My experience waiting for Slinky Dog last night! Sept 8th

[holden]

in case anyone is interested...we got into line last night at 8:08 (park closed at 8:30). The sign said 60 minutes, but our total wait time was 42 minutes. We LOVED the ride! It’s so much fun! I’d rank it below RNR and EE in intensity but higher than 7DMT and BTMRR. I’d say it’s similar in intensity to SM.

There is hope for those of you who can’t get FP+ to still ride Slinky!

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

Thanks for sharing your experience!! This morning was my 60+ and I couldn't get anything for SDD, so I took MM and we'll try to do SDD at rope drop during EMH. I struck out everywhere. This is our 3rd trip since Oct 2017 and this was the first time I couldn't easily get everything I wanted. Makes a little anxious about the crowd levels!

 

[bizeemom4]

I rode it for the first time on Friday. I refreshed the app for about half an hour until I got a FP. It was great. I would say it’s less intense than BTMR but that’s just me. Anyone familiar with Hersheypark would know what I mean when I say it’s a zippier Trailblazer.

 

[Delirium]

Thanks for sharing your experience!! This morning was my 60+ and I couldn't get anything for SDD, so I took MM and we'll try to do SDD at rope drop during EMH. I struck out everywhere. This is our 3rd trip since Oct 2017 and this was the first time I couldn't easily get everything I wanted. Makes a little anxious about the crowd levels!

Just curious. How many days are you there for? I ask because our FP+ window opens next week and we are planning FOP and Slinky for the last two days of the trip. I expect to be able to get those, but if you're going out 6 or 7 days and having trouble, that's a concern for me.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Just curious. How many days are you there for? I ask because our FP+ window opens next week and we are planning FOP and Slinky for the last two days of the trip. I expect to be able to get those, but if you're going out 6 or 7 days and having trouble, that's a concern for me.

I'm not the OP, but I booked my FP+ last Monday for a five day trip (arrive 11/2 evening with park days 11/3-11/7). While there was no SDD availability for 60+1, there was plenty of availability at 60+5. I can't tell you what was in between because I wasn't looking for DHS on those days. I had multiple times available on FOP for 60+4. Again, not sure about the other days because I wasn't looking. Hope that helps.

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

Just curious. How many days are you there for? I ask because our FP+ window opens next week and we are planning FOP and Slinky for the last two days of the trip. I expect to be able to get those, but if you're going out 6 or 7 days and having trouble, that's a concern for me.

Our trip is Nov 8 - 14th, with 6 park days from 11/8 - 11/13. Our HS day is 11/11, which is 60+4 I guess? and there was nothing. I also checked, just for fun, on 11/13, and also couldn't get anything except 8pm. We're not doing HS that day so I skipped it, but I was surprised. I was also unable to get 7DMT for any time on 60+2, or FOP for an afternoon/evening time at 60+5. I've never had trouble in the past getting either 7DMT or FOP for my preferred dates/times, so that was frustrating. But it's all good! We'll figure it out!

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

We agree with original poster that it was more intense than BTM but less so than RNRR and EE. Lots of fun. Seemed smoother and faster than BTM but to be expected since it is new.

 

[mamaofsix]

Our trip is Nov 8 - 14th, with 6 park days from 11/8 - 11/13. Our HS day is 11/11, which is 60+4 I guess? and there was nothing. I also checked, just for fun, on 11/13, and also couldn't get anything except 8pm. We're not doing HS that day so I skipped it, but I was surprised. I was also unable to get 7DMT for any time on 60+2, or FOP for an afternoon/evening time at 60+5. I've never had trouble in the past getting either 7DMT or FOP for my preferred dates/times, so that was frustrating. But it's all good! We'll figure it out!

Yikes! We go end of November (week after Thanksgiving). Was hoping less crowds and easy to book fp's, but this makes me nervous...

 

[ClapYourHands]

Yikes! We go end of November (week after Thanksgiving). Was hoping less crowds and easy to book fp's, but this makes me nervous...

You might be okay. OP is there for the end of Jersey Week and Veteran's Day weekend. Those factors may or may not be affecting crowd levels. I think after Thanksgiving crowds usually get a bit lighter, though no guarantees.

 

[Delirium]

Our trip is Nov 8 - 14th, with 6 park days from 11/8 - 11/13. Our HS day is 11/11, which is 60+4 I guess? and there was nothing. I also checked, just for fun, on 11/13, and also couldn't get anything except 8pm. We're not doing HS that day so I skipped it, but I was surprised. I was also unable to get 7DMT for any time on 60+2, or FOP for an afternoon/evening time at 60+5. I've never had trouble in the past getting either 7DMT or FOP for my preferred dates/times, so that was frustrating. But it's all good! We'll figure it out!

Wow. This does concern me. Since you are checking in on a Thursday, I understand having less to choose from on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I would, however, have expected more availability for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday once everyone on a week-long trip from Saturday to Saturday clears out.

I'm wondering if Disney is not holding back some FP availability for the 30 day window. If so, that's unfortunate considering that being able to book at 60 days is supposed to be a perk for guests staying onsite.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Wow. This does concern me. Since you are checking in on a Thursday, I understand having less to choose from on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I would, however, have expected more availability for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday once everyone on a week-long trip from Saturday to Saturday clears out.

I'm wondering if Disney is not holding back some FP availability for the 30 day window. If so, that's unfortunate considering that being able to book at 60 days is supposed to be a perk for guests staying onsite.

Sunday 11/11 is Veteran's day, and many places have off Monday 11/12 for Veteran's Day observed. I think there might be some long-weekend guests there.

 

[Shanti]

in case anyone is interested...we got into line last night at 8:08 (park closed at 8:30). The sign said 60 minutes, but our total wait time was 42 minutes. We LOVED the ride! It’s so much fun! I’d rank it below RNR and EE in intensity but higher than 7DMT and BTMRR. I’d say it’s similar in intensity to SM.

There is hope for those of you who can’t get FP+ to still ride Slinky!

Yes, in August we had a FP for late evening (day 60+3), but also chose to ride it standby before using our FP, so we'd get to ride it twice in a row. Worked like a charm. The ride is so fun! And the queue is pleasant at night (not too hot, & in the open air) and nicely themed. We waited in line for about 70 minutes, which was close to the posted wait time.

 

[Delirium]

Sunday 11/11 is Veteran's day, and many places have off Monday 11/12 for Veteran's Day observed. I think there might be some long-weekend guests there.

Good point, but it depends on when those long-weekend guests check-in as well. If they are are checking in later in the week before, they would be facing the same challenges as the OP.

In any event, we are going Thanksgiving Week, checking in the Saturday before. And, while I fully understand that it's going to be extremely busy, I was not expecting to have a problem getting SD and FOP at the times I want for days 60+7 and 60+8.

 

[Shanti]

Wow. This does concern me. Since you are checking in on a Thursday, I understand having less to choose from on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I would, however, have expected more availability for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday once everyone on a week-long trip from Saturday to Saturday clears out.

I'm wondering if Disney is not holding back some FP availability for the 30 day window. If so, that's unfortunate considering that being able to book at 60 days is supposed to be a perk for guests staying onsite.

I don't think they hold anything back. That wouldn't make sense: holding back from your resort guests to benefit your nonresort guests. And no one has reported better FP availability at 30 days than at 60+ days. Most WDW visitors are there for a week, not just the weekend. I've never found the parks to be more crowded on weekends than they are on weekdays.

 

[NJ Goofy]

We are going late next month (21st). For FP+'s, I got FOP at 60+3 and SD2 at 60+4 without any issue. For us the new way to plan our days at each park is to get the tougher FP's and then work backwards. I guess it will really get interesting when Star Wars Land opens.

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

Update: I was not able to get FOP because... I chose Sept 12th, not Nov 12th.

I just logged in to show my hubby our plans and he pointed that out. Whooopsieeeee. I was able to get FOP not only for the day I wanted, but there were multiple times. My bad!

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

We are going late next month (21st). For FP+'s, I got FOP at 60+3 and SD2 at 60+4 without any issue. For us the new way to plan our days at each park is to get the tougher FP's and then work backwards. I guess it will really get interesting when Star Wars Land opens.

That's how I did ours this morning, I listed them in order of difficulty to obtain and worked that way. Of course, when you choose the wrong month, that kinda throws a big monkey wrench in the plan. So after reviewing, the only thing I wanted that I didn't get, was 7DMT on our first MK day, at 60+1. Not a big deal. We knew SDD would be difficult, so I took TSM instead and we'll do SDD during the morning EMH.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Update: I was not able to get FOP because... I chose Sept 12th, not Nov 12th.

I just logged in to show my hubby our plans and he pointed that out. Whooopsieeeee. I was able to get FOP not only for the day I wanted, but there were multiple times. My bad!

Yeah, doing it 3 days before rather than 63 days before will limit selection a bit!

Glad you got it all worked out. As I wrote upthread, the FP were plentiful for my trip, which is just before yours, so I was trying to figure out what made such a difference. Veteran's Day and the full NJ week crowds were all I could think of, but it still seemed odd you couldn't get anything.

Have fun!

 

[hswillia07]

Wow. This does concern me. Since you are checking in on a Thursday, I understand having less to choose from on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I would, however, have expected more availability for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday once everyone on a week-long trip from Saturday to Saturday clears out.

I'm wondering if Disney is not holding back some FP availability for the 30 day window. If so, that's unfortunate considering that being able to book at 60 days is supposed to be a perk for guests staying onsite.

I was also not able to get a FP for Slinky Dog for our the last day of our trip in October, just FYI. Fingers crossed that it works out for you!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We just did standby. A 45 min wait was 45 minutes. Glad we tried it.