TSMM at park opening

[BryANDJessMom]

hi! We are going to WDW mid/end of June. I did not reserve TSMM fast passes since we have it at our "home" park of Disneyland. That being said, the kids want to go on it, and experience the "queue" a bit. (We had our first tier FP for the RRRC since we don't have that ride at DL.)

I know when we went to DHS three years ago it was a mad rush for TSMM...what would be the wait time at park opening now if we carefully walked quickly at rope drop?

Thanks so much!
Nancy

 

[DisneyWisher]

Personally I'd FP TSM and walk to RnR for standby. The line for RnR will be much shorter at Rope Drop. Anyone can go on TSM but only people 48" and up can go on RnR. We always go to RnR first. I can handle 2 times DD would reride until I said enough. But I always enjoy sitting in the courtyard listening to Aerosmith music. They are her favorite band.

 

[JimmyV]

It's a little hard to judge because arriving at rope drop can mean different things depending on what time you actually arrive. You can arrive well before Park opening but still be WAY behind in the line to get in the park at which point a leisurely walk to Toy Story Mania could result in a 30 minute wait. On the other hand if you arrive at the park before it opens and find yourself very close to the turnstiles, a leisurely walk will get you to the ride with barely a five minute wait. Usually, the term rope drop implies that you arrived at the park in time for it to open. However at DHS, people arrive before the park opens but still find themselves way behind the security bag check and see thousands of people get through the turnstiles before them. If you want the five minute wait, don't let that happen to you.

 

[BryANDJessMom]

It's a little hard to judge because arriving at rope drop can mean different things depending on what time you actually arrive. You can arrive well before Park opening but still be WAY behind in the line to get in the park at which point a leisurely walk to Toy Story Mania could result in a 30 minute wait. On the other hand if you arrive at the park before it opens and find yourself very close to the turnstiles, a leisurely walk will get you to the ride with barely a five minute wait. Usually, the term rope drop implies that you arrived at the park in time for it to open. However at DHS, people arrive before the park opens but still find themselves way behind the security bag check and see thousands of people get through the turnstiles before them. If you want the five minute wait, don't let that happen to you.

Good point! At DL to be there for rope drop we usually have to be at security (which is near the gates) no later than 45 min before. So, at turnstiles before they open...they usually open 20 mins before rope drop...is that about the same for timing or should I allow more time. Also, I think we are driving and parking that morning for DHS. Does anyone know how far is parking to gate? (Or rather, how much time I should allow?)

Thanks!
Nancy

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

We've tried it both ways. It seems like FP+ for RnR is a better choice if you get there early. Spring break we arrived at DHS by 8:15 (opening at 9). We were third in line to get in. Opened at 8:45. TSMM opens whenever the park opens RnR does not. It opens on time. We walked briskly to TSMM (people were running but it seemed they were going for Jedi sign up) we walked on to the ride. Less than 5 minutes. I actually felt sorry for the FP+ people that they wasted their FP on it first thing in the morning.

 

[kapoof]

We've tried it both ways. It seems like FP+ for RnR is a better choice if you get there early. Spring break we arrived at DHS by 8:15 (opening at 9). We were third in line to get in. Opened at 8:45. TSMM opens whenever the park opens RnR does not. It opens on time. We walked briskly to TSMM (people were running but it seemed they were going for Jedi sign up) we walked on to the ride. Less than 5 minutes. I actually felt sorry for the FP+ people that they wasted their FP on it first thing in the morning.

Same here...we walked very quickly to toy story upon opening and walked right on.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Do it at RD without FP+ if you want to experience the queue. The FP line is boring, not much to experience.

 

[BryANDJessMom]

Do it at RD without FP+ if you want to experience the queue. The FP line is boring, not much to experience.

Thanks! We don't have a "fancy" queue at DL. That being said I don't want to wait 45 min +. We will try to be there super early!

 

[shocker]

Plan on about 20 minutes at park opening.

 

[wdwfan22]

Plan on about 20 minutes at park opening.

Not if you are in line for park opening early enough. We always try to arrive between 8 - 8:15 and close to the front of the tapstyles. You can pretty much walk on the ride if you are one of the first groups in the park.

That being said, it also means you walk right through the queue, and don't really have time to look around and take it in. But really, no queue is worth standing in a long line just to look at. I will take walking right through it anytime.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We can generally ride Midway Mania twice during the last half hour the park is open. Much more efficient than early morning.

 

[JimmyV]

We can generally ride Midway Mania twice during the last half hour the park is open. Much more efficient than early morning.

Efficiency is something that is worth considering. If you arrive at 8:15 and are at the front of the entry line resulting in a 5 minute wait when the ride begins to operate at 8:45, in essence you have "waited" for 35 minutes. 30 at the turnstile and 5 at the ride. If you arrive at the park a few minutes after it opens and are confronted by a 30 minute SB line, you actually wait less time. But the difference is that when you exit the ride, lines will have built up in other areas of the park in the interim. Likewise, if you wait until close to park closing, you might see a 30 minute line, but that is still less waiting time than was spent by the people who were first in line at the turnstile. Rope droppers tend to look only at the wait time at the attraction and conveniently forget about the time they spent waiting for the park to open. There are still good reasons to make rope drop as that puts you ahead of the curve for several rides since many people follow the same touring pattern. But when someone says that they arrived in time for RD and "walked right on TSMM", they aren't really being honest with themselves.

 

[shocker]

Rope droppers tend to look only at the wait time at the attraction and conveniently forget about the time they spent waiting for the park to open. There are still good reasons to make rope drop as that puts you ahead of the curve for several rides since many people follow the same touring pattern. But when someone says that they arrived in time for RD and "walked right on TSMM", they aren't really being honest with themselves.

Thank you for spelling this out! I'm always telling my children as we 'wait' for RD that 'this will be the shortest wait of the day for XYZ' because we are always going to the hottest ride at the moment and by the time we exit the wait will likely be 60 min+. So this 30 min is the better option. But make no mistake about it we also are waiting for the opportunity to ride.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Just my two cents... on my last trip I went to HS on a rated 4 day and arrived about 8:15 for a 9am opening. I was the 11th person in line. By 8:30 there were probably 200 people behind me. I did go straight to TSM and walked on...no wait at the ride at all. Then got in line to meet buzz n woody (they don't start til 9:15 tho). I would def try to get there sooner rather than later.