Animal Kingdom Rope Drop Overhaul Disadvantages Resort Guests
Disney World's Animal Kingdom has revamped its morning rope drop procedures to align with other parks like EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. The new policy eliminates the congestion near the entrance, but it shifts the competitive advantage for resort guests who get Early Theme Park Entry.
Under the previous system, onsite resort guests would tap through the main turnstiles and head straight down the left pathway of the Oasis towards Discovery Island. Meanwhile, offsite visitors without Early Entry were funneled into a tight holding zone on the right side of the narrow Oasis pathway.
The new procedure allows all park visitors to pass through the main turnstiles and onto Discovery Island before official opening. However, this means resort guests must now navigate through a crowd of offsite visitors waiting on Discovery Island just to reach the Early Entry verification touchpoints.