Rope Drop Strategy for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure with Lightning Lane MultiPass and SinglePass - 2024 Update

[Ladyslug]

We did EE for DCA via the new entrance by corn dog castle. Worked great, you can go down the stairs pretty much directly to the entrance! (I think the stairwell exit is beside room 1520.) Didn't try the other two entrances, but getting down there 15 min before early entry from our room was convenient and there were only 5-6 families ahead of us in line.

Would this entrance be worth it (or even possible) for folks staying at the Disneyland Hotel?

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

P.S. - if you want more data on the way lines and genie availability are looking each day and historically, check out thrill-data.com - I'm an accounting major and love analyzing data, so I have wasted many hours and also found it really helpful for understanding how wait times peak and drop, as well as how LL reservations get taken up.

Okay, I am a data nerd too but when I try to view the site I am getting ads that make it difficult to navigate or see the full chart, especially the big ad on the left.


Any suggestions which browser etc to try to make it a bit more user friendly? Thanks for all the interesting tips

 

[Brandonius]

Okay, I am a data nerd too but when I try to view the site I am getting ads that make it difficult to navigate or see the full chart, especially the big ad on the left.


Any suggestions which browser etc to try to make it a bit more user friendly? Thanks for all the interesting tips

https://adblockplus.org/ - add to your browser and thank me later

 

[Blue32]

DLRExpert , thank you for this thread. It is well detailed and I am sure many have benefited from the knowledge here. Have you considered doing a plan for each park that didn’t include the use of ILL or Genie+ at all? Are there days you do not use them? Are there different strategies to employ when you can’t or choose not to use them? I’m sure navigating the parks without them these days is much more difficult but just wanting to hear from someone that tours without them and is still able to accomplish a lot. Thanks again!

 

[Brandonius]

DLRExpert , thank you for this thread. It is well detailed and I am sure many have benefited from the knowledge here. Have you considered doing a plan for each park that didn’t include the use of ILL or Genie+ at all? Are there days you do not use them? Are there different strategies to employ when you can’t or choose not to use them? I’m sure navigating the parks without them these days is much more difficult but just wanting to hear from someone that tours without them and is still able to accomplish a lot. Thanks again!

Your way without is rope drop the rides you don’t want to wait in line for, single rider where possible, and use the last 90 minutes of the night. That’s the biggest frustration with genie. You have to know what rides you’re willing to just suck it up for during the day (for me that includes rides like Pirates, Guardians, Incredicoaster, and Jungle Cruise. It’s not just “what’s short” but for me also “what is pleasant to wait in” - influenced by the niceness of queue and the speed the line moves. (Guardians assuming Genie multi experience breakdown passes aren’t forcing everyone to ride it and all 3 elevators are open, and incredicoaster if both sides of the station are open.)

I almost never go standby on smugglers run or splash or Matterhorn - just use single rider. Have a hard time doing it on Indy too - the line completely empties out from 11-12 midnight.

That’s the gist of the answer. The hardest part these days is there are so many ride breakdowns that even for some of us that are super experienced everything can just go to pot and you’re stuck enjoying the ambiance- which is fine for someone like me that just drives down to the parks once a year or so, but for someone doing a once in a lifetime trip, not cool.

Lmk if you have specific Q’s about no genie strategy.

 

[DLRExpert]

DLRExpert , thank you for this thread. It is well detailed and I am sure many have benefited from the knowledge here. Have you considered doing a plan for each park that didn’t include the use of ILL or Genie+ at all? Are there days you do not use them? Are there different strategies to employ when you can’t or choose not to use them? I’m sure navigating the parks without them these days is much more difficult but just wanting to hear from someone that tours without them and is still able to accomplish a lot. Thanks again!

Visiting the parks and not using G+ is all about getting to the entrance 30-40 minutes before park opening and knowing the main LL attractions to experience first.

Here is how I would do it for an 8am opening at Disneyland no EE...
8am-9am: Space Mountain first, then Matterhorn, Big Thunder
9am-10am: Indiana Jones, Pirates, Splash Mountain.
10am-1030am: Mansion
1030am-1130am: Buzz, Star Tours.

The rest you trinkle in when you see a wait of 30 minutes or less. The only attraction you will probably wait more than 30 for is Peter Pan and Rise
Most of these will be in Fantasyland.
Things like Jungle Cruise, Nemo Subs, Autopia, and Falcon can easily be done at night.

Here is how I would do it for an 8am opening at Disneyland WITH EE...
730am-8am: Peter Pan, Alice, Dumbo, head to Space Mountain
8am-9am: Space Mountain first, then Matterhorn, Big Thunder
9am-10am: Indiana Jones, Pirates, Splash Mountain.
10am-1030am: Mansion
1030am-1130am: Buzz, Star Tours.

The rest you trinkle in when you see a wait of 30 minutes or less. The only attraction you will probably wait more than 30 for is Peter Pan and Rise
Most of these will be in Fantasyland.
Things like Jungle Cruise, Nemo Subs, Autopia, and Falcon can easily be done at night.

 

[Blue32]

Visiting the parks and not using G+ is all about getting to the entrance 30-40 minutes before park opening and knowing the main LL attractions to experience first.

Here is how I would do it for an 8am opening at Disneyland no EE...
8am-9am: Space Mountain first, then Matterhorn, Big Thunder
9am-10am: Indiana Jones, Pirates, Splash Mountain.
10am-1030am: Mansion
1030am-1130am: Buzz, Star Tours.

The rest you trinkle in when you see a wait of 30 minutes or less. The only attraction you will probably wait more than 30 for is Peter Pan and Rise
Most of these will be in Fantasyland.
Things like Jungle Cruise, Nemo Subs, Autopia, and Falcon can easily be done at night.

Here is how I would do it for an 8am opening at Disneyland WITH EE...
730am-8am: Peter Pan, Alice, Dumbo, head to Space Mountain
8am-9am: Space Mountain first, then Matterhorn, Big Thunder
9am-10am: Indiana Jones, Pirates, Splash Mountain.
10am-1030am: Mansion
1030am-1130am: Buzz, Star Tours.

The rest you trinkle in when you see a wait of 30 minutes or less. The only attraction you will probably wait more than 30 for is Peter Pan and Rise
Most of these will be in Fantasyland.
Things like Jungle Cruise, Nemo Subs, Autopia, and Falcon can easily be done at night.

Great info.! Thank you! Care to tackle DCA with NO ILL and NO Genie+? I am assuming it would be similar to your order for experiencing LL attractions more than once but just doing each once?

 

[onatrek]

I was a long time AP (and never stayed on property as a result) who since moved out of state, had a major health dx, and haven't been to DLR in 5 years.

I'm arriving early morning (10 or so) from a flight Wed, staying at PP, have Genie+ and also DAS.

We're doing Wed/Thurs (starting Wed in DCA).

Any insight for someone who feels totally thrown off by how things "work" now and isn't used to feeling unsure about how to tentatively plan our time as a result?

 

[DLRExpert]

I was a long time AP (and never stayed on property as a result) who since moved out of state, had a major health dx, and haven't been to DLR in 5 years.

I'm arriving early morning (10 or so) from a flight Wed, staying at PP, have Genie+ and also DAS.

We're doing Wed/Thurs (starting Wed in DCA).

Any insight for someone who feels totally thrown off by how things "work" now and isn't used to feeling unsure about how to tentatively plan our time as a result?

With DAS you will not need ILL. Combo the DAS with the LL.

 

[iluvthsgam]

For a family of 4 who has yet to visit Galaxy's Edge, we are going President's weekend. Trying to map out the day, how long should we reasonably plan to just walk around/hang out/shop in Galaxy's Edge, try to stop at Oga's, maybe get lunch? Kids are 8 and 5 and just getting into Star Wars. 1-2 hours? We will only be in Disneyland 1 day and California Adventure 1 day.

 

[ironband74]

Does anyone know how to get an attraction to go to the top of your tip board on a day that you don't have a park reservation? Before my April trip I was able to get it to stick by setting up my first park day, but now they aren't sticking. I like practicing my refresh game, but I'm guessing they've adjusted the app to keep folks like me from flooding the server with requests...

Anyway, I'm on Android if anyone knows...

 

[ironband74]

For a family of 4 who has yet to visit Galaxy's Edge, we are going President's weekend. Trying to map out the day, how long should we reasonably plan to just walk around/hang out/shop in Galaxy's Edge, try to stop at Oga's, maybe get lunch? Kids are 8 and 5 and just getting into Star Wars. 1-2 hours? We will only be in Disneyland 1 day and California Adventure 1 day.

It's going to be a busy weekend, but if you are going to do Oga's and lunch (at Docking Bay 7, I assume, unless you're thinking Ronto Roasters) I'd plan 2-3 hours. Oga's will eat some time waiting (even if you have a reservation, you wait in line to get in) and once you're in, you'll be at least 20-30 minutes. There is a lot to see if it is your first time there. It also depends on what your other priorities are, whether you're going to rope drop (or are staying on site and will have EE), take an afternoon break, etc. Obviously if you do GE in the early morning or late evening it will take less time than during the busiest part of the day. And you will probably want to drop by at night to see the place all lit up.

 

[DLRExpert]

Does anyone know how to get an attraction to go to the top of your tip board on a day that you don't have a park reservation? Before my April trip I was able to get it to stick by setting up my first park day, but now they aren't sticking. I like practicing my refresh game, but I'm guessing they've adjusted the app to keep folks like me from flooding the server with requests...

Anyway, I'm on Android if anyone knows...

I thought Tip Board sticks only happen on your visiting date

 

[iluvthsgam]

It's going to be a busy weekend, but if you are going to do Oga's and lunch (at Docking Bay 7, I assume, unless you're thinking Ronto Roasters) I'd plan 2-3 hours. Oga's will eat some time waiting (even if you have a reservation, you wait in line to get in) and once you're in, you'll be at least 20-30 minutes. There is a lot to see if it is your first time there. It also depends on what your other priorities are, whether you're going to rope drop (or are staying on site and will have EE), take an afternoon break, etc. Obviously if you do GE in the early morning or late evening it will take less time than during the busiest part of the day. And you will probably want to drop by at night to see the place all lit up.

Many thanks for your response. We are staying a Grand Californian and do plan on doing EE/rope drop. Plan on going hard in the morning and then trying to take it easy the rest of the day. I am open to suggestions!

 

[ironband74]

I thought Tip Board sticks only happen on your visiting date

That does seem to be how it works now. I'm pretty sure (though I often question my memory) that I was able to get things to be sticky back in April before our trip. I'll just have to wait

 

[ironband74]

That does seem to be how it works now. I'm pretty sure (though I often question my memory) that I was able to get things to be sticky back in April before our trip. I'll just have to wait

I found a way to test refresh on a given attraction when it isn't at the top of your tip board. Not sure if I'll use this method in the parks, but it is a solid backup.
1. Go to the attraction you want to ride in the attraction list and tap it.
2. Tap where it says "LL Lightning Lane"
3. The tip board opens with that attraction at the top of your frame.
4. If the time doesn't look good, tap the back button which takes you back to the attraction
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until the time looks good
6. Tap "Book Experience" (If you aren't in the park with G+ you can't go any further than this)

For me doing this gives me a sense of confidence that when I'm in the park I'll be able to get sooner return times. I'm also curious to try the time warp trick if I can manage to get a golden MEP early in the day, assuming they don't fix that loophole. Naturally everything will probably change once the new "modify" option gets released, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[ironband74]

Many thanks for your response. We are staying a Grand Californian and do plan on doing EE/rope drop. Plan on going hard in the morning and then trying to take it easy the rest of the day. I am open to suggestions!

Going hard in the morning you can get a lot done before noon. Since you've got kiddos, I'd say use EE to knock out most of Fantasyland, then utilize G+ to go at the other lands depending on your preferences. If it were me and I really wanted lunch on-world, I'd head to GE around 11:30ish for lunch and try to nab a 12:30 reservation at the cantina, do some poking around (maybe get a LL for MFSR and/or buy ILL for ROTR for around that time) and then just wander a bit to enjoy the land and/or meet some characters. Then take your break and come back in the evening to clean up whatever you missed.

Alternatively, what I did last trip was go hard at everything except GE until lunch, took a break at the hotel, then came back for a reservation at Oga's around 3:30 before enjoying GE stuff. I was being cheap that trip, so after we wandered the land and got dinner off-world we came back for ROTR around 7:30pm for a shorter line. This is a dangerous proposition, though, since if ROTR goes down you might not get on it, and you are only there one day. I'd probably plan for the earlier approach.

The plans at the beginning of the thread are very good. Just be prepared to be flexible and adjust as needed.

 

[DLRExpert]

I found a way to test refresh on a given attraction when it isn't at the top of your tip board. Not sure if I'll use this method in the parks, but it is a solid backup.
1. Go to the attraction you want to ride in the attraction list and tap it.
2. Tap where it says "LL Lightning Lane"
3. The tip board opens with that attraction at the top of your frame.
4. If the time doesn't look good, tap the back button which takes you back to the attraction
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until the time looks good
6. Tap "Book Experience" (If you aren't in the park with G+ you can't go any further than this)

For me doing this gives me a sense of confidence that when I'm in the park I'll be able to get sooner return times. I'm also curious to try the time warp trick if I can manage to get a golden MEP early in the day, assuming they don't fix that loophole. Naturally everything will probably change once the new "modify" option gets released, but we'll see how it goes.

While this does work, refreshing is slower.

 

[Carolwoodpr]

We go for Christmas 2023. This is great info.

 

[goingtotheworld]

We will be taking our first Disneyland trip March 2-4 staying offsite so no EE. This is a last minute trip being added on to a work convention in the area so I have not had time to do much research as I just found out last week that I was going. We will have 3 day tickets (no hopper) with G+ (ressies at DCA x1, and DL x2) and qualify for DAS at WDW so assuming we would qualify here too. Can we book DAS in advance like WDW?

My original plan was to stack LL's while we traveled (like WDW), but I did not realize when we purchased tickets that we had to scan into the park before we could start booking LL's. I need some help with timing and a plan of attack!

Our plane arrives on 3/2 at 10:52am at SNA. We will have checked bags to claim and will be staying at Park Vue Inn and will Uber/Lyft from the airport to the hotel. What time can we realistically expect to be in the parks? I think we will grab lunch at the park so we can get scanned in and start booking LL's as soon as possible.

Currently, I have DCA booked for our arrival day and DL for Friday & Saturday. Is it possible to accomplish the following at DCA with our later arrival time and if so how?:
Goofy Sky School, GoG, Incredicoaster, Monsters Inc, Racers, Soarin, TSMM, Web Slingers, and World of Color 9pm (if we are still awake!)

At DL we will RD and hope to take an afternoon break each day and return to the park between 4-5 and hope to accomplish:
Alice, BTMRR, Buzz, Nemo, HM, IASW, JC, Pooh, Matterhorn, MMRR, Toad, PP, Pinn, PotC, Snow White, Space, Splash, Indian Jones (if open), Fantasmic and Fireworks. We may also want Falcon, Star Tours, and Rise but those are not deal breakers if we don't ride them. We have Fantasmic package reservation at the Hungry Bear to go on 3/4 @ 4:30 for the first show and will watch the fireworks afterward on this day.

Also, would you keep the Park days as we have them or will we need to switch up to have a full day at DCA?

Thank you for any help you can provide!