DHS outdoor vs indoor queues

sewingmolly

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 24, 2008
Messages
256
We would like to experience all 9 rides at DHS in one day. Even though we plan to use Genie+, $ILL and rope drop, I anticipate that we will need to wait in several long stand-by lines. Since we are going in June, I would prefer to wait inside in the a\c rather than outside in the heat and humidity. Which attractions have inside queues and which have outside queues? We haven't been to WDW since 2017 and DHS is so different since then I really have no idea. I do remember waiting for RnRC in the heat, so that probably hasn't changed. Thanks so much for any info.
 
Slinky Dog Dash - entirely outside, though some parts of it are covered. Objectively the worst queue for the heat, you are in direct sunlight and it's brutal.
Toy Story Mania - parts of the queue are outside in a covered area but the other half of the queue is inside the show building
Tower of Terror - there is a large garden portion that is outside and the last quarter of the queue is inside the hotel. There's a small bit indoors before you enter the preshow and then after the preshow there's a line before entering the elevator
Rockin Roller Coaster - majority of the line is outside before entering the sound stage. After the preshow there is a line indoors before boarding the limo
Smuggler's Run - beginning part is outdoors in covered areas before the preshow and then the rest is indoors
Rise of the Resistance - most of the queue is outdoors before entering the inside portion.
Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway - there is an outdoor part before the rest of the queue being inside the Chinese Theater
Star Tours - brief outdoor area but the majority of the line is indoors. Personally with this one I RARELY ever waited outside. I almost always start the line inside but YMMV
Alien Swirling Saucer - just like Slinky, the line is outside with covered portions
 
are they covered waiting outside? Like Rocking rollercoaster, last time I was there (2006! so excuse me) outside was hot but it was at least covered for the most part.
Thanks
 
are they covered waiting outside? Like Rocking rollercoaster, last time I was there (2006! so excuse me) outside was hot but it was at least covered for the most part.
Thanks
Part of Rockin Roller Coaster is covered and some of it isn't. The part where you go up the ramp is covered but the part before you get to the ramp isn't. With Tower none of the garden part is covered and is also really brutal to wait outside in. When you start getting closer to the hotel lobby/preshow there is a little bit of cover but not much to make a difference. I believe the entirety of the Toy Story Mania outside portion is covered but I could be wrong about that.

A large chunk of the Slinky queue is not covered which is why I never rode it before. I'm not waiting in the middle of shade barren Toy Story Land for it.
 

Part of Rockin Roller Coaster is covered and some of it isn't. The part where you go up the ramp is covered but the part before you get to the ramp isn't.
Thanks, the two times I was there (like I said early 2000s) they had a zigzag cover over the flat area for most of the line before the ramp. Must have been a thing that has come and gone. We are going in August I was hoping this might have been common thing
 
Thanks, the two times I was there (like I said early 2000s) they had a zigzag cover over the flat area for most of the line before the ramp. Must have been a thing that has come and gone. We are going in August I was hoping this might have been common thing
Unfortunately that part of the line is still there :( That is the part I was referring to that isn't covered. Last time I went (President's day week) the zig zag before the ramp was crazy long. At least with the single rider you're guaranteed to be waiting on the ramp and not in that zig zag.
 
Thanks for detailed information, Smugpugmug. That's really helpful. Naturally the attraction with greatest Genie+ availability, Star Tours, has the best inside line. I'm thinking that we may need to skip Alien Swirling Saucer. That ride just doesn't look like a priority or worth a long wait in the heat. I was hoping that MMRR and MFSR lines were all inside, but I guess some inside is better than none.
 
Thanks for detailed information, Smugpugmug. That's really helpful. Naturally the attraction with greatest Genie+ availability, Star Tours, has the best inside line. I'm thinking that we may need to skip Alien Swirling Saucer. That ride just doesn't look like a priority or worth a long wait in the heat. I was hoping that MMRR and MFSR lines were all inside, but I guess some inside is better than none.
No problem :) Even before Galaxy's Edge Star Tours was a great ride to wait in line for in the air conditioning. The line moves fairly quickly, even with Lightning Lane. I wouldn't waste a LL for it and would instead use it as a filler attraction while you're waiting for a LL time.

What I would do in your situation would be to do Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway later in the day. That ride drops HARD when it comes to wait times and most of the time at night the wait time isn't accurate. As in they say it's a 70 minute wait but it's actually a 25-30 minute wait. Back when it was Great Movie Ride the wait was mostly indoors (I rarely waited outside for it).
 
Mickey and Minnies runaway railroad (the majority is outside) and Slinky Dog Dash (all outdoors) are brutal in the summer. Tower and Roller Coaster are hot ones but more shade.
 
If you've never tried it before, I would recommend bringing a packable umbrella. I tried this for the first time last year and it made a pretty big difference when waiting in those outdoor queues with no shade.
 
Ride Slinky Dog at night before close . It’s too hot in the daytime . It’s is way more fun at night with the lights too ! Don’t trust the wait times at night either . They rarely change them .
 












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top