For many Disney guests who go for the first time, rope-drop is a new concept. Since you are reading the Animal Kingdom rope drop strategy article first, you will be well in the know as to the best way to experience the most attractions on your Animal Kingdom list during your park day.
With a limited number of thrill rides at this park, the Animal Kingdom rope drop strategy will be essential to getting to experience the big attractions in the park without having to wait for hours on end, wasting your valuable park time.
We visit Walt Disney World every week and spend considerable time riding attractions in Animal Kingdom. Our Animal Kingdom rope drop strategy is based on our personal experience of touring the Walt Disney World theme parks by ourselves and with our whole family in tow! Our strategies take into account what it's like to tour Walt Disney World as a family.
In this article:
Animal Kingdom Rope Drop- Terms You Need to Know
Rope-Drop: Strategy to get the most out of your Disney Park Experience. This strategy requires getting to the park before park opening, scanning in with your ticket as soon as you are able, and making a mad dash to the first attraction to hopefully have the shortest wait time of the day.
Early Entry: guests who stay on property are able to enter the park 30 minutes before official park opening to have early access to select rides and attractions
Genie Plus: Paid access to book ride windows throughout the day. Pricing will vary per park per day, so make sure to check the My Disney Experience app each day to book.
Lightning Lane: Entrance to access the paid arrival window for your wait for a ride.
Animal Kingdom Park Opening Times
Animal Kingdom is typically the park that opens the earliest but also closes the earliest. Park opening times range from 8 am – 9 am depending on the time of year.
When the park opens at 8 AM, guests who are staying on property will have an early entry beginning at 7:30 AM. When the park opens at 9 AM, guests will have an early entry time of 8:30 AM.
The earlier the opening time of the park, the easier it is to have a rope drop that is successful due to less people being awake and at the park earlier in the morning.
Basics of Animal Kingdom Rope Drop
To be successful at Animal Kingdom rope drop, your party will need to plan to be at the park about 20 minutes before park opening or early entry opening. Budgeting 45 minutes – an hour for travel, depending on where your resort is in proximity to the park, makes for an incredibly early day. Most people are not willing to get up and out that early to be there right at park opening, especially for early entry at 7:30, so this will give you an advantage.
When you arrive at the park, you will go through security as normal. Once you have gone through security, there will be a few different holding points. It will feel crowded because there are a lot of people there at one time versus trickling in throughout the day, but don’t worry, once the park is open, people will disperse throughout.
Animal Kingdom is special many days, or so we have heard, in that cast members will slowly walk the crowd back towards Flight of Passage, only if you have early entry, before the early entry time starts.
If you don’t have the early entry, your true rope-drop begins at 7 AM when you can begin to book your Genie Plus selections.
Paid Animal Kingdom Rope Drop (Genie Plus & Individual Lightning Lane) Strategy
This Animal Kingdom rope drop strategy is going to focus on making sure you get in the most rides as possible throughout your day. If you want an experience & show based strategy, skip ahead.
If purchasing Genie Plus for the day, the priority should be to get one of these three rides as your first selection: Na’vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safari, or Expedition Everest. Depending on which selection you are able to get will depend on which attraction to rope drop.
Animal Kingdom Rope Drop With Early Entry
When it comes to purchasing Genie Plus at Animal Kingdom, your day is going to vary slightly from this plan. The hope would be that you can avoid purchasing the Lightning lane for Flight of Passage and rope-drop the Pandora Area when you have Early Entry only.
Go ahead and knock out Flight of Passage first thing and then walk over to Na'vi River Journey and ride it if it is less than 15 minutes. If you have a Genie reservation for later, then you can skip this.
The next stop should be Kilimanjaro Safaris or Expedition Everest depending on what your first Genie selection is. Both will still have relatively low wait times this early in the morning. Kilimanjaro Safaris is closer to Pandora, but Expedition Everest gets you closer to the other rides in the park. Either way, you can’t go wrong, especially if you have a genie reservation for one of the two later.
If you go the route of Kilimanjaro Safari as your next ride, we recommend staying in Africa and watching the next Festival of the Lion King show. This show is on the longer end, about 35-40 minutes.
If you choose Expedition Everest, make your way to DinoLand U.S.A to ride both Dinosaur and TriceraTop Spin.
This schedule should bring you close to lunchtime. After lunch, many people have been able to ride the majority of what they wanted, so it does free the park up some. We still recommend a late lunch to avoid the lunch rush.
While waiting for lunch, Kali River Rapids is a great option. It should have a decent wait time while people are typically eating. After riding Kali River Rapids, dry off while you grab a bite of lunch.
There are many shows and other attractions to experience in the afternoon at Animal Kingdom. You should be able to book more Genie reservations as well. Some other Genie recommendations for the afternoon include: Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost, Feathered Friends in Flight!, or Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!
For the rest of the afternoon partake in It’s Tough to be a Bug in the Tree of Life, the Tree of Life attraction – walk around the pathways discovering the over 300 different animal carvings, the Maharajah Jungle Trek, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail or the Conservation Station.
The Maharajah Jungle Trek is located in Asia and is a walk-through expedition to discover tigers and other wild animals. The Gorilla Falls Exploration trail is located by Kilimanjaro Safaris. To get to the Conservation Station, where you will get an in-depth look at animal habitats around the globe and the veterinary care the animals receive, make your way to the Wildlife Express Train in Africa to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Just make sure to arrive before 4:30 PM.
You can end the day with your final Genie selections and maybe even ride a ride again!
Animal Kingdom Rope Drop Without Early Entry
If you did not purchase an Individual Lightning Lane, do not go to Avatar Flight of Passage first. You will end up waiting a long time. Instead, you are going to wait until the end of the day and have it be the last ride.
Instead head over to Kilimanjaro Safari in Africa. As the day goes on, the wait times increase. It is one of the only family friendly rides in the park, and absolutely amazing!, so head there first.
After riding Kilimanjaro Safari, head to Asia, across the park, to ride Expedition Everest. It may be early enough you can get a few rides in or come back mid morning and use the single rider option.
After leaving Everest, head to DinoLand U.S.A, and hop on Dinosaur first. These wait times are also going to increase throughout the day. Once you finish Dinosaur, you can take a quick spin on TriceraTop Spin.
If you have family and friends that want to meet characters, this is a great time to head to Favorite Pals at Adventure Outpost or Moana at Character Landing. While near the Tree of Life, don’t forget this is an attraction itself. Walk around the pathways discovering the over 300 different animal carvings. Then, go inside the Tree of Life to attend the It’s Tough to Be a Bug show.
It should be late enough that the lunch crowds are starting to die down. Head to Flame Tree Barbecue for a quick lunch. Then, go and rest at the Finding Nemo Show.
When you have finished the Finding Nemo show, there is a lot more exploring to do. If you have time and want to do the Maharajah Jungle Trek, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail or the Conservation Station, it is a good time to fit it in.
The Maharajah Jungle Trek is located in Asia and is a walk through expedition to discover tigers and other wild animals. The Gorilla Falls Exploration trail is located by Kilimanjaro Safaris. To get to the Conservation Station, where you will get an in-depth look at animal habitats around the globe and the veterinary care the animals receive, make your way to the Wildlife Express Train in Africa to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Just make sure to arrive before 4:30 PM.
If wait times are low, Kali River Rapids is in Asia near the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Just keep in mind you will get wet.
At this time, we finally recommend heading into Pandora. Start with the Na'vi River Journey. Most people have ridden the ride at least once at this point and wait times will begin to go down.
From here, we recommend a quick dinner at Satu'li Canteen. Once you have finished dinner, it is finally time to get in line for Avatar Flight of Passage. Know that the wait time will still be long, but at least you have prioritized the shorter waits throughout the day (and you get to end with one of the best rides!).
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Free Animal Kingdom Rope Drop Strategy
This Animal Kingdom rope strategy is going to focus on making sure you get in the most rides possible throughout your day. If you prioritize the rides that are important to you, you can get away without having Genie Plus or an Individual Lightning Lane purchase and still have an amazing day at Animal Kingdom.
The main strategy when not purchasing the extras is to avoid the mid-morning to mid-afternoon for the larger rides like Pandora, Kilimanjaro Safari, and Expedition Everest. If you can get those done the very first thing in the morning or late afternoon/ evening, you shouldn’t have to wait hours to ride what you want.
If you want an experience & show-based strategy, skip ahead.
Animal Kingdom Rope Drop With Early Entry
When you arrive at Animal Kingdom and are waiting for early entry guests, you will want to follow the majority of the guests and head towards Pandora.
The first ride to prioritize is Flight of Passage. When heading towards Pandora, stay to the right. Don’t run or try to cut in front of people ahead of you because cast members will stop you, and inevitably make you slower to get to the ride. The queue will be a walk-on, despite it looking full, because it takes about 10 minutes to fully walk from the entrance to loading the ride.
Once you have ridden Flight of Passage, walk over to Na’vi River Journey in Pandora, right next to Flight of Passage. The park will most likely just have opened for guests, and while the wait time is typically posted around 15 minutes at park opening, it typically moves quickly.
After getting off of Na’vi River Journey, we recommend heading towards Kilimanjaro Safaris at this point. The wait time will still be under an hour and you get to experience the animals bright and early in the morning.
After riding Kilimanjaro Safari, I recommend stopping for a mid morning snack. Over by the Safari is Tamu Tamu Refreshments. Here they have the best, and I do mean the best Colossal Mickey Cinnamon Roll. It is a must do every time I visit Animal Kingdom. They have many other breakfast options as well, so this a great stop for the entire family for a mid-morning snack. You may even get to listen to the Tam Tam Drummers while you eat.
Once you finish your snack, get in line to see the Festival of the Lion King’s next show. The first showing is at 10:00 AM. If you follow our strategy, you should make it to the first show. If your family doesn't like to sit for shows, you can skip this and head to Expedition Everest.
Once you leave the Festival of the Lion King show, Expedition Everest in Asia should be your next stop. This ride offers a single-rider option, so while the wait time may be higher, it won’t be nearly as bad as what Pandora or Kilimanjaro Safari would have been if you waited.
It will be getting close to lunch time, but since you had your mid-morning snack, don’t stop to eat now. Instead head to DinoLand U.S.A and go on Dinosaur and TriceraTop Spin. Most guests are going to be eating lunch at this time and the ride times are slightly shorter.
After these two rides, if you can wait a little longer to eat, see the 1:00 PM Finding Nemo Show.
After leaving DinoLand, head towards Discovery Island and stop at Flame Tree for lunch. Once your stomach is full of delicious BBQ, walk towards the Tree of Life and enter the show It’s Tough to be a Bug.
If you have time and want to do the Maharajah Jungle Trek, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail or the Conservation Station, it is a good time to fit it in.
The Maharajah Jungle Trek is located in Asia and is a walk through expedition to discover tigers and other wild animals. The Gorilla Falls Exploration trail is located by Kilimanjaro Safaris. To get to the Conservation Station, where you will get an in-depth look at animal habitats around the globe and the veterinary care the animals receive, make your way to the Wildlife Express Train in Africa to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Just make sure to arrive before 4:30 PM.
During the afternoon the wait times don’t completely disappear, but they are lower as families leave to take kids back to the resort to swim or nap. This is a great time if you want to meet Mickey and Minnie to hop in line for the Favorite Pals at Adventure Outpost or Moana at Character Landing. While near the Tree of Life, don’t forget this is an attraction itself. Walk around the pathways discovering the over 300 different animal carvings.
If characters aren’t your thing, you can always re-ride the Safari for the last ride of the day.
The last ride of the day should be Kali River Rapids. After running around the park, this exciting water ride will leave you wet and ready to head back and dry off. We save this one till the end of your day unless you are visiting in the heat of the summer. If you are visiting June- September, only ride Expedition Everest once, then Kali River Rapids before heading to Kilimanjaro Safari.
After this, you can choose to eat at one of the other amazing restaurants and lounges in the park (and also experience Pandora at night) or head out for an early evening at your resort.
Rope Drop Without Early Entry
If you are entering Animal Kingdom without early entry and without purchasing Genie Plus, the strategy is going to look slightly different than above.
Avoid going directly to Pandora. The wait times are already going to be high. Instead head over to Kilimanjaro Safari. As the day goes on, the wait times increase. It is one of the only family friendly rides in the park, and absolutely amazing!, so head there first.
After riding Kilimanjaro Safari, head to Asia, across the park, to ride Expedition Everest. It may be early enough you can get a few rides in or come back mid morning and use the single rider option.
After leaving Everest, head to DinoLand U.S.A, and hop on Dinosaur first. These wait times are also going to increase throughout the day. Once you finish Dinosaur, you can take a quick spin on TriceraTop Spin.
If you have family and friends that want to meet characters, this is a great time to head to Favorite Pals at Adventurers Outpost or Moana at Character Landing. While near the Tree of Life, don’t forget this is an attraction itself. Walk around the pathways discovering the over 300 different animal carvings. Then, go inside the Tree of Life to attend the It’s Tough to Be a Bug show.
It should be late enough that the lunch crowds are starting to die down. Head to Flame Tree Barbecue for a quick lunch. Then, go and rest at the Finding Nemo Show.
When you have finished the Finding Nemo show, there is a lot more exploring to do. If you have time and want to do the Maharajah Jungle Trek, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail or the Conservation Station, it is a good time to fit it in.
The Maharajah Jungle Trek is located in Asia and is a walk through expedition to discover tigers and other wild animals. The Gorilla Falls Exploration trail is located by Kilimanjaro Safaris. To get to the Conservation Station, where you will get an in-depth look at animal habitats around the globe and the veterinary care the animals receive, make your way to the Wildlife Express Train in Africa to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Just make sure to arrive before 4:30 PM.
If wait times are low, Kali River Rapids is in Asia near the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Just keep in mind you will get wet.
Make sure to make it back to Africa to try and catch the last showing at 5:00 PM of Festival of the Lion King. You will be sad if you miss this interactive show.
At this time, we finally recommend heading into Pandora. Start with the Na'vi River Journey. Most people have ridden the ride at least once at this point and wait times will begin to go down.
From here, we recommend a quick dinner at Satu'li Canteen. Once you have finished dinner, it is finally time to get in line for Avatar Flight of Passage. Know that the wait time will still be long, but at least you have prioritized the shorter waits throughout the day (and you get to end with one of the best rides!).
Non-Ride Animal Kingdom Rope Drop Strategy
Animal Kingdom is great in the fact that it has a good mix of rides and other attractions. We at Disney Dose understand that not everyone wants to prioritize riding thrill rides first thing in the morning. Here are our strategies to have a more relaxing morning at Animal Kingdom.
First things first, you don’t have to worry about getting to the park right at rope-drop if you aren’t planning to rope-drop a specific ride. Getting to the park right at park opening or a few minutes after is plenty enough time to get everything done in your day.
The best place to start a day in Animal Kingdom is in Africa. Head to Tamu Tamu Refreshments. Here they have the best, and I do mean the best ,Colossal Mickey Cinnamon Roll. It is a must do every time I visit Animal Kingdom. They have many other breakfast options as well, so this is a great stop for the entire family for a great breakfast. While eating, you may encounter the street performers and the Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe.
After your morning breakfast, take a stroll through Gorilla Falls and encounter the animals as they are just starting to wake up. This will give you a more personal experience than the Safari.
You can also take this time to get to the Conservation Station. Here you will get an in-depth look at animal habitats around the globe and the veterinary care the animals receive. Make your way to the Wildlife Express Train in Africa to Rafiki’s Planet Watch.
After coming back, finish up your time in Africa by watching the first performance of Festival of the Lion King. This 40 minute interactive show will not disappoint.
We next recommend heading to the Discovery Island section. It will be mostly empty as people are in line for rides, and you can get some great pictures of the Tree of Life. Then take the walking trails around the tree to experience the 300 different animal carvings. Inside of the Tree of Life is the It’s Tough to be a Bug attraction.
After, take the time to meet Moana at Character Landing and Mickey and Minnie at Favorite Pals at Adventurers Outpost.
You can then keep walking through the park to Asia where you can complete the Maharajah Jungle Trek and watch Feathered Friends in Flight! before eating lunch at Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe.
Continue your journey to DinoLand where you can play carnival games, let the kids run free in the Boneyard, and attend the Finding Nemo show.
With the rest of your afternoon, enjoy shopping, walking through the different animal habitats spread throughout the park, and earn Wilderness Explorer badges through quests throughout the park.
End your day with a nice sit down meal at Tusker House or Tiffins, and you will have experienced a full day at Animal Kingdom park not riding one thrill ride!
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