Disney World parks have reopened, and we’re back to helping you strategize your visits. While the low crowds mean significantly less stress planning, you’ll still benefit from knowing the ins and outs of an early arrival. In this post, we discuss rope drop at Hollywood Studios—including when (and how) to arrive, and the puzzle of where to go first.
UPDATE: This post has been replaced by our new Hollywood Studios Rope Drop and Early Entry post
Important: Disney World Phased Reopening Notice
This topic is temporarily impacted by the ongoing phased reopening of Walt Disney World after its extended mid-2020 closure. We highly recommend you also visit our Walt Disney World Reopening Masterpost, where we highlight specific issues guests will face during this unique time.
This post has been updated to begin with a section focusing specifically on rope drop during the reopening phase.
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS Reopening Phase ROPE DROP
While the Walt Disney World parks have been reopened for some time, they are quite “back to normal.” One area in which things remain a bit off is rope drop—the very start of the day, which includes some time before the park is scheduled to open and which is the subject of this post.
There are two big changes to rope drop. The first is that without FastPass+ operating, ride strategy at opening matters more than before. The old formula was Rope Drop + FastPass = All Major Rides. Now, it’s more like Rope Drop + Waiting In Lines Later = All Major Rides. The more you accomplish at rope drop, the fewer waits you’ll have to endure later on.
The other big change is that Disney is focused on keeping people moving in the morning. Old rope drop happened in stages. You’d arrive and wait in a big group. Then that big group would be let up to the turnstiles. Then that group would be let into the park where it broke into smaller groups. Then those smaller groups would eventually be let on rides.
Disney tries to avoid crowds like this now.
Now, Disney is more or less trying to keep guests moving from arrival into lines for rides. Sometimes this includes having the rides operate early. But you generally won’t be jockeying for position within a group anymore. You just want to arrive early enough and know which rides to go to first.
(As an aside, if you’re wondering “um yea what else would I do?” There was a time when rope drop was so ferocious we had photo diagrams labeling things like which side of the group you wanted to be on and where to look out for trash cans and curbs that slowed you down.)
What Is The Best Way To Get To Hollywood Studios?
If you can walk to Hollywood Studios from a nearby hotel (Yacht Club, Beach Club, BoardWalk Inn, Swan & Dolphin), that’s the best option. The security guards are likely (but not obligated) to let you in as soon as you can see any other guests getting in.
For everyone else, there’s no best way. We advocate driving because the parking lot is usually one of the first transportation methods to open…but not always. Here’s a report from when some buses arrived before the lot opened, for example.
Other transportation methods are more problematic, though.
Uber/Lyft are problematic if you’re arriving early because you don’t know when the parking lot will open, and your Uber driver might be stuck waiting in a line or, worse, driving aimlessly. That’s a recipe for a bad review and a very expensive trip.
You never know when the Disney buses are going to come to the hotel (example—no buses by 9:37AM), and unless you’re one of the very first people lined up, you don’t know that you’ll make it on the first bus.
Skyliner hours are also finicky, and if you’re coming from anywhere but Caribbean Beach you run the risk of a situation where you get to Caribbean Beach (the Skyliner hub) and the line to Hollywood Studios isn’t running yet or you’re stuck in line behind a ton of people at that resort.
In the past, all these methods ran on a more or less standardized schedule. This made the morning easy to plan. Nowadays your day overall will be simpler, but your morning will be a little less predictable.
WHAT TIME SHOULD I GET TO HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS?
For the shortest waits, arrive 60 minutes before opening if you’re driving or walking. 75 minutes gives you a bit more cushion, and is what we’d personally aim for. Guests have usually been allowed onto Hollywood Studios property around an hour before opening. Of course, this could change, particularly on dates when the park opening is pushed back to 9AM (from 10AM).
Aim to be on a bus 75 minutes before opening, noting that sometimes buses start running later than that (can’t do much about that—enjoy some time at the but stop). You can check estimated bus times for your hotel in the app.
I wouldn’t Uber more than 45 minutes before opening, in case the parking lot opens late. Get in line for the Skyliner no later than 15 minutes before it starts operating, which is usually 75 minutes before the park opens.
Desk staff should be able to tell you what time the Skyliner is scheduled to begin operating. At Skyliner hotels (Pop Century, Art of Animation, Riviera Resort, Caribbean Beach), you’ll want to also confirm that buses will be running early if that’s your plan. Then you can check estimated bus times in the app in the morning.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT WHEN I ARRIVE?
For the most part, Disney is trying to keep guests moving from the time they arrive until they’re in line for the first ride. This avoids large crowds gathering, as was common under the old rope drop system.
You’ll go through temperature checks and security, and then through the turnstiles. Like we said, you shouldn’t expect to be held up at this point, but there’s every reason to be prepared for that. Make sure to socially distance if that happens.
WHAT RIDE SHOULD I GO TO FIRST AT HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS?
In mid-November, Disney started boarding every row of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which increased capacity of that ride and shook things up a bit. So let’s talk through the options at Hollywood Studios.
Quick Note About Rides Running Early
As you should have gathered by now, the current norm is for Hollywood Studios to begin operating rides well before the park is scheduled to open.
It’s tough to say how long this will continue. If crowds dip in early 2021 from their late 2020 surge, the park might slow down its early morning operations. There’s also never any guarantee of which rides will be operating early. It’s typical to see the very popular Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway running early, for example, but Star Tours tends to open closer to, well, opening time.
This impacts planning for two reasons. First, if you arrive super early and the park opens later you wind up just waiting around. I don’t like waiting around, and I certainly don’t like being blamed for your waiting around.
Second, the later the park actually opens, the more people will have lined up for rides. You might still be the first person on your ride, but when you get off of it the rides for the other rides will be longer if the park has opened later.
Reminder About Rise Of The Resistance
To explain the challenges of picking a first ride, we need to start with a ride that has no standby line—Rise of the Resistance. To get on Rise of the Resistance, you need to get a boarding group via the My Disney Experience app at either 7AM or 1PM.
These boarding groups often run out within seconds. It seems like things are going a little better recently, but the fact is you need to be trying exactly at 7AM and then, if that doesn’t work, exactly at 1PM to get a boarding group if you want a reasonable shot at riding.
Starting With Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run
Smugglers Run has had the second highest waits in Hollywood Studios recently (behind Tower of Terror). The problem with starting there is two-fold. First, you have to walk all the way there and then it might not be running. Second, even if you get all the way there and then on and off the ride, you’ve spent a lot of your morning time on it.
While this might not sound like a huge deal, pretty much every other starting option—Runaway Railway, Tower of Terror, Slinky Dog Dash—puts you in a better position to “double dip” and get two short waits to start the day. We don’t think you’ll go wrong starting with Smugglers Run, we just think your odds are better with one of the other options.
Starting with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
As noted above, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is no longer the juggernaut it once was, but it still should be considered if you arrive early enough.
If you’re one of the first people in the park, start with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Its wait is still going to grow quickly in the morning, and you might decide you like it enough to ride twice (you’d try and grab short wait in the afternoon).
I don’t have a rule of thumb, but it’s something like “if you can get in line 45 minutes before the park is scheduled to open.” Or maybe, “if the posted wait till have you off at least 15 minutes before the park is scheduled to open.”
Starting With Slinky Dog Dash
If you aren’t early enough for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, then Slinky Dog Dash is your next best bet. Yes—Tower of Terror is overall seeing longer waits right now, but Slinky Dog Dash typically starts the day higher. You’ll want to go from Slinky Dog Dash to Tower of Terror around the time the park opens.
If you have 15 minutes to spare (e.g. you’re off 30 minutes before the park opens) you can sneak in a ride on Toy Story Mania. And on your way to Tower of Terror, be sure to check the wait time for Runaway Railway, if it’s 15 minutes or less you should stop there first.
Starting With Tower of Terror
Once you’re within 15 minutes of the park opening, Tower of Terror is going to be your best bet. It’s one of the busiest rides in the park, but it also doesn’t immediately start the day very high. This makes it perfect to visit right at opening, following it up with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Where should I head second at Hollywood Studios?
If you can find a short wait on Runaway Railway, Slinky Dog Dash, Tower of Terror, or Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, these are all good rides to visit second.
The other three rides—Alien Swirling Saucers, Star Tours, and Toy Story Mania have more consistently seen waits under 15 minutes. Visiting these so early can make sense if there’s no other good option, but we definitely favor knocking out another big name early.
If you started with Slinky Dog Dash, a wait of 60 minutes or less for Runaway Railway is worth jumping on. If you started with Runaway Railway, a wait of 30 minutes or less is good for Slinky Dog Dash. And in either case, waits of 15-30 minutes are worth considering for Tower of Terror and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Hollywood Studios Standard (Pre-Closure) Rope Drop
The best way to maximize your enjoyment at any Disney World theme park is to combine a good Walt Disney World FastPass+ strategy with a good rope drop strategy. (Okay. Well Hollywood Studios might be an exception, as we’ll discuss.)
In our Hollywood Studios FastPass+ Strategy post, we cover how to use FastPass+ to skip the lines at Hollywood Studios. In this post, we cover how to handle rope drop—the very beginning hours following opening—at Hollywood Studios. We cover what time to arrive, what you’ll see when you get there, and which rides to visit first!
We have a full, one-day itinerary that covers a full day at Hollywood Studios. We also recommend checking our most recent trip report to see if we’ve provided any updates and just to see how this strategy is holding up. And if you’re more night owl than earlier riser, you might want to consider Hollywood Studios After Hours.
In addition to this post, you’ll want to read our post covering How to Ride Rise of the Resistance. Because of the unique “Boarding Pass” system currently used by Rise, it isn’t a part of the traditional rope drop process.
What time does Hollywood Studios open?
Hollywood Studios opening times vary on a day-to-day basis, with openings of 8AM and 9AM being most common. You should check the Disney World website or My Disney Experience app for the scheduled opening times for your visit. But also keep reading…
What is “rope drop”?
Rope drop refers to the actual—as opposed to scheduled—opening of the park. Depending on the precise protocols at a park on a day, Cast Members may actually have a rope up cutting off people from the park which is dropped when the park opens.
An actual rope being used at Magic Kingdom (the park no longer follows this protocol)
What time is rope drop at Hollywood Studios?
Rope drop at Hollywood Studios often occurs before the scheduled time the park is open. Park hours vary at Hollywood Studios, and special events may impact whether you (or other guests) can enter the park early or stay late.
The exact series of events can vary on a day-by-day basis, but typically there are three times to know: turnstile open, rope drop, and scheduled park open.
The earliest time is when the turnstiles open and guests are let into the park. Turnstiles at Hollywood Studios usually open 60 minutes prior to the time the park is scheduled to open.
Once the turnstiles open. Guests are allowed into the park and held at four points.
Guests going to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror are held on Sunset Boulevard (the street that ends at these rides). I don’t have a photo of this, but it tends to be a very small crowd and these rides are morning priorities for most guests.
Guests going to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will walk straight (with no turns) from the entrance of the park into a line for the ride, which is itself at the end of the street you’re on when you enter the park. A line is built in the courtyard in front of the ride.
Guests going to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run are held just outside the Grand Avenue entrance to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Guests going to Slinky Dog Dash are held along the entrance to Toy Story Land, not quite all the way to the rides.
Guests going anywhere else will just pick which of these holding points is most convenient, or there might be a spot other than these that is the best place to wait (e.g. for Star Tours, just wait at Star Tours).
The next time to know is what is commonly referred to as “rope drop”—this is when guests are actually allowed to begin accessing the most popular rides in the park (with all the rides slowly opening by the scheduled park opening time).
In the initial days of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, that ride is opening about 15 minutes early. Given that this is such a small window any that it interferes with guests attempting to get Rise of the Resistance boarding groups, we don’t expect it to be a permanent practice.
Guests going to Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, or down Sunset Boulevard will typically have a minute or two at the time the park opens to get their boarding groups. After that minute, “rope drop” will happen and the lines/crowds will be walked to the attractions.
Finally, there is the scheduled park opening time. This is when most operational attractions are scheduled to open. Some attractions may have later openings than the bulk of the park.
All of these times can vary on a day-to-day basis. You may visit one day and not have rope drop until the scheduled park open, and then visit the next and have it dropped 30 minutes early.
So…when should I arrive at Hollywood Studios?
As of the opening of Rise of the Resistance, we are recommending arrivals between 60 minutes and 2 hours before park open, depending on your situation. You can read more about Hollywood Studios Touring with Rise of the Resistance here.
Guests planning to start with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway or Slinky Dog Dash should arrive 90 minutes early. We disfavor starting with Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, but if that’s your pick, you can push closer to 60-75 minutes early without falling too far back.
For everything else, our recommendation is to never arrive less than 30 minutes before the scheduled park open. Also, add 15 minutes to our recommended time on an ordinary weekend.
If you’re visiting on a holiday weekend (other than the last week of the year, which is entirely different altogether), you’ll want to arrive an extra 30 minutes early. To us, rope drop comes down to “better safe than sorry.” Arriving too early and walking right onto too many rides to start the day is a fine problem to have.
Oops, you arrived late and now you get to wait 105 minutes for Slinky Dog Dash.
Hollywood Studios Rope Drop Planning Overview
For the most part, this post is geared at people seeking to ride every Hollywood Studios ride in a single day. If you’re splitting up your days, you’ll have an easier time of the park and you probably won’t need to worry as much about rope drop—you might even decide to skip it.
At its core, rope drop is a counterpart to FastPass+. You have your three advance FastPass+ reservations, plus maybe a few rides you can count on getting same-day FastPass+, and you use rope drop to visit the other rides.
If you don’t have advance FastPass+ this post is still helpful (and arguably more important), but your decision tree will be a little different. You might have to skip some rides, and I’d also note that Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster both have single rider lines.
Should I Skip Rope Drop At Hollywood Studios?
This question has come up a lot as Rise of the Resistance boarding groups have brought peak crowds to Hollywood Studios in the morning. As a result, waits for the most popular rides often peak right at open and then drop throughout the day.
If you have no interest in a Rise of the Resistance boarding group, you can skip rope drop at Hollywood Studios, particularly if you can otherwise make multiple visits to the park.
If you want a Rise of the Resistance boarding group but will have multiple days of visits, you can arrive for rope drop but get a little creative, maybe focusing primarily on less popular rides that start the day with short waits.
But if, like most guests, you’re planning to have a Rise of the Resistance boarding group and planning a single, full day at the park, then you need to know how to make the most of the first few hours of the day.
Breaking Down the Rides
There are nine rides at Hollywood Studios, and for the purposes of this post they break down as follows (we go into much more detail about these groups next).
Need to get a boarding group. To ride Rise of the Resistance, you need a boarding group. This is separate from rope drop, but very relevant to which ride you rope drop, as we don’t advise winding up inside the Runaway Railway building or on a ride when boarding groups open.
Tier 1 FastPass+. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway are Tier 1 FastPass+ rides. You hopefully have a FastPass+ for one of them and you’ll be starting with one of the other two.
Important Tier 2 FastPass+. Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster are the Tier 2 rides that get significant waits. Hopefully you have FastPass+ for two of these, and you’ll target the third early.
Find time for it later. Alien Swirling Saucers and Star Tours aren’t relevant to rope drop anymore. Yes, you might walk by Alien Swirling Saucers with a five minute wait at some point, or see that in the app, but you’ll also see it jump from 5 to 40 in an instant.
Both of these rides have shorter waits later in the day and the best same-day FastPass+ availability in the park (which is sometimes still not much). Alien Swirling Saucers also just isn’t good enough for you to care about it early in the morning, in our opinion.
What To Expect
There was a time when you could ride every Hollywood Studios ride within about two hours of park opening, sometimes without FastPass+. Those days are long gone.
Now, we’re finding a reasonable morning goal is to be off three rides—the two Tier 1s you don’t have FastPass+ for and the important Tier 2 you don’t have FastPass+ for, for example—within three hours of the park opening.
That figure is a bit depressing, but I want to highlight a few things. First, you definitely can get more than three rides in, they just might not be major rides.
If you were the first person on Runaway Railway, you could probably ride Runaway Railway, Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, Star Tours, and Tower of Terror in the first three hours. That would leave you Slinky Dog Dash, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (plus your Rise of the Resistance boarding group) for the rest of the day.
That’s definitely manageable, two of those have single rider lines, and maybe you have a FastPass+ or two.
Part of the reason I like to knock out the bigger rides earlier is because it makes piecing together your afternoon easier. Hollywood Studios has several shows you’ll want to catch, and those are at fixed showtimes.
A 90-minute wait midday might cover a big chunk of showtimes, while two 45-minute waits will more easily fit between showtimes.
Second, as I noted above, this post is based on moderate to heavy crowds. If you have lighter crowds, you’ll accomplish more in the first three hours.
Finally, it stinks to wait in line, but you still wind up with a fine day at the park overall. It’s a slow morning, but once you’re done with that and focused on FastPass+ and shows, your day moves smoothly.
Picking Which Hollywood Studios Ride To Rope Drop
For everyone looking at a single day plan, or for people who’d like to have two as-full days as possible, the first question is what FastPass+ reservations you have. Particularly—what Tier 1 FastPass+ reservation do you have?
The current Tier 1 rides at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. You can (and should) book one of these with a Tier 1 FastPass+ in advance. That leaves you two to cover the rest of the day.
We’ll explain how to pick which of those two to visit at rope drop, but we’ll be assuming you can arrive as early as we recommend. If you arrive late, or if you arrive “on time” but crowds are shockingly high, you might change plans.
If you have a Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway FastPass+, start with Slinky Dog Dash. The three tier 1 rides are more of less even in terms of wait time throughout the day, but Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has a single rider line, which is a good backup plan if standby doesn’t quite fit into your day.
Moreover, rope drop for Smugglers Run is very time consuming and takes you to a remote area of the park, where you’re farther from the rides that are best to head to for your second and third rides of the day.
If you have a Smugglers Run FastPass+, start with Slinky Dog Dash…probably. This might be a tad surprising to hear, so let’s elaborate.
First, Runaway Railway is mostly matching, but not clearly exceeding, Slinky Dog Dash and Smugglers Run in wait times throughout the day. So if you’re just trying to save the shortest wait for later, there’s no obvious best pick.
Second, Runaway Railway has been opening early which is…complicated. This is why I said “probably” above. If you need a Rise of the Resistance boarding group we do not recommend rope dropping Runaway Railway. You might wind up inside with bad reception or even on the ride at the time boarding groups open.
By contrast, Slinky Dog Dash and Smugglers Run both hold their guests outside until after boarding groups have been dispersed, giving these guests an easier time getting the groups.
If you didn’t need a Rise of the Resistance boarding group, you could reasonably pick Runaway Railway to start with. Arrive early enough and you can be off even before the park technically opens, and you’ll have a few minutes advantage heading to your next ride.
If you have a Slinky Dog Dash FastPass+, start with Runaway Railway…but mind your risk. We actually tested these side by side one day, and even though it’s more popular, Runaway Railway was faster for getting to your second ride than Smugglers Run.
This was true even when we were outside the Runaway Railway building when boarding groups for Rise of the Resistance opened.
The reasons for this are twofold. First, Railway has been operating early, meaning by the time opening rolls around, it’s already cut through some of its line while Smugglers Run hasn’t.
Second, Smugglers Run requires a pretty long walk to the ride once it starts operating. So even if Railway waited until open to start operating, it would have a few minutes advantage because guests start lined up right outside it.
Of course, when you’re rope dropping Runaway Railway, don’t enter the building if you need a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. Reception in there is spotty or you might wind up on the ride.
We’ve seen Cast Members allow people to step to a space to the side right at the entrance, but this doesn’t seem to be officially endorsed. In any case you’ll just want to let people pass you and enter the building after you have your boarding group.
Not what you want to see when trying to join a boarding group.
Picking Your Second Ride
The big decision for your second ride is whether to get “clever” and go to a Tier 2 ride or to just use “brute force” and go to the other Tier 1 you need.
To start with, if your Rise boarding group is in the first quarter of the “guaranteed” groups for the day, don’t get in a line longer than 90 minutes.
The boarding status screen in the app tells you what number backup boarding groups start, 63 in the below screenshot:
If you were in groups 1-16 this day, you don’t want to get into line for a 2.5 hour wait, have your boarding group get called (usually 2-hour window to return, but can be 1 hour), and then possibly have to leave the line to use your boarding group.
If your boarding group is later, you have more flexibility, and I think you should still use that flexibility to ride a Tier 2 ride, rather than a long Tier 1 wait.
Hopefully you have FastPass+ for two of the three important Tier 2 FastPass+ rides (Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster), and you can pick the third for your second ride.
If you have to choose, it will usually make sense just to pick Toy Story Mania since it tends to have the shortest wait and is the shortest walk from the Tier 1 rides.
Keep in mind that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has a single rider line, so if you’re willing to use that you don’t have to rush to it to start the day.
Tier 1 waits at Hollywood Studios really only drop from the start of the day now. So heading to one second won’t make much sense. Better to take a shorter Tier 2 ride and maybe you get off quickly enough to visit another short Tier 2 ride.
If you settle for the Tier 1, you’re basically betting that the Tier 2 waits won’t get worse across the board, but most days you’ll be off your first ride with the Tier 1 rides at their peak waits and the Tier 2 rides still below their peak waits.
Finally, if it’s important for your child to do Jedi Training, sign up after your first ride. We discuss this a bit more below, but the trainings do still fill up, but usually not until a few hours into the day.
If this is a must-do, you might prioritize it ahead of the rope drop rides altogether, as you can always wait for any ride you miss—once you miss signing up for Jedi Training, that’s basically it (unless someone no shows and you get picked as an alternate).
Third Ride and Beyond
If you had no FastPass+, I’d probably recommend going with whatever important Tier 2 ride has the shortest wait. You could knock out a Tier 1 if it had relatively short wait (something comparable to the Tier 2 rides).
We recommend saving Star Tours and Alien Swirling Saucers until after your first three rides unless the park has very low crowds.
Your third ride should carry you until about three hours into the day, at which point you can pick up our one-day Hollywood Studios Itinerary.
Summary: Our Hollywood Studios Rope Drop Priority List:
Here’s our suggested Hollywood Studios rope drop ride priority:
First Ride:
If you have Slinky Dog Dash FastPass+ — Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
If you don’t have Slinky Dog Dash FastPass+ — Slinky Dog Dash
Second Ride
Whichever Important Tier 2 FastPass+ you’re missing (Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster)
OR Shortest wait of those three if you have to choose
OR Jedi Training, if that’s important to you
Third Ride
Shortest wait of Important Tier 2 FastPass+ Rides
OR a Tier 1 ride (if wait is comparable to the Tier 2 rides)
Hollywood Studios Rope Drop Ride Specifics
In this section, we’re going to discuss the specifics of rope drop and five Hollywood Studios attractions—Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Jedi Training, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, and Slinky Dog Dash.
Rise of the Resistance Boarding Groups
As of this update, Rise of the Resistance is using boarding groups. To read more about how boarding groups impact rope drop (and everything else about them), check out our dedicated Rise of the Resistance post.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple
If you’re interested in singing your child up for Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, signups begin at Indiana Jones Outpost either as soon as guests are allowed in the park or when the park is scheduled to open.
If a Cast Member is blocking the route to signup when the park gates open, confirm with them that signup will begin at the time the park is scheduled to open. You need to have the child with you at signup.
The past few times I’ve checked, Cast Members have told me sign ups either remain open all day or are filling up a few hours into the day. This means you probably don’t have to be too zealous heading there first.
That said, it remains the case that you can always wait for a ride if you don’t head there at rope drop. If Jedi Training fills up—that’s it. If Jedi Training is a must-do, then sign up ASAP.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Rope Drop Procedure
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway rope drop is straightforward. Enter the park and head straight down Hollywood Boulevard. The sign for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is unmissable down the street.
As you go down the street, you’ll see people peeling off to other rides (that we’ll cover next). Sunset Boulevard rides to the right, then Toy Story Land to the right, then Galaxy’s Edge to the left.
In between the groups going to Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge is a sign for the end of the Runaway Railway line. You get in that line and…that’s the end of rope drop. Once the ride opens the line will move and you’ll get on it.
Slinky Dog Dash Rope Drop Procedure
Guests hoping to ride Slinky Dog Dash will start by heading toward Toy Story Land. Head down Hollywood Boulevard upon entering the park, and you’ll first pass the Sunset Boulevard guests on your right (going to Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster).
Near the hub of the park, you’ll see a sign pointing to the right toward Toy Story Land (above). You’ll be heading through the big gate and then taking a left, followed by a right into the land.
Somewhere around here, you’ll be held up in a crowd until rope drop. Once the crowd starts to move toward the ride, you’ll see some people pushing and shoving to gain ground, but it’s a short enough walk that there’s really no need to worry about getting passed by a few people.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Rope Drop Procedure
To start with Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, head down Hollywood Boulevard until it ends and then go left, past the Hyperion Theater (where the Frozen Sing Along is), toward Star Tours.
At Star Tours you’ll turn right, where you’ll see the crowd building outside the Grand Avenue entrance to Galaxy’s Edge.
You’ll be held in this crowd until rope drop, at which point the long walk to Smugglers Run will begin.
While the walk is long and some people will run and pass you, there’s much less chaos than the early days of the ride. You can move along at a pace you feel appropriate (if you’re getting passed a ton, then speed up).
Eventually the crowd will converge into a line, and you’ll follow that onto the ride.
Once you’re done with Smugglers Run, you’ll head back past the TIE Echelon and through the exit into Toy Story Land. Your second ride is probably there (either Toy Story Mania or Slinky Dog Dash), but if you’re heading to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway or down Sunset Boulevard, you’ll have a longer walk.
Example Rope Drop Schedules for Hollywood Studios
In this section, we put some of our most recent examples of rope drop from Hollywood Studios. We’ll start with a 90-minute early where we targeted two Tier 1 rides (Runaway Railway and Slinky Dog Dash) back to back:
6:17AM Lyft Pickup
6:29AM Arrive At Hollywood Studios
7:02AM Gates Open / In line for Runaway Railway
7:45AM Runaway Railway Starts Operating
8AM Fail to get Rise of the Resistance Boarding Pass from inside Railway building (!)
8:07 Board Runaway Railway
9:43 Board Slinky Dog Dash (wait was posted 120 minutes)
10:59 Board Toy Story Mania
Here’s a morning where we compared Runaway Railway with Smugglers Run:
6:42 First bus pickup at Gran Destino Tower
6:52 Arrive at Hollywood Studios
7:01 Gates open
To Millennium Falcon
8AM Get Rise Boarding Group
8:01 Begin walk to Smugglers Run
8:24 on Smugglers Run
8:35 in Toy Story Land
To Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway
7:49 Line moves (ride operating?)
8AM (Didn’t try to get Rise Boarding Group, but could have as I was outside building)
8:14 on Runaway Railway
8:27 in Toy Story Land
And here’s a day with a slightly later arrival starting with Slinky Dog Dash:
6:44 First. bus pickup at Animal Kingdom Lodge
7:01 arrive at Hollywood Studios (Gates open)
8AM (Didn’t try to get Rise boarding group)
8:29AM on Slinky Dog Dash
Hollywood Studios Rope Drop — Special Cases
There are a few special instances of rope drop that need to be covered.
Morning Extra Magic Hours (EMH)
Temporary Note: Morning EMH has been temporarily suspended in the early days of Rise of the Resistance. Follow our post on riding Rise of the Resistance for the latest.
One of the perks of staying at a Disney hotel is access to Extra Magic Hours (EMH). That means there is usually one day a week where Disney hotel guests will have an hour (or more) of exclusive access to Hollywood Studios before other guests can access the park.
If you have access to Morning EMH, just follow this strategy using the start of EMH as the park opening time. You can push our times by about 15 or even 30 minutes because things don’t move as quickly before EMH, but we usually stick with our strategy.
If you do not have Morning EMH, you should not be planning on using rope drop as part of your Hollywood Studios strategy. Waits will be too long for rope drop to be of any real use. Generally, we recommend guests without EMH do not visit Hollywood Studios on a morning EMH day.
Early Morning Magic
Temporary Note: Early Morning Magic has not occurred since the opening of Galaxy’s Edge.
Early Morning Magic is a paid event that allows guests access to Toy Story Land before the park opens (it typically comes with breakfast at one of Hollywood Studios’ quick service restaurants). If you have Early Morning Magic, just arrive at the start of the event or 15 minutes early. Your rope drop won’t really matter, and you’ll want to head to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror when regular rope drop occurs.
If you do not have Early Morning Magic, you can still visit Hollywood Studios for rope drop, but you’ll have some challenges. The guests already in the park aren’t the problem—there’s actually very few of them and they’ll want nothing to do with rope drop.
Guests with Early Morning Magic (left) are happier to take pictures of rope drop than to participate in it.
The problem is the delay in rope drop. Because guests of Early Morning Magic are paying for exclusive access to Toy Story Land, rope drop occurs very close to the scheduled park opening. This means there will be more people in the park (because most people arrive around the time the park is scheduled to open) for rope drop.
As an example, I recently visited for rope drop on an Early Morning Magic day. I was one of the first regular guests on Slinky Dog Dash at 8:59AM for a 9AM open, but I wasn’t able to get on to Toy Story Mania until 9:29AM. By the time I was off Toy Story Mania, all the remaining major waits were 40 to 50 minutes.
As you can see, whether you have FastPass+ or not at Hollywood Studios, it isn’t hard to put together a great morning with good rope drop strategy!
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And at 180 days out it's time to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World FastPass+ strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom FastPass, Epcot FastPass, Animal Kingdom FastPass, and Hollywood Studios FastPass.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.