Slinky and ROTR Genie+/ILL$ Tips and Experiences

[wisblue]

Good luck tomorrow, and please keep us posted!

Thanks. We plan to be at the bus stop around 6:30, so who knows exactly where we will be at 7.

If we can’t get an early time for Slinky we may go to MFSR as Plan B and try for SDD on Friday.

 

[lovethesun12]

So is it a given that if you click on an 8/9am return time for SDD or Rise you will end up with a later return most of the time? Just wondering if this is the norm or if it doesn't happen frequently?

Trying to plan but we want to take at least a four hour afternoon break. I really want to do RotR and SDD (doesn't everyone) late morning so we can rope drop MMRR and the rest of toy story land. Not sure it's possible to even plan that. It would not be fun if I went through trying for a 9am return and end up with 2 or 3 pm when we aren't in the park.

 

[MainMom]

So is it a given that if you click on an 8/9am return time for SDD or Rise you will end up with a later return most of the time? Just wondering if this is the norm or if it doesn't happen frequently?

Trying to plan but we want to take at least a four hour afternoon break. I really want to do RotR and SDD (doesn't everyone) late morning so we can rope drop MMRR and the rest of toy story land. Not sure it's possible to even plan that. It would not be fun if I went through trying for a 9am return and end up with 2 or 3 pm when we aren't in the park.

I think its pretty much guaranteed the time will change at 7am. Are you going back in the evening? Can you choose a later time to stack for your return?

 

[lovethesun12]

I think its pretty much guaranteed the time will change at 7am. Are you going back in the evening? Can you choose a later time to stack for your return?

Yes we are planning an evening return. Hard to know how to approach it though...If I chose 9am and got 1pm that would be better than getting 8pm. I'm not sure how drastic the differences are.

I was going to have an ADR but I guess there's no point to make one if I have to be flexible.

 

[wdhinn89]

So is it a given that if you click on an 8/9am return time for SDD or Rise you will end up with a later return most of the time? Just wondering if this is the norm or if it doesn't happen frequently?

Trying to plan but we want to take at least a four hour afternoon break. I really want to do RotR and SDD (doesn't everyone) late morning so we can rope drop MMRR and the rest of toy story land. Not sure it's possible to even plan that. It would not be fun if I went through trying for a 9am return and end up with 2 or 3 pm when we aren't in the park.

This is my concern as well. We always take a late afternoon break and have a sit down meal scheduled and not being able to pick a time and get it is really, really annoying. Especially when you are paying for it too!!!

 

[LiveLikeJack&Sally]

Our experience purchasing RoTR twice, once at 7am, and once around 7:18am, was that the the times always changed from what we selected. The time we bought it at 7am I clicked the first available time I saw knowing it would be probably change, and we wanted to ride it earlier in the day. When I got to payment screen the time moved out to 9:30-10:30, and the once I checked out we had a return time of 11:30-12:30 which was later then we wanted but still worked and we took our midday break after. The day we purchased at 7:18am we picked a later return time as we were going to HS in evening and we got 7-8pm after it changed of course. That same morning at 7am we were able to get SDD for 5:50-6:50pm. We did take a mid day break as we went to AK that morning and rode Navi and Safari standby, purchased FOP for some of our group. We had two people logged into separate MDE accounts (My sister’s and mine) that share plans, and at 7am one of us looked for SDD, the other FOP and then RoTR. Then we set our timer for every two hours and at 10:30 we booked MFSR and then at 12:30 we booked TSMM all to use when we went to HS later in evening.

 

[Certifiable WDW Nut]

A (probably) dumb logistical question. We are going in mid June and I'm trying to figure out how to do all this. Where exactly in the MDE app do you try to get the RoTR passes? I don't see it in the app.

Also do you think that Guardian of the Galaxy will be LL+ selection also?

 

[DisneySyd]

Yes we are planning an evening return. Hard to know how to approach it though...If I chose 9am and got 1pm that would be better than getting 8pm. I'm not sure how drastic the differences are.

I was going to have an ADR but I guess there's no point to make one if I have to be flexible.

My experience (Mar 5-18 trip) was that 7am times changed significantly as you clicked through. The second drop (7:17ish for $ILL) didn’t change as much, especially if you chose an afternoon/evening time.
As for ADRs, I was told (by multiple CMs) that they will accommodate you being late (not early) for your $ILL if you have an ADR (it’s easier to accommodate that vs fit you into a full restaurant). The other option is getting things changed at the blue umbrellas.

 

[LiveLikeJack&Sally]

A (probably) dumb logistical question. We are going in mid June and I'm trying to figure out how to do all this. Where exactly in the MDE app do you try to get the RoTR passes? I don't see it in the app.

Also do you think that Guardian of the Galaxy will be LL+ selection also?

You can select RoTR from the Tip Board on the day you have HS reserved, or if you have a park hopper then you can search for the the times available for RoTR after 2pm. You can see the tip board anytime and see what’s available at each park though. We did this the week or so leading up to our trip to gauge how long before certain LL were available and if any more times dropped for certain ones…that’s how we knew to check for RoTR again after 7:15 the morning we didn’t get it right at 7. Click the three lines on the bottom right side of the app and then you can get to the tip board.

I think Guardians will be IAS instead of just a LL since lots of people would pay separately to ride it in addition to getting Genie +. I know we would.

 

[gharter]

We were there last week and ILL$ was doing weird things.
I was on at 7 to get a RoTR. I had one for 10:30. Went through all the screens, to the last one and it crashed and I lost that one. When I went back in 1 minute later, it said all were gone. Checked again a few minutes later, and still said all were gone.
We went to the bus stop. On the bus, I checked again and there were many available and was able to get a good time.
For FoP and Remy on different days, had no issues.
So, if you can't get what you want, keep checking as they seem to magically appear.

 

[wisblue]

We were there last week and ILL$ was doing weird things.
I was on at 7 to get a RoTR. I had one for 10:30. Went through all the screens, to the last one and it crashed and I lost that one. When I went back in 1 minute later, it said all were gone. Checked again a few minutes later, and still said all were gone.
We went to the bus stop. On the bus, I checked again and there were many available and was able to get a good time.
For FoP and Remy on different days, had no issues.
So, if you can't get what you want, keep checking as they seem to magically appear.

A lot of us would guess that you were probably at the bus stop at about 7:17 when you got that LL for ROTR.

 

[LindaOwl1]

It seems that 7:23 is the new 7:17! Anyone else with more new drop times?

 

[wisblue]

Both yesterday and today there was a lot of availability that stuck around for awhile for both Slinky and ROTR at about 7:11. That might be a reflection of the end of the Spring Break/Easter season.

If I were going tomorrow I would be refreshing regularly after the first “sellout” at 7:01, and be especially focused on around 7:10. You might be able to get an early time for SDD and an early time for ROTR.

In general I would recommend watching for current patterns in the days right before my trip because they do seem to change occasionally.

 

[LiveLikeJack&Sally]

Also agree with checking right before your trip. This morning at around 7:30-7:40 I checked and there was still availability for SDD, and also RoTR for purchase with times in the afternoon moving into the evening. The standby wait was at 105 minutes for Rise during Early Entry and you could still purchase it. I refreshed my screen to make sure I was seeing it correctly lol.

 

[DisneySyd]

I noticed that as well yesterday. I originally thought it was the standard weekend availability (7am times last longer at HS on weekends), but better. Took a look again today and it was almost as good. Not sure if crowds are down or availability is up, but it bodes well for those with upcoming trips

 

[JBA28]

Thank you for these tips! This is very helpful when we're starting to plan our next trip.

 

[FunnyLady1966]

One of the most common questions raised is the challenge of getting a Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation for SDD because it “sells out” faster than any other attraction at WDW. That is complicated by the fact that ILL$ for ROTR also sells out faster than any of the other ILL$ attractions, so it can be a challenge getting a LL for both, especially if trying to get times in the morning.

Just looking at SDD, there is a general impression that those LL reservations disappear in the first minute. And, it is true that, starting at the stroke of 7:00:00, the return times for SDD go very quickly from 9 AM (for a 9 AM opening) and then to and through the afternoon and evening before being listed as “Not Currently Offered” (NCO), usually within a minute or so.

But, as a practical matter, more return times for SDD start popping up within a few minutes and, usually around 7:08-7:10, times start appearing with more frequency, and remain available for at least a few minutes. Some of those available times can be as early as the 9:00 hour, but there are quite a few more of them that appear with return times closer to noon, and they gradually move later into the afternoon and evening over the next couple of minutes.

I have seen this pattern both when I have played with the app from home and when I have been onsite and was actually trying to book an early time for SDD. One time, after my app froze right at 7 and I missed out on the early times, I was able to land a 9:10 return time at about 7:10 while on the bus headed to DHS.

So, if getting a LL time for SDD is a high priority for you, I suggest trying right at 7:00:00 to get a time. But, if you can’t get an acceptable time in that first minute, I recommend that you keep refreshing every minute or so until the next batch of times comes up. There may be isolated times that pop up from time to time in those first few minutes, but those might disappear before you have a chance to grab them. But, as long as the current pattern holds, some time a minute or two before or after 7:10, more times should start appearing, and you should be able to get something, even if it isn’t your first choice of time. If you’re looking for something in the afternoon your chances of getting a good time are pretty good.

Good to know. SDD is new since my last trip. Can't wait to see what all the excitement is about.

 

[SL6827]

Wonder if Disney will put SDD back to a paid ILL at some point?

 

[itf]

Wonder if Disney will put SDD back to a paid ILL at some point?

They’ve already said things are as they are until August I think?

 

[elgerber]

Wonder if Disney will put SDD back to a paid ILL at some point?

SDD has never been a paid ILL. MMRR was the other paid ILL