Rope Dropping Radiator Springs Racers

[Kevin1281]

Disneyland first-timer here (besides the one time when I was 4-years-old).

I've read multiple posts saying that rope dropping Radiator Springs Racers is not the smartest use of rope drop due to 1) The ride often not running first thing in the morning, and 2) The wait not being much shorter than it is at other times during the day.

Are there any Disneyland veterans here who are actually pro rope dropping Radiator Springs Racers? I'm still leaning towards taking our chances when we go in August.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

If your doing single rider go for it...but even then I'd go to other rides then come back and use single rider after rope dropping toy story or something else

 

[wallawallakids]

I only tried it once and it broke down before we got on… never tried that again. I think your time is better spent elsewhere first thing. It’s often a problem in the morning.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We only rope dropped it once (early entry but didnt enter park until 5 minutes prior to opening due to a line) and it worked perfectly well 25 minute wait. I would only not advise rope dropping it if you want to buy LLSP for it.

If going to DCA I cant think of anything else better to rope drop.

 

[disny_luvr]

I certainly am not an expert, but last year on our trip, we road RSR after dinner around 7:30. We had watched the app for a good part of the day to see if the wait time ever dropped and it did around that time. We hopped in line and waited about 30 minutes. I'd definitely wait and ride it later in the day.

 

[bjscheel]

when we go in August.

Hopefully you are arriving before 8/18 as it is on the refurb list starting 8/18. We changed our trip dates because of this.

 

[Kevin1281]

Hopefully you are arriving before 8/18 as it is on the refurb list starting 8/18. We changed our trip dates because of this.

Yes, I saw that it is on the refurb list starting 8/18. We are there 8/14 - 8/16, right before it goes down. Talk about lucky.

 

[reddog21]

Just keep an eye on thrill-data, for the day's prior to your arrival it will give you an idea how crowded the park is.

 

[LKing]

Yes, I saw that it is on the refurb list starting 8/18. We are there 8/14 - 8/16, right before it goes down. Talk about lucky.

Expect larger than normal lines the days before a popular attraction goes down.

 

[RockyMtnMouse]

Expect larger than normal lines the days before a popular attraction goes down.

I was going to say this as well. We were in DL in March the day before Indy went down. It was nuts. Everyone wanted to get a ride in. I can only imagine RSR with ILL and single rider. Standby could be rough.

 

[tarheelalum]

It’s tough rope dropping it because it doesn’t open on time on a lot of mornings and it tends to break down often. Also DCA has early entry for hotel guests on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday (unless they changed it) so on these days the line is already backed up before rope drop.

The easiest way to ride it now is to ride it at the end of the day. Disney will often greatly inflate the wait times to discourage you from waiting but its regularly much, much shorter than the posted wait time just before closing time. Space mountain often does the same thing.

 

[Jawwdoc]

Disneyland first-timer here (besides the one time when I was 4-years-old).

I've read multiple posts saying that rope dropping Radiator Springs Racers is not the smartest use of rope drop due to 1) The ride often not running first thing in the morning, and 2) The wait not being much shorter than it is at other times during the day.

Are there any Disneyland veterans here who are actually pro rope dropping Radiator Springs Racers? I'm still leaning towards taking our chances when we

Yes, I saw that it is on the refurb list starting 8/18. We are there 8/14 - 8/16, right before it goes down. Talk about lucky.

We rope dropped RSR on our last trip 6/20-6/22 and it was great, however, as you mentioned there are times when RSR is not up and running at rope drop. If you are going to rope drop RSR, you will want to: 1) Make a DCA reservation for a non-EE day if you are not staying on-site (T, Th, Sat) or an EE day if you are staying on-site (M, W, F, Sun). For a non-EE rope drop, you will need to be at or near the actual rope to actually have a shot of riding RSR without a long wait as the queue quickly fills and is often a 60 minute wait shortly after rope drop. Plan to arrive at whichever security line you are planning to use by 6:30-6:45, this should put you in a good spot to be at or near the rope. DCA typically starts allowing guests to scan in at 7:30 after which you should head straight down Buena Vista Street and stay just right of Carthay Circle. There will be cast members in RSR uniforms waiting at the rope (red line in attached photo). At 8:00 am they will drop the rope and there will be a mad dash to the top of Route 66 (yellow line in photo) where a number of RSR cast members will typically be waiting with another “rope” to walk the crowd down Route 66 in a somewhat orderly fashion. You will want to have a plan B in place in the event that RSR is not up and running at rope drop, typically the cast members at the initial rope drop will know if RSR will be operational at rope drop, so if you are at or near the rope, you can ask them what the status is. Good plan B options are: GotG (blue line) TSMM or IC (green line, Soarin (purple line - probably easiest to take the scenic route around GRR vs attempting to navigate the onslaught of guests heading in on the parade route). Have a great trip.

 

[Stitchiesmom]

We rode it 3 times in stand by the week of the 23rd. Unless you are at the very front of rope drop, it's hard to get a fast wait. We would wait until the app said 60/65 min and then we'd go get in line and each time it was actually more about 45 min.

 

[nyy]

We did RSR during EE on our recent trip. We tried 3 times. The first time, we did Webslingers and then went to the RSR line, well before the 8:00 RD crowd. We got lucky, it opened early and did not go down. We waited 20ish minutes.
The 2nd time, we weren't as lucky. The ride went down and when it came back up, they let tons of LL and SR through before us, so we waited 45 minutes. The third time, it was just my son. He did Guardians, then went to RSR, well before RD. (He was in one of the first elevators of the day on Guardians.) Asked if he could get in the SR line, was told no, it wouldn't open until much later. Got in line, ride went down twice, then they let a ton of LL and SR though.
We also did SR for RSR at night (Cars Land at night is AMAZING and beautiful!) and it worked very well. I think we waited maybe 15-20 minutes.
We were fortunate enough to have 5 days of tickets, since it was our first trip to DLR and were in WDW mind set. I wouldn't recommend RSR at RD. It would waste way too much time and it goes down so much. If you can, try SR.

 

[Kevin1281]

We rope dropped RSR on our last trip 6/20-6/22 and it was great, however, as you mentioned there are times when RSR is not up and running at rope drop. If you are going to rope drop RSR, you will want to: 1) Make a DCA reservation for a non-EE day if you are not staying on-site (T, Th, Sat) or an EE day if you are staying on-site (M, W, F, Sun). For a non-EE rope drop, you will need to be at or near the actual rope to actually have a shot of riding RSR without a long wait as the queue quickly fills and is often a 60 minute wait shortly after rope drop. Plan to arrive at whichever security line you are planning to use by 6:30-6:45, this should put you in a good spot to be at or near the rope. DCA typically starts allowing guests to scan in at 7:30 after which you should head straight down Buena Vista Street and stay just right of Carthay Circle. There will be cast members in RSR uniforms waiting at the rope (red line in attached photo). At 8:00 am they will drop the rope and there will be a mad dash to the top of Route 66 (yellow line in photo) where a number of RSR cast members will typically be waiting with another “rope” to walk the crowd down Route 66 in a somewhat orderly fashion. You will want to have a plan B in place in the event that RSR is not up and running at rope drop, typically the cast members at the initial rope drop will know if RSR will be operational at rope drop, so if you are at or near the rope, you can ask them what the status is. Good plan B options are: GotG (blue line) TSMM or IC (green line, Soarin (purple line - probably easiest to take the scenic route around GRR vs attempting to navigate the onslaught of guests heading in on the parade route). Have a great trip.

Thank you for the in-depth analysis. This is very helpful.

 

[Kevin1281]

We did RSR during EE on our recent trip. We tried 3 times. The first time, we did Webslingers and then went to the RSR line, well before the 8:00 RD crowd. We got lucky, it opened early and did not go down. We waited 20ish minutes.
The 2nd time, we weren't as lucky. The ride went down and when it came back up, they let tons of LL and SR through before us, so we waited 45 minutes. The third time, it was just my son. He did Guardians, then went to RSR, well before RD. (He was in one of the first elevators of the day on Guardians.) Asked if he could get in the SR line, was told no, it wouldn't open until much later. Got in line, ride went down twice, then they let a ton of LL and SR though.
We also did SR for RSR at night (Cars Land at night is AMAZING and beautiful!) and it worked very well. I think we waited maybe 15-20 minutes.
We were fortunate enough to have 5 days of tickets, since it was our first trip to DLR and were in WDW mind set. I wouldn't recommend RSR at RD. It would waste way too much time and it goes down so much. If you can, try SR.

The more I research, the more I'm thinking that we might be better off waiting in line at night.