HS Rope Drop Strategy

[roctavia]

Our trip is coming up in May, so just trying to come up with a plan for HS. We will plan to rope drop (staying on site, will have Skyliner from POP) and likely will also do G+ and ILL for ROTR that day.

We don't need SDD, and I was thinking we could rope drop MFSR and then G+ it later, but I would also like to do MMRR without paying extra for it. Would we have time to fit both things in at rope drop or does the line for that stuff go nuts? I assume it's faster to get to MMRR do to location in the park, but would MFSR be really long by then, with more people running for ROTR and getting on MFSR after? Or are those rides less popular given the draw of SSD and ROTR that we could get both in without too much waiting in the morning? This will be our only day at HS, so I want to make sure we are able to do all the rides we are interested in.

 

[mouschievous]

When we rope dropped HS, we did ROTR first. Park open at 9, Early Entry at 8:30, but they let us all in and down to ROTR at 7:30. We were off the ride before 8:30 and MFSR had about a 10 min.

Given that, I would do MMRR first and then MFSR, but I think you could go either way.

 

[gharter]

If you are doing early entry, most everyone is headed to RoTR or SDD. The other rides have very short lines.
I would do MMRR first as that will be nearly walk on.
Then head over to MFSR.
Once the park opens, a lot of people stop at MMRR as its the first attraction they see (unless they are headed to RoTR or SDD).

 

[jaredjohn4]

How did you get to the park? Were you using the skyliner, Disney Buses, or driving and parking? All this is a real pain to try to plan.

 

[acarsme123]

When we rope dropped HS, we did ROTR first. Park open at 9, Early Entry at 8:30, but they let us all in and down to ROTR at 7:30. We were off the ride before 8:30 and MFSR had about a 10 min.

Given that, I would do MMRR first and then MFSR, but I think you could go either way.

Wow so even though early entry isn’t until 8:30….they let people in at 7:30 so that’s the real time you need to be there to be able to rope drop rotr?

 

[mouschievous]

Wow so even though early entry isn’t until 8:30….they let people in at 7:30 so that’s the real time you need to be there to be able to rope drop rotr?

I think it depends on the day, honestly. We were the second people on the skyliner - it was slated to open at 7:30, they let us on at 7:25. We got to HS and went straight to the tapstiles, then straight back to ROTR. We were not stopped or held anywhere. The cast members told us the ride was down. By 8:13 it was up and we were being walked into the queue (first group).

 

[mbdavidson]

We were let in to HS yesterday at 8:00 and we went straight to RotRR. Cast Members were there telling people the ride was not open yet, but other rides were. We did not leave, but others did, and about 2 minutes later they opened the cue. We were within the first hundred people on the ride and we were done and moving on by 8:45.

 

[Captain Morgan Sparrow]

I am planning my HS morning.

i’m going to just be part of the problem and buy ILL for ROTR and MMRR.

i was planning to RD RNR and TOT, then either hit TSMM, then ST, or else just go straight to ST and then try for a G+ for later for TSMM.

The feedback i am seeking is... how fast does the line build at TSMM? Will standby already be crazy as people leave SDD? Should i just go straight to ST?

And assuming I get my ILLs, and SDD G+, is it reasonable to expect to also get G+ for MFSR (right at 11), TSMM (right at 1), and A-S-S (hehe right at 3)?

 

[catsinawindow]

I am planning my HS morning.

i’m going to just be part of the problem and buy ILL for ROTR and MMRR.

i was planning to RD RNR and TOT, then either hit TSMM, then ST, or else just go straight to ST and then try for a G+ for later for TSMM.

The feedback i am seeking is... how fast does the line build at TSMM? Will standby already be crazy as people leave SDD? Should i just go straight to ST?

And assuming I get my ILLs, and SDD G+, is it reasonable to expect to also get G+ for MFSR (right at 11), TSMM (right at 1), and A-S-S (hehe right at 3)?

I'm also really interested to hear thoughts on this. We're going to be there in July (with likely higher summer crowds), so I'm wondering how we can best make sure that we can hit all the rides without having to wait TOO long!

 

[roctavia]

I appreciate all the thoughts... We've been on SDD and my husband hated it (not a fan of rollercoasters in general, so not unexpected) and with how crazy it is to get, I think we'll have other priorities. My kids are big enough now that I think RNR would be more fun for them anyway. (Hubby can hang out while we ride)

So we will plan to hop on the skyliner as early as we can, and then hit MMRR and hopeful MFSR at rope drop, with plans for ROTR ILL, and hopefully G+ for another MFSR, RNR, TOT and toy story mania if it's available when we can book another. If we can power through, we will try to stay late and get on some more stuff near closing as well. But I think if we can at least get in some rides in the morning and ROTR, SciFi lunch + oga's we will be happy with our day.

 

[disneymouse16]

When we rope dropped HS, we did ROTR first. Park open at 9, Early Entry at 8:30, but they let us all in and down to ROTR at 7:30. We were off the ride before 8:30 and MFSR had about a 10 min.

Let you all in? Everyone in line or just onsite guests?

We were let in to HS yesterday at 8:00 and we went straight to RotRR.

Is it pretty standard these days to open before the advertised open time?

We are also going in May but my group is staying off site. Hollywood Studios is proving to be the most difficult park for me to plan.

 

[mouschievous]

Let you all in? Everyone in line or just onsite guests?

I assume just on-site guests, although I didn't see anyone turned away or told to wait.

 

[HowdyTX]

If on-site guests rope drop 30 mins early (some says can even can be in line an hour early? ),

how does off-site guests work? Can they get in the line for the same ride that same early time? Or is it separate line ?

 

[Ohiostatefan606]

We were at HS on Feb 20 - a day that no longer had any available park reservations!

Onsite guests are let in early. They had onsite entering through the left turnstiles, holding offsite guests over to the right. I can only assume if offsite tried to go through, the scanner wouldn't turn green.

We had a $LL for ROTR and $LL for MMRR (it was still a pay for item in Feb). SDD was not a priority for us. Our 7:00 am LL selection was for Smugglers (10:40 am)

We rope dropped RnRC. They started the line at the upside down car and lined us down Sunset Blvd on the left. ToT was lined down Sunset Blvd on the right.

We were in HS before 8:00 am. Stopped at Starbucks for coffee, I also went to Guest Services (blue umbrella). We got in the RnRC line about 8:20. The line started moving into the cue at 8:30. Even being halfway down Sunset Blvd. we got all the way into the recording studio. We were on the ride by 8:45. We decided to loop the ride and go again. Knowing we probably wouldn't be able to get a LL. We were on our second ride of RnRC at 9:07. We then hustled over to TSMM, posted time was 45 minutes, we waited 30. Could we have skipped the 2nd ride of RnRC, yes, but it is one of our favorites, so that was our priority.

I tell my friends that ask me questions. YOU have to answer what are YOUR priorities. We don't like ToT, so I don't have to factor that into my strategy.

If you want a summary of our entire day, I posted it when we got back from our trip: HS SUMMARY for Feb 20

Photo of rope drop lines / RnRC on the left / ToT on the right. this was 8:22 am on Feb 20.

 

[roctavia]

We were at HS on Feb 20 - a day that no longer had any available park reservations!

Onsite guests are let in early. They had onsite entering through the left turnstiles, holding offsite guests over to the right. I can only assume if offsite tried to go through, the scanner wouldn't turn green.

We had a $LL for ROTR and $LL for MMRR (it was still a pay for item in Feb). SDD was not a priority for us. Our 7:00 am LL selection was for Smugglers (10:40 am)

We rope dropped RnRC. They started the line at the upside down car and lined us down Sunset Blvd on the left. ToT was lined down Sunset Blvd on the right.

We were in HS before 8:00 am. Stopped at Starbucks for coffee, I also went to Guest Services (blue umbrella). We got in the RnRC line about 8:20. The line started moving into the cue at 8:30. Even being halfway down Sunset Blvd. we got all the way into the recording studio. We were on the ride by 8:45. We decided to loop the ride and go again. Knowing we probably wouldn't be able to get a LL. We were on our second ride of RnRC at 9:07. We then hustled over to TSMM, posted time was 45 minutes, we waited 30. Could we have skipped the 2nd ride of RnRC, yes, but it is one of our favorites, so that was our priority.

I tell my friends that ask me questions. YOU have to answer what are YOUR priorities. We don't like ToT, so I don't have to factor that into my strategy.

If you want a summary of our entire day, I posted it when we got back from our trip: HS SUMMARY for Feb 20

Photo of rope drop lines / RnRC on the left / ToT on the right. this was 8:22 am on Feb 20.
View attachment 653237

Glad you were able to get some good rides in! I hope we can be as successful. I think our strategy will still be to rope drop MMRR and then hopefully MFSR, while getting ILL for ROTR and then genie + for a 2nd ride on MFSR, followed by whatever we can get. The kids go back and forth on TOT, but I think want to try RNRC, but we'll see if they actually want to do it when we get there.

Slinky isn't a priority for us, which helps a little. The kids also agreed that they want to "power through" the whole day so we can hopefully do more things like a 2nd ROTR at the end of the night.

We have a scifi lunch and Oga's in the evening for some breaks, plus I'm sure we'll hit up some quick serves through the park and refuel

 

[snikki]

My plan is to RD ToT and Rnrc, hopefully grab ILL for Rise and get G+ for a ride before 11 am (Smugglers or TSM) so I can pull our second G+ before the masses do at 11 am.

We have another afternoon and departure day at DHS so will save SDD for the day we hop over.