AVOIDING HS Rope Drop Once SWGE Opens?

[Carolynleanne]

We're generally rope drop people, but I'm a tad worried about what that's going to look like once Star Wars open. We're going in January and staying at BWV and I'm seriously thinking we should actually AVOID that whole scene and book our FP's for Toy Story Land for later in the day. We aren't interested in riding anything in SWGE.

Thoughts?

 

[cmwade77]

Download the Disneyland app and watch wait times now compared to June when Galaxy's Edge opens out here, that will give some indication. If Disney is smart they will make a separate entrance just for those rope dropping Galaxy's Edge with its own queue, thus allowing everyone else easy access to the rest of the park.

And really, I might even consider rope drop on once Galaxy's Edge opens and do everything but Galaxy's Edge, of course I live near Disneyland, so when I go to Hollywood Studios I don't need to do it there since by all accounts both are going to be virtually identical to each other.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Personally I’ll be avoiding the whole park for a while after SGE (not a huge DHS fan anyway). I’d RD the areas of the park that aren’t SGE, because that’s where everyone will be heading. Go early, stay late, maybe take a break in the middle of the day, and avoid that part of the park if you’re not interested in seeing it, because it’ll be insane.

 

[galaxygirl76]

We love Star Wars and we are considering skipping HS if we end up going next year, that's how worried we are about the insane crowds.

 

[Micca]

If SWGE is going to make things as insane as most people here believe it will, I almost think Disney will have to implement a unique method of crowd control for that area of the park. People are going crazy now just to get to SDD, just imagine the madness of the Star Wars crowd. In theory the congestion will be in the SWGE area, but those folks are going to spread throughout the park.

 

[Carolynleanne]

Download the Disneyland app and watch wait times now compared to June when Galaxy's Edge opens out here, that will give some indication. If Disney is smart they will make a separate entrance just for those rope dropping Galaxy's Edge with its own queue, thus allowing everyone else easy access to the rest of the park.

And really, I might even consider rope drop on once Galaxy's Edge opens and do everything but Galaxy's Edge, of course I live near Disneyland, so when I go to Hollywood Studios I don't need to do it there since by all accounts both are going to be virtually identical to each other.

That would be AMAZING if they made a separate entry. I'd be fine skipping HS all together, except that we haven't seen Toy Story Land yet

 

[Gentry2004]

I’m not as doom and gloom as some, but I think rope dropping Sunset Blvd or TSL will still be fine. Just hang back a minute or two and wait for the stampede to pass.

 

[yulilin3]

During SWW they had a merchandise line set up outside the tapstiles and a separate line for regular day guests not interested in merchandise. Then about 45min to an hour before park opening they started walking the merchandise line very slowly to the merchandise place so it wasn't a mad dash and actually the CMs would tell us to be aware of who was behind us and who was in front of us to avoid any line jumping. The merchandise line was inside the park and situated next to the store by the time the regular park line opened so they could do that

 

[gharter]

Or RD at HS after SWGE opens could be a good thing. RD will be mobbed. But most will be headed to SWGE. So if you RD HS, the rest of the park will have next to no lines. Could ride about anything you wanted to.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Or RD at HS after SWGE opens could be a good thing. RD will be mobbed. But most will be headed to SWGE. So if you RD HS, the rest of the park will have next to no lines. Could ride about anything you wanted to.

I agree with this. I would also recommend going to TSL in the mornings as it's, generally, not as crowded as it is in the afternoons. Plus, I have a feeling once people are done with SWGE in the am, they are going to head to . . . TSL. We once got to TSL right as an EMH was ending and it was, surprisingly, not very crowded and we could really walk around and appreciate the design and detailing. I think I would still meander over there from BWV around RD time and head straight to TSL. I think you'll be fine.

 

[glamdring269]

We're staying at BWV and will probably just walk over for EMH. We'll get there super early and try to be one of the first in line. It may sound nuts to wait 2 hours for rope drop but I feel like if I can be one of the first few on and off the new ride(s) then I should easily make up for that 2 hours of time waiting for RD elsewhere in the park while the vast majority are still in line at SWGE.

Of course trip reports will likely sway my opinion on this once we learn that the land can't support the full qty of people at RD so the crowds all naturally get dispersed to the point where I can't take advantage after all.

(Trip is week of Oct 5th.)

 

[MamaJessie]

With a 3yo in tow I am nervous about rope drop. Rope drops are pretty frustrating at DHS imo, and that is just to get to SDD.

 

[wareagle57]

Rope Drop is one thing I'll be VERY interested in checking out once it opens. Opening day obviously people will be camped out. But in the following months, I feel like it will not be much worse than the FoP rope drop. People just do not like to get up that early on vacation. The people who do it are the seasoned theme park veterans who understand the importance. I've taken non-theme park people before and it is just really hard to get them to do it. I think by October you'll be fine getting there 90 minutes before opening. Especially if the park opens at 8.

 

[Carolynleanne]

I agree with this. I would also recommend going to TSL in the mornings as it's, generally, not as crowded as it is in the afternoons. Plus, I have a feeling once people are done with SWGE in the am, they are going to head to . . . TSL. We once got to TSL right as an EMH was ending and it was, surprisingly, not very crowded and we could really walk around and appreciate the design and detailing. I think I would still meander over there from BWV around RD time and head straight to TSL. I think you'll be fine.

I hope you're right! That'd be great