Hello! I will be at DCA on May 16 and DL on May 18. Wondering about suggestions for rope drop. I’m thinking head to Radiator Springs for DCA and Rise for DL? Is that the best option? Or are there better options? This is only my second time to DL and I will be taking my 11 year old daughter for the first time. We have also bought LLMP. But don’t want to buy the ILL. Thanks in advance for your help!!
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Those are the 2 most competitive RD rides because they are the LLSP’s. Also, if it’s an early entry morning then those with early entry will have a huge advantage over guests who don’t have it and will be able to spend the last few minutes of their early entry queueing up at the ride entrance to be let in first. While those who are at the rope, will have to wait in the area where the rope is set and once it drops right at park open, make their way to the attraction entrance with the vast majority of guests going the same direction and anyone who was waiting around for Early Entry already filing into the queue. Also, in the regular rope drop crowd, if you are not at the front and do not stay at the front (usually competing with people who will jog/outright run against directions from the CMs), you will be in a 40-60 min+ line.
It looks like your dates are a Friday and Sunday which are both usually Early Entry days for DCA. So if you have early entry (right now only guests who have a room booked at the onsite DL hotels can get it), you’ll be able to head to Racers the last 5-10 min of the early entry and wait at the entrance for it to open, so definitely go there if you qualify.
If you’ll be behind the early entry crowd, I would highly recommend either looking into the LLSP for just Racers, and/or if you feel comfortable potentially being split up into different ride vehicles from your daughter, making use of the single rider line. For Rise you wouldn’t be at a disadvantage from anyone else going to it, but it’s a long walk from the rope to that far corner so it’s a long way to keep up a quick pace, but at least you wouldn’t have a crowd of early entry filing into the queue as you do that, since it won’t be an early entry morning for that park.
If you end up at Rise behind a large crowd, it may be 40+ minutes, but if you’re able to be at the front of the rope and go quickly the whole way to Rise, you should be in a decent spot to wait much less than that.
But as for some options to RD in either park:
For DCA:
Pretty much any headliner except Sorain (so Webslingers, Guardians, TSMM or Incredicoaster). I like starting out with TSMM and Incredicoaster as you can get two rides on each usually with lower waits before the lines builds & then it takes out 2 LLMP’s that you need to try for (and/or you can reserve the LLMP you would get for it to do it another time still). The only caution I would add here is that both TSMM and Incredicoaster are prone to delayed starts so it makes a bit of a gamble to go there first.
Starting out in Avengers Campus with Guardians, then Webslingers is also great, and less of a gamble, but they are also both easier LLMP’s to get than TSMM. I would avoid starting at Soarin’ becuase they will sometimes intentionally throttle the loading and only load the middle seats for the first little bit and that can back up the line.
For DL:
Fantasyland with a jump to Toontown (or Tomorrowland if that’s more your style) is a very productive start and a lot of the things in Fantasyland (and some of the fun things in Tomorrowland) don’t have an LLMP at all. But then starting here you’d still have to find time to do Rise which the lowest dips we find in the line are the 30-45 min after rope drop and sometimes in the last hour it’s open (9-10pm usually) but that can be very tricky as it also tends to be unreliable to stay up in that hour and if it goes down so close to the end of its operating day, it doesn’t come back up. So RD if you can be competitive on a non-early entry morning is your best bet. Or again, looking at the LLSP cost more closely.
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This is amazing information. Thank you so much for your reply!! 
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I totally agree with Lolabear’s strategy. I especially love Rope Dropping Toy Story and Incredicoaster, as the Pier feels deserted while the hoards get in a long line for Racers. I have only found those rides down once in the many times of headed there in the fresh, cool air of park opening. I also encourage Single Rider for Racers, especially around 10 a.m… As long as the Standby time is 80 minutes or less, your wait for single rider should be 20 or less. Just be sure to have a clear understanding of where to meet after the ride, as it won’t be clear which of you boarded first. I see kids ride single all the time.
I also love doing the dark rides first thing, before Fantasyland gets crowded with strollers. Hopping quickly from one to the next after near walk ons is a thrilling way to start the day. Just don’t get in the Peter Pan line with the rest of the world. I like to get out to the Runaway Railway after the dark rides, again beating the stroller crowd and getting out of Toontown before heat sets in.
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Also, smart move on the LLMP! The park will probably be very crowded on May due to the 70th just starting. I like to book Space Mountain right away and board it close to the end of my window, after the FL rides and the Railway. It’s possible Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear will have very short return times at that hour, and you can hit both after Space, so you don"t have to return to that area later, after crowds make passing by Astro Orbiters a pain. (I’m all about avoiding crowded areas!)
How fun to do this with your 11 year old! Have a great time!
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Thank you for the reply. This is exactly the type of information I was looking for! I am very excited for my daughter to get her first DL experience.