Credit: Steven Miller, FlickrOn Wednesday, September 10, Disneyland Resort quietly returned to a rope-dropping procedure that guests haven’t seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the Southern California Disney parks in 2020. The change quickly drew attention on social media, with many Disney Parks fans happy to see Disney going back to the way things used to be.
For the uninitiated, rope-dropping is the concept of arriving at Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park well before opening. Disney cast members scan tickets and allow guests into a specific part of the park, while other employees hold crowds back with a rope until the park officially opens. Disney Park guests often use this strategy to get their hands on exclusive merchandise or walk onto popular attractions with a much shorter wait time.
Over the past few years, guests rope-dropping Disneyland Park have been allowed to disperse to different lands, waiting behind a rope closer to the specific attraction or location they wanted to visit first. However, there was once a time when everyone was funneled onto Main Street, U.S.A., and held near Sleeping Beauty Castle until the park opened.
As of September 10, it seems that this policy has returned. On Wednesday, X (formerly known as Twitter) user @DisneyScoopGuy rope-dropped Disneyland Park and shared that Disney cast members held crowds on Main Street, U.S.A., instead of allowing them to visit different lands:
Disneyland is holding guests at the end of Main St. for rope drop today instead of letting them disperse to the individual lands. I’ve rope dropped hundreds of times and have never seen this before
Disneyland is holding guests at the end of Main St. for rope drop today instead of letting them disperse to the individual lands. I’ve rope dropped hundreds of times and have never seen this before pic.twitter.com/lvYYFOANMv
— Matt (@DisneyScoopGuy) September 10, 2025
The post amassed hundreds of likes and comments, and many Disney Parks fans shared that they were thrilled to see the return of the pre-COVID rope-dropping protocol.
“That’s how it used to be done every day,” @FrshBakedDisney wrote. “I kind of miss it.”
that's how it used to be done every day. I kind of miss it.
— Fresh Baked! (@FrshBakedDisney) September 10, 2025
“This was how they always did it in the 90s and early 200s,” said @AlexJChipman. We would line up as far to the right side so we could head straight toward space mountain for our first ride.
This was how they always did it in the 90s and early 200s. We would line up as far to the right side so we could head straight toward space mountain for our first ride.
— Alex🇺🇸 (@AlexJChipman) September 10, 2025
It’s unclear whether Disneyland Park will continue using this rope-dropping policy moving forward, or if Wednesday was a one-off situation. Disneyland Resort hasn’t issued any public statements on the change.
Which Disneyland Resort rope-dropping protocol do you prefer? Inside the Magic would love to hear from you in the comments!