Hollywood Studios without Rope Drop or Genie+

[jzhang678]

Is Hollywood Studios doable without Rope Drop or Genie+ if I would like to try to get a lot attractions done? I hear going during the afternoon and staying till park close could see more manageable crowds. Any experiences or advice welcome!

 

[fatmanatee]

Everything is doable, more so depending on when you plan to visit. The benefit of rope dropping is that you can knock out 2-3 rides quickly when it might take a couple of hours if you were doing it in the middle of the day.

It’s also true that the park can be much less busy late in the day. I’ve only done it once but I was really surprised about how much the wait times dropped, particularly Rise. Again, might depend on what time of year you’re visiting.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Is Hollywood Studios doable without Rope Drop or Genie+ if I would like to try to get a lot attractions done? I hear going during the afternoon and staying till park close could see more manageable crowds. Any experiences or advice welcome!

I think it depends what you want to ride but it's doable, you will just be in standby lines longer than if you don't RD or buy G+. A good tip is always get in line for a headliner at park close, that's a good strategy. Beyond that, just try to arrive a little early, maybe not RD to get a head start on crowds.

DHS is definitely more light crowds towards the end of the day but the wait times don't always match what the crowd level feels like. Usually a few weeks before I go, I will start watching wait times in MDX and Touring plans to see what the wait times look like.

 

[robinb]

Doable? Sure, but you'll stand in line for a lot of it. My advise is to suck it up and buy G+ and get lightning lane return times in the afternoon and evening. It's called "stacking" and is described here with an example from DHS:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...-please-read-posts-1-7.3856734/#post-63463217

You will have to get up early at 7:00 am to grab your Slinky Dog LL, but you won't have to do another one until 2 hours after the Studios opens which would probably be 11:00 am. Plan on getting in line for Rise of the Resistance right before the park closes. Remember to ignore the posted estimated wait time as they are often inflated at the end of the night to discourage people from hopping in line.

 

[Genie+]

It also depends if you just want rides or want to see the shows too. Indy, B&tB, Frozen singalong, Fantasmic are all great shows. If you’d like to catch a few, take a look at their showtimes. For Indy - 12, 1:15, 3:15 and 4:30 is the last show. Fantasmic is 9pm.

 

[ohdewer33]

Is Hollywood Studios doable without Rope Drop or Genie+ if I would like to try to get a lot attractions done? I hear going during the afternoon and staying till park close could see more manageable crowds. Any experiences or advice welcome!

Like most have said here, depends on what you want to do and when you go to the park. Genie+ and Lighting Lanes are are like a little insurance policy to help you get to do what you want. You take a chance when you go to Disney because you never know what may stop working or when the rain is going to come. I'd rather spend that extra money so that I have more control over what I get to experience.

 

[slo]

Is Hollywood Studios doable without Rope Drop or Genie+ if I would like to try to get a lot attractions done? I hear going during the afternoon and staying till park close could see more manageable crowds. Any experiences or advice welcome!

Welcome to The DIS!
Let us know when you’re going to help us help you.
I know it stinks to buy Genie+, but it’s so worth it. I personally forfeit souvenirs to afford buying Genie+ and ILLs, so I don’t leave disappointed that I/we didn’t get to ride something.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

We couldn't "rope drop" DHS on our April 2023 trip because it POURED rain/thunderstormed all morning. We hadn't been back since 2018 & didn't buy Genie + for that day - naively thought "oh, we'll just stand in lines, no big deal" - & boy do we regret it.

Missed out on Slinky Dog Dash & Toy Story Mania - so many LL folks were feeding thru TSMM that afternoon that the standby line was HOURS long - ONLY the G+ folks were going thru - NO standby folks - it was awful.

We'll never go again with out buying $LL & Genie+.

 

[Miffy]

Yes, you can do it, but don't expect to be able to ride everything unless "everything" to you = a couple of rides.

Close to closing time, the lines are much shorter. The only risk you run is if, for example, you save Rise as your last attraction of the day, it could be broken and you'd miss doing it at all.

If this is your only day in DHS and you really want to do it all, buy G+ and ILL$ and just figure in the cost as part of your entertainment budget.