HS in one day. Sooo hard! SDD at closing?

[eeyoresmom]

My family rope drops but insists on a mid day resort break. HS is so hard to do in one day with the show schedule. Normally I wouldnt stress but we are bringing 3 newbies. On our HS day the park closes at 8:30 and the Star Wars fireworks are at 9:00. The newbies have prioritized the fireworks over SDD but would love to ride it if possible. If we get in line for SDD around 8:00 do you think we will make the show?

 

[Anchored]

What do you have planned for Rope Drop? Which FP+ do you have?
I don't think you will be on and off in an hour at 8:00

I would Rope Drop slinky dog
Single Rider RNRC
FP+ for TOT, Star Tours and TSMM
Alien Saucers is not a must-do IMO
Shows don't need FP+

 

[Robo]

My family rope drops but insists on a mid day resort break. HS is so hard to do in one day with the show schedule. Normally I wouldnt stress but we are bringing 3 newbies. On our HS day the park closes at 8:30 and the Star Wars fireworks are at 9:00. The newbies have prioritized the fireworks over SDD but would love to ride it if possible. If we get in line for SDD around 8:00 do you think we will make the show?

That would be a gamble.
Determine that, when you are there, by assessing the length of the standby line (not the posted wait time.)

 

[eeyoresmom]

What do you have planned for Rope Drop? Which FP+ do you have?
I don't think you will be on and off in an hour at 8:00

I would Rope Drop slinky dog
Single Rider RNRC
FP+ for TOT, Star Tours and TSMM
Alien Saucers is not a must-do IMO
Shows don't need FP+

Our original plan was to rope drop it but there's an early morning magic event that day so I think there will already be lines. We have fast passes for ToT RnR and TSMM. I agree, no need to do the saucers.

 

[StacyStrong]

Our original plan was to rope drop it but there's an early morning magic event that day so I think there will already be lines. We have fast passes for ToT RnR and TSMM. I agree, no need to do the saucers.

EMM is like 200ish people and they*** all get the h out of dodge when the rope drop crowd ascends.

***I've been to one in December

 

[DisneyMomma930]

EMM is like 200 people and they*** all get the h out of dodge when the rope drop crowd ascends.

***I've been to one in December

I second this ^. We are doing EMM in August and plan to hightail it out of TSL before RD crowds come plowing through.

 

[DisLiss]

Do you all have to do the same things while you're in HS? Is it possible to get the newbies situated for the show and then go off to ride SDD?

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

If you are RD'ers then my suggestion would be do SDD at RD and have FP's for TSM, TOT, and RNRC which gets most of the big rides out of the way.
If you like Star Tours then you can likely get a 4th FP for it.
And maybe insist on not having a resort break but rather use your park time in such a way that mid day you do a few shows in a row so you are just sitting and relaxing.
VOTLM, Muppet Vision 3D, and the Frozen Sing Along all have decently comfortable seating to take a load off.
I only wish BATB had slightly more comfortable seats lol.
Or you could just find a kind of out of the way spot to sit and relax for 30 minutes. Even that would be less time consuming and honestly less tiring than leaving the park, making it back to your resort, and then having to make it back to the park.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Rope dropping SDD is the single worst thing you can do at Disney right now. Stick with going toward closing.

 

[monkyby87]

Rope dropping SDD is the single worst thing you can do at Disney right now. Stick with going toward closing.

SDD outside of EMM is terrible; all of the RD people head towards SDD, and Toy Story land is way too small to accommodate the number of people. It's the worst RD experience right now in my opinion. FOP may be annoying, but it's managed pretty decently.

 

[gharter]

It really depends on how crowded the park is. SDD at 8 and try to make fireworks at 9, could work.
I would RD SDD and then get a spot earlier for the fireworks since that is your friends priorities.

 

[SG131]

I got into line around 8 for SDD and was out in time to see the fireworks at the end of Feb. However, I entered that line fully accepting that I may miss the fireworks and SDD was my priority. If fireworks are the priority, do it in the morning because at 8 it will be hit or miss.

 

[elaine amj]

Also, by the time u get off SDD, won't u be too late to get a decent spot for the fireworks? It can be really hard to see the projections and they are a big part of the show

 

[Mango7100]

We were there last week and the posted wait time at park closing was 85 min. I know they will inflate wait times to discourage people from entering the line, but as we were walking off SDD 2 min before close, the line was th same length as when we entered—we ended up waiting 90 min

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

If you aren't going to RD SDD and have FP for TSMM, ToT, and RnR, then what were your plans for RD? The only rides you have left are AS2 and Star Tours (and you won't need FP for Star Tours or you can get it as a 4th FP). It seems if your plan is to RD, then that only leaves SDD. If you'd rather not deal with that (I realize the latest reviews on RD for SDD have been off-putting) then possibly skip RD, arrive a little later, and skip the mid-day break. You don't have to be at RD if there's not an attraction you want to ride at RD.

As far as going at 8 PM instead, it's a matter of priority. You may have to choose missing SDD, or missing the fireworks. If some of your party has prioritized the fireworks and the remainder of the party has prioritized SDD then you could split up accordingly. Everyone doesn't have to be together all day.

There's really no way to do it all and have a mid-day break thrown in. The show schedule does make that particularly difficult. I would consider pp's advice to use the air-conditioned shows as your mid-day break to at least save yourself the travel time. Are you trying to see some of the shows or all of them?

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I’m a stay until close person rather than rope drop. I was just there last week for Spring Break and while we didn’t close SDD we did to Navi river and 7DMT at end of day and neither line took more than 20 minutes despite being posted as 90+. That said, I was disappointed that there wasn’t enough of a break in between to see both fantasmic and the Star Wars fireworks. They were over by the time we managed to get out of the amphitheater.

 

[mamaofsix]

Just don't do a mid day break - it's that simple With so many shows to watch, you can plan to watch shows back to back all afternoon, which means you'll be sitting and relaxing anyway - just like you would at the resort. We never do a mid-day break from HS. Kids have slept easily on laps during shows, or in strollers. Even I've slept through Beauty and the Beast! lol...

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

My family rope drops but insists on a mid day resort break. HS is so hard to do in one day with the show schedule. Normally I wouldnt stress but we are bringing 3 newbies. On our HS day the park closes at 8:30 and the Star Wars fireworks are at 9:00. The newbies have prioritized the fireworks over SDD but would love to ride it if possible. If we get in line for SDD around 8:00 do you think we will make the show?

In case you haven't seen this. one day plans included.

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/hollyw...s-rope-drop-wait-times-and-fastpass-priority/

 

[princesspaigey]

Managed no mid-day break RD* to close with 2 grandparents, 7 year old, and 8 year old (one Disney newbie) at HS last week! We usually do mid-day breaks at all the other parks.

*grandparents arrived around 10, 10:30; rest of us arrived at 8 am for 9 am opening!

Here is how the day went, briefly:
Arrived a little before 8, bag check, joined crowd.
Around 8:50 led back to TSL as a giant mob lol. Walked quickly but didn't push threw and many rushed around us. Still pretty close to the front of the pack.
Was told SDD was down, but stayed in line. Most stayed in line. Watched empty carts on SDD.
9:15 or so line started moving. Road and out by 9:30-40. Definitely worth it! Second favorite ride from all of us! (Favorite is RnR for most, ToT for one; first time riding all 3 for all of us)
TSMM FP+
Aliens ride (not worth it; won't ride again unless 10 min wait or less!)
Waited for Woodie M&G that canceled due to drizzle of rain
Lunch at Sci-Fi
Indiana Jones
Star Tours FP+
ToT FP+
BotB show FP+ (4th)
RnR FP+ (5th; didn't think the girls would ride it but after loving ToT they were feeling brave! Refreshed a lot waiting for BotB and got it!)
Little Mermaid show
Muppets show
Dinner @ some counter service I forget lol
Fantastic FP+ (6th)

We also watched some of the street entertainment like marching storm troopers etc and even shopped for souvenirs.

With so many shows, we made it to close no problem.

Leaving Fantasmic was worse than RDing SDD.

We were parked close to the entrance and got out quick. Girls still stayed up until almost midnight playing with souvenirs. Next day was departure day. Slept until ~8 am before alarm, finished packing, 10:55 breakfast at Cape May, then explored Disney springs for a few hours before heading home. Just added these details to show that we weren't all dying from exhaustion. However, we only stated 3 days/2 nights with 1 park day! Hot temperatures or multiple park days would likely reduce our stamina lol.

Sorry for such a long message! Hope it helps at least a little!