Rise of the Resistance BOARDING GROUPS Superthread Part 1 *No Ride Spoilers Please* *PLEASE READ POSTS 1-4*

[smartlabelprint]

OK, so I'll just throw this one out there. I completely believe that Disney is not going to change a thing, and continue with the boarding passes. But here, for purposes of this board, is my suggestion.

Go ahead with the Boarding Passes. But limit them somewhat more than they currently are. Then also allow a Stand By line. Make it known that if you are in that line, there are no guarantees as to how long it may take before you get on the ride. Could be 3 hours, could be 8 hours. Then pick a time, say 2:00 PM, and say that each day, the Stand By line will be cut off, meaning no more people can enter it. So while it will be more difficult to get into a "guaranteed" boarding group, for those who MUST get on the ride that day, the Stand By line will be an option. You may spend half of your Disneyland day in that line, but for all intents & purposes, you will get on eventually.

That will make the Backup groups the least desirable place to be, since those will only get called if it's a good day for the ride, i.e. few breakdowns. My solution allows people an option. If people complained, Disney could say, "well the demand is just so enormous, there is no way we can accommodate every single visitor. But if you are willing to wait, the Stand By line will afford you the opportunity of riding at some point today.

Of course, it's not perfect, it's not ideal, but no process would be. But the way it is now, I think Disney is disingenuous by advertising a ride that it is both a time consuming process, with absolutely no assurance of success. And if you're unsuccessful in those 90 seconds, you're shut out for the next 16 hours, and nothing you can do about it.

They could do standby instead of backup BG.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Note to all: As of 8:40 pm, PT, THE CHART on page 1 has been updated.

 

[EmJ]

They could do standby instead of backup BG.

At this point in time, the problem with any kind of standby line is that it would encourage people to line up at the gates reeeeeeeeaaaaally early in the hopes of getting to the front of the standby line. Disney does not want this, as it's a security risk as well as imposing actual hard costs in terms of staffing needs and having to open the park early to relieve lines. Even if they opened up the standby line later, any time later, people would do the same thing, except they'd be crowding around the entrance of ROTR instead of the gates.

 

[vharris2828]

We’ve been two for two this week trying for boarding groups. First day 35 and today 8. Here are my tips which is pretty much what everyone has said. Get in and immediately grab a fastpass for something. Disconnect from Disneyland wifi. It’s so much slower. Find a good spot and do a speed check on your phone. I was at Main Street station both times at the top and this morning ran a speed test and it was like almost fully around the circle. Close all you apps including Disneyland. Open Disney app sbout 2-3 mins before. Go to Star Wars section and then the second clock hits 9 If the button does not turn red go into my status and there may be a red button there if not go back a screen instead of exiting out. and then go back and forth. The first day I didn’t get a red button but went to my status and back and got through. Today I immediately saw red so it was fast. I was down the stairs and people were still watching their phones around me. I’m on sprint and iPhone 11. While it stinks it keeps breaking down and the stress of boarding groups is a lot, standby lines would suuuuuck with how inconsistent it is. I feel like people shouldn’t be glued to the line waiting to get back on right now. The lines were huge today with people just waiting around. It broke our first day and We went and did lots and came back later. Just make sure to have a pass or soemthing and document having it. Because their app is screwy and if your return time is 1030 and the ride breaks and you can not return until 2 when it opens again, that boarding group pass will be gone. At least this was our experience with rider swap. Maybe it stays if you haven’t used any in your group yet? Even though it’s on them that you missed your return window. That was one of the biggest issues I saw and I wouldn’t be happy if I had waited all day and then missed it because the pass disappeared.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

@theluckyrabbit and @dina444444 ~ Here’s important info for the 1st posts! Entering DCA before joining a BG doesn’t cancel out DL entrance info.

*My disclaimer: I’m still patiently waiting for my yellow banner to disappear. So, just posting as a regular poster.

Thank you for this and for your help with removing apps and understanding app refresh!

 

[DznyPrnces]

Find a good spot and do a speed check on your phone. I was at Main Street station both times at the top and this morning ran a speed test and it was like almost fully around the circle.

How do you do a speed check?

 

[vharris2828]

How do you do a speed check?

I just google speed test or internet speed test and use the first thing that pops up.

 

[vharris2828]

I think it’s more reliable then just looking at the bars on your phone. I had full bars both days. But my connection was drastically quicker today then on Monday when I tried.

 

[kuwithn]

I want to share my experience today. Today they let us in about 8, and I stand in front of the adventure land. The rope dropped at 8:50. I got in the line for millennium falcon, they stopped us in front of the pre show. There were like 15 people ahead of us. And it was about 8:54. So all of us waited in the line for the moment. I tested a few times before. It takes 6 seconds to reopen the app. So on 8:59:55, I reopened the app and hit find out more and the join the boarding group is red. I got boarding number 13 for 2 people. After we finished getting the boarding number, the cast members let us in the pre show. When I finished the ride, it was 9:23, and the boarding group 12 has been called. I had a FP for BTMR at 9:30. So I used the fp to ride BTMR and when I got off, it was 9:40, group 17 has been called. It took about 70min to finish the line and the ride. The ride ROTR is amazing! I had no clue what was going to happen next and there were a lot to see. Worth the wait and the effort to get a boarding number!

 

[Mike_M]

One step forward, Three steps back.

I realize this is the optimistic board, only positive thoughts. I'm more a glass half full guy, so I like to ask what if's.

What if......the reliability of this attraction does not significantly improve with time? Will people judge the ride a success if we're still talking boarding groups, backup boarding groups, and filled groups within 2 minutes of park opening, at the end of 2020? How long does Disney get a pass for advertising this ride, without mentioning the hurdles and luck involved with getting on it? Do people really think that's fair or right?

I eluded to this in one of my earlier posts, but I recall RSR, a full year or more after it opened, still had rope drop sprinters racing to the FP distribution stations, and the majority of FPs were gone within the first hour or less. This was not advertised by Disney. I learned about it the same way I learned how the BG system worked: on sites like this.

Those without a FP for that ride were looking at a 2 or more hour standby line that never eased up over the course of the day.

The point I’m getting at is that this is the usual way new attractions that live up to the hype are. There will be long lines, or in the case here, small windows of opportunity to get a golden ticket that require special knowledge to be successful at.


I flew down from Seattle hoping to ride it once this past weekend. I rode it twice, and never had a BG higher than 21. That’s not meant to brag, it’s to say that more than just the local AP holders are getting on.

The system, while not perfect, is achievable with just a little planning and yes, some luck. We all have an equal chance.

Just like RSR, over time things will begin to become less manic. While my personal opinion is that this ride is good enough to maintain its popularity in the long run, I believe it will not always have just a 30 second window of availability. My guess is that a lot of local AP holders are trying for a BG and if not getting one or a low enough number, heading home and trying again the next day. That won’t last forever. Eventually, everyone who wants to experience it will. And then, the groups will start to fill slower and be more representative of the guests planning on staying in the park whether they ride RotR or not. They may still fill up in the first hour, like RSR did, but that’s much more reasonable in the long run.

just my opinion.

 

[socaldisneylover]

I eluded to this in one of my earlier posts, but I recall RSR, a full year or more after it opened, still had rope drop sprinters racing to the FP distribution stations, and the majority of FPs were gone within the first hour or less. This was not advertised by Disney. I learned about it the same way I learned how the BG system worked: on sites like this.

Those without a FP for that ride were looking at a 2 or more hour standby line that never eased up over the course of the day.

The point I’m getting at is that this is the usual way new attractions that live up to the hype are. There will be long lines, or in the case here, small windows of opportunity to get a golden ticket that require special knowledge to be successful at.

That's my point. With RSR, you still had the opportunity to wait in a 2 or more hour standby line. You did not have to be in the park prior to opening, then get lucky in making it into a boarding group, and then possibly wait up to 12 or 13 hours until your group gets called. You can't roll up to the park at Noon, and get in a standby line, be it 2 hours, 4 hours or 10 hours.

None of that is mentioned in the advertising for the new ride. Not everyone is looking at all the tips on message boards, and they are being given a false impression of what it takes to even have a chance at riding, and the longer that goes on, the more it makes it look like Disney just couldn't care less. Which is not really a surprise, they're all about getting $$$ from unsuspecting guests.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Since we aren't on GPS and they are using push notifications, you can be anywhere.


On the latest, swipe up from the bottom of an iPhone. It will bring up all your apps that are open. Swipe up on each one individually to close them out.

Thank you! Very helpful!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We did it this morning. Success with BG 8. We hit Harbor security at 8:15, lines were almost to the monorail tracks but they were already letting people in. Thru the turnstiles at 8:21. Immediately left for DCA. They opened DCA turnstiles at 8:30. We hung out in the seating area near Soarin until 9.
There were two of us with iPhone 11 Pro Max’s on AT&T. DS used cellular and I used Disney WiFi. Mine showed up a split second faster faster on WiFi.

This is great information. Thank you for posting.

And at what number do backups BG's begin? 62? 72? And typically are they getting through maybe 100-115 if the ride isn't breaking down?

See the chart on page 1 of this superthread. The chart is being updated daily/almost daily.

@theluckyrabbit and @dina444444 ~ Here’s important info for the 1st posts! Entering DCA before joining a BG doesn’t cancel out DL entrance info. ...

Will check to see that this gets added to the first page!

No; DL Board has great Mods and I’m back to being a DL AP and regular poster. CM DD, after 10 years at WDW, is finally returning to CA as a regular non-CM person.

And a welcome addition you are to our board!

We had planned to ride Soarin after getting our BG but decided to just head back over to DL. We got the notification for our group as we crossed the esplanade at around 9:15 and were told to check in by 10:15, so only one hour. This is odd because even now BG 8 still shows as now boarding.

It took us exactly one hour from the time we entered the queue until we exited the ride.

Good to note that return times are still varying from one to two hours. Be sure to check your return time when your BG gets called!

Closing 900PM; so usually cutoff over past days was 1 hour prior to close last group called. Don't know specifically if special events the ride will or will not be running.

For the upcoming After Hours events at DL, Disney has said that ROTR will not be running.
ETA: It sounds like both MFSR and ROTR may be running for the SWGE After Hours event in August.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Update: Some folks thought my original posting was overly specific to the point of being a spoiler, so I've updated it.
This happened to me on the 18th...

Thank you for editing your post!
This is a good warning to everyone participating in this thread: In light of all the excitement here, please remember to be careful about what you post! No spoilers means no spoilers. What looks like nothing big to you might actually affect a lot of people reading along here.
See below:

I had done so well avoiding reading spoilers and have been following this thread to know what to do for my March trip. ☹ so disappointed

I agree. I stopped reading after the first couple of words that ruined it for us. Sad

Same. Dang it. I have been trying so hard!

NO SPOILERS PLEASE

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I was a little frustrated when people say they think BG will go away. How can my sensory kids wait in that line. Your post reminded me of DAS. Duh! I’m sorry your son didn’t get to ride today.

My concern isn't about the BG system per se -- I understand the need for it and how it is working. But, from a DAS perspective, I'm not sure how this current system can work for those whose disability prevents them from being in the park right at opening or whose disability prevents them from being in the crowds that are vying for BGs. This has been a concern for friends who have chosen not to ride for now. We all can wait to watch how things play out and learn how best to strategize for our families. I'm hoping that some alternatives open up soon -- maybe by summer?

 

[DLgal]

@DLgal, did you get to ride with your son yesterday? I sure hope so!

No, I'm sick. After our day at DL.on Sunday, I developed a scratchy throat late in the evening and I have a full blown head/chest cold that is awful.

Trying again Mon, Feb 3. Kids are off school that day.

 

[DLgal]

I was a little frustrated when people say they think BG will go away. How can my sensory kids wait in that line. Your post reminded me of DAS. Duh! I’m sorry your son didn’t get to ride today.

Yep. This is why a standby line actually works better for us. We will get a return time, even if it is several hours later, but at least know we will get to ride at some point that day.

 

[DLgal]

My concern isn't about the BG system per se -- I understand the need for it and how it is working. But, from a DAS perspective, I'm not sure how this current system can work for those whose disability prevents them from being in the park right at opening or whose disability prevents them from being in the crowds that are vying for BGs. This has been a concern for friends who have chosen not to ride for now. We all can wait to watch how things play out and learn how best to strategize for our families. I'm hoping that some alternatives open up soon -- maybe by summer?

My son had a hard time with the BG crowds. We had to move to a bench up against the wall near city hall to get some space. And when everyone started cheering and yelling, it startled him and he needed his ear protection.

When I try again, we are going to scan in and then leave the park and find a quiet spot away from all that mess.

 

[DLgal]

How would they know they won without the app?

Put your ticket back into the machine. This is how it works at Tokyo Disneyland.

 

[DLgal]

Good point. I guess if there are multiple adults they can take turns watching the kids.
I don’t want to watch spoilers but I feel like I need to in order to know if my almost 6 yo can handle it. He was pretty freaked out on big thunder at age 3. Do you have an opinion? How does your oldest like the ride? I’m not sure my 4 yo can do it. The only thing she’d ride at 2 was IASW

We had to watch a ride through video. We have to do that for every new ride or my kids won't ride it. They do not trust rides inside buildings that they cannot see from the outside. Being "spoiler free" isn't as important as my kids peace of mind.

That said the ride appears to be pretty intense, visually and sound wise. My sons are both enthusiastic about riding after having seen the video. But I can tell my 13 year old is still a bit nervous. On Sunday, before all the BG hysteria, he kept repeating "it's not real" as a sort of question/statement and I had to reassure him "It's only pretend." In particular, he was concerned about the "weaponry", because the effects looked so convincing in the video (this is not a spoiler. These things are shown in the commercial).