Hollywood Studios Rope Dropping Strategy: 5 Best Rides

What is Rope Dropping?

If you are heading on a Disney trip soon, you should consider being one of the first guests at the park. At Walt Disney World theme parks, Rope Dropping is the common term for arriving at a Disney Park before the park opens in order to rush (with extreme care, please) to a ride that will later have a much longer line. It's a great way to get on the most popular rides first thing without having to wait as long for them. Everybody loves a short wait for a sought after ride.

Disney currently offers Early Entry to the parks for certain Disney World Resort guests, which allows even better access to rides at Rope Drop. However, it does diminish the opportunity somewhat for guests not eligible for Early Entry time. Also, currently there are no virtual queues for anything at Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood Studios Rope Dropping

Hollywood Studios has several highly sought-after thrill rides that can have extremely long lines throughout the day. Therefore, strategizing when to hit each ride can mean the difference between standing in long lines, missing out, or getting to ride everything you want.

Below I’ll give you my opinions and reasoning for what your priority should be when it comes to your Hollywood Studios Rope Drop and Early Entry Strategy.

1. Rope Dropping Slinky Dog Dash

All things considered, I think Slinky Dog Dash is the best ride to rope drop at Hollywood Studios. It’s mid-level roller coaster in Toy Story Land that reaches speeds of 40 mph. It has great views, smooth ride, and great theming. It’s themed on the idea that Andy from Toy Story has a roller coaster toy in his backyard and Slinky Dog is the car.

My Second Daughter to the Right excited about Slinky Dog Dash

Here’s my reasoning. Slinky Dog often has enormous wait times, so avoiding those is obvious. Slinky Dog is also a great family ride. I love it as a thrill ride as an adult, but so did my daughter when she was four years old, both from a thrill and a theming standpoint.

However, it’s the negatives that make this the right rope dropping location. Slinky Dog has no air conditioning and almost no shade, either in the queue or the ride. That means that a long wait time for this ride is uniquely miserable. If you can get on it early and not wait long, you will enjoy this ride much more.

Slinky Dog, because it’s one of the only rides that’s outdoor at Hollywood Studios, is also a great ride to do at night, and therefore perfect for reverse rope dropping. Reverse Rope Dropping is when you get in line for a ride minutes before the park closes. This usually results in a short line or even walk-on experience. Slinky Dog is perfect for this, again because it’s cooler in temperature at night, but also because the darkness makes the ride more intense, and the lighting on the ride and surrounding views are beautiful at night.

2. Rope Dropping Rock N’ Roller Coaster

If you’re not going to do Slinky Dog, or you got a Lightning Lane for it, the second ride I’d recommend rope dropping is Rock N’ Rollercoaster featuring Aerosmith. This is an intense roller coaster that’s themed as a high-speed ride on a Los Angeles freeway. It’s an indoor, dark ride, and it’s the only roller coaster that goes upside down in all of Disney World.  

The entrance of Rock N’ Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith

Here’s my rationale. This is an awesome ride. You need to do it if you like thrill rides, and it can get a really long line. It’s about to reopen after refurbishment, which will result in even longer lines and possibly a better ride.

I rank it below Slinky Dog because the ride is air-conditioned, and the queue is partially air-conditioned and mostly in the shade. Therefore, it’s less miserable to wait longer for it than Slinky Dog. So, it’s not because it’s a better or worse ride, but because the line is better for waiting. However, it's a better roller coaster than anything at Magic Kingdom. I said what I said, Tron.

3. Rope Dropping Rise of the Resistance

It might surprise you to see Rise of the Resistance as third on my list. This Star Wars ride in Hollywood Studio's Galaxy's Edge is by far the most sought-after ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It can easily get lines up to 2.5 hours long on busy days. It’s a ride that follows the characters and situation (but not the plot) of the newer Star Wars movies where we are part of the Resistance who get imprisoned by the First Order and then rescued. It’s an amazing feat of theming and experience, and a decent choice for rope dropping, except for a few things.

The amazing queue at Rise of the Resistance (photo cred: Kelly Verdeck https://flic.kr/p/2ih17y3)

First, Rise of the Resistance is the only ride currently at Hollywood Studios that offers an Individual Lightning Lane purchase. This is a better choice for avoiding the line than rope dropping, and here’s why: Rise of the Resistance breaks down….a lot. If you’re in line and the ride breaks down, you’re out of luck. That could ruin your rope drop or early entry strategy. However, if you have an Individual Lightning Lane when it breaks down, you’ll be able to return at your convenience (if you talk to a ride cast member). That, combined with an air-conditioned ride, make this ride not my first choice for rope dropping, despite being the most popular ride at Hollywood Studios. If you’re not going to get an Individual Lightning Lane, then you may want to choose it, anyways.

If your ride happens to break down while you're in line, talk to cast members working the ride to see if there's anything they can do. Chances are far greater if you have an individual lightning lane, though, because that's the only way (officially) to make sure that you can get on the ride later.

4. Rope Dropping Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is a trackless ride that takes you through scenes based on the new Mickey Mouse show. It’s extremely fun and innovative. Since this is the only ride on the list without a height restriction, it moves to number one for anyone with kids who aren’t tall enough for the other rides or who have timid children.

The entrance to Runaway Railway, one of my kids’ favorite rides at Hollywood Studios.

However, if you’re not traveling with little kids, I don’t recommend it for rope dropping or early entry. Here’s why. Housed in the Chinese Theater at the center of Hollywood Studios, Mickie and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is the first attraction you come to when you walk into the park. It’s the easiest attraction at Hollywood Studios to rope drop. Unfortunately, that means that it’s a very popular rope dropping attraction. Unlike every other ride on this list, in my experience, the queue length gets progressively shorter as the day the goes on.

5. Rope Dropping Tower of Terror

My final suggestion for rope dropping or early entry is Tower of Terror. Tower of Terror is a drop ride themed on a haunted hotel that was struck by lightning. It ends with a 13 story drop that goes down faster than gravity. It’s the most intense ride at Disney World and can gather quite a crowd, so it’s a good choice for rope dropping.

First Daughter to the Right clutches my arm as I pretend I lost someone in the seat next to me.

However, I put it last on the list (but still ahead of a lot of rides not on the list) for three reasons. First, it’s not for everyone. It’s not good for small kids who might be scared of the theming or anyone scared of heights.

Second, if you ARE interested in the ride, it has the best line of all rides in Hollywood Studios (except maybe Millennium Falcon). The line is so immersive that a long wait is less painful. Finally, it’s a long way from the rest of the park, all the way down Sunset Boulevard, so it would be hard to rope drop more than one ride, except Rock N’ Roller Coaster.

Tips: ILL, Genie Plus, Air Conditioning, Rider Swap,

Rope Dropping and Early Entry are for getting in as many rides as possible and avoiding the heat in long lines. Make sure you also understand how Individual Lightning Lanes, Genie Plus, and Rider Swap work, so that your family can get in the most rides with the least amount of wait. And if the crowds aren’t bad, try to get two rides before everyone shows up.

Conclusion and Further Reading

Hopefully, this prepares you for a great time at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios for rope dropping or early theme park entry. If you can manage to get up early enough, this early entry and rope drop strategy is a great way to get a lot of the best attractions in without the heat and long lines. While I don't recommend Disney Genie Plus service for Animal Kingdom, I do recommend it for Hollywood Studios. 

I don't recommend Toy Story Mania for rope dropping because the line is relatively shorter and in the air conditioning, but if your kid loves Toy Story but not roller coasters, it's a good choice. I also didn't mention Smugglers Run because it also has a shorter wait and an amazing queue (though it can get long). Finally, get really familiar with the My Disney Experience App beforehand so that you're ready for trip.

If you want to know more about rides, Hollywood Studios, or rope dropping, check out these articles.

Scariest Rides at Disney World

Rope Dropping with Little Kids

Best Rides for Kids at Hollywood Studios

How to Use Genie Plus

Finally, if you disagree with my list, argue aggressively with me in the comments.