Dear Charlie,
I'm thrilled to know you're planning a visit to the
Disneyland Resort, especially since you seem to be preparing for an early start!
I always recommend that folks who want to make the most of their visit to the
Happiest Place on Earth arrive an hour prior to park opening.
I definitely don't think an hour before rope drop is too early!
Keep in mind that guests staying at a
Disneyland Resort Hotel receive the benefit of
Extra Magic Hour which allows them to enter the Parks one full hour before they open to the general public on select days. So if the regular park opening is at 8am, registered hotel guests can enter the Park at 7am.
Guests who arrive early but are not Disneyland Resort Hotel guests and therefore cannot use the Extra Magic Hour benefit generally stay behind the rope until 8am.
As a reminder, the Mickey and Friends parking structure opens one hour prior to the published and scheduled Disneyland Park opening time.
I hope this helps.
Thanks for visiting the Disney Parks Moms Panel.
Have a Magical time at the Disneyland Resort and a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious week!
-Anabel M.