Greetings, all. We will be using the International Gateway entrance into Epcot and wonder what the rope-drop timing has been there. The 2020 edition of the guidebook suggests that “guests at the IG entrance must usually wait in front of the turnstiles until the park has officially opened.” But surely that won’t be the case during COVID. Does anyone know whether IG folks are allowed in thirty minutes before opening like Future World folks? Many thanks.
Park opened officially today at 11:00. They started allowing people through temp screen, security, and gates at 10:11 am. But World Showcase is roped off so you have to head toward FW. Some things open early in FW as well as Norway and Mexico.
ETA: I am speaking about the IG, not main entrance.
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I’m not sure the guidebook is correct. 
Unless I’m misunderstanding.
The practice over the last year at least has been that people were allowed in and were held on the bridge that goes over to the U.K. until they officially “drop the rope”. Pretty sure that started happening at least once the Skyliner opened, to avoid long queues at the entrance.
Since the parks re-opened the actual time of people being allowed to head for the rides has varied a little, but usually 30-45 minutes prior to the published time. But in any case, both the main entrance and IG drop the rope, ie: let people through, at the same time.
I entered thru IG on Nov 21. We were on Frozen by 10:30 am (I have a video of Oaken with a timestamp of 10:28 am) We went to IG on Skyliner from Riviera. (In first 10 groups on Skyliner) People were going both ways around the World - no barriers. This is likely due to the 11 am opening; which is when The World would open normally when Epcot opened at 9 am. (We took the shorter route to Frozen)
Thanks very much, everyone!
I know it was true in September 2018. We waited on the bridge.
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It has. I’ll post galleys of the updated edition as I get them, so we can all do a once-over of the chapters before they go to the printer.
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Which I believe is left, correct?
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Yes. Definitely left!
Always left, lol!
100% left …and there were totally people that went right when heading to Frozen; we saw them when we exited 