Hollywood Studios Rope Drop: What to Ride First

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror averages 15.2 minutes in the hour Hollywood Studios opens and 48.9 minutes at its midday peak. That is more than triple. Five attractions in the park follow the same pattern: cheapest right at open, worst by lunchtime. Ride those five first, and you skip most of the day's queue.

The opening-hour advantage

These five rides post their single lowest average wait of the day at 8am, the park's opening hour, and their worst average at 11am or noon:

Attraction	8am avg (min)	Worst hour	Worst-hour avg (min)	Increase
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror	15.2	12pm	48.9	222%
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway	15.5	11am	48.4	212%
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue	5	11am	11.3	126%
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets	26	12pm	57.3	120%
Toy Story Mania!	21.7	7pm	46.4	114%

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway more than triples between 8am and 11am, and it sits right on Hollywood Boulevard, closest to the entrance. Ride it first. From there, work toward Sunset Boulevard for Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets before either climbs past 8am levels. Toy Story Mania! and Star Tours can follow once the Sunset Boulevard pair is done — both still have room to grow before their own worst hours arrive later in the day.

The two headliners that break the rule

Slinky Dog Dash and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance don't fit the pattern above. Our data shows both are actually cheapest at 10pm, not at open: Slinky Dog Dash averages 39.4 minutes at 10pm versus 64.2 minutes at its noon peak, and Rise of the Resistance runs 21.3 minutes at 10pm versus 58.5 minutes at noon.

If staying until close isn't part of your plan, rope drop still beats waiting. Both rides climb steadily from open toward their noon peak, so riding either in the first 30 minutes the park is open still lands well under the midday numbers above — just not as low as the true best hour. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run follows the same late-night pattern, averaging 27.6 minutes overall with its highest point at 11am (44.5 minutes).

Bottom line

Start on Hollywood Boulevard, sweep through Sunset Boulevard, then decide whether Slinky Dog Dash and Rise of the Resistance fit better in your first 30 minutes or your last hour. Either way, avoid the 11am-to-1pm window across the board — every attraction in this park is more expensive then than at open.

Related reading

• Hollywood Studios Touring Plan
• Hollywood Studios: Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Guide
• Slinky Dog Dash Wait Times
• Disney World Rope Drop Strategy

Full hourly patterns for every attraction are on the Hollywood Studios wait times page.

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