Magic Kingdom Rope Drop Strategy: How to Ride TRON, Lightning Lane Tips

Magic Kingdom is the flagship park of Walt Disney World and is the most visited theme park out of the four parks. Magic Kingdom has the most attractions when compared to the other Walt Disney World parks so it can be overwhelming when trying to plan your day.

I visit Walt Disney World frequently and Magic Kingdom is where I easily spend most of my time. I have navigated this theme park with Lightning Lane Multi Pass and without it, so I can speak to the most efficient Magic Kingdom strategy for rope drop and planning your day.

Keep reading for our Magic Kingdom strategy including how to use Lightning Lane Multi Pass plus my best tips on how to navigate the park and how to arrive in time for rope drop plus how to ride the most popular rides!

Magic Kingdom Strategy

Magic Kingdom can often feel overwhelming for first-time guests since this park has so many attractions with many of them being the MOST iconic rides. Our strategy considers the best of these attractions while also prioritizing how to best spend your time wisely without waiting in long lines. 

Also keep in mind that my Magic Kingdom strategy does not have to be a strict rule list to follow, if your family has their heart set on doing one ride first but it's not what I suggest, that's okay too! My goal is to give you an idea of how to approach this park, as I will list out the rides that get the most busy, so you can plan your perfect day at Magic Kingdom. 

Before we get into the logistics of my Magic Kingdom strategy, it's helpful to start off with your morning to-do list. Before you even arrive at the theme parks, there are experiences you can start booking!

Morning Magic Kingdom Checklist

Here are all the options that are available for guests to start booking via My Disney Experience app before the park opens. Not all of this is a necessity but some of it works along with our strategies below.

1. Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass at 7AM and make your first ride reservation
   • I recommend Peter Pan's Flight in my strategy below
2. Purchase Individual Lightning Lane for TRON Lightcycle Run at 7AM (Disney World guests only) or when you enter the park (off-site guests)
3. Access Virtual Queue for TRON Lightcycle Run at 7AM

Now that you have that quick and easy morning to-do list on your radar, let's get into the logistics of the best Magic Kingdom strategy which will also expand on this to-do list!

See also our 1-day Itinerary for Magic Kingdom.

Download My Disney Experience App

The first thing you need to know before using my Magic Kingdom morning strategy is how to use the My Disney Experience app. This app is free to download and includes a map of each Walt Disney World theme park, posted wait times plus this is how you use mobile ordering and Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations. This app is a must-have for any day at Walt Disney World.

See the Magic Kingdom map for an overview of the park's different lands, attractions, dining locations, and more. 

In addition to downloading this app, make sure you have your Walt Disney World theme park reservation for Magic Kingdom completed for the day of your visit if you are coming before January 9th, 2024. After January 9th, theme park reservations will no longer be required.

How to Rope Drop Magic Kingdom

Rope drop is the term Walt Disney World fans use to describe when you arrive at the parks early enough that the ropes blocking off access to the rides are dropped at the beginning of the day. This is when all rides are walk ons so guests often prioritize their favorite or most popular rides to go to first at rope drop.

Planning your transportation to Magic Kingdom is key so that you can arrive early enough to be at the Magic Kingdom rope drop. Ultimately, the goal is to get to the about 30 to 45 minutes prior to park opening. To accomplish this you need to figure out which transportation you will use. Magic Kingdom is a bit trickier compared to the other parks since you cannot drive or Uber directly to the front gate. 

• Walt Disney World Resort Bus– I recommend lining up at your bus stop at your Disney World resort at least 90 minutes prior to the park's official opening time. Taking a Disney World bus or monorail is the only way to bypass the Transportation Ticket Center. 
• Monorail- Guests who are staying at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the Contemporary Resort, and the Polynesian Resort can take a monorail directly into Magic Kingdom. Taking a Disney World bus or monorail is the only way to bypass the Transportation Ticket Center. 
• Driving – you can drive yourself to the parks or use rideshare (read our guide to using Uber at Disney World) which some people prefer especially if they plan to park hop. 
• Transportation Ticket Center– the only way to get to the Magic Kingdom, if you're not traveling directly from a monorail from a Disney World resort or bus, is the Transportation Ticket Center. If you are driving this is where you will park your car and then you can arrive at the resort via bus, monorail, or ferry. If you use rideshare, this is the closest place you can dropped off.

PRO TIP: Uber to the TTC in the morning and get dropped off at least 60 minutes before the park opens. You will be at the front of the pack when security opens. We did this on one of our trip days and I found it was faster than waiting for our resort bus. We were at the front of the line for security and the first group on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. As for choosing your transportation once you're in the TTC, the monorail or bus can often be the quickest option. The ferry is a popular choice though since it really doesn't necessarily take that much longer and the view is wonderful.

Can I walk to Magic Kingdom from Contemporary Resort?

This is a tip that is circulated often since the walk is less than ten minutes and doable with kids. However, Disney may ask guests to show proof of mobile order or restaurant reservation for drop off at resort hotels if using rideshare to get dropped off at the Contemporary Resort. It's been reported that during peak seasons mobile ordering has been restricted to ONLY guests at the Contemporary Resort. You can still book a table service time at the on-site restaurant to get early access but mobile ordering is looking iffy right now depending on the time of year you visit. So this tip can be a bit hit or miss.

Read our favorite Magic Kingdom breakfast options.

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How to Ride TRON at Magic Kingdom

TRON Lightcycle Run is the newest Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland and does not have a typical standby queue. The only way to ride TRON is to either purchase an Individual Lightning Lane or use the virtual queue option.

This ride is NOT included with Lightning Lane Multi Pass and is a separate purchase. If you do not want to pay to access TRON, you can try for a chance at a FREE spot in the virtual queue:

• Starting at 7AM, guests with a Magic Kingdom park reservation can access a boarding group via the My Disney Experience App. Guests can access this virtual queue from their hotel room.
• Starting at 1PM, there will be another opportunity to join the virtual queue for those who didn’t get a chance to access the boarding group at 7AM. Guests must be inside Magic Kingdom to access the 1PM virtual queue.

Guests will only be able to access TRON once per day using the virtual queue. If you want to ride twice, purchase a Lighting Lane reservation for a second ride! TRON can be worked seamlessly into both our Magic Kingdom strategies since it is only accessible with Lightning Lane purchase or virtual queue. 

Magic Kingdom Strategy with Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Guests staying at a Walt Disney World hotel can take advantage of Early Entry which allows access into the parks 30 minutes prior to opening. Since so many guests visiting Disney World stay on-site, you can expect a large number of people to turn up at Early Entry but still significantly less than later in the day due to the earlier morning time. 

Magic Kingdom's most popular attraction is hands down the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train which is in Fantasyland. Many guests head to this ride first thing in the morning which is a good move if you're at the front of this large group. If not, save it for later in the day, and don't waste your morning standing in the line that grows the quickest. You can also purchase Lightning Lane for this ride which is definitely worth the money if you can't get on it in the morning. If you have Early Entry, this is also a good time to try and ride it. If you do not have Early Entry, then save it for later!

Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Multi Pass Strategy

• Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass at 7AM and reserve Peter Pan's Flight
• Rope drop: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Only go here first if you have Early Entry and are at the front of the group, do not get in line if you're at the back of the crowd or you'll waste your morning standing in line.
  • You can also purchase Individual Lightning Lane access which starts at 7AM for Walt Disney World hotel guests or when you enter the park if you're staying off-site. 
• Ride Space Mountain 
• Ride Haunted Mansion
• Ride Peter Pan's Flight with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• Reserve Big Thunder Mountain with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• Ride it's a small world
  • Only ride if the wait time for Pirates is still low, if it's starting to climb then skip this and come back later. It's right across from Peter Pan's Flight so it's easy to knock out if the waits are still reasonable!
• Ride Pirates of the Caribbean 
• Ride Big Thunder Mountain with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• Reserve Jungle Cruise with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• While you wait for your Jungle Cruise Lightning Lane Multi Pass to be ready, you can visit the Enchanted Tiki Room, Swiss Family Robinson, or Country Bear Jamboree which are all near the attraction.

By this point, you have utilized Lightning Lane Multi Pass on the most crucial attractions that typically sell out of Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations and have experienced the most popular rides. Once you're finished with the morning strategy above, all the lines will be at their typical length for the day and you can go about the day in your own order. The attractions below are the ones still left to experience and I've marked the ones with Lightning Lane Multi Pass with a * so you can plan your afternoon 

• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin*
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant*
• Mad Tea Party*
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin*
• Mickey's PhilharMagic*
• Monster, Inc. Laugh Floor*
• The Barnstormer*
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh*
• Tomorrowland Speedway*
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid*
• Carousel of Progress
• Astro Orbiter
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• Enchanted Tiki Room
• Country Bear Jamboree
• Swiss Family Robinson

Lightning Lanes- Magic Kingdom

For reference, here are all the available attractions and character meets you can use Lightning Lane Multi Pass on at Magic Kingdom.

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Haunted Mansion
• “it’s a small world”
• Jungle Cruise
• Mad Tea Party
• Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
• Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
• Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
• Meet Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Space Mountain
• The Barnstormer
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

All of these attractions and shows are included with your Disney Lightning Lane Multi Pass purchase. You can reserve a Lightning Lane reservation once every two hours or once you've redeemed your Lightning Lane reservation.

Most Popular Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions

• Space Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Haunted Mansion
• Jungle Cruise

These rides tend to be the most popular reservations at Magic Kingdom which means these are the ones that are most likely to sell out first which is why our Magic Kingdom strategy prioritizes these first thing in the morning.

Individual Attraction Access- Not Included with Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Lightning Lanes Individual Attractions service is an option for guests to purchase one-off access to the most popular Walt Disney World attractions on the same day of their visit. Price ranges from $12-$20 per person, per ride. Limit two per day.

 Individual Lighting Lane- Magic Kingdom

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• TRON Lightcycle Run

I highly recommend you use it for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! This ride is easily the most popular in the park and always has a long line- even at park closing and opening. But you can also try to rope drop this attraction if you have Early Entry or you can hop in line for it before park closing when the ride time is often the lowest. Keep in mind that Disney will often inflate ride times at park close, the posted wait time will likely be inaccurate! 

If you do not succeed with getting a spot for TRON with the virtual queue then your only other option is to purchase access with Individual Lightning Lane.

Magic Kingdom Strategy Without Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Navigating Magic Kingdom without Lightning Lane Multi Pass is possible but to avoid the longest standby wait times you will need to arrive for rope drop and prioritize the most important attractions. These are the rides that often see the longest wait times at Walt Disney World:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Big Thunder Railroad
• Space Mountain
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Jungle Cruise

Our Magic Kingdom strategy without Lightning Lane Multi Pass will help you prioritize the most popular rides above and then you can work in the lower wait time attractions throughout the day. 

Magic Kingdom Strategy without Lightning Lane Multi Pass

• Rope drop: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Only go here first if you have Early Entry and are at the front of the group, do not get in line if you're at the back of the crowd or you'll waste your morning standing in line.
• Ride Peter Pan's Flight
• Ride Haunted Mansion
• Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Ride Jungle Cruise
• Ride Pirates of the Caribbean

For this strategy, I save Space Mountain for later in the day as the rest of these rides are located close to each other so you can knock most of them out before the crowds build for the day. Wait times for Space Mountain will begin to drop right before park close along with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This is why staying late can be a good benefit if you do not want to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass. 

By this point, the crowds will have likely built for the day but at least you've managed to ride the attractions with the highest wait times, and from this point on just monitor the My Experience App to go to the rides with the lowest wait times. 

Is Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Magic Kingdom Worth It?

Yes, Lightning Lane Multi Pass is worth it for Magic Kingdom especially since this park has over 22+ attractions included with the service. You will get the most bang for your buck at Magic Kingdom with Lightning Lane Multi Pass and it is definitely worth the investment.

However, you can also navigate Magic Kingdom without Lightning Lane Multi Pass since there are so many attractions that the crowds do spread out more evenly which we do not see happen at Hollywood Studios. But you will definitely have an easier chance of experiencing all there is to do, and there is so much, by using Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom Beyond the Attractions

There is so much to do at Magic Kingdom beyond just the rides I included in our Magic Kingdom strategy above. Once you've finished your morning off with the best and most iconic Disney World rides, here are some other not to miss experiences to consider including in your day.

Walt Disney World Character Meet and Greets- There are some great options for character meet and greets including some you can access with Lightning Lane Multi Pass to skip the long line. Mickey Mouse is often one of the most popular so this would be a good one to use Lightning Lane Multi Pass for. 

Walt Disney World Shows- There are a variety of shows, which we mention in our strategy above, that are perfect for incorporating in your afternoon. Carousel of Progress is a great one especially if you need a break from walking! The My Experience App will show you a full list of all the available experiences which often do not draw the same lines as the rides.

Parades, Fireworks, Seasonal Entertainment- And of course, you cannot have a day at Magic Kingdom without experiencing iconic entertainment like the fireworks or parades. Lightning Lane Multi Pass does include the ability to secure a spot for the Festival of Fantasy parade which is a great choice for the afternoon. The Walt Disney World fireworks are a must see experience and a perfect way to end the day. Of course, if you want to get on some ride with lower waits then stay AFTER the fireworks to take advantage of those lower crowd levels. If you are visiting during Disney World Halloween or Disney World Christmas, then there will be a great variety of special experiences to enjoy. 

Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation!

We hope you enjoyed our Disney World park strategy! Be sure to subscribe to our deals newsletter for all of the latest information on deals and saving tips to help you save money and experience more! Sign up here. Check out our other Disney World articles:

• Disney World Dining Guide: Food Options, Budget Tips, Restaurant Guides
• Disney World Cheapest Hotels
• Animal Kingdom Morning Strategy & Rope Drop Tips
• EPCOT Morning Strategy
• Hollywood Studios Morning Rope Drop Tips