Guests without Early Entry at Disney’s Animal Kingdom no longer spend the start of their morning in a holding area. On Sunday, September 27, they were free to walk into most of the park’s lands before opening, instead of being held on Discovery Island until the park opened to everyone.
Pandora – The World of Avatar is the one exception. Only Early Entry guests are allowed into the land before official opening, so everyone else heading for Avatar Flight of Passage still waits on the bridge.
Disney changed rope drop at Animal Kingdom today.
— SLVRMYP (@WHTM3P) September 27, 2026
Guests without Early Entry are now being allowed to walk into most lands before the park officially opens. You still need Early Entry to get into the attraction queues.
Pandora is the exception. It remains restricted to Early Entry guests until regular park opening.
I like this better than having everyone packed into one holding area. What do you think?
How The New Morning Works
Rather than checking Early Entry at checkpoints on Discovery Island, Cast Members now stand at each attraction entrance and scan tickets. Early Theme Park Entry gives guests at Disney Resort hotels and select other hotels 30 minutes in the park before official opening, and those guests walk straight into the queue. Everyone else can explore the land until official opening, when standby opens to all guests.
Four attractions run during Early Entry at Animal Kingdom: Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey in Pandora, along with Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain and Zootopia: Better Zoogether! on the other side of the park. With half of that lineup still behind Pandora’s gate, the biggest difference is for guests heading to Everest or Zootopia, who can now already be in that part of the park when it opens instead of walking there from Discovery Island.
The Second Rope Drop Change Since Summer
For a long time, off-site guests who arrived early were held in the Oasis, just past the park entrance, while resort guests were checked and sent ahead. That hold moved up to Discovery Island this summer. By early September, the park was running two checkpoints there, one in front of Island Mercantile guarding the way to Pandora and Africa and one in front of Zootopia: Better Zoogether! leading to Asia, with off-site guests waiting in holding zones beside each.
Sunday’s change cleared those zones out. Guests heading to Everest at opening will not find a faster way on, though, since the coaster ended its single rider line on September 21.
What To Expect At The Gate
Disney has not announced the new process or said whether it will stick, and opening procedures at Walt Disney World parks have changed several times without notice. Guests planning a rope drop at Animal Kingdom should follow Cast Member directions at the front of the park and check the My Disney Experience app for that day’s Early Entry and opening times.
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