Not trying to brag, but more just to share our amazing morning that was only possible thanks to this forum and thread!!!
This week, we've been at Beach Club Villas with Monday and today (Fri) as our HS days. We were in BG 16 on Monday and loved ROTR. We were really hoping things worked out again this morning for us.
We left our room at 8:25 (we walk fast) and arrived at HS about 8:45. My two daughters rushed ahead as soon as we were screened and through the entrance gates, securing us the front of the line for MMRR. They started the ride slightly early and we were out of the building at 9:30. We went straight to RnRC where we literally walked on w/ zero wait and rode in our own empty limo coaster! At 9:49, we were walking up to ToT which had a 10 minute wait. The CM there was warning guests that there is little to no signal in the tower, so I chose to wait right there on the sidewalk and began helping others prepare for 10 o'clock. We got BG1!!! Then proceed up the queue to TOT where we walked on that without wait! What a crazy cool morning on a day the park was at capacity!
Here are the things that clicked well and helped out:
1) Walk from Epcot/ Boardwalk resort area (we got lucky through the COVID closures and free upgrades to stay at the BCVs)
2) Be at the gates of HS before 9 to be early in the screenings and gain early entry to the park when they begin allowing people through around 9:15‐9:25 - the walk from the boardwalk will take ~20min. At 9, they allow walkers to line up at the temperature screening tents, skyline guests begin arriving about 9:10 and line up behind walkers. We also saw vehicle traffic begin gaining access to parking about 9:15. I never saw any buses arrive as the temp screening begins processing between 9:15‐9:20.
3) Early entry allows for quick access to MMRR (already an absolute favorite of our family) - the wait time was already 70 minutes at official park opening
4) We used cellular internet instead of park wifi - I actually had my personal android and my work iPhone, both logged in
MDE plus my wife's iPhone running the clock with seconds showing as my two phones were on the "virtual queues" page for refreshing and the first "join" button - we had full cell signal on the sidewalk just outside of ToT - ALL OTHER APPS WERE CLOSED
5) My wife used my iPhone, I used my Samsung GS8+, and we (plus coaching to those around us) was "refresh at 9:59:59, and click join, and click join again, ignoring all check boxes. If you get any error at all, just refresh again and continue." All four groups that we were talking with succeeded in getting BGs, ranging from 1 to 34! My daughter's countdown got many accolades. Karma must have played a serious part. All but one group found that everyone in their party was automatically added to their BG if they were in the park as well at that time. The last group found their college daughter not in the BG, but informed us later in the day that GET added her without problems.