Rise of the Resistance rope drop (and other silly questions).

[Jaina]

We’re going next week Wednesday through Friday. (20-22). Starting at DL Weds and Fri.
I -know- this isn’t the best plan. We usually rope drop Fantasyland or Space Mountain (which will be closed) . But my husband and I are going with friends who haven’t been to Disneyland since 2017 (but have been to WDW twice since then) and our friend really wants to go to Rise first. We’re staying across the street on Harbor and should be in line for security by 7-7:10. What time do they usually open security gates right now? (I haven’t been since April, since this last year was passless for me). Can we still use Genie+ to fish for Indiana Jones lightning lanes, or has that system changed? (Actually, any tips on if Genie+ has changed in any fundamental ways since April would be awesome). Should we line up and go through Frontierland or through Critter Country? And is this a really a bad enough idea that I should propose alternate times/plans?

Also, if we want to ride RSR once non-single-rider during the trip, tips on when would be good?

Thanks! I’m so happy to get back!!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

The only issue is that Rise is often down at opening. So if it’s not up and doesn’t come up right away, you waste valuable early morning hours trying to ride it.

I often see the line for Rise drop in the later afternoon. Honestly, it’s not always unreasonable of a wait unless it’s a very busy day of if it’s down a large portion of the day and then they are pushing through all the lightning lanes.

 

[twodogs]

Lines will form early for the resort guests who are doing EE. I think the gates open around 7:20am but if you arrive at 7:10, there may be long lines to wait through. Since you won’t have EE (based on your comments), you can line up to ride ROTR at RD, but the EE folks who line up in Fantasyland will get a small lead on you. I am not sure which of the two ropes you mentioned would be best because I entered via FL. If you are a fast walker, you will still get on with a minimal wait IF the ride is operating at park open. When we were just there in late July, one day we did ROTR at RD and got right on. The other day, we raced to it but it was not operating at RD (no indication of such in the app). Since it usually takes about 45-60 minutes to reset the ride, we started to head back over there at about 8:45am, and it opened right then and we were in the first groups to get on.

Yes, you can (and should) fish for MEP with Indy at park opening! Remember to grab that LL as soon as you scan into the park. I usually am so excited to be there that I forget to grab my Indy LL for the first 10 minutes of park time! Maybe set a phone alarm to make sure you remember to do that! Read the latest fishing threads so you understand the MEP “tiers”. Also, make sure to take advantage of being able to “modify” a LL now (within a park) to an earlier or later time, or different ride. If you modify instead of cancelling a LL, you retain the original start time of the 2 hour block out (ie the block out clock does NOT reset when you modify a LL; this is a real bonus).

You can also ride RSR at RD (but again, the EE folks will be lined up inside the park ahead of you when it opens at regular park opening), and I think this is the only way to ride with a short-ish wait (other than SR or ILL$). The line seems to stay long all day long in my recent experience.

 

[pennym]

Go through Frontierland and ask a cast member at the exit of Big Thunder if Rise is open. If not, head for something else!

 

[irlandaise]

Go through Frontierland and ask a cast member at the exit of Big Thunder if Rise is open. If not, head for something else!

That's interesting. Do CMs at one attraction really have up-to-date information about the status of other attractions?

 

[Hobbes]

We are stopping at Paradise Pixar Pier Place for the final day of our vacation-I know there is a "backdoor" into DCA-do they do rope drop from there for EE guests? Or do we have to move to the front of the park and wait for Rope drop

 

[aymiewilson]

I'm interested in this question too (rope dropping Rise)! Our only Disneyland start day is next Monday (9/18), and I was thinking we could try to rope drop Rise for once. (We are planning to buy the ILL for it the day prior, when we're starting at DCA and hopping over to DL after lunch.) People in the group want to ride it twice if we can.

Is there any difference in queue length between weekend days and weekdays during a school year? I'm kind wondering if that will be helpful... since it's Monday morning y'know?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I'm interested in this question too (rope dropping Rise)! Our only Disneyland start day is next Monday (9/18), and I was thinking we could try to rope drop Rise for once. (We are planning to buy the ILL for it the day prior, when we're starting at DCA and hopping over to DL after lunch.) People in the group want to ride it twice if we can.

Is there any difference in queue length between weekend days and weekdays during a school year? I'm kind wondering if that will be helpful... since it's Monday morning y'know?

Honestly, every since covid the weekdays can be just as crowded as the weekends, sometimes more crowded! Monday are notorious for being the most crowded weekdays. The earlier you start the better your morning will be.

I remember when my third-grader was 2 and we would visit the parks on weekday mornings and they were gloriously uncrowded. We would sometimes have entire sections of the park practically to ourselves! Those days are over, sadly!

 

[pennym]

That's interesting. Do CMs at one attraction really have up-to-date information about the status of other attractions?

Yep. We used this technique after going to Rise and just waiting there for ages one day and it never opening despite waiting an hour. The next time, we just asked at BTMRR and they checked for us. It was closed, so we went on Big Thunder instead.

 

[Jaina]

I appreciate all the responses in here! I will definitely be trying for a FP on Indy (we can always choose to use it if it's up and working, right?) and they were doing tiers last time I was there, but I'll double check those as well, along with asking at Big Thunder if it's open. I don't know why this stresses me out so much! (Maybe because it's way over there in Timbuktu! ) Also, I hadn't read about the "modify" option, so that's awesome! Thanks so much, friends!

 

[chezcurrie]

I appreciate all the responses in here! I will definitely be trying for a FP on Indy (we can always choose to use it if it's up and working, right?) and they were doing tiers last time I was there, but I'll double check those as well, along with asking at Big Thunder if it's open. I don't know why this stresses me out so much! (Maybe because it's way over there in Timbuktu! ) Also, I hadn't read about the "modify" option, so that's awesome! Thanks so much, friends!

Oh yes, grab that Indy LL because it really is win-win. If it goes down you have a MEP (and then immediately book Indy again) and if it doesn’t and you get on, great! In the latter case if you still want to fish choose big thunder or Matterhorn. It won’t get you on Indy or space (not an issue this trip), but will get you on those rides.

And yes, always modify and never cancel. You can modify up to the end of your return window time. By modifying you can book a return time every 2 hrs (or earlier if you modify to earlier, then you can book one as soon as you scan into the ride.) have a great trip!!!

 

[djmeredith]

Honestly, every since covid the weekdays can be just as crowded as the weekends, sometimes more crowded! Monday are notorious for being the most crowded weekdays. The earlier you start the better your morning will be.

I remember when my third-grader was 2 and we would visit the parks on weekday mornings and they were gloriously uncrowded. We would sometimes have entire sections of the park practically to ourselves! Those days are over, sadly!

Yes! I am not a local, but was there last Sat-Mon and just told someone how shocked I was at the Monday crowds. I am almost positive it was more crowded than either weekend day.

To the original poster, I ended up with 5 or 6 multi experience passes last Sunday because several of the rides I booked went down during my LL return times.

 

[Jaina]

I love MEP's so much. They make me so happy. (Though they've been a little glitchy in the past, especially if you have to add them by scanner if a ride breaks down as you're about to get on or something.)

 

[gelatoni fan]

I advise against rope dropping Rise if you don't have early entry. It gets long very quickly and you'll be behind all the Disney hotel guests. Later in the day, the wait time drops and because it isn't on Genie+, these days, the waits actually aren't too bad. If it's open after the fireworks, you can usually get on in 30 minutes at that time. Otherwise, you can usually still find waits under an hour at certain points in the day.

If you rope drop Rise, you may still end up waiting 60-90 minutes for it.

 

[aymiewilson]

I advise against rope dropping Rise if you don't have early entry. It gets long very quickly and you'll be behind all the Disney hotel guests. Later in the day, the wait time drops and because it isn't on Genie+, these days, the waits actually aren't too bad. If it's open after the fireworks, you can usually get on in 30 minutes at that time. Otherwise, you can usually still find waits under an hour at certain points in the day.

If you rope drop Rise, you may still end up waiting 60-90 minutes for it.

Yeah... so what our group is gonna do is buy an ILL for it on Sunday so we can definitely experience it at least once. And then... if we get there at rope drop and the line for it is crazy, we will just backtrack a bit and do Haunted Mansion instead. At least... that is what the Touring Plans software told me to do. Good to know that we can also try for it after the fireworks... we'll be hopping over to DCA from dinnertime on that day, though. But maybe the night before, Sunday night, we'll be in Disneyland that night to watch Halloween Screams. We could always try then?

 

[chezcurrie]

I love MEP's so much. They make me so happy. (Though they've been a little glitchy in the past, especially if you have to add them by scanner if a ride breaks down as you're about to get on or something.)

They are great, however are no longer valid for all rides (ie fantasyland). Something to keep in mind whenever your trip is, things could have changed.

 

[coaches24]

We went for 2 days on Labor Day weekend and rope dropped ROTR. I was worried about it being down but a CM at the rope said that he hadnt heard anything about it being down to start the day that day and said that no news is good news when it comes to that, so just ask when you get to the rope. He promised to let us know if anything changed before rope drop. So lucky for us it was working. Just know that people are full out sprinting to get in line for that. I power walked and went the wrong way (I went past HM to get there, not realizing where they start the line at that time isnt actually at the que entrance) so I ended up waiting about 15-20 minutes in line which isnt bad.

But on the Sunday we were there the wait times dipped a couple of times to below 45 min so we ended up riding it again in the evening. So the wait time isnt always super long like Space and Indy can be on busy days.

The gates opened about 7:20 for an 8 am opening on both our park days. I got to the security line a little before 7 and there were only a handfull of people ahewad of me. Im a decent power walker so I ended up being 2nd in a line for DCA on a Saturday and first in a line for DL on a Sunday after security opened just for reference.

 

[Jaina]

We went for 2 days on Labor Day weekend and rope dropped ROTR. I was worried about it being down but a CM at the rope said that he hadnt heard anything about it being down to start the day that day and said that no news is good news when it comes to that, so just ask when you get to the rope. He promised to let us know if anything changed before rope drop. So lucky for us it was working. Just know that people are full out sprinting to get in line for that. I power walked and went the wrong way (I went past HM to get there, not realizing where they start the line at that time isnt actually at the que entrance) so I ended up waiting about 15-20 minutes in line which isnt bad.

But on the Sunday we were there the wait times dipped a couple of times to below 45 min so we ended up riding it again in the evening. So the wait time isnt always super long like Space and Indy can be on busy days.

The gates opened about 7:20 for an 8 am opening on both our park days. I got to the security line a little before 7 and there were only a handfull of people ahewad of me. Im a decent power walker so I ended up being 2nd in a line for DCA on a Saturday and first in a line for DL on a Sunday after security opened just for reference.

This is helpful, thank you! I have several strategies floating in my head, and we’ll see what we end up doing last minute!

 

[maleficent55]

If you have early entry and you want to start with ROTR, would you go through Fantasyland and loop around the backside of big thunder mountain? Or would you rather drop Adventureland and go on the path by hungry Bear?

 

[AstroBlasters]

I would add to the others who said it’s a high risk strategy to rope drop Rise. If it is down, which it usually is, then you are far away from other major things and have given up a significant portion of the morning “golden hour” with the trek over there.

Also, as an FYI Space Mountain does not offer single rider before 11am.