Rope Drop at Disney California Adventure

Today we continue our Rope Drop recon sessions with a trip to Disney California Adventure to test out some of my early theories for which DCA rides to hit first at 8 am. We'll be testing Soarin Around the World, Mission Breakout and others. We'll talk about WHY we chose the rides we did, and which order to do them in. All this and MORE!
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[@zeroconsequences]

That bit about checking lightning lane on genie before rope drop to make sure a ride is even open is probably the best advice I've heard. Anyone who's trekked all the way to space mt or rise in the morning only to be greeted by mopey cast members will find this strategy priceless!

[@LinoGuzman]

hello! Unfortunately Cast members have to be stern/direct to avoid having massive huddles around a closed ride!!

[@andresmillsgallego814]

Hello! I know that as a local you probably never put in full days, but I would love to see a video where you rope drop and stay the whole day! Similar to what a visiting family might do that only can visit the park occasionally.

[@ItsameBS]

Here is the RD strategy to use without LL 8am-9am: Guardians first then Web Slingers 9am-10am: TSMM first, then Incredicoaster, Pal Around, Goofy Sky School. 10am-11am: Soarin first, then Grizzly River Run Going to have to wait for Racers or just use Single Rider line later. Here is the RD strategy to use with LL+ILL and riding each attraction once 8am-830am: Mater's Junkyard Jamboree then Luigi's Rollicking Roadsters 9am-11am: TSMM first, then Incredicoaster, Pal Around, Inside Out, Goofy Sky School, Jellyfish, Symphony Swings, Zephyr, Mermaid 11am-12pm: Guardians, Web Slingers, Monsters Inc 12pm: Lunch 1pm-2pm: Soarin and Grizzly River Racers ILL last or Single Rider. LL order is 1) TSMM 2) Incredicoaster 3) Guardians 4) Web Slingers 5) Monsters Inc 6) Soarin 7) Grizzly River DO NOT USE LL if Standby waits are 20 minutes or less. Just modify the LL to the next LL and then save the LL later to ride twice.

[@BigDallas0721]

Thanks for this too, be there end of the week

[@tiannabengtson4290]

Favorite way to rope drop when doing 1 park per day is to start with avengers campus (mission breakout) and follow the big loop through cars land to Pixar pier and up through grizzly air park to do everything you want/is available once! This typically gets finished around 2-3 pm and then you have the rest of the day to revisit rides you missed, ride your favorite ones again, or just enjoy the not attractions like shopping and Animation Academy!

[@jennasheppard4447]

Love this! Would love to see you test out different DCA rope drop strategies. Your videos are helping me out so much with planning my Spring Break trip and I’m learning so much from you. Thank you!

[@FreshBakedDisney]

Definitely will be yes

[@freestyledrtbk]

Video idea today, how to disneyland during a tropical storm

[@BrianTheLiberalDog]

lol that’s literally what I’m wondering how it looks today

[@EdwinAnaAdventure]

@@BrianTheLiberalDogas of 11:10 am all rides including the main attractions are under 15. And for some reason rise of the resistance is posted for 100 minutes 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@EdwinAnaAdventure]

@@BrianTheLiberalDognormally when it rains I tend to go because all rides are normally walk on rides including space mountain, guardians, thunder mountain, Matterhorn and sometimes incredicoaster if its open

[@chrispower5417]

They closed for the day

[@melshane23]

@@chrispower5417so Disneyland closes at 10:00pm today & California Adventure closes at 9:00pm & Downtown Disney will be closed at 11:00 pm tonight due to the Hurricane/Tropical Storm.

[@AndyKnudsen]

The queue for Radiator Springs is the worst queue in any Disney Park in the US and I wouldn't be surprised if it is one of the worst one anywhere. It seems specifically designed to focus all the heat in the area onto the line.

[@DigitalMumbles]

This is how we do it, honestly. I hate the line for soaring, but we love the ride, so getting it done first thing in the morning feels amazing.

[@TheTrevProduction]

Trying to plan for a California Adventure speedrun and this is very helpful info! Thank you 👍

[@jimoxley]

Your video's are very helpful. The one thing I would like to see in the description is when the video was recorded, date, day of the week and time. Keep up the good work.

[@rlynn5985]

THANK YOU!! Video idea- rope drop Disneyland with the idea of single rider in mind? My husband and I are doing a no-kids trip soon and we do single rider options whenever possible. I’d love to see just how many rides you can fit in that way! (Preferably after Haunted Mansion is opened) you’re awesome, thank you so so much!

[@andresmillsgallego814]

I just did a trip without the kiddos and incorporating single rider was clutch!

[@bobtheconsultant]

I love that you called him "Putty". Clearly, you're a Seinfeld fan... not that there's anything wrong with that

[@bjornopizza]

So glad you made this one! I think it would be really interesting for you to tell us what you think are good wait times for all the rides at the park. Maybe as your walking around doing your park report.

[@tennisgent]

Thanks for another rope drop strategy video. As an out-of-towner, we always try to maximize our day. That always starts with a good rope drop. Strategies like this are what keep me up at night for the weeks leading up to a DL trip. Thanks for letting me think out loud with you. :)

[@SlipMaker]

I always rope drop by doing Guardians twice in a row (assuming your stomach can take it), then either Soarin or Incredicoaster next. Guardians is my favorite ride in the resort but it’s always the longest line when I visit DCA because at least one of the three towers seems to be going down for maintenance, so I love to shore up those multiple rides early and then bank a third Genie+ ride for later that night.

[@FreshBakedDisney]

I can barely stomach one trip

[@PhoenixVic21]

I would say ques that are outside are worse than indoor ques. Some of the the preshow stuff is good, others are not. I feel DCA is a 1-3 day visit vs Disneyland is 3-5 maybe. Disneyland has more to do than DCA. With that said, I can't wait to visit DCA again. Just hearing that intro music for Soaring gives me chills. Such a great ride. Worth it, but terrible que. I think I waited 2hrs opening day. Make friends around you. The changes to the park were strange at first but I think over time have started to work. Cars Land is such a gorgeous addition.

[@Rin____s]

I would like to see rope drop the raidator spring but not in single rider

[@meccy17]

Love watching your videos! Thank you for all of the work you put in! We take 3 kiddos, one is a baby and another too young for single rider. All of your videos have really helped us to have a great time. Yes we love the rides but your enthusiasm even when the parks are busy really helped us with our mindset as well!

[@vikirose]

You should do multiple DCA rope drop videos to find the best strategies and combos and then make an info video of what to do and what not to do.

[@FreshBakedDisney]

Count on it

[@egowens]

I recently did a rope drop at DCA but we started at mission breakout then soaring then we did slingers all by 1000; standby party of 2. Then we headed towards toy story which was our longest wait but then knocked out Incredibles. We did all those by 11am. It was a weekday but my party did pretty good without buying Genie+

[@kri5hie]

wow, this is interesting. I've only ever thought of Disneyland rope drop plans for some reason so thanks for this

[@LucassHIckss]

21:04 22:47 they put me in the video! Thank you Fresh Baked!!

[@robertjones1729]

Well..I am an old retired guy with a disability sooo..I just will not compete with a bunch of families trying to rope drop..a cane kinda makes that moot... When I go I take three days and just go about it lazily and enjoy each moment....to me the way it should...I've been at DL as a 3 year old..as a kid growing up close by...worked there in college... and just come back to yes..go on some favorite rides but to just be there....present in the moment watching people and taking it all in. I wish eveyone the oppertunity to do that because it is awesome. Thank you Dave and I hope your mini vacation went well..we love you and your family and appreciate what you do.

[@nolantbone4769]

Gonna be there Sep. 10-17, hope to see ya!!

[@KenBartley-f5c]

We r their Sept 14 15!

[@tonyrivera6652]

Great content…you proved that the DCA equation is less thought about and also not mastered. While mastering Disneyland rope drop is simple. I would like to see DCA rope strategies mastered through trial

[@FreshBakedDisney]

Much more difficult than DL.

[@SarahAlessi]

On a Wednesday in April I got this done at rope drop: Soarin' Over The World Guardians of the Galaxy Monsters Inc. WEB Slingers Incredicoaster 10:12 Pixar Pal-A-Round

[@lcflngn]

Great tips David! Looking forward to the other versions ;) Best tip for me for a morning of rope dropping/going hard is to have 10:30am breakfast all planned out, whether it’s reservations at Carnation (our fave for DL) or Pyms etc, just so you have a very nice planned reward. You’ll need it!

[@TimeTraveler-YT]

funny story. my sister and i are AP holders but our younger brothers aren’t. We took them to disney at the beginning of August and tried to rope drop RSR. we got stuck waiting outside Flo’s place with an estimated 2 hour wait at 8:10. We were discouraged but eventually got out of line at 8:30 and got fast passes for incredicoaster. we walked up to it 30-40 minutes after park opening and there was absolutely no queue. we got on 3 times before redeeming our fast past. it was a great experience.

[@stevemammen5595]

1st stop at rope-drpp - Radiator Springs.😊

[@nvyseal4u]

You could have hit Web Slingers single rider lane, it moves pretty quick. Good video.

[@beylee12]

for me, i usually do 1 park a day and do 2 days. D1 is always disneyland and we do the typical space mountain course. D2 we go to DCA and we always start with Soarin. Its definately not the most efficient but its a quiet, slower way to start the day and we love it. DCA is typically less hectic than disneyland too

[@chelseaf519]

My mom and I always rope drop Mission Breakout! We rode it three times within the first hour of the park opening!!! It was EPIC!

[@FrannyPancakes]

I’m super thankful for these videos. We got the 3 day deal. I feel confident that we can save some money in ILLs

[@lcflngn]

Sec of nostalgia, when Racers was newish, and fastpasses were a thing, my daughter & I rope dropped & rode 3 times in a row: got 3 FPs, but my husband was in charge of a student show choir & couldn’t use his. We rode the rope drop, then went on with our FPs, then a guy coming off the ride gave my daughter a spare FP, and we magically had two left! Those were the days… We thoroughly won that morning in less than 45 minutes.

[@myalizamapike3143]

I always say do cars land first as its the longest line consistently

[@aisharuiz3016]

Thank you for doing this video of rope dropping at DCA. I don't include soaring in my rope drop but I'm going to this weekend. Super fun!!!!

[@lancegregory9861]

Thank you sir for this info, this will help our group of 9! Also, loved the way you had time posted on the bottom left, that helps trying to "map" out strategy!

[@FreshBakedDisney]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mynextpair1913]

What happened to the animatronic of Rocket and the Sony Walkman on Guardian of the Galaxy?

[@MayraHF]

My rope drop strategy for DCA is Guardians, Webslingers, the Rollercoaster, Midway Mania, Single Rider Radiator Springs and then sprint for Soaring. Worked the last time I tried it

[@lcflngn]

One thing we were happy to discover during covid was the standby line at Breakout. So good! Never saw it before, guessing we won’t again, but it was great!

[@batsunet]

Great video. I used your strategy for rope dropping Disneyland and it was the best trip I’ve ever had!!!

[@nancytroast9297]

Thanks for the great video David. Watching it reminds to be thankful that I live close by, have a magic key, and never feel the need to rope drop!

[@aaronoxen]

I definitely think you have Disneyland's rope drop down. I would love to have you do a few different methods at DCA.

[@pererau]

Soarin is almost always a walkon an hour after opening. Rope drop guardians and then walk to soarin if you want to hit that one

[@pererau]

We usually do guardians of the Galaxy twice, and then cars single Rider three times. You can get through those five rides super fast first thing!

[@FreshBakedDisney]

I'm trying this in next visit. I think its because they add a screen on the 2nd half hour if the morning

[@Princessjazmyneee]

Fresh Baked for the win always having the most helpful tips! By any chance will you be reviewing or doing a Halloween foodie guide?

[@FreshBakedDisney]

No video this year

[@stevepaul1190]

David, I love how you referenced Patrick Warburton’s Putty character from Seinfeld when discussing your Soarin’ strategy-love it!!! #FreshBaked

[@andresmillsgallego814]

My favorite rope drop strategy is to start with Guardians, mostly because it is my favorite ride and I try to do it as many times as I can in one day. If you get towards the front of the queue you can do it in 20min. From there I go to pixar pier, then cars land.

[@jlnd03]

Fantastic video as always! Our crew always rope drops the pier. We have some coaster riders and some non coaster riders so everyone has something they can enjoy and we can knock out the whole pier and rides looping around to the garden park area with little to no waits, and then just spend time on the other rides either using LL or just knowing we'll have a wait in line and grab a snack to enjoy while we wait. Some of our favorite mornings in DCA are rope dropping the pier and riding toy story 2 or even 3 times back to back with no wait and getting really competitive with our scores. PLUS you get the pier done in the morning before it gets HOT out there. But as you said, starting with whatever you're most excited for or your highest priority is, is always good advice.

[@kdm71291]

Unrelated....I went to the archives and just finished watching all 9 or 10 parts of the "all-nighter" from 2014.......vintage Fresh Baked! I had been following for about 8 months, at that point!

[@KaiTiura]

Keep in mind that you "giving your strategy away" is why we're all here...😉You always give the best 'inside info' in your videos.

[@BigDallas0721]

Thanks, I’ll be there Thursday so little late in prepping

[@janekarlzen4852]

My family’s fun is going hard all day . The only thing that got in our way ,was being the in DC lines in the heat . Disney land offers more protection ( it seems ) . Would like to see some misters esp on the pier end . Single riding cars was the best advice we got from you . We almost always ended up in the same car or the car next to each other anyway .

[@justindorchard]

“You gotta see Puddy”. Love this comment David. 😂

[@jacobducret3383]

My strategy since I go alone is Midway Mania first, Incredicoastsr after, little mermaid, single rider for radiator spring racers, guardians, then monsters inc. Starting from the back and working my way to the front has always worked for me. Doing single rider in the morning for cars max I’m waiting like 10-20 minutes.

[@lorenzomilla1701]

wow i liked it when you were on the incredicoaster that was amazing and when you went in the guardians of the galaxy i love those rides at disney california adventure especially soaring 😀👍

[@andierob]

The killer is alway if the ride is down when you walk there! You never know lol. I’ve done similar and it depends who I’m with and what everyone’s priorities are. Loved the video 👍🏻

[@Praetorian8]

I always rope drop Guardians, Web, Incredicoaster, Midway Mania, Goofy's Sky School, Little Mermaid, then probably Soarin'. The Soarin' line is a lower priority for a lot of guests.

[@christopherbattles68]

Thanks a ton! Wife & I watched this at hotel last as was our first rope drop period. Success! ✓ Soaring ✓ Toy Story mania ✓ Play game on pier ✓ Wheel ✓ Inside out ✓ Swings ✓ Jelly fish ✓ Guardian

[@rachrom6364]

Thanks for the great videos! They are helping us prepare for our vacation at the end of next month. Would love to see a video of how to do rope drop and strategize when you have Genie+.

[@openlycomplex]

thanks so much for the very informative vid!! very excited to see what you find in future visits. my working rope drop strategy is incredicoaster -> toy story -> sky school -> the rest of pixar pier (have been able to finish all that before 9:30). considering adding soarin' on to the very beginning; glad to see you had a good experience with starting there!

[@openlycomplex]

@@veritassumma5728 i usually skip mission breakout because i don't like drop towers 😅 and i do single rider for radiator springs racers later on!

[@TheVetVan]

Yes brother. This is the action I crave.

[@remip3604]

YESS!! This is what I'm talking about Dave! I really appreciated your comments on group strategy and your efforts to keep that in mind even when you're going solo. That being said your take on RSR is interesting. Right now I'm planning on rope dropping the rope drop to try and get on it first 😅 (my group might hate me and fingers crossed it's open) but if that doesn't work we might have to go your way. I'm UNWILLING to ask my whole group to pay for individual LL.

[@lcflngn]

Agree if RSR is open, that’s your first bet. Otoh, got stuck in a looong line one morning (maybe it broke down or wasn’t open yet? Sry, I forget) and took up all the time we’d gained. Ah well, still had a great day!

[@aidenayers2486]

I am so sad I couldn't go to Disneyland today because of rain glad you went though

[@jeanettehall2108]

Loving this. We will try your method tomorrow 😊

[@donaldwhyte3634]

Great first effort! Helpful for our trip in September. Also, I got my wife hooked on your channel.

[@Flexpdx]

I rope drop DCA on a random day in September and got to do the incredicoaster three times before a line started to form! It was incredible! Lol

[@vikirose]

This last June when I was there and rope dropped this is what I did in the two hours. Started with Soarin (first one in line). Then headed to Web slingers (20min). Then Toy Story mania (30min). Ate breakfast. Then The Little Mermaid. Then single rode Radiator Spring Racers.

[@guinealove.986]

Do you have all your early FB videos on KZbin still? I loved the Halloween over the years video.

[@kaylaportman1423]

Extra props for mentioning Putty on Soarin..."High Five"

[@lisaobrien5962]

We are from New Brunswick Canada and big fans of your youtube chanel. We were looking to see you in the parc but we saw your video and we saw us in the video at rope drop😮. Hope we see you after the hurricane.

[@emfunTravel]

We rope dropped soaring then hit all those little rides and made our way to back…. Like jelly fish, goofys, zephyr, Ariel, and Toy Story mania , then incredicoaster, we accomplished a lot by 11am I believe. Then had the rest of the park.

[@Space_Mountain]

I always use lightning Lane since I am from out of town so I wrote drop these three because I like to do them twice and then I start with my lightning lanes from there. Mission Breakout > Web Slingers > Toy Story.

[@FearCollectve]

I’m curious how Radiator Springs Racers would be at rope drop. Great video thank you!

[@ZekSiris]

You can see my girlfriend trying to film you at around minute 10:11. We were in line right behind you. Switching to Disney was abysmal in the afternoon It was jam packed.

[@2010LACES]

If you want to rope, drop mission breakout, you have to be in the very front when parks opens. There’s already early entry people in line so you still will have a wait. But if you are one of these ones in front, it’s a good choice for rope drop. Then you could do Incredicoaster, Soarin, and Grizzly.

[@toshibavoodoo]

FRESHBAKED is DISNEYLAND!!

[@toshibavoodoo]

Weird watching video during a "hurricane of sprinkles" in CA.

[@toshibavoodoo]

Another great Freshbaked walk and talk!

[@DiznyGrandma]

David, I hope you and your family were safe through Hurricane Hilary. Were you also affected by the earthquake? I know that was mild, but prayers are out there for all who were/are affected.

[@Intryx]

Let's go! Was waiting for this.

[@mikemcneil9533]

Thanks for these videos they've been very helpful! I noticed you mentioned the Soarin' ride as busy, I didn't even think that was a popular ride.. Is it really one of the most popular rides in the park?

[@oleg1ch]

i think if you got into webslingers single rider you may be out of the ride by 1015 or maybe 1020 from a 950am start. Thats not too bad - not before 10 but close. I agree you need to do another rep because this all may change when RSR is up and running. Thanks.

[@carolyn__]

Thanks for the tips!

[@DonnieUCF]

Can you do a rope strategy for Disneyland focused on fantasy land then to Toontown

[@dwsushiloverminecraft7676]

Long time huge fan! What camera setup do you use,your shoots are so clear,thankyou.

[@thethemeparkrat]

hahaha you called him puddy 😂

[@arodz21]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. This MUCH appreciated. My DCA priority at rope drop is Radiator Springs Racers, since those are the longest lines. I get that it's not open now but I'll be there in October. After that it would be Grizzly River Run, then Mission Breakout, then Soaring, then Web Slingers. I only plan on being there till noon, then spend the rest of the day at Disneyland.

[@ItsameBS]

RD Racers is not that great anymore as the EE guests are already in line in front of you. If near the front of the RD you are looking at a 30-45 minute wait easily. However, Single Rider will be near walk on at park opening.

[@arodz21]

@@ItsameBS Prefect. I will be doing single rider on all rides.

[@Belangerz]

I’ve never roped dropped dca, but I’d head straight to Pixar pier/ paradise gardens park and knock all of those rides out first.

[@wrathslove0467]

I always do radiator springs first cause that gets to be crazy busy all day

[@wrathslove0467]

When it is open that is

[@ItsameBS]

RD Racers is not that great anymore as the EE guests are already in line in front of you. If near the front of the RD you are looking at a 30-45 minute wait easily. However, Single Rider will be near walk on at park opening.

[@sophiadoll4793]

thanks for the tip on how to figure out which ride to prioritize for the way the park is set up. for single rider rides, would the park close that option.

[@karenclark685]

Web slingers has a single rider line, which we always use. We always single rider that one and smugglers run

[@BaronKilaton]

I made a horrible decision at 4pm by going standby on Space Mountain. It was the worst most claustrophobic experiences of my life at Disneyland. Non of the audio speakers in the Space Mountain cue are audible. There are no cast members on the roof communicating the delays because the line is so angry. The lightening lane abuse of the standby folks was horrible. They would run 25-30 lightening lane riders and send 2 or 4 standby. I think the cast members should be forced to experience the indignity of being stuck in the ramp packed with guests for 3 hours. Dropped a small fortune on dining and merchandise. I’ve never left the park with so much disappointment. Lightening lane is so broken.

[@bee9895]

Radiators spring must be done first that ride is always the longest wait.

[@alyssadalton9197]

What is the best ride to rope drop with young children at DCA? I would assume radiator springs or Toy Story mania? Is it worth trying to RD radiator springs or will it still be a long wait I’ve seen others comment this is the case.

[@stephaniehudson4762]

I like to rope drop Pixar Pier because I like Pal around but can’t do it once it warms up because I think it gets too hot and I feel ill. I also think because there are several rides closer together I can adjust easier if something isn’t fitting into the plan immediately

[@jeanettesmith765]

If you ask to ride on the front row on Soarin', will the castmembers accomodate you like in WDW? Also, I will be visiting Dec 18-20 and am not a big fan of all DCA attractions. Would you advise getting a park hopper anyway? I am going to buy Genie + even though I swore I would never do it.

[@Robespierres_Ghost]

My strategy is to plan on 0800 but end up walking through the gate at 10a if I'm lucky.

[@brianlawrence7614]

Great video as always

[@Ceelle2]

I don't do Incredicoaster nor Guardians so that directs me at DCA rope drop. I do tend to ride Soarin' first though, then try to get to Radiator Racers single rider. I then do Luigi (if open!) And Mater. May catch Monsters Inc. Then I make decisions about the rest of the park.

[@karengeorge9039]

I wanted to ask this on the last video, and I forgot. Is the single writer line open first thing in the morning for space mountain? Thanks 😊

[@serenaholland1546]

I’m new here and love your videos. Have a great day

[@FreshBakedDisney]

Welcome!!

[@rov8055]

Own it