Is Slinky Dog Dash really 60min waits at opening?

rg35

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 26, 2012
This is what touring plan reports, at least.

My 60 day window opened up on Saturday and there were no fastpasses for SDD. For various reasons DHS is the first park we are doing on this year's trip, so I assumed availability would be a challenge but I didn't expect there to be none left at all. Even though it's a new attraction, there doesn't seem to be very much that's special about it.

In any case, no matter where I drag SDD in a touring plan, it appears to be a roughly 60 minute wait no matter what time of day, which also surprised me (I assumed that waits would grow as the day wore on but this doesn't seem to be the case). Are people getting to DHS significantly earlier than park opening to run over to SDD? Do we have a 7DMT / FOP situation here, or is it more sane?
 
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I'm wondering the same thing. I got a FP but it's a late one and will possibly interfere with Fantasmic, so I was considering rope dropping it.
 
Yes, we were there 2 weeks ago. Were through the gates and waiting around 0815 for an 0900 opening. At about 0850 they started letting people back. Now, we didn't run or push our way to the front but when we got back there at 0901 the wait was 75 minutes and it remained as such all day. I would say get there early and be at the front of the pack then briskly walk back.
 
Yes or longer. The problem is EVERYONE that rope drops DHS rushes a single ride.

This is the line at 9:03 am. ALL the way back to the animation courtyard. There is usually a CM with a sign directly in front of the Little Mermaid gift shop with a sign that says "75 mins from this point"(that seems optimistic to me).

Luckily we were leaving an EMM at that time at not trying to get in that line.

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Reports are saying that the demand is lower than something like Mine Train or Flight of Passage, but the in-park rope drop execution is less well-organized. So yes, to avoid waiting 60+ minutes in the queue line for Slinky Dog Dash, the recommendation is to arrive at the tapstyles 45-60 minutes before the park opens to be ahead of the pack. You are basically going to wait 60+ minutes either way, though, so its your call.

Another popular suggestion is to ride last thing at the end of the night, and you might find a shorter wait, closer to 30-45 minutes. But I wouldn't want to miss Fantasmic or the Star Wars Fireworks to ride Slinky Dog Dash - so that option doesn't really work for us.
 


Anyone know if it is better, about the same, or worse when you arrive for 8am EMH? We are planning to be there by 7:30 but can do it earlier if need be.
 
I couldn't get a Fastpass for my preferred day as well. We're doing a three way split trip, Disney world for a number of days, Vero Beach for 3 days to relax and back to Disney after Vero. robably won't do that anymore due to the crazy way Disney is setting up the ticket expiration dates. In order for us to be able to be a park on our last day in Orlando, I had to buy 8 day tickets when we really only needed 6 days. So be it. I was able to score FP for SDD the day we drive to Vero Beach. So I guess it will work out, as we will use one of our "throw-away" tickets, go into Hollywood Studios around noon, after checking out, go to SDD, and leave. If we're going to lose a ticket anyway, may as well just use, even if only for one ride. :)
 
It completely depends how far back in the pack you are. I rope dropped it and was on the ride in 5 minutes. My guess is someone on line 2 minutes later than me waited 60 minutes. Technically, the line is zero "at opening". But it will build from zero to about 90 minutes over the course of just a few minutes.
 
Did rope drop for for Slinky Dog on May 30th. Arrived at 7:30 and was about 10 people back at the tapstiles. They started letting people in at about 7:45. I immediately moved quickly up to the "rope" by the Trolley Car Cafe. I was able to line up only 1-2 people back from the front. By 8:00 the crowd had grown dramatically, and by 8:30, I couldn't see the back. At about 8:40, they started walking people back to Toy Story Land. They walked very slowly, and I kept up with the front of the pack. The crowd was not too pushy until right before we got to Slinky Dog, and then it wasn't too bad. I was on one of the first trains. I then went to Alien Swirling Saucers and rode with no wait. I then left Toy Story Land at 8:55. By then the wait was 75 minutes, and the line was past One Man's Dream.
 
Anyone know if it is better, about the same, or worse when you arrive for 8am EMH? We are planning to be there by 7:30 but can do it earlier if need be.

It really doesn't matter if it's EMH or not. We've been getting to the park an hour before opening regardless if it's EMH. So if EMH is 8am, then we will be there at 7am. We've pretty much had this strategy at DHS and AK since TSL and Pandora opened. But we love doing rope drop and part of the excitement for us.
 
It really doesn't matter if it's EMH or not. We've been getting to the park an hour before opening regardless if it's EMH. So if EMH is 8am, then we will be there at 7am. We've pretty much had this strategy at DHS and AK since TSL and Pandora opened. But we love doing rope drop and part of the excitement for us.

Thanks! We love rope dropping too. We are a family of very early risers, even on our WDW trips. We will plan to be there by 7:00. Thanks again!
 
Anyone know if it is better, about the same, or worse when you arrive for 8am EMH? We are planning to be there by 7:30 but can do it earlier if need be.

It's just as bad for EMH as any other morning. So many resorts now are eligible that the headliners everyone rushes for are packed. The only difference is park that has an emh will be busier all day. You still need to follow the same procedure regardless. 30 minutes before opening will get you at the back of the pack.
 
Yes, we were there 2 weeks ago. Were through the gates and waiting around 0815 for an 0900 opening. At about 0850 they started letting people back. Now, we didn't run or push our way to the front but when we got back there at 0901 the wait was 75 minutes and it remained as such all day. I would say get there early and be at the front of the pack then briskly walk back.

Did you ride it and how long did you wait? I hear such positive things about rope drop but we dried to rope drop SDD last year and my youngest got crushed by the crowds. It is overly dramatic to say I go to pick her up and run with her but not that far off :-). We never got on. It broke down
 
I've rope dropped most of the headliners, if not all of them, in the last several years and slinky dog is the one that is the most frustrating because it just doesn't load incredibly quickly so the line is over an hour in minutes. It is the only ride that I use the park close strategy on, I did this last week and waited maybe 20 minutes. I did standby of swirling saucers, FP TSMM, went to Brown Derby Lounge for dinner and around 8:30 I made my way back to TSL. The land felt empty especially compared to an hour earlier when I left to get dinner. I walked around and took a few pictures and then got in line for SDD. I had to walk through the queue a good ways before I got to the end of the line and it only took longer because I was a single rider in a line filled with 2 and 4 person parties.
 
If we don't want to ride SDD, but go to TSMM or AS2, would we walk around that line? Haven't been to DHS since Toy Story Land opened! Thanks
 
SDD, you want to be at the tapstyles an hour before park opening to be toward the front.
Last time we did RD, we were on the 3rd train. Got off, did AS2 and TSMM. Walk out of TSL at 9:10 and the line was down Pixar Place.
Your other option is to get in line close to closing. We did that last time and waited under 15 minutes.
 
I believe it. The ride for FOP actually decreased from 120 to 110 around noon when I was there last fall. In situations where it's almost impossible to get a short wait at rope drop, and the line immediately builds and doesn't let up all day, I ride in the mid-afternoon. I use the morning to get short lines for everything else.
 

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