Story Mania – a fun, interactive game play ride that everyone can enjoy. This has long been one of my favorite attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and my competitive spirit comes out as I vie for the top spot on the leaderboard. (My highest personal ranking is a Best in Vehicle Score from 2024; there’s certainly room for improvement.)

By this point in the morning the park is likely now open to non-resort guests. You can check the MyDisneyExperience app to see what wait times are like in other areas of the park, or you can more than likely hop on the last ride in this land, Alien Swirling Saucers. This ride typically does not get a high wait throughout the day (unless you are there during peak weeks like Easter, Christmas, etc.), so you may want to see if you can hit another headliner attraction or two before the park crowd levels are in full swing. If you’re ready for a snack, Woody’s Lunch Box serves a tasty Breakfast Bowl with brisket gravy, scrambled eggs, and green onions atop tater tots until 10:30am, as well as the Lunch Box Tart throughout the day.

Strategy Three: Head Down Sunset Boulevard

My personal favorite choice and frankly always my go-to: take a right down Sunset Blvd. and head to either Rock’N’Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith or Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror. Both are solid choices, though in my opinion, Tower of Terror is the best attraction to ride first thing in the morning. Beyond the obvious wake up jolt of repeated “free fall” drops (No time for a coffee? No problem!), the ambiance of this ride is as creepy in the morning as it is at night. The mist in the queue area sometimes blends with an early morning fog, and the attraction building looks both inviting and menacing at the same time. I have also had some of the best cast member interactions early in the morning at this ride, with the roleplay by the bell hops on another level.

One of my favorite things about heading down Sunset Blvd. in the morning is the proximity of both these two “E-Ticket” attractions. After your morning wake up call at Tower of Terror, you can head over to Rock’N’Roller Coaster, and hop in a super stretch limo to make it to (one last!) Aerosmith concert. Though I do love this ride and it was the first inverted coaster I ever rode, I am quite excited for the upcoming retheming of this coaster into Muppets Mayhem. I think that Steven Tyler & Co. met the requirements for “Disney retirement” long ago, and this reimaging is long overdue.

Tower of Terror

Tower of Terror

Rock’n’Roller Coaster

Tower of Terror

Rock’n’Roller Coaster

Rock’n’Roller Coaster

Perhaps the best part of heading down Sunset for your rope drop morning is… the Joffrey’s cart located at the exit to Tower of Terror! I know! Two super popular attractions and a Joffrey’s cart? Dream come true! Depending on how busy this area of the park seems in the morning, you might think of getting yourself a tasty iced latte after Tower of Terror, and bringing it over to the queue for Rock’N’Roller Coaster. If you’re anything like me, this beverage will be gone in 15 minutes or less which should be just enough time for the walk over to G-Force Records, and the very short wait that will probably have built up by now. (Or, simply continue on and double back to this cart after Rock’N’.) At this point in the morning, the tail end of Rope Drop guests are entering the park and with wait times climbing at Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash, many “late” Early Entry Rope Drop guests will head down Sunset Blvd. as well.

Phew! That was fun! What now?

You can certainly continue riding rides via standby and perhaps utilize Lightning Lane MultiPass to supplement your Rope Drop accomplishments, now that you’ve knocked out a couple of major attractions. (I do like to double this strategy with MultiPass to avoid waiting in long lines later in the day, and to be able to enjoy the rest of the park at leisure.) Rides like Star Tours: The Adventure Continues and Alien Swirling Saucers should both have low-ish wait times through late morning and now is a good time to hop in those standby queues. But, while this park does have the highest concentration of thrill rides of any Walt Disney World theme park, it also has some fantastic entertainment, character meet and greets, and interactive play areas to round out your day.

Live Action Entertainment

By late morning, I am looking at the show times for Beauty and the Beat Live on Stage or The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular to rest my feet and take in a performance. Both of these shows have been running for over 20 years, and they embody the original vibe of the park when it opened as MGM Studios. Though the Indiana Jones show has evolved a little over the years, it is still fundamentally the same show that premiered on August 25, 1989 (almost an opening day attraction for this park!).

Another fun (and air conditioned!) show is For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-A-Long Celebration, which I saw for the first time this past March – honestly, I was surprised at how entertaining this show was, beyond the obvious fun of belting out “Let It Go” as loud as possible in public. The narrators are hilarious and include jokes about today’s pop music, making it accessible for everyone. And there’s more exciting shows on the way, with Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After and The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure both opening on May 27, 2025.

Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular

Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular

Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage

Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage

For the First Time in Forever: Frozen Sing-A-Long Celebration

Meet Your Favorite Characters!

This park also has a ton of character meet and greets, some of which can have very long lines later in the day. In Toy Story Land, you can meet Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jesse (check the MyDisneyExperince app for set times!) and if you are a Pixar fan in general, head over to Pixar Place near the walkway into Toy Story Land. Here you’ll be able to get a big hug from Sulley, flex with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, talk fashion with Edna Mode, cool off with Frozone, and share a happy moment with Joy. These characters also have set times listed in the MDE app, and this is a fun way to meet a bunch of characters in one area.

Use The Force

If you are Star Wars fan, there is no better way to immerse yourself in the story than to spend an hour (or more!) exploring Batuu in Galaxy’s Edge. On this distant planet in the Outer Rim, you can catch the Mandalorian wandering around the marketplace, usually with Grogu by his side. Watch for the Storm Troopers patrolling with Kylo Ren, as he attempts to coerce you to the Dark Side. Keep your secrets close, find Rey and Chewbacca, and join the Resistance! There are so many ways to live your Star Wars story in this land.

You can also use the DataPad on the Play Disney Parks app, and interact with various droids, panel switches, and doorways throughout the land. You’ll have missions to complete, puzzles to solve, and characters to interact with. When you’re ready for a break, grab a drink inside Oga’s Cantina and be watchful of First Order officers out to capture Resistance Fighters.

Luxuriate

There are so many exciting things to do at this park, but when you want to shift gears and relax a bit more without heading back to your resort, you can:
- Unwind at the Brown Derby Lounge to enjoy a light bite and a cocktail. This outdoor lounge is ideal for people-watching, and the food and drinks are potentially the best within this park.
- Watch Walt Disney Presents, which includes a small walkthrough of the history of the Walt Disney Company.
- Visit Potatoland! One of the more ridiculous Disney references, Potatoland is a fictional land featured in a Mickey Mouse short, and you can visit a fun (weird?) photo op with a potato on a pedestal/stool with a “Potatoland” backdrop in the waiting area for Vacation Fun. After your potato-op, enjoy the Vacation Fun shorts for a brief respite of air conditioning.
- Check out Baseline Tap House for a refreshing beer or cider, and a shareable bite. This location gets quite busy, but if you are lucky enough to grab a table it is another chill spot for relaxing and people watching.
- Seriously, see the shows!!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is one of my favorite parks to Rope Drop, because it is honestly one of my least favorite parks to be in midday. With so many popular attractions at this park, it does get quite busy almost every day, and I personally find that the layout of the park creates a few more “bottleneck” points than others. Getting up and out early is a great strategy to supplement Lightning Lanes, and accomplish those popular rides with efficiency so you can relax and enjoy “a Hollywood that never was, and always will be.” (Michael Eisner, May 1, 1989 dedication of Disney’s MGM Studios).

Ready to join the Resistance? Looking to check into the Hollywood Tower Hotel? Let’s map out your next Magical Quest today!
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April 20, 2025
10 Money-Saving Tips for Your Disney World Trip
I think it’s safe to assume that many people believe a Walt Disney World vacation is too expensive for average folks. While it is true that a trip to any of the Disney properties is not inexpensive, there are ways to save money here and there to help with your overall personal bottom line. Whether you are traveling with friends, family, or by yourself, there are many small ways that you can keep more money in your pocket while soaking in all the magic. In this post I will cover ten of my favorite frugal money-saving tips for Walt Disney World.

Tip #1. Set your alarm and Rope Drop instead of buying MultiPass. Disney’s skip the line service can cost anywhere from $19 per person per day to $39 per person per day, depending on how busy the parks are that week. Early in the morning, the wait times are notably shorter than later in the day, and you may find that you don’t need MutliPass to experience popular rides. Take advantage of Early Entry if you are staying at a Walt Disney Resort Collection hotel – which allows guests 30 minutes if park access before official opening. On many days, you can accomplish a couple of “E-Ticket” attractions during this early window. Check out my prior blog posts on this strategy: Why You Should Rope Drop at Disney World, and The Perfect Early Morning At Animal Kingdom!

Tip #2. Head to the parks in the evening hours, and ride popular attractions while many guests are sitting down to dinner. Like Rope Drop, using the evening hours can help you avoid purchasing Lightning Lane MultiPass or Individual Lightning Lanes. This is a great time to do rides that can have a moderate wait during the middle of the day, like Spaceship Earth in EPCOT. You can also hop into line for a popular ride right before the park closes. If a park’s posted closing time is 9pm, you can typically enter a queue right up until 8:59pm. (Please don’t give cast members a hard time if the line is closed!) While you are still waiting for the attraction, you’re not waiting during operating hours, and there’s often lower crowds later at night. This is a great way to ride Slinky Dog Dash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Tip #3. Did you know that adults can order off the kids’ menu at quick service locations? It’s true! With many kids’ quick service meals simply being smaller portions of adult meals, this is a great way to save a few bucks on the cost of food. (You can also save a little room in your stomach for another tasty treat if you are minding that budget too!) Kids’ meals also come with one or two sides and a drink, so I typically pick up a small bottle of water to throw in my backpack. Some adult quick service meals are large enough to share as well, so you might consider splitting items with others in your travel party to save a little money (and again save stomach space!).

Tip #4. Have a grocery order delivered to your resort to save money on breakfast items, casual snacks for the room, or anything you really enjoy having on hand. There are several services available, such as GardenGrocer.com, Instacart, VacationGroceryDeliveryFL.com, and others. Bell Services at Walt Disney Resorts can hold your grocery delivery if it arrives before you, though do note that it’s possible they won’t be able to refrigerate items, so don’t leave it waiting for long if avoidable. These services can also deliver alcohol, which will most certainly save you money over buying a 6-pack of beer or cider at your resort. You will need to meet the delivery person to accept the delivery, as bell services no longer holds alcohol as part of grocery deliveries.

If you don’t need or want a grocery order delivered, there are little market corners within the Walt Disney World Resort gift shops, with larger selections at Disney Vacation Club resorts. (This is not so much a money saver as it is a time saver if you need just a couple of things.) Having a few simple breakfast items on hand, in particular, can help you get out the door quicker and make the most of your early mornings at the park – see Tip #1. You can easily spend $12 – $15 each day on breakfast at the parks or resort food courts, so this can really add up. (My personal go-to move is throwing a granola bar and a banana in my backpack for a morning fueling during Rope Drop.)

Tip #5. Bring a refillable water bottle. There are more and more filtered water refill locations popping up throughout the parks, with attractions like TRON and areas like Galaxy’s Edge having easy to locate refill stations. This is not an advertisement – but I do personally bring a Brita water bottle with a filter insert in the straw. This allows me to refill my water bottle anywhere – even the sink! – and know that I will have tasty, filtered water all day. You can also ask for a cup of water from any quick service food location, and they will give it to you for free. You can also have a pack of 12oz bottles included in your grocery delivery, if you use Tip #4. Regardless of how you get your water intake, make sure you hydrate to feel great!

Water fountain, Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Tip #6. Use your phone or a resort key card instead of buying a MagicBand. It pains me to include this on my list but the reason why is the ever-increasing cost of these bands. The newer MagicBand+ do have fun interactive technology, with vibrations and light up effects on certain attractions, during fireworks shows, and more. With prices starting around $35 (after pre-arrival discount), you can easily find yourself dropping $140+ for a family of four on top of what you’ve already spent, and will spend. In the past, the basic color bands were included with your resort reservation, with those eventually costing about $10-15 when ordering before your trip. Now, the basic solid color MagicBands are no longer available online, and it is likely we will only see the newer fancy MagicBand+ model available from here on out. With Universal employing facial recognition software for park entry and ride lockers at Epic Universe, we could be seeing the beginning of the end of this iteration of hands-free park and room entry. I do love these wearables though, and I’ll continue to coordinate my park outfits to match my old MagicBands until this technology is phased out.

MagicBand+ (left) and three original model MagicBands

Tip #7. Consider skipping the car rental and use airport shuttle services, and Disney transportation to/from the parks. Disney Bus Service runs frequently, with posted arrival times every 20 minutes. Depending on where you are staying, you may be able to ride Disney’s Skyliner or the Disney Monorail to/from certain theme parks as well. There are also several resorts within walking distance to certain theme parks. Depending on travel size, compare the costs of different transportation options from your arrival airport to your resort. Mears Connect travels from MCO to Disney properties and a few other locations and costs $16 per person each way. While this is the most economical option for a solo traveler, using Uber/Lyft might make more sense if you are a group of 3-5 people. You also want to consider other needs such as car seats, stroller transport, individuals in wheelchairs or scooters, etc. in your cost analysis.

Tip #8. Stay on property. I am a huge proponent of staying on property to get the full effect of being in “the Disney bubble.” While staying offsite will save you some money over deluxe and some moderate resorts, you don’t save quite as much when comparing room rates to the Value Resorts on property. When factoring in the cost of a car rental and parking at the parks, and the added time cost if you are using non-Disney resort shuttles, you may not actually be saving any money at all, and you are most certainly losing precious park time. When you have options like POP Century and Art of Animation with Skyliner access in the Value Resorts category, it’s going to be hard to convince me that you’ll find better value off-property. Disney is running several deals through summer 2025, including the Free Dining Plan, Discounts for Disney+ Subscribers, a 3-Day/3-Park Ticket Special, and 50% off Select Kids Tickets. There’s plenty of opportunities to save!

Tip #9. Since you’ll be staying on property, take advantage of free activities offered at your Walt Disney World Resort. In addition to daily pool activities and games, these resorts also offer free activities like Story Time Yoga at Art of Animation, Purple Martin Nest Check at Caribbean Beach, and a Video Game Dance Party at Polynesian Resort. Each resort also has some version of “Movie Under the Stars” hosted on an outdoor lawn, (which could include roasting s’mores by a campfire!) and this is a great evening family activity. Recently, characters have been visiting resorts more and more frequently, and you could find some of your favorite pals hanging out in the lobby the next time you stroll through.

The activities at each resort change throughout the seasons. Frequently, you’ll see the same activities for 1-2 months at a time, with cast members changing things up seasonally. The activities schedule for each resort is available on the WaltDisneyWorld.com website for your location, and posted around the resort. You can always ask a cast member as well, and they’ll be able to provide you with a schedule.

Tip #10. Use a travel agent. Fun fact! The cost of travel agent services is included in the cost of your Disney vacation, whether you use a travel agent or not. This is the case for all vacation travel packages – Universal, cruise lines like Viking, Royal Caribbean, and more all charge you for these services as part of their regular pricing. Why not actually put that money to use, and have an agent do all the leg work for you? At a place as vast as Walt Disney World (it’s the size of San Francisco!), working with an earmarked advisor will take the stress out of planning and help you navigate the parks like a pro. In addition to having this expertise, a Disney travel agent is able to easily apply new discounts to your booking as soon as they become available, to ensure you are getting the best possible price for your trip. After all, if you’re trying to save some money, you might as well get what you are already paying for.

Ready to learn more ways to save money on your next Walt Disney World vacation? Want a dedicated travel agent to make sure you get the absolute BEST deal on your trip? Let’s map out your next Magical Quest today!
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April 19, 2025