WWYD: DHS Rope Drop Strategy

[SDKMom]

I'm having trouble deciding if we should RD SDD or prioritize it as our first G+ of the day. The downside to RD is that the ride is often down (this happened to me last summer) and the downside to G+ is that the times hit late afternoon/evening so quickly, and then we'll be stuck with the dreaded 2 hour rule before we can make another G+ selection. Just curious how others strategize for this park when hoping to get on SDD before late afternoon/evening. We'll be in HS 8/26, which is listed as a 5/10 on TP's crowd calendar and 6/10 on UCT's.

 

[zavandor]

Here you go:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/hollywood-studios-early-entry-strategy-tips/
If you can get very very early at park entrance, you could do both RotR and SDD.
If you don't care for RotR then it's even lower stakes. I would still book SDD as my first G+, because it'll save you the most time for a reride. It's not like you'll be able to book more than 2 or 3 headliners with G+ anyway.
I very much doubt it will be a 5 or 6/10 day. Weekends have been very very slow lately (much better crowd wise than weekdays) and the end of August is slow season. I'd be surprised if you'll find more than 3/10.
The only issue might be if being off season they don't open at 7:30 but only at the official time of 8:00. But I think they've been pretty consistent since RotR opening, so much so it's an unofficially official policy.

You can also combine the RD with a late afternoon strategy:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/afternoon-evening-hollywood-studios-plan/

this is exactly what I'm going to do. Rope drop until waits peak, a couple of shows, luch, back to the resort. Then back to the park for the evening. And no G+. I hate it.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Agree it's all about RotR. If you want to do that then G+ for Slinky makes sense.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would G+ it. I’m not a fan of the “running with the bulls” so we always FP/G+ headliners and go the opposite way (ToT, MMRR or RnRC) at RD.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

For the most part, it depends on when we're going/time of year/anticipated crowds but even then, most times we don't RD DHS. For summer trips or when it's not a peak crowd time, we usually arrive mid to late AM and use G+/iLL$ to get most of headliners done. Our DHS day last week we did G+ for Slinky, first selection. And since the parks aren't as crazy crowd wise, we got 6 G+ selections and rode a few lower wait rides standby. It's not the norm to get that many G+ selections for us.

For busier times of year like over spring break, I'll still go with G+ first for Slinky but our odds of getting a lot more G+ post SDD is lower. I'm sure you could get in line at park close for Slinky if you didn't feel inclined to use a G+ LL but it still could be a long wait and of course, that's assuming you stay until closing. It's one of those rides that has mass appeal so it's always got a line. Saying all that, the end of August is not very busy and will likely be less crowded than even the last few weeks so you may have some luck and get an early return for SDD. We got 2:25pm as our return but could have had 11am last week but didn't want that early so I waited another minute or two and ended up with the later time. And, even if your G+ return time is later, you can still book your next G+ LL 2 hours after park opening, you don't have to wait until you tap in to your first G+ ride.

 

[SDKMom]

Thanks, everyone! DHS opens at 8 for EE, so we'll plan to arrive between 7-7:15. We are nuts and think being at the front of the pack for RD is fun. I'm not too worried about getting on RoTR. We've ridden it a bunch of times, and if we decide to do it this trip, I'll $LL it. Our typical strategy is to head to ToT first. If you're all correct and the crowds are lower than expected, we can probably get ToT and RnRC done before crowds build and maybe even make our way to MMRR with a short wait. So maybe I'll stick with this plan, hope for a SDD G+ return before 2, and hope that when I can make my next G+ selection at 10:30 there are still morning return times available for whatever other rides we want to do that day.

 

[SDKMom]

I'm encouraged to hear you could have had an 11am return time, thank you!

 

[aronny]

I would try getting an early return time only because of how annoying it is if a headliner is down.

FWIW I can usually snag a 9ish return time. Pin Slinky as your top selection, refresh at 6:59:59 (not on Disney WiFi) and just click through to book whatever time you’re given. Don’t stop to think about it, just book. You can always modify and choose a different first selection if you’re not happy with your return time.

 

[slo]

I would G+ it. I’m not a fan of the “running with the bulls” so we always FP/G+ headliners and go the opposite way (ToT, MMRR or RnRC) at RD.

Same for us
Remember OP….if you book SDD at 7:00am for whatever time, you can make another LL at 9:00am for something else.

 

[SDKMom]

Same for us
Remember OP….if you book SDD at 7:00am for whatever time, you can make another LL at 9:00am for something else.

Don't I have to wait until 2 hours after park opening to book my 2nd G+? Unless the rule has changed since last summer, my understanding is that you can book 2 hours after park opening or immediately after tapping in to your most recent selection. Since park open is 8:30, I can't book a second until 10:30 unless I am lucky enough to get SDD before then.

 

[Jacq7414]

I always get the Genie+ for SDD. I just like the guarantee better. Plus you could easily rope drop something else. Last time I went, I think we got a 10 or 1030 am SDD LL.

 

[Anna131517]

Thanks, everyone! DHS opens at 8 for EE, so we'll plan to arrive between 7-7:15. We are nuts and think being at the front of the pack for RD is fun. I'm not too worried about getting on RoTR. We've ridden it a bunch of times, and if we decide to do it this trip, I'll $LL it. Our typical strategy is to head to ToT first. If you're all correct and the crowds are lower than expected, we can probably get ToT and RnRC done before crowds build and maybe even make our way to MMRR with a short wait. So maybe I'll stick with this plan, hope for a SDD G+ return before 2, and hope that when I can make my next G+ selection at 10:30 there are still morning return times available for whatever other rides we want to do that day.

I love your plan. Also remember you can modify Genie+ reservations now so grab a SDD then start trying to modify for a later time.