At EPCOT, mornings can be busy before the park even opens. Guests often gather outside the gates early, hoping to be among the first to experience high-demand attractions once the day officially begins. For some, it’s an efficient way to start their visit. For others, the experience feels overwhelming and not worth the effort.
The Disney “rope drop” tradition — arriving before official opening to be among the first inside — has long been a tactic for parkgoers seeking short waits. At EPCOT, it often means making a beeline for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the newly upgraded Test Track, Frozen Ever After, or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
But with popularity comes pressure, and pressure can quickly tip into disorder.
Recent visitor accounts paint a picture of mornings at EPCOT that feel less like a well-organized start and more like a rush that’s difficult to control. Some guests have compared it to a stampede, with reports of pushing and shoving prompting warnings to others considering an early start.
“Pure Chaos” Reported at EPCOT Entrance
One guest, who stayed at a Disney hotel and gained Early Entry privileges, shared their experience online. “We arrived at EPCOT at 8 and waited for the park to open,” they wrote. “The second they opened the gates it was pure chaos, everyone was running, we were getting shoved!”
They described a particularly troubling moment when a woman “ran past their party and knocked a 6-year-old to the ground,” leaving the child with “scratches and bruises.” They added, “I grabbed my 9 year old and I was trying to get my 6 year old back up, but people were still shoving us!” By the time they reached Test Track, the posted wait was already around an hour.
“Trust me people,” the guest concluded, “rope drop is not worth it, you have been warned!”
Disney’s Response and Guest Workarounds
EPCOT introduced a revised rope drop process earlier this year, coinciding with the debut of Cosmic Rewind’s standby queue after years of a frustrating virtual queue system.
Guests are now separated based on Early Entry eligibility. Those with Early Entry – AKA those who are staying at Disney hotels, such as Disney’s All-Star Movies, Disney’s Grand Floridian Spa & Resort, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – are directed to the right of the park’s icon, Spaceship Earth, while regular guests wait farther back, just past Guest Relations.
About an hour before opening, Early Entry guests are allowed into World Celebration Gardens. Roughly 30 minutes later, non-Early Entry guests move to a holding area before being let into the park. Disney intended the change to improve flow and reduce congestion, though some visitors say the crowd surge remains intense.
Not all guests are deterred. “It’s lethal out there,” one Reddit user admitted, “but I can rush and would never push or bump into people like that in a crowd.” Others suggest avoiding the first crush entirely by arriving just before the regular open. “I prefer to get there a few minutes before regular open time (in this case, enter around 8:45/8:50),” one guest advised.
They added that the approach lets you “walk right in and avoid the crazy rope drop crowds” while still getting to high-demand attractions before peak lines form. For Guardians, they typically wait 30–45 minutes; for Remy’s, as little as 20 minutes.
Some have feared that rope dropping is another experience that Disney will monetize in the coming years. For now, however, it remains a stressful – and only sometimes effective – technique to enjoy early access to popular attractions.
Do you like rope dropping EPCOT?
