Disney’s Animal Kingdom has just quietly introduced a major change to how guests access rope drop each morning before the attractions open for the day. This new procedure for how guests access the most popular attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom impacts regular day guests and guests who have access to Early Theme Park Entry.
Here’s a look at everything that’s different with rope drop and what guests should know before their next visit with these rope drop changes. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including new perks just for Disney+ subscribers and which dates are sold out for Disneyland’s Halloween party.
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Disney World Changes Animal Kingdom Rope Drop
Walt Disney World has changed how crowds are managed during rope drop at Animal Kingdom. Previously, all guests planning on rope dropping were held in the Oasis area of the park before it officially opened for the day. Guests with Early Entry access could continue to the eligible areas of the park once Early Entry began, while regular day guests were held in the Oasis until the park officially opened to all visitors.
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For context, Oasis is the tropical entrance to the theme park and acts as the park’s equivalent to a lead-in to the main icon of the park, similar to how Main Street, U.S.A. does. It features shady pathways, grottos, and animal habitats. This is the pathway before guests see the iconic Tree of Life, which is located in Discovery Island. Oasis is a much smaller area than Discovery Island and features multiple pathways, so holding crowds in this area has always felt pretty chaotic.
Now, Early Theme Park Entry and regular park day guests enter through Oasis and continue to Discovery Island, where they wait. Now, guests with Early Entry and park day guests are let into the park as one group around 45 minutes before official park opening, with Discovery Island now acting as the main waiting area.
This is a great improvement to the waiting area before rope drop opens to Early Theme Park Entry guests and then to regular day guests.
As a reminder, guests staying on-site at Walt Disney World Resort hotels can access the theme parks 30 minutes prior to official park opening. The Tree of Life PhotoPass photographers are also available, but the shops in this area remain closed until the park officially opens for the day.
BlogMickey reported on the details of this change.
Early Entry Check Point Locations Now Added
Once Early Entry begins at 30 minutes before official park opening, guests can navigate to three different checkpoint areas to access the eligible areas of the theme park.
Guests will need to verify their Early Entry access at these touch points with a cast member before continuing. Park guests without Early Entry can opt to stay in the general Discovery Island area of the park or be held in taped-off waiting areas at the entrance of each checkpoint.
The first checkpoint is located next to Island Mercantile and the Flamingo Exhibit and leads to Pandora – The World of Avatar and Africa. This is the most popular area of the park for rope drop, as many guests are attempting to rope drop Flight of Passage.
The second checkpoint is located near Zootopia: Better Zoogether and leads to Asia and Expedition Everest. Expedition Everest is the second most popular area to rope drop, after Pandora – The World of Avatar.
A third and final checkpoint is set up at the bridge to the former DinoLand U.S.A. area of the park. This currently provides an alternate route to Expedition Everest, but with Tropical Americas expected to open in 2027, this checkpoint will become far busier.
Early Entry procedure remains the same, with resort guests verifying their eligibility with cast members before entering these areas of the park. Rather than doing a test run, Disney World has moved right to likely making a permanent change with this new style of rope drop for Animal Kingdom.
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This is a positive change for crowd flow at Animal Kingdom, so guests aren’t squished shoulder to shoulder in the Oasis area of the park. Allowing guests to roam Discovery Island before Early Entry and official park opening begins is a positive change. Especially with PhotoPass photographers available at the Tree of Life, which gives guests something to do while they wait!
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