Disneyland Morning Touring Strategy & Rope Drop Tips 2024: Maximize Mornings! (2024)

Mornings are the best times at Disneyland to see popular attractions because lines are much shorter and the California sun isn’t quite so hot. Before planning an efficient morning strategy for Disneyland there are a few key features of the Disneyland Resort that you must become familiar with.

As always, we at Mickey Visit recommend planning your day in advance to avoid feeling overwhelmed (especially for Disneyland first timers!) at the parks. We'll dive into our morning and Disneyland rope drop tips to ensure you have the best day possible.

The beginning of your day at Disneyland is the most important as it sets the tone and is the easiest time to enjoy the most amount of attractions in any one period. Let's dive into what you need to know, what Disneyland rope drop is, and the critical strategies to execute in the morning.

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Disneyland App To Jumpstart Your Morning

Disneyland has an app that you can download for either Android or iPhone that will give you the most accurate wait times for rides. This app is a must have for anyone visiting Disneyland. You can link your park tickets to it, make dining reservations, use the mobile food ordering feature, link your PhotoPass tickets, and utilize the important Disney Genie+ system!

Pro tip: Download and link your tickets to this app PRIOR to your trip and become familiar with it. This way when you show up to the gates you are already a pro at using the app. Take a look at the layout of each park on the app so you have a rough idea of where you are going once you enter!

What is Disneyland Rope Drop? Don't Miss This!

Thirty minutes before park opening, cast members will begin letting guests into the parks. This helps control the flow of crowds and it can be a huge advantage for morning park visitors! There will be Disneyland ropes (guarded by cast members) that block off access points of the lands until the official park opening time. Being one of the first groups positioned at those ropes at Disneyland can be a huge advantage for your morning strategy for Disneyland!

Rope drop at Disneyland is the act of being literally at the rope when Cast Members are ready to let park guests into the various lands at the theme park. Disneyland rope drop allows you to literally be in the first groups of people to head to the popular Disneyland attractions. Below you can see guests lining up for Fantasyland and Tomorrowland at the ropes.

Early Entry UPDATE!Guests staying at Disneyland Resort hotels will be allowed to access select attractions 30 minutes prior to park opening giving those guests an advantage for some popular attractions. Read more about early entry and our advice on what you should prioritize during that 30 minutes if you have it in our Disneyland Early Entry guide!

If you don't have early entry, don't worry! Hotel guests don't get access to all the attractions during this 30 minutes and it won't negatively impact the parks too much. You will see the largest impact at the most popular attractions so that is something to keep in mind- you won't be able to walk right on those attractions any longer as a non-Disney hotel guest. There will always be a line already when the park officially opens… but it won't be too long, so don't worry!

Also, be sure to confirm park hours in our guides to Disneyland Park hours and Disney California Adventure park hours. We also have helpful predictions and questions there to help you.

When to Arrive to Do Disneyland Rope Drop

To be ready at Disneyland at Rope Drop, plan to arrive at least one hour prior to the park opening. You want to be lined up at the front gate roughly 45 minutes before opening which means giving yourself at least 15 minutes to get through security and walk over (this is with the assumption that you are staying at a hotel near Disneyland rather than driving into the parks – if you are driving to the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure you will want to allow even more time).

Pro tip:Grab breakfast to go and eat while you're waiting to be let in through the turnstiles (La Brea Bakery is a great option right off the hub). This will help keep adults happy and kids occupied during that early morning wait time. We always recommend either eating here or at your Disneyland hotel.

Disneyland Morning Strategies 2024

Both Disneyland FastPass and MaxPass have been RETIRED and replaced by the Disneyland Genie Plus service which allows guests to make reservations for attractions from the Disneyland app for a fee of $30 per person per day. Below we have a number of Disneyland Park morning strategies with and without the Disney Genie Plus service. You can still have a great day without the new Disney Genie Plus service.

The main rule of thumb at Disneyland remains the same: arrive early! Be prepared to get the resort an hour before official park opening so you can line up for rope drop. You can knock out some of the highest wait attractions by arriving early each day of your visit.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has a standby queue and offers the option to purchase an individual “a la carte” ride on the attraction. Many guests rush to Rise of the Resistance as their first attraction of the now that the virtual boarding group system has been removed. We don't recommend this regardless of if you are paying for the attraction or not. Read on for all the details!

If you are planning at day starting at Disney California Adventure, read our Disney California Adventure Morning Strategy here.

Read our full 1-day Disneyland itinerary for more tips for visiting Disneyland Park.

The below strategies have been tested as great options.

I get anxious the night before Disneyland too! Even with all of this planning advice and the tips from across Mickey Visit, the parks are always changing and operations can vary. Get as prepared as you can by reading the below and then adapt as you can. Even after working on all of these strategies, I still get anxious at night before a morning at Disneyland. Since you are reading this I can already tell you that you're more prepared than 99% of other guests in line with you tomorrow morning. You've got this. You are going to deliver a great Disneyland day for you and your group! Go get them.

Option 1: Do the opposite!

Space Mountain, Peter Pan, and Rise of the Resistance are the three attractions that most people rush to first thing at rope drop. If you're not at the front of this pack of people you will end up in a long wait and end up missing out on shorter waits at other areas of the park. Even if you are at Disneyland right at opening, I recommend saving Rise of the Resistance because it is a longer experience that will eat up most if not all of that first precious hour of the day in the park.

Instead of heading to either Fantasyland or Tomorrowland head towards Adventureland/New Orleans Square/Critter Country instead! This would be the order I would hit the main attractions in these areas in:

• Indiana Jones Adventure
• Jungle Cruise
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Haunted Mansion

At this point, most of the rides will be at their usual wait times throughout the day and you can truly just meander around the parks without worrying about a specific plan.

This advice to do the opposite of the crowds also aligns with our tip to save Rise of the Resistance for later in the day unless you are at Disneyland right at the beginning of the day.

Option 2: Here we go!

Start your day in Fantasyland which is an ideal plan for those with little kiddos! Many of these rides are in areas without shade which can get uncomfortable in the afternoon sun with small children. Tackle the rides in this order:

• Peter Pan
  • Peter Pan has always been a popular ride and you can expect to wait in a pretty long winding queue around the castle if you save this for the afternoon.
  • The only other option for securing a low wait for Peter Pan is to wait until just before closing. Even in this case, the attraction often holds a 30-45 minute queue all the way through.
• Snow White's Enchanted Wish
• Alice in Wonderland
• Dumbo
• Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
• Pinocchio's Daring Journey
• Mad Tea Party
• King Arthur Carrousel
• it's a Small World

At this point, most of the rides will be at their usual wait times throughout the day and you can truly just meander around the parks without worrying about a specific plan.

Option 3: Enter the world of tomorrow!

Line up facing Tomorrowland at rope drop and be ready to skip your way into the world of tomorrow! Start in Tomorrowland and knock out their two popular rides in this area first. This ride plan prioritizes the thrill rides the park offers!

• Space Mountain
• Star Tours: The Adventures Continues
• Matterhorn
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

At this point most of the rides will be at their usual wait times throughout the day and you can truly just meander around the parks without worrying about a specific plan.

Option 4: May the force be with you!

Star Wars fans that would like to explore Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge without waiting in lines to enter shops and the marketplace should reserve one morning to head here first to do your shopping before the lines get long.

This is also a great time to get pictures around the land before it fills up with people later in the day.

Disneyland Morning Strategy Genie+

Now, let's get into the new stuff! Disney Genie Plus, the replacement for the now retired FastPass and MaxPass systems, is now live at Disneyland. This new system functions very similarly to MaxPass. Guests will pay $30 per day per person to add Disney Genie+ to their tickets will will allow them to access Lightning Lanes (previously called FastPass lines) for popular attractions at both parks. Essentially, this is a ‘skip the line' paid pass.

There are a couple of key exceptions that make Disney Genie+ stand out from MaxPass. The service does not include three marque attractions that are now “a la carte” and are paid separately. Also, guests can only go on each attraction that is included with Disney Genie+ once per day using the skip the line function. This second aspect slightly changes the strategies that we recommend when compared to FastPass. If there are any attractions that are a thrill for your family that you want to experience multiple times in a day, you'll want to prioritize these attractions in the morning. For instance, we rode Space Mountain in the standby queue in the morning and saved our Genie+ for a ride during the busy afternoon.

We have a thorough guide to Disney Genie+ based on a couple of days testing out the new service that is a MUST READ as you get ready for your Disneyland trip. Read the Disney Genie Plus tips included in that guide and then dive into the below strategies of how to best utilize the new service.

The Best Morning Strategy for Disneyland with Disney Genie Plus: Older Kids/Adults

• Grab Space Mountain Disney Genie Pluswhen you enter the park
• Ride Peter Pan. (This ride is one of the most popular attractions in Fantasyland. The downside of that is the ride is slow loading and the lines for this ride move slowly as a result. If you are present at Rope Drop, line up facing Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The entrance to Peter Pan will be on the right once you walk through the castle. Walk as quickly (no running, Disney rules!) as you can to snag a place in line. If you are not present at Rope Drop, save this ride for the evening rather than spend precious morning hours waiting in this line.)
• Ride Star Tours- The Adventures Continue
• Ride Space Mountain with Disney Genie Plus
• Grab Indiana Jones Adventure Disney Genie Plus
• RideMatterhorn Bobsleds in standby or save for the afternoon with Disney Genie Plus if queue is already posted to be more than 20 minutes
• Grab a snack from the many food carts on the way to Adventureland when you pass through the park hub
• Ride Haunted Mansion
• RideIndiana Jones Adventure with Disney Genie Plus
• GrabBig Thunder Mountain RailroadDisney Genie Plus
• Ride Pirates of theCaribbean
• Ride Jungle Cruise
• Grab a snack from the Tropical Imports Stand right across from the Jungle Cruise
• Walk around towards Big Thunder Mountain to the right side of the Tropical Imports Stand building to access the restrooms on the way
• Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroadwith Disney Genie Plus
• If you are Park Hopping, check for Disney Genie Plus return times for Lightning Lanes in Disney California Adventure
• Grab Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's RunDisney Genie Plus
• Break for lunch (here are some of our favorite spots)and ride Splash Mountain with Disney Genie Plus after lunch
• Head for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge after lunch to enjoyMillennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run

Be sure to utilize multiple experience passes if an attraction breaks down that you have a Disney Genie Plus reservation for! Read what that means in our Disney Genie Plus Disneyland guide.

This morning strategy for Disneyland will take you through some of the most popular rides for older kids and adults before lunchtime. The bonus of this morning strategy for Disneyland is it tries to take into account minimal walking back and forth across the park to conserve energy for the entire day.

Pro tip:Assign one person to keep track of everyone's Disney Genie Plus and park tickets so they can keep their eyes out on the app. Be sure to set a timer for 2 hrs each time you get a Disney Genie Plus reservation so that you are always ready to get your next one.

The Best Morning Strategy for Disneyland with Disney Genie Plus: Younger Kids and the Young at Heart

Starting your day in Fantasyland if perfect for families that are focusing on their young children or young children at heart. By starting with Peter Pan and then working through all of the other attractions in that area you will have ridden about 10 classic Disneyland attractions within the first two hours.

• Grab Big Thunder Mountain Disney Genie Plus. Keep an eye on the return times. You want the beginning of the return time window to be sometime around 30-45 minutes after the parks opens (just like FastPass you have an hour to return to the attraction from the beginning of your Disney Genie Plus window).
• Ride Peter Pan. (This ride is one of the most popular attractions in Fantasyland. The downside of that is the ride is slow loading and the lines for this ride move slowly as a result. Parents of small children aren't able to as quickly park strollers and hop in line as folks without can. If this ride is a MUST for the little ones then might as well cross it off the list early. If not, come back in the evening and move to the next ride.)
• RideAlice in Wonderland
• RideDumbo the Flying Elephant
• Ride Snow White's Scary Adventure
• RideMr. Toad's Wild Ride
• Rideit's a small world
• Ride Casey Jr. Circus Train
• Ride Pinocchio's Daring Adventure
• Ride Storybook Land Canal Boats
• Ride Sleeping Beauty'sCarousel
• Ride theMad Tea Party
• Walk the back way towards Frontierland from Fantasyland and ride Big Thunder Mountain with your Disney Genie Plus
• Access the restroomson your left as you walk from Fantasyland to Frontierland if you need them
• GrabSplash Mountain with Disney Genie Plus immediately after entering queue for Big Thunder Mountain
• Break for lunch and ride Splash Mountain after lunch
• Head for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge after lunch to enjoyMillennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run

This morning strategy for Disneyland will hit all the higher wait time youngster attractions before lunch which is especially great for little ones in the California sun. Spend the afternoons doing the attractions with lower wait times and utilize your Disney Genie Plus combined with Disney Rider Switch so that the adults can enjoy some of the bigger attractions! The bonus of this morning strategy for Disneyland is it tries to take into account minimal walking back and forth across the park to conserve energy for the entire day.

How to Ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland

As explained above, Rise of the Resistance is now one of three attractions that can be purchased “a la carte” for a separate one time fee per person. When we visited to test out the system we paid $20 per person to skip the line. The posted wait time was 110 minutes (the posted times are somewhat inflated) and we only waited 2 minutes to enter the first show scene.

I can't say whether that time savings is “worth it” for you, but it sure is a nice feature for families on once in a lifetime trips where another $100 doesn't matter. For the rest of us who want to wait in line, I recommend saving this attraction for later in the day or evening because even if you can navigate to the attraction quickly, the entire experience takes the better part of 30 mins to an hour. You don't want to use your precious morning park time for this.

So far we have seen wait times for the attraction explode in the morning to waits of 180 mins and then settle into a posted wait of 1 hr – 90 mins (like other wait times in Disneyland, these waits are inflated and are actually been closer to 45 mins to an hour). I would recommend monitoring the queue length in the Disneyland App and then lining up for the attraction during the parade or mid-afternoon. Remember that Rise of the Resistance closes earlier than the rest of the park. Currently, the attraction closes at 8 pm.