If you're building your Walt Disney World touring plan around rope drop, here's some data worth knowing before you set your alarm.
Rope dropping, arriving before park opening so you can head straight to a headliner the moment the gates open, remains one of the most reliable ways to knock out popular attractions like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or Peter Pan's Flight before wait times balloon. But it only works if the ride you're racing toward is actually running.
New numbers from the Touring Plans Blog break down exactly how often that wasn't the case across all four parks between August 18 and August 24.
The PeopleMover in Tomorrowland led the park with a 19 percent downtime rate, followed by Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland at 16 percent. Over in Fantasyland, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh saw issues 15 percent of the time, with “it's a small world” close behind at 14 percent. Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland came in at 13 percent, while Tiana's Bayou Adventure in Frontierland rounded out the park at 11 percent.
Journey Into Imagination With Figment in World Discovery topped the EPCOT numbers at 27 percent, with the park's icon, Spaceship Earth, following at 18 percent. Frozen Ever After in the Norway pavilion of World Showcase clocked in at 14 percent, and Test Track, also in World Discovery, came in at 12 percent.
Slinky Dog Dash in Toy Story Land led Hollywood Studios at 23 percent, with Rise of the Resistance in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge following at 15 percent. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, near the park's Hollywood Boulevard entrance, came in at 12 percent. On the flip side, no downtime was reported on any attraction at Animal Kingdom for the full week.
What this means for your next trip: the data suggests older dark rides and newer E-tickets alike are both prone to early morning snags, so it's worth having a backup attraction in mind if your first pick isn't running when the rope drops. Animal Kingdom had a perfect week this time, but treat that as the exception rather than something to count on.
Have a favorite ride you always rope drop at Disney World? Tell us in the comments below.
