Slinky Dog Dash at dark?

[jenhelgren]

My DD's only request for our May trip is to ride SDD in the evening after dark. We have not been to HS since TSL opened and I am trying to plan fairly last minute with our FP window opening in just a few weeks. We will be in the parks the week of May 4-11. What is the best strategy to ride SDD at dark? Currently Fantasmic is at 9 and Star Wars fireworks at 9:30. Thanks for and any and all advice I feel very out of the planning game this trip!!

 

[gap2368]

Get in line about 5 minutes before park close for a short wait. The post wait is normily much longer then the real wait

 

[KSL]

It seems that your chances of availability for the hard-to-get FP+ increase the further out in your trip you plan. So, your FP+ booking strategy might be to pick a day toward the end of your vacation that would work for you to go to Hollywood Studios and start with booking FP+ for that day (rather than starting at Day 1 and going in chronological order). Start with say the 9th or 10th, and get whatever you can for Slinky. Once you know you have at least one FP+ for SDD, you can go back and do the other days in whatever priority order you want, even trying for another Slinky FP earlier in the trip (and if you get it, you can keep them both or modify one, etc.)…. Good luck!

 

[StarSeven7]

when we were there 10 days ago we purposely saved our 3rd fastpass for SDD until dark since we had read it was really cool at night. We also rope dropped SDD so we could get it in twice that day. We had to wait in a longish standby line (TSMM for 35-40 minutes) because we held on to that 3rd fastpass all day and therefore we couldn't grab anymore, but after we rode SDD in the dark we all agreed it was totally worth it! It was really fun at night and all the lights looked great!

 

[jenhelgren]

Get in line about 5 minutes before park close for a short wait. The post wait is normily much longer then the real wait

After just checking hours Fantasmic does not even begin until park closing time at 9. I was hoping to see Fantasmic, but it seems like it wont all work in one day. Can any of the fireworks be viewed from the que of SDD and what type of wait should we expect around close during the first few weeks of May?

 

[StarSeven7]

After just checking hours Fantasmic does not even begin until park closing time at 9. I was hoping to see Fantasmic, but it seems like it wont all work in one day. Can any of the fireworks be viewed from the que of SDD and what type of wait should we expect around close during the first few weeks of May?

I don't think you'd see much of anything from the SDD queue - possibly some of the Star Wars fireworks but definitely nothing from Fantasmic if you were wanting to see that at all. I think if you want to watch one of the evening shows with a short wait for SDD in the evening, your best bet it to grab an evening FP for it.

 

[jenhelgren]

when we were there 10 days ago we purposely saved our 3rd fastpass for SDD until dark since we had read it was really cool at night. We also rope dropped SDD so we could get it in twice that day. We had to wait in a longish standby line (TSMM for 35-40 minutes) because we held on to that 3rd fastpass all day and therefore we couldn't grab anymore, but after we rode SDD in the dark we all agreed it was totally worth it! It was really fun at night and all the lights looked great!

I usually try not to lock up our FP for the day with a nighttime FP if we are in the park all day--it takes away so much opportunity but I was thinking we may have to go that route for SDD to be able to ride at dark. With HS being more popular now will I have success with 4th/5th/6th FP for ToT, Rock n Roller coaster, or Alien saucers if I use up all my FP's early in the day?

 

[DCLPrincess]

when we were there 10 days ago we purposely saved our 3rd fastpass for SDD until dark since we had read it was really cool at night. We also rope dropped SDD so we could get it in twice that day. We had to wait in a longish standby line (TSMM for 35-40 minutes) because we held on to that 3rd fastpass all day and therefore we couldn't grab anymore, but after we rode SDD in the dark we all agreed it was totally worth it! It was really fun at night and all the lights looked great!

How long was the wait at rope drop?

 

[StarSeven7]

I usually try not to lock up our FP for the day with a nighttime FP if we are in the park all day--it takes away so much opportunity but I was thinking we may have to go that route for SDD to be able to ride at dark. With HS being more popular now will I have success with 4th/5th/6th FP for ToT, Rock n Roller coaster, or Alien saucers if I use up all my FP's early in the day?

I totally get that! I was nervous about doing that too because we normally grab a lot of extra FPs!! We went on an EMH day and I got FPs for RnRC from 9:30am-10:30am, ToT from 10:30am-11:30am, and SDD from 5:55pm-6:55pm (it was dark by the end of the FP window). We rope dropped SDD because we wanted to ride it twice, then we went straight over to AS2. At that point our plan was to ride TSMM but we had waited a bit longer than planned at SDD and AS2 so the TSMM wait was already 45 minutes at 8:30ish so I didn't want to take up that much time that time of day. We went over to ride Star Tours but we stopped at Mickey & Minnie greet and waited about 10 minutes there, and over to Star Tours a little after 9am and there was still only a 5-10 minute wait. We used our FPs at RnRC and Tower of Terror, had lunch and caught a few shows and then went back to our hotel to swim. When we came back we waited in the standby line for TSMM which ended up being close to 40 minutes, and then we finally did our SDD FP in the dark! We thought it was really fun at night!

 

[gap2368]

After just checking hours Fantasmic does not even begin until park closing time at 9. I was hoping to see Fantasmic, but it seems like it wont all work in one day. Can any of the fireworks be viewed from the que of SDD and what type of wait should we expect around close during the first few weeks of May?

Since the line has a cover and some walls. It will be hard to see any of the fireworks

 

[StarSeven7]

How long was the wait at rope drop?

We rope dropped it on an EMH day so it might be a bit different on a regular 9am opening day. We were at the very front of the pack (we arrived around 7am) that was being held on Hollywood Blvd. When we were released we walked VERY quickly but we don't run and we don't push so hundreds of people made their way in front of us. I found rope drop there to be very chaotic and we have rope dropped 7DMT several times. By the time we got in line we ended up waiting probably close to 15 minutes which was a bit disappointing considering we were so close to the front to start with.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Another option is to consider adding on a Disney After Hours night at Hollywood Studios IF they happen to offer one during your trip. As of now, they only have events scheduled through mid-April and many of us are waiting on pins and needles for them to release another block of dates for late spring and summer. You can get TONS of great information in this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...lywood-studios-faq-discussion-thread.3715403/