This used to be fun!

[loves to dive]

You didn't say how many days your trip is but for an alternative to Genie+ have you thought about hoppers? I am usually able to get everything I want to do done by hopping around. With 4 adults that is easy enough. I tend to go to the park that I have a reservation for the night before the reservation day to knock out a few rides. That way on my reservation day I can be a little more relaxed. Example: reservation for HS on Wens, go to HS around 4 or 5 on Tues. maybe ride one ride and have supper. Depending on how late the park is open you could knock out one or two more rides after supper. Alternatively, you could have an early supper around 5 and get 2 or 3 rides done after supper. Beware, you will have to wait in lines this way, sometimes long ones but it always seems a little more relaxed to me to be able to move over to another park if park 1 gets too crowded for comfort. The 2pm hopping rules makes it a little less fun but doable. Heck, I even take a couple hour break mid-day back at my room doing it this way. My trips are almost always at least 4 1/2 park days since I always go to Epcot and another park on arrival day, I arrive anywhere from 1 to 3 since I drive down. Since there is almost always a festival at Epcot I go there first and grab some food, ride a ride or two then hop to whatever park I have a reservation for the next day. For a 5 1/2 day trip, I find myself repeating things or spending more time wandering around and taking in the details. I don't mind waiting in lines since I've been going long before any sort of FP since came into being so waiting in lines was just what you did. I rarely do EE and when I do I usually arrive at least 10 min. after it starts. I rarely do the late nights for deluxe although I do usually stay at Dolphin and it's included there. I may do one or two hours but I'm old and late comes earlier for me.

 

[Philsfan77]

Quick question for you - What do you think about rope dropping both MMRR and TSMM? Is there time to do those during early entry or are they too far apart? Im not gonna attempt Slinky since my HS day is our first park and the kids wont be ready to ride it day 1 - need to ease into it with smaller coasters first. We would LL Smugglers at 7am.

Definitely doable. hit MMRR first.

 

[Philsfan77]

I'm planning for an October trip, and TP has DHS as an 8/10 on most days. Only Wednesdays are predicted as lower than that. Is that accurate?

Touring Plans is usually pretty accurate in my experience, and they usually are pretty close to undercover tourist, but undercover tourist seems to be more favorable for your dates (especially towards hollywood studios as they have that as their preferred park to pick on Mondays-Wednesdays on your days there). HS always rates higher in terms of overall crowds though due to it being a smaller park and now it has quite a few of the heavy hitters that people want.

 

[mgc]

Quick question for you - What do you think about rope dropping both MMRR and TSMM? Is there time to do those during early entry or are they too far apart? Im not gonna attempt Slinky since my HS day is our first park and the kids wont be ready to ride it day 1 - need to ease into it with smaller coasters first. We would LL Smugglers at 7am.

We did this last Wednesday - a crowd level 9 day. I don't remember exactly what time we arrived at HS and went through the turnstiles but it was around 7:40-ish. We went straight to MMRR once we were in. We were off MMRR at 8:12 and walked to TSM. It had a posted 40 min wait but we probably waited 25 mins. We were off the ride at 8:50.

 

[revdon64]

We did HS in March last year with G+. Maybe our experience can be chalked up to having a party of 6, but we did not feel like the added cost of G+ was worth it. There were high crowds and we were unable to get ILL for RotR. The only LL we were able to secure were RnRC, ST, and MMRR. At $16pp, three rides wasn't worth it.

 

[DeeCee735]

Wait ROTR is up to $25? plus the park pass, plus Genie + (if one so chooses)? What does that make the park pass total cost for one day? Pricing me over to Universal!

 

[NLKim]

I think this is how we are going to roll. It is a hard choice between MMRR/TSM or Star Wars at rope drop. But we should be able to pick those up with G+ pretty easily through the day.

I just got back from Florida and I have to agree with elaine amj. You do not want to start the day with an irritated hubby. I would rope drop ROR (the lines were NOT low in the evening - but then I was there president's week when Genie+ SOLD OUT). That being said, Genie+ is a MUST on a holiday week. Stack them up and you will not be sorry (my husband and son were SO grateful - milk it for what it is worth). Your first Genie+ should be Slinky (7am sharp, it is possible but it fills in seconds!). If not Slinky then Micky Minnie railroad becouse the lines are insane later in the morning. Toy story and TOT were available for Genie+ with no problem early afternoon so I would put smugglers run next on the list before those. The trick is to take WHATEVER time they give you first even if it an evening time and then MODIFY it. Do not cancel and rebook because that restarts the clock but once you have booked a time you can modify it as much as you want. I turned a 4pm TOT reservation into an 11am one just 5 min after booking the first one. (I also turned a 5pm peter pan into a 12pm one in MK). Aerosmith coaster is closed for refurb so that option is gone. The one good thing is that now you can overlap rides to fit more in. One thought. Consider doing the Fantasmic dining package and booking a LUNCH time. You will get amazing seats for the show and get a nice break in the middle of the day (again, this eases any irritable tempers after dealing with the crowds). ALSO, while you have lunch, this will give you time to stack another ride. A WARNING when I went, by mid to late afternoon several rides no longer had Genie+ available because they were all booked so make sure you get your favorites in first. Star Tours, Muppets and Lightning McQueen always seemed to have openings though.

 

[elaine amj]

I just got back from Florida and I have to agree with elaine amj. You do not want to start the day with an irritated hubby. I would rope drop ROR (the lines were NOT low in the evening - but then I was there president's week when Genie+ SOLD OUT). That being said, Genie+ is a MUST on a holiday week. Stack them up and you will not be sorry (my husband and son were SO grateful - milk it for what it is worth). Your first Genie+ should be Slinky (7am sharp, it is possible but it fills in seconds!). If not Slinky then Micky Minnie railroad becouse the lines are insane later in the morning. Toy story and TOT were available for Genie+ with no problem early afternoon so I would put smugglers run next on the list before those. The trick is to take WHATEVER time they give you first even if it an evening time and then MODIFY it. Do not cancel and rebook because that restarts the clock but once you have booked a time you can modify it as much as you want. I turned a 4pm TOT reservation into an 11am one just 5 min after booking the first one. (I also turned a 5pm peter pan into a 12pm one in MK). Aerosmith coaster is closed for refurb so that option is gone. The one good thing is that now you can overlap rides to fit more in. One thought. Consider doing the Fantasmic dining package and booking a LUNCH time. You will get amazing seats for the show and get a nice break in the middle of the day (again, this eases any irritable tempers after dealing with the crowds). ALSO, while you have lunch, this will give you time to stack another ride. A WARNING when I went, by mid to late afternoon several rides no longer had Genie+ available because they were all booked so make sure you get your favorites in first. Star Tours, Muppets and Lightning McQueen always seemed to have openings though.

To get 7am Slinky, I use timeanddate on my phone. Then I actually do a NYE style countdown out loud. 3 -2- 1, CLICK. Works like a charm in every situation.

 

[Beezle2]

I just got back from Florida and I have to agree with elaine amj. You do not want to start the day with an irritated hubby. I would rope drop ROR (the lines were NOT low in the evening - but then I was there president's week when Genie+ SOLD OUT). That being said, Genie+ is a MUST on a holiday week. Stack them up and you will not be sorry (my husband and son were SO grateful - milk it for what it is worth). Your first Genie+ should be Slinky (7am sharp, it is possible but it fills in seconds!). If not Slinky then Micky Minnie railroad becouse the lines are insane later in the morning. Toy story and TOT were available for Genie+ with no problem early afternoon so I would put smugglers run next on the list before those. The trick is to take WHATEVER time they give you first even if it an evening time and then MODIFY it. Do not cancel and rebook because that restarts the clock but once you have booked a time you can modify it as much as you want. I turned a 4pm TOT reservation into an 11am one just 5 min after booking the first one. (I also turned a 5pm peter pan into a 12pm one in MK). Aerosmith coaster is closed for refurb so that option is gone. The one good thing is that now you can overlap rides to fit more in. One thought. Consider doing the Fantasmic dining package and booking a LUNCH time. You will get amazing seats for the show and get a nice break in the middle of the day (again, this eases any irritable tempers after dealing with the crowds). ALSO, while you have lunch, this will give you time to stack another ride. A WARNING when I went, by mid to late afternoon several rides no longer had Genie+ available because they were all booked so make sure you get your favorites in first. Star Tours, Muppets and Lightning McQueen always seemed to have openings though.

Thank you for this. How did you approach your touring each area? Did you feel like you did a lot of backtracking? I would like to rope drop Rise and then sort of stay and finish out the area, we have Ogas at 12:30. I am trying to shift that back a little. But if I have an earlyish MMRR I have to go get in the line to be able to get another G+ if I understand correctly. There are 2 Fantasmics on our HS day..we are planning for the later one. Were you interested in the shows and did you get to see them all if you were?

 

[Philsfan77]

Wait ROTR is up to $25? plus the park pass, plus Genie + (if one so chooses)? What does that make the park pass total cost for one day? Pricing me over to Universal!

if you buy the express pass at Universal...you're going to spend way more than the cost of Disney park pass with genie+ and and ILL...now if you stay at one of their premier resorts...thats a win.

 

[elaine amj]

Thank you for this. How did you approach your touring each area? Did you feel like you did a lot of backtracking? I would like to rope drop Rise and then sort of stay and finish out the area, we have Ogas at 12:30. I am trying to shift that back a little. But if I have an earlyish MMRR I have to go get in the line to be able to get another G+ if I understand correctly. There are 2 Fantasmics on our HS day..we are planning for the later one. Were you interested in the shows and did you get to see them all if you were?

MMRR is not super far from the Star Wars area (way better than ToT!).

I would only rope drop Rise if you can be at the front of the pack. (Definitely be at the park before 7am). If u are in the middle, you’ll end up in a super long line.

If u are at the front, I would do 7am Slinky LL, rope drop Rise, then walk on Smuggler’s Run (capacity is huge and most go to Rise first). After that, you’ll hopefully be able to zip over to Toy Story Mania standby and Alien’s Swirling Saucers.

It should still be very early (u may luck out and be able to do MMRR standby) so go do the Frozen show, and maybe MMRR with LL. Plan the shows carefully as timing can be a nuisance. At this point, it’s usually 11ish and we watch Indy.

Then make your way back to Oga’s for your 12:30pm and afterwards it’s hopefully time for Slinky, which is not too far. Then you should have a LL in hand for ToT and can watch the Beauty and the Beast show next door.

I’m in favour of a nap after this before coming back for Star Tours and Fantasmic And maybe squeeze in another ride on Smuggler’s Run - it’s usually a walk on in the last half hour and then u can race across the park to catch Fantasmic (give yourselves at least 15 mins to get there).

You might have to rely on Genie+ for a couple of these things if u can’t stay ahead of the pack.

Hope your trip goes awesome!

 

[NashvilleMama]

Yes, the cost is irritating but with those crowd levels it's paying for lower in-park irritations. We paid max prices for G+ and ILL during presidents day weekend and honestly it was worth every single penny....we had such a pleasant time and rode literally everything we wanted to despite it being 9 or 10 crowd levels.

 

[blistex]

I think this is how we are going to roll. It is a hard choice between MMRR/TSM or Star Wars at rope drop. But we should be able to pick those up with G+ pretty easily through the day.

If you've got a rope-dropping family, I would for sure get up and try to rope drop ROTR for a potential savings of $100, plus once you do that G+ will get you every other ride you want that day no problem. I was there are 10/10 days president's day week and the only ride I had any trouble getting was SDD because I never used my 7 AM to grab that.

For us I was not willing to pay for extra $ILLs at the crazy crowded prices with a family of 4 - it's just a lot of cash on top of the $120 you're spending for G+. You could buy another person's park ticket for that. I did pay for an $ILL when they dropped down to $14pp and even that was a bit painful but Genie+ was also $22 that day. So we were then spending $144 versus $220 and even just typing that out pains me but between my slow-start spouse and my littles with tiny legs, our family is just not capable of rope-dropping these big attractions all the way in the back of the parks so once it got below $150 I just bit the bullet and paid the mouse.

 

[mgc]

Yes, the cost is irritating but with those crowd levels it's paying for lower in-park irritations. We paid max prices for G+ and ILL during presidents day weekend and honestly it was worth every single penny....we had such a pleasant time and rode literally everything we wanted to despite it being 9 or 10 crowd levels.

I agree with this- we were there last week as well. And, not to complicate matters for you but ROTR was down during early entry. As it goes down so frequently, I thought of my $22 ILL as a money back guarantee of sorts. I did not want to be one of the people who waits in line for 2 hours only to have it go down and have completely wasted my time. At least if it does down during your ILL, you can return when it is up and running or get your money back.

 

[NLKim]

Thank you for this. How did you approach your touring each area? Did you feel like you did a lot of backtracking? I would like to rope drop Rise and then sort of stay and finish out the area, we have Ogas at 12:30. I am trying to shift that back a little. But if I have an earlyish MMRR I have to go get in the line to be able to get another G+ if I understand correctly. There are 2 Fantasmics on our HS day..we are planning for the later one. Were you interested in the shows and did you get to see them all if you were?

G+ is all via phone app. Just set an alarm so you know when the 2hrs are up. Your old G+ don't clear till you scan into the ride. I was able to modify my times so that there was not that much backtracking. Muppets is a great filler if you have a big gap between ROR and smugglers run since it is right outside Batuu. Also alien swirling saucers is right after the back exit of Batuu but will not kill as much time unless you do the standby line. We did the fantasmic dining package and it only reserves for the 1st show

 

[Beezle2]

MMRR is not super far from the Star Wars area (way better than ToT!).

I would only rope drop Rise if you can be at the front of the pack. (Definitely be at the park before 7am). If u are in the middle, you’ll end up in a super long line.

If u are at the front, I would do 7am Slinky LL, rope drop Rise, then walk on Smuggler’s Run (capacity is huge and most go to Rise first). After that, you’ll hopefully be able to zip over to Toy Story Mania standby and Alien’s Swirling Saucers.

It should still be very early (u may luck out and be able to do MMRR standby) so go do the Frozen show, and maybe MMRR with LL. Plan the shows carefully as timing can be a nuisance. At this point, it’s usually 11ish and we watch Indy.

Then make your way back to Oga’s for your 12:30pm and afterwards it’s hopefully time for Slinky, which is not too far. Then you should have a LL in hand for ToT and can watch the Beauty and the Beast show next door.

I’m in favour of a nap after this before coming back for Star Tours and Fantasmic And maybe squeeze in another ride on Smuggler’s Run - it’s usually a walk on in the last half hour and then u can race across the park to catch Fantasmic (give yourselves at least 15 mins to get there).

You might have to rely on Genie+ for a couple of these things if u can’t stay ahead of the pack.

Hope your trip goes awesome!

Thank you! Made more sense than my TP has so far

 

[elaine amj]

Thank you! Made more sense than my TP has so far

Hope your trip goes well! If u want to check historical standby wait times or Genie+ return times, thrill-data is an awesome website.