Should You Rope Drop Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?

Lately, we’ve been reevaluating Rope Drop at Walt Disney World due to all the recent changes.

Three different theme parks are currently undergoing construction as Disney builds a path to its future.

The park with the biggest current mess is probably Disney’s Hollywood Studios, albeit for good reasons.

Disney stealth-dropped an announcement about a major park overhaul on the heels of other changes.

So, your typical Hollywood Studios patterns probably aren’t the best idea right now. And that raises a question.

Should you Rope Drop Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance right now? Let’s discuss the evolving park behavior.

About Hollywood Studios

From the meta perspective, what Disney’s changing at Hollywood Studios isn’t a big deal.

Obviously, the closure of Muppet*Vision 3D hurt the hearts of many diehard fans like me.

Realistically, Muppets Courtyard needed to go, though. It simply wasn’t a draw.

This area contained, objectively, the worst Quick Service restaurant, PizzeRizzo.

Even worse, it arguably hosted the worst Table Service restaurant, Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano.

In combination with Muppet*Vision 3D typically requiring a maximum of a ten-minute wait, the place wasn’t a draw.

While everyone was paying attention to this area, Disney did something sneaky.

Management brought back beloved Disney Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure.

Whether that attraction was a trial run or not – and I suspect it was – the new show led to something bolder.

Disney announced that it would close Animation Courtyard and re-theme it as The Walt Disney Studios.

As part of the process, Imagineers will create a new take on an older concept.

Until 2015, guests could visit The Magic of Disney Animation, and we will again in 2026!

As part of this process, Star Wars Launch Bay will close, meaning that The Little Mermaid show was the start of a new themed land.

So, we’re getting two at Hollywood Studios over the next 24 months, which is beyond exciting.

In the interim, you’ll encounter construction at the former Animation Courtyard and Muppets Courtyard.

Well, Disney has blocked off the latter area with planters, and we’re waiting to see how management handles traffic flow at the former.

In case you’ve forgotten, that’s pretty much the center of the park, at least in terms of traffic flow.

So, you’ll probably take some different paths at Hollywood Studios for the foreseeable future.

Let’s Talk Rope Drop

I wrote this article a little over three months ago, and it’s already a bit outdated.

At the time, I knew about Muppets Courtyard, but Animation Courtyard was a bit of a surprise.

Depending on how Disney approaches construction, some will want to avoid this area for a while.

Since The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure is barely ten weeks old, I’m confident that’s not the right approach, though.

Disney’s gonna tear down an archway and re-theme a building, along with some other stuff.

Presumably, Imagineers will adopt a modular approach, allowing guests to explore the area as usual.

Just in case, I’m adjusting tactics, though. For the time being, I would suggest one modest change.

Historically, when I discuss Rope Drop at Hollywood Studios, I suggest that people do one of four things.

The first one is that you stop at Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, one of the park’s best rides.

Nothing gets you in the mood for a park day like spending a few minutes with Mickey & Minnie Mouse.

Alas, this area resides close enough to Animation Courtyard that it may be a bit chaotic in the mornings.

To be clear, I doubt this is an all-day issue, just when less-informed tourists arrive in the morning.

They’ll quickly notice what’s happening at Animation Courtyard, but it could create bottlenecks.

So, that leaves you with three other options, all of which make at least some sense.

What Are the Top Three Rope Drop Options?

One day soon, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will close. Disney will re-theme it with The Muppets.

When that happens, you’ll have one less reason to visit Sunset Boulevard.

Until then, this area remains a viable Rope Drop option, though. You can actually do three attractions here.

Remember that Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After now resides in the former Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy building.

So, you can start the day with Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and/or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and then catch the new show.

You’ll accomplish a lot at Rope Drop with this strategy, but it’s not the preferred option for most people.

Since everyone knows the park’s two most popular rides, that’s where they generally go in the morning.

The first spot is Slinky Dog Dash at Toy Story Land, which typically requires a wait of 75 minutes or so.

When you Rope Drop Toy Story Land, you can do all three attractions here in a couple of hours.

The options in the area are Toy Story Mania! and Alien Swirling Saucers, attractions with more modest crowds.

So, again, you can achieve a lot early in the morning when you Rope Drop at Toy Story Land.

The catch is that you’re not really targeting the park’s most popular ride, which is the whole point of Rope Drop.

You’ll find the alpha of Hollywood Studios at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is right next door.

Ostensibly, this leads to the strategy of starting at Toy Story Land and then heading to Galaxy’s Edge afterward.

The problem here is that you’re probably thinking you’ll visit Galaxy’s Edge once the crowds shrink.

Alas, the crowds NEVER die down at Galaxy’s Edge. People love Star Wars too much for that.

Should You Rope Drop Rise of the Resistance?

The primary selling point of Galaxy’s Edge is its immersive theming, which redefines Imagineering excellence.

A close second is the best attraction in this themed land, which is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

This is probably THE most Rope Dropped attraction at Hollywood Studios, which is the problem.

When you choose to start your day here, you’re following the herd, which isn’t ideal.

In a perfect world, your Rope Drop strategy would allow you to avoid the mob.

Alas, that’s impossible at Hollywood Studios, though, as this park is overflowing with E-ticket attractions.

So, you might as well pick the best one, and that’s Rise of the Resistance.

Presuming that you’re in the park the instant it opens, you should cut your expected wait time in half here.

That’s probably a savings of 30-45 minutes, depending on the date.

While that may not sound like much, it makes a huge difference during your visit.

Basically, you can head over to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run afterward.

When you Rope Drop effectively, you can experience both attractions in the same time Rise of the Resistance usually takes on its own.

So, even though I’m more of a Tower of Terror Rope Drop fan, I still recommend Rise of the Resistance to you.

The one caveat is that if you’re using Early Theme Park Entry, your day could go sideways.

Rise of the Resistance doesn’t always open when expected during Early Theme Park Entry.

When that happens, the line stacks, which can negate all the value of Rope Drop.

Please be alert to this possibility. You can track it on My Disney Experience while waiting to Rope Drop.

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