Seven Tips for Dealing with Rope Drop & Toy Story Mania

[homeschool mom]

We did all those 7 things on our first trip to DHS after Toy Story Mania opened and we were able to ride twice the first hour there.

[Meteora]

Just wanted to say we used these tips this morning, which was officially the start of pre-Easter week. We got to the park at about 8:30 and moved to the far right of "the mob." The park opened 10 minutes early, and by 9 am we were riding TSM, having breezed through the line. Amazing!
Thanks so much, Intercotees! Couldn't have done it without you.

[Gregandmel]

Out of curiosity - if our group decides to head straight to ToT & RNRC first instead of TSM, if I return to TSM in about an hour - do you think the huge "FP" group will be gone (meaning I won't have to stand in line for 30 minutes trying to get a FP?). We will be there on a Sunday at the end of April and there is NO Fantasmic showing that day OR EMH's in the am or pm. Hopefully if we wait until around 10am or so to get our FP, the return time won't be too awful. Thoughts anyone?

[KatieN]

When we were there a week or so ago, we intended to get to HS for rope drop, but that just didn't happen. We got to TSM and got in line at 9:10, and the standby wait was already an hour, but the FP lines were so crazy we decided to just go ahead with standby. Since we had never done TSM before, the queue theming was interesting enough that the time really passed quickly, and it was worth it.

By the time we got off the ride, it was about 10:30, and the mob at the FP machines was gone (no lines at all). We went ahead and got FPs then with a return time of 4:30.

So, this whole story is to say that if you get over to TSM around 10:00, you should still be able to get FPs but they will be for later in the afternoon/early evening. If you plan to stay at HS most of the day, this shouldn't be a problem for you. Hope that helps!

Katie

[MNNHFLTX]

Out of curiosity - if our group decides to head straight to ToT & RNRC first instead of TSM, if I return to TSM in about an hour - do you think the huge "FP" group will be gone (meaning I won't have to stand in line for 30 minutes trying to get a FP?). We will be there on a Sunday at the end of April and there is NO Fantasmic showing that day OR EMH's in the am or pm. Hopefully if we wait until around 10am or so to get our FP, the return time won't be too awful. Thoughts anyone?

The queus at the Fast Pass machines will probably be gone if you come back at 10 a.m. or so. If you don't mind getting a Fast Pass for 3 p.m. or later, then that is a good option.

[Gregandmel]

The queus at the Fast Pass machines will probably be gone if you come back at 10 a.m. or so. If you don't mind getting a Fast Pass for 3 p.m. or later, then that is a good option.

Thanks Beth. I think that's what we'll end up doing then. We'll be there most of the day and don't mind waiting - I just don't want to start our day off with "the Mob" - LOL.

[MaxPower]

With the addition this month of the new Rex game - expect even longer lines at Toy Story Mania as the Florida regulars and Cast Members will be riding to check out something new.

My advice is to get to the Hollywood Studios first thing in the morning, ride twice in the first hour and never have to worry about a long wait.

[Fastpasssteve]

Thank you for providing such detailed instructions. A good strategy is so important...especially during busy times.

[Figment52]

In the past, we've always gone to ToT and RnRC first. Gotten a FP for one, and then gotten in the standby line for the other. How does this mob rush to TSM affect the lines for those two?

If we follow this plan to do TSM first, will the lines for ToT and RnRC be long by the time we get over there? And how soon can we get a FP for either ToT and RnRC if we've gotten one for TSM first?

The last trip, we ended up at TSM after the other two (about 10-11am) and the FP return was about 5pm that day. We really would like to do TSM, but without waiting around all day in a park we're normally done with by 3pm.

[MaxPower]

When we go to Toy Story Mania using this plan- we always make sure that we are one of the first ones at the front of the mob.

This way, within two minutes of arriving at Toy Story Mania, we get our Fast Passes ( which we use one hour later). With Fast Passes in hand, we proceed directly through the standby line and get onto the ride with no wait .

After we exit the ride, we always go over to Rock N Roller Coaster. It is still very early at this point- the park has usually been open for about 15 mins - so we get in the standby line - and our wait has never been more than five or ten minutes.

When we exit Rock N Roller Coaster, we go over to the Tower of Terror- again: a minimal wait.

After riding those two- we go back to Toy Story Mania to use our Fast Pass from earlier. Upon exiting, we get another Toy Story Mania Fast Pass for later in the day.

This way we get to ride three major attractions in the first hour- plus we have a Toy Story Mania Fast Pass for the afternoon-- well worth arrivinng early.

[MaxPower]

With the official start of the peak summer season and the addition of the new Rex and Trixie game in Toy Story Mania, cast members are reporting that the always-crowded attraction is experiencing even bigger crowds.

Get there early - it's worth it!

[SelfmadeWade]

These are great tips! Clear and very helpful.

The last time we rode Toy Story Mania, we had to wait for nearly two hours.

I will be using these tips next time!

[buzznwoodysmom]

If you plan to spend most of the day in the park the following plan has worked for us on the last several trips.

We always go toward ToT and RNRC first. We fastpass one and stand by for the other. Once we've ridden those two rides we head over and get fastpasses for TSM. Our fastpass return time is usually around 2pm. After getting our fastpasses we continue with other attractions in the park till lunch time. My family loves Sci Fi and request it on every trip and I usually try to get an ADR around 1ish so we often finish up lunch just in time for our TSM fastpass. If we've done everything else we want to do in the park we leave the park after TSM, which is around 2:30-3:00. This has worked for us since TSM opened. My family is just not fans of following the MOB.

[edhunter28]

thanks for the tips its a lot smarter than just booking it to the ride like i usually do

[MaxPower]

Here's some news:

There have been more than a small number of complaints that the Disney’s Hollywood Studios attraction Toy Story Midway Mania went down for maintenance right in the middle of summer. Not just that, but with Toy Story 3 still raking in big bucks at the box office, you would expect the attraction to be open for guests to experience a little of that synergy Disney is so famous for. So there must be a very good reason for it to be down right now.

August is technically Value Season, so the lighter crowds is a good time make some changes in the parks. Plus, with Star Tours going down in September, it’s a good plan to make any updates to the TSMM right now.

But wait? Didn’t they just add a new game? Indeed they did. And they did that overnight. This refurbishment is something more serious.

How serious? There were reports that a cast member was injured earlier in the year and this refurb is to implement changes, that is - gates, so that the same accident doesn’t occur again. They are now adding gates to the exit side of the loading dock. This will make sure that no guests or cast members could fall back into the track after the cars depart. My question is, how did Disney keep this so quiet? I don’t see anything about this injury on any boards.

The attraction is scheduled to return to operation August 28th, but check online to be sure it’s operating.

[joanna71985]

I'm pretty sure there wasn't an injury (at least, I know people who work at TSMM, and I never heard anything). However, I would guess the gates are being built to prevent anything like that from happening

[pixiesmimi]

I read before we went end of July, first of August that it was going to be closed right after we were there. We were glad it was stil open while we were there because DGDs had never been on it. It was the highlight of the day.

[disneymom2000]

Thanks for the tip. Although by the time I get there in December, everyone will have read this post and it will be a mob to the right but I hope to be able to experience it this time around.

[SelfmadeWade]

Cantgetenuf's post about Toy Story Mania this morning made me think of this thread. These tips really helped us when we went to DHS on our last trip!

[MrPeetrie]

Thank you for these great tips. We have never ridden TSM and are looking forward to it this October.

I have a question for rope-drop experts. We have never experienced a rope drop. How chaotic is it? Both my wife and DD8 hate claustrophobic crowds.